NFCA FASTPITCH DELIVERY JULY 2014

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Fastpitch Delivery PAGE 1 JULY 2014

Temple University’s decision to cut its softball team and four other sports teams became official on July 1, despite the best efforts of a vocal group of former players, coaches, media members and others, in person, in print and on social media.

So the 40th season for the Owls’ softball team was much more funeral than celebration.

“It was a sad day for Temple Softball,” former left fielder Lynsey Grace said. “It’s extremely disappointing that something that you have put time, money, passion, blood, sweat and tears into has been deleted as if you never participated.”

Cabrina Bartocci Stanek, who cried in December when her husband told her that the team she played first base for from 1998-2002 was being cut, said it’s still hard to believe that this actually happened.

“The realization that Temple Softball is no longer is really hard to wrap my head around,” she said.

“I recently read an article with the headline ‘RIP Temple Softball’ and my stomach dropped as I read that. We all knew that it was coming, but now that it has actually happened, it hurts, really hurts.”

“It does feel like a small piece of me has died. That may sound overly dramatic to some, but to anyone

who has played a college sport and been a part of a team, I believe that you can relate.”

Her brother, Phil Bartocci, played wide receiver from 2005-09 for the Temple football team.

That program’s high operational cost has been cited by some as a reason for the cuts. His first connection to the school, though,

was rooting for his sister’s Temple softball squad.

“Driving the two hours every weekend

in the spring to watch Temple

softball games was a big part of me growing up and some-thing I still value to this day,” he said. “It was a big

part of why I chose to go to Temple.”“It’s tough to

lose something that was such a

big part of your life.

Coaching Staffs of the Year, Golden Shoe, Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year and High School All-Americans revealed.

““I am a firm believer in the process and creating a strong foundation. Over and over again I have seen tremendous athletes at the highest levels that are underdeveloped in their skill sets. My goal for each of my players is to help them see the path through process-driven goals.”

Ibarra Helping Set A Path For Tomorrow’s Stars

COACH’S PROFILE PAGE 14ANSON DORRANCE, UNIV. OF NORTH CAROLINA,COACH OF 21-TIME NCAA SOCCER CHAMPS

JULY 2014 VOLUME 19, NO. 7

NATIONAL FASTPITCH COACHES ASSOCIATION

WORDS TO COACH BY...“The vision of a champion is someone who is bent

over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion when no one is watching.”

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Radigonda Back In The GameFormer ASA Executive Director takes same position with ISF.

Pitch For Temple Falls ShortBy DAVE HINES

Editor

INSIDE

Telling Her Cancer TaleFormer Georgia College Player Upbeat About Battle

My name is Maggie Davis. I am 25 years old, and I have always been an active, outgoing and determined athlete. I have carried the same drive

and determination into all aspects of my life, always expecting more from myself and pushing my own limits.

I have played sports ever since

I can remember. I fully dedicated my life to softball, and ultimately accepted a scholarship to play softball for Georgia College, a Division II school in Milledgeville, Ga.

Throughout my career as Bobcat I was fortunate enough to have played with a solid group of girls that I call family. No matter the distance or situation, I know they are in my corner fighting right behind me.

On December 3, 2013, all of these characteristics about myself were about

SEE DAVIS PAGE 12

School Carries Out Plan To Cut Softball, Four Other Sports Teams

AWARDS PAGES 8-11

NEW MEMBERS ................................ PAGE 3DIVISION I HCC MINUTES ................ PAGE 4QUESTION OF THE MONTH ............. PAGE 7SOFTBALL BY SMITTY ................... PAGE 15VIEWPOINTS .................................. PAGE 20TIME MANAGEMENT ...................... PAGE 21

Davis

By MAGGIE DAVIS

SEE PITCH PAGE 16

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Fastpitch DeliveryPAGE 2 JULY 2014

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David Alshay, Head Coach, SJ 15U; Kevin Beistel, Head Coach, Synergy; Tom Blair, Head Coach, Synergy; Ginger Britton, Head Coach, Crown Point High School (Ind.); Jenny Buzzell-Parker, Head Coach, Spotsy Sliders; Samantha Canfield, Head Coach, 14U Mustangs; Lori Carr, Internet-Only Membership; Carlos Castro, Assistant Coach, Jones County Junior College; Blake Crawford, Head Coach, Roff High School (Okla.); Cindy Dale, Head Coach, Chargers; Joe Delsante, Head Coach, Campo Verde High School (Ariz.); Matthew Dowling, Head Coach, Cisco High School (Texas); Ray Hastings, Assistant Coach, Rutgers-Camden; Michelle Jordan, Assistant Coach, Boswell High School (Texas); Emily Kaczmarek, Assistant Coach, Stevens Institute of Technology; Merry MacDonald, Head Coach, Fitchburg

State College; Bill Mitaritonna, Head Coach, Half Hollow Hills High School (N.Y.); Jay Moore, Head Coach, TFS Texas 14U; Kenneth Morrell, Assistant Coach, Hobart High School (Okla.); Casey Myers, Assistant Coach, Auburn University; Christine Partenope, Head Coach, Gorham Middle High School (N.H.); Sarah Payne, Assistant Coach, Northwest University; Bryan Poehler, Head Coach, Keller High School (Texas); Amanda Ray, Assistant Coach, Spain Park High School (Ala.); Billie Relyea, Assistant Coach, Widener University; Spencer Runge, Assistant Coach, Carolina Cardinals; Michael Runyon, All-Inclusive Membership; Elliott Sampley, Head Coach, Lyon College; Gary Simpson, Head Coach, Davie Bandits; Liz Yandall, Head Coach, Pacific University (Ore.).

New Members

NEWS & NOTES

FEATURED TWEET

NFCA Increasing College Membership Fees In SeptemberBecause of an increased cost of

doing business, it was determined that college member coaching categories would experience a fee increase effective September 1, 2014. Travel ball and high school fees will remain at $70.

“The last time we had a fee increase was in 2007, and in those last seven years, we have seen large increases in postage, insurance, fuel and numerous other categories that have impacted our day-to-day

operations,” said Lacy Lee Baker, NFCA Executive Director.

“In order for us to continue to deliver quality products and

services, these increases are necessary, and we hope our college membership will understand.”

Previous to 2007, membership fees were increased about every five years during the 30-year-history of

the organization.The membership changes that

will go into effect are:• Division I head coaches will

increase from $160 to $190.• Divisions II and III head coaches

will increase from $110 to $130.• NAIA and Junior College head

coaches will increase from $70 to $85.

• Associate head coaches will pay the same amount as the head coach.

• Assistants will specifically be identified as pitching, hitting or all, and will increase from $70 to $85.

In addition, three categories of assistant coaches have been added to the college membership offerings at the lower cost level of $70: Volunteer Assistant, Director of Operations

and Student Assistant (either grad or undergraduate).

Outside of the college ranks, another category of Youth Coach also has been added for those coaches who do not fit in the Travel Ball or High School categories. Types of “Other Youth Coach” are Recreational Only, Middle School, and Junior Varsity and those fees will be $70.

Those who wish to pay for a three-year multiyear membership offered at a 10 percent discount will be able to do so starting September 1.

If any member would like to renew at the lower rates prior to September 1, please call the NFCA at (502) 409-4600. For questions, please email Kelley Fisher at [email protected].

A new book by Dr. Steven Clarfield tells the inspiring story of the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team, whose barnstorming tour of exhibition contests has changed the public perception that amputees have to settle for a lower quality of life.

The book is told through the eyes of the founding players, who helped give the world a better understanding of what caring, rehabilitation and the team concept really mean.

“Like everyone who has seen the WWAST in action, we are inspired

by their level of play and enthusiasm for the game — and for life,”

publisher Clear Vision Publishing wrote in describing the book.

U.S. softball legend Jennie Finch wrote the preface for the book.

Half of the proceeds of sales of the book, which costs $20, goes back to the Wounded Warrior Amputee Softball Team to help support their continued efforts on and off the playing field.

The book is available for purchase online at www.cvpublishing.com.

Book Tells Story Of Wounded Warrior Team

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June 10, 2014 Telephone Conference No. 2014-06The meeting was brought to order at

10:01 a.m. CST. Those present were:Michelle Burrell, America East Confer-

ence; Heidi Cavallo, Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference; Jenny Condon, Big West Conference; Pat Conlan, Big East Con-ference, and NFCA Board Rep; Michelle DePolo, Patriot League; Rick Fremin, Southwestern Athletic Conference; Stacy Gemeinhardt-Cessler, Big 12 Conference; Rachel Hanson, Ivy League; Amy Hayes, Missouri Valley Conference; Melissa In-ouye, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference; Rhiannon Kliesing, Southeastern Confer-ence, Alternate; Roy Kortmann, Northeast Conference; Karen Linder, Mid-American Conference; Bridget Orchard, Atlantic 10 Conference; Dan Powers, Western Athletic Conference; Shonda Stanton, Conference USA; Barb Sherwood, Big Sky Conference; Heather Tarr, Pacific-12 Conference; Holly Van Vlymen, The Sum-mit League; Jaime Wohlbach, Colonial Athletic Association; Jane Worthington, Ohio Valley Conference

Dee Abrahamson, NCAA Softball Sec-retary-Rules Editor, Guest; Sharon Cess-na, NCAA Director of Championships, Guest

Natalie Poole, NFCA Division I Repre-sentative; David Batson, NFCA Legisla-tive Consultant; Lacy Lee Baker, NFCA Executive Director

Lonni Alameda, Atlantic Coast Confer-ence; Mandy Burford, Southern Confer-ence; Jessica Hanaseth, West Coast Conference; Kyla Holas, American Athlet-ic Conference; Amanda Lehotak, Big Ten Conference; Erin Thorpe, Mountain West Conference, and representatives from the Atlantic Sun Conference, Big South Con-ference, Horizon League, Southern Con-ference and Southland Conference, were not on the call.

1. Approval of June Call Minutes. It was moved (Ms. Condon) and seconded (Ms. Orchard) that the June call minutes be ap-proved.

2. Review of the 2014 NCAA Division I Women’s Softball Championship.

A. Three-Day Super Regional. The three-day Super Regional, if an “if” game is necessary, remains the top priority of the group. The (1) quality of the game to determine the true super regional cham-pion and (2) safety of the players are the main reasons for the extra day when nec-essary. Ms. Cessna said that the NCAA Division I Women’s Softball Committee was in favor, and that ESPN was working on several television schedules to accom-modate it. The big hurdle will be getting the NCAA to approve the increased cost

to the championship of $75,000 (if every Super had an “if” game in a given year).

B. Television Coverage. Ms. Cessna reported that there was increased cover-age of regionals in 2014. The NCAA pays for three broadcasts, while ESPN has added another five. The regional ratings increased by 14 percent over 2013 (super regionals and WCWS ratings were not available at the time of the call).

C. Television Announcers. There was some discussion about retired coach-es being involved as announcers, since they will know more about the game than former players. Ms. Cessna said that any-one who was interested should contact Meg Aronowitz at ESPN.

D. Hosting Requirements. Ms. Cess-na noted that the top 16 get to host region-als, provided they have facilities that meet the specification sheet. She asked at what point do you want the committee to with-hold the hosting opportunity – should a facility meet all the requirements or are there some exceptions that are not that big of a deal. In the past, there have been some exceptions. (See Supplement A for the current hosting specs).

E. Hotels. There’s still a hotel issue since regionals fall on graduation day for many schools; this can lead to long dis-tances from the hotel to the competition site. Also, some times the visiting teams don’t stay at the hotel where the host has booked rooms. At the WCWS, three of eight teams didn’t stay at the hotel as-signed to them. Should a fine or penalty be assessed if school doesn’t stay at as-signed hotel?

F. Practice. There were some in-stances when the practice was supposed to be closed and it wasn’t.

3. NCAA Governance Structure Status. Mr. Batson informed the group of where the governance structure debate currently stands. He noted the following:

A. Proposal. A draft proposal was de-veloped and sent out in late April. In May through July, conferences are evaluat-ing the proposal and providing feedback.

On August 7, the Board of Directors will meet to consider the new model. From September 2014 through January 2015, there will be discussion on the substruc-ture, and the first meetings will take place in January 2015.

(1) The Board of Directors will con-sist of 17 presidents, one director of ath-letics, one student-athlete, one faculty athletic rep (FAR) and one senior woman administrator (SWA), for 21 total.

(2) The Council will consist of ath-letic directors, FARs, SWAs, student-ath-letes and four commissioners.

(3) The Council substructure will be standing committees of no more than 21 members to make appropriate rec-ommendations to the Council for actions regarding championships, legislation, student-athlete well-being and Division I membership. Current Association-wide, common, Division I, sports, rules and waiver committees will report to the Coun-cil through the appropriate Council sub- or standing committee. An academic coun-cil will handle the combined work of the current Division I Academic Council and Committee on Academic Performance (CAP).

(4) Much of the discussion is on the how much weight the group of five (all institutions in the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC) will get vs. the other Division I schools. The draft outlines the autonomous decision-making in these ar-eas:

(a) Permissive legislation: designed to allow permissive use of resources by any member to advance the legitimate ed-ucational or athletics-related needs of stu-dent-athletes. Under the proposed model, permissive legislation that is developed and adopted among the 65 institutions and 5 conferences may also be adopted by the rest of Division I at each institution’s respective discretion, or as determined by its conference.

(b) Actionable legislation: Adopted and implied to the 65-member institutions to modify specified rules in a manner that

enhances the student-athlete experience, or decreases athletics time demands or other burdens on student-athletes. These legislative changes that address student-athlete interests or experiences will ap-ply only to the five conferences and their 65-member institutions, although Division I members generally would be free to ad-dress the same or similar issues through legislation considered by the new Council – on any “actionable” item, the 27 other conferences will have the option to adopt at the next Council meeting (instead of waiting the full legislative cycle), through a nonweighted vote of the 27, rather than a vote of the full Council.

(c) The areas that are categorized as permissive are: health and wellness; meals and nutrition; financial aid, although rules relating to the terms and conditions of awarding aid are considered action-able; expenses and benefits (student-athlete support); insurance and career transition; career pursuits, and academic support. The other actionable items are expenses and benefits (pre-enrollment support); time demands; eligibility; recruit-ing, and personnel.

(5) For the group of five, the voting structure will be one representative from each institution (65 votes), plus each con-ference will have three student-athlete representatives (15), for a total of 80. To adopt a proposal, there must be 2/3 ma-jority, or four of five conferences, and pos-sibly three of five conferences.

(6) There are four areas of shared governance: team scholarship limits for sports other than football; academic stan-dards; many recruiting rules and execu-tive related items such as finance.

(7) The recruiting calendar propos-al, for example, would fall under shared governance and should be submitted in spring of 2015.

3. Next Conference Call. The next HCC conference call will be held at 10 a.m. Central time Tuesday, July 8.

4. Adjournment. The meeting was ad-journed at 10:56 a.m. Central time.

MINUTES – HCC

VISIT OUR ONLINE STORE TODAY!Preparing to Play Softball at the Collegiate Level is a valuable resource for anyone beginning a college search. If you want to make sure you’re on track academically and athletically, this book provides you with a detailed road map. High school and junior college athletes will learn everything from how to meet academic and recruiting guidelines to how and when to contact college coaches, what to put in a skills video and where to find financial aid. It’s a must-buy for softball players, parents and anyone who works with college-bound student-athletes. To order your own copy and check out our skills DVDs and other softball items, visit our online store at NFCA.org

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The International Softball Federation (ISF) has announced the appointment of Ron Radigonda as the Executive Director of the ISF.

Radigonda served as the Executive Director for the Amateur Softball Association for 15 years until his recent retirement and prior to that was the Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Sacramento, Calif.

“We were very fortunate to have a candidate of Ron’s experience

and ability available to us at this time,” ISF President Dale McMann said of the appointment. “We are going through a time of transition at the ISF and Ron’s ability to lead change and provide senior leadership and guidance

to the organization as we forge a new organizational structure under the umbrella of the World Baseball Softball Confederation will be very important to building and maintaining a strong ISF now and in the future.”

Radigonda’s first event for the Federation was the ISF Junior Men’s World Championship in Whitehorse, Canada. He will also travel to the ISF

Women’s World Championship in Haarlem, Netherlands, in August.

“I am delighted to be joining the ISF,” Radigonda said. “Under the leadership of President McMann, I believe we have an opportunity to grow the ISF, further develop the sport of softball and by working with other members of the WBSC regain our place on Olympic Games Program.”

ISF Adds Radigonda As Executive DirectorNEWS & NOTES

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2013 NFCA NATIONAL CONVENTION CLINIC DVD ORDER FORM If you couldn’t attend the convention or you just want to review a session that you attended in San Antonio, you can purchase a DVD of many of the topics. DVDs are $20 for members/$25 for non-members (plus shipping and handling). Each features the speaker as shot in his/her presentation at the convention. All recordings are approximately 45 minutes in length.

DVDS (@ $20/$25 EACH) # $ SHIPPING ($6 FIRST DVD; $1 EACH EXTRA) $ TOTAL $

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RETURN TO NFCA, 2641 GRINSTEAD DRIVE, LOUISVILLE, KY, 40206, FAX TO (502) 409-4622, CALL (502) 409-4600 OR PURCHASE ONLINE AT WWW.NFCA.ORG.

DVD’S NOW AVAILABLE!

DVD NAME & SPEAKER

“DEFENSE: PLAYING CATCH AT A HIGH LEVEL”Marla Townsend, Head Coach, University of Alabama, Birmingham

“MAXIMIZING SUCCESS WITH EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION”Kirk Walker, Assistant Coach, UCLASue Rankin, Senior Research Associate, Rankin & Associates

“THE WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHES & HITTERS”Tim Walton, Head Coach, University of Florida

“DEFINING CULTURE -- DEFINING LEADERS IN AN AGE OF ENTITLEMENT”Aaron Weintraub, Mental Training Expert

“DRILLS, DRILLS, DRILLS”Diane Miller, Assistant Coach, University of Nebraska; Cheryl Milligan, Head Coach, Tufts University; Kevin Shelton, Head Coach, Texas Glory

“REALLY? THAT’S A RULE?”Dee Abrahamson, NCAA Secretary-Rules Editor

“CHOOSING YOUR OPTIMUM TEAM DEFENSE”Bill Edwards, Head Coach, Hofstra and Staff

“TRAINING TODAY’S PITCHERS”Lance Glasoe, Assistant Coach, University of Washington

“BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL SOFTBALL BUSINESS”Sara Hayes, Founder & Owner, Powerline Consulting

“TEACH, INSPIRE & CONNECT TO YOUR PLAYERS THROUGH BOOKS & ARTICLES”Yvette Healy, Head Coach, University of Wisconsin

“TRADITION, HARD WORK & SUCCESS: DEVELOPING A WINNING PROGRAM FOR THE LONG TERM”Carol Hutchins, Head Coach, University of Michigan

“SECRET LIFE OF A STAFF”Amanda Lehotak, Head Coach, Penn State University

“THE YIPS: WHEN MIND MATTERS”Eileen Canney Linnehan, Assistant Coach, University of Illinois, Chicago

“AGGRESSIVE BASERUNNING: YOUR KEY TO SCORING MORE”Eric Oakley, Head Coach, University of North Dakota

“TAKING OVER A NEW PROGRAM: A NEW ‘STATE’ OF MIND”Shawn Rychcik, Head Coach, North Carolina State University

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Any kind of core exercises, because that’s the foundation of anything in softball ... hitting, pitching, fielding, etc. From a pitching standpoint,

I do everything forearms and anything to do with wrist bands.Carie Dever BoazNorthwest Mississippi Community College

As shoulder and arm problems are the most common physical ailment in softball, I am constantly reminding players to do Dr. Frank Jobe’s

shoulder exercises, which are available on the web.Ted MureauSouth Pasadena (Calif.) High School

A complete balance in our workout is crucial for our development. However, nothing gives you results for measuring pure strength than

free weights with good form. Finding that balance for your team is the key to greatness, happiness and healthiness.

Joseph T. WittenIndiana University Southeast

From a performance standpoint I would say that the full squat is one of the most important exercises that we do. By increasing the amount of force

that our athletes can apply into the ground we are able to increase their running speed, as well as their bat and ball (throwing) velocity. From an injury prevention

standpoint, we focus a lot on the posterior chain of the body. Female athletes are naturally quad dominant, which automatically places their knees at risk. We place a lot of emphasis on training the hamstrings as well as the constantly addressing the technique of loading our hips in all of our movements.

Doug Bull, Certified Strength CoachDeer Park (Texas) High School

Multi-joint exercises, like lunges, squats, or lat pulls, are a favorite. Core strengthening in the abs and low back are regular essentials. A

stable midsection aids in all softball movements.Mark RitchhartPine Castle (Fla.) Christian Academy

What exercise (or exercises) are the most important for your players to utilize in the weight room and why?

QUESTION OF THE MONTH

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The National Fastpitch Coaches Association and Diamond Sports announced the 10 student-athletes who have earned the honor of being named as a 2014 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year.

Nine of the 10 honorees are the first selection in program history for their school.

The exception is Nicole Cardoza, who is the second Southwestern Oregon Community College player to be honored in the Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) division.

The Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award is presented

annually to the top catcher from an NFCA member institution in each of the following divisions: NCAA (Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, NWAC and high school.

A committee comprised of head coaches in each of the 10 divisions determined the winner of their respective award. The winners of the 2014 Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year award are as follows:

NCAA DIVISION ITaylor Edwards, University of Nebraska

NCAA DIVISION IINatalie Wideman, California University of Pennsylvania

NCAA DIVISION IIIJo Clair, Tufts University

NAIAMichele Rupard, Central Methodist University

NJCAA DIVISION IAmy Szymanowski, College of Central Florida

NJCAA DIVISION IISarah Rothe, Hutchinson CC

NJCAA DIVISION IIISammy Smaldone, Herkimer CC

CAL JCTreasure Rodriguez, San Jose City College

NWACNicole Cardoza, Southwestern Oregon Community College

HIGH SCHOOLReagan Hathaway, Olathe Northwest (Kansas) High School

Elite 10 Earn Catcher Of Year RecognitionNEWS & NOTES

CBS Sports Network Airing Live NPF GamesNational Pro Fastpitch has 10 dates

remaining on its partnership with CBS Sports Network to televise league games during the 2014 season.

The slate of 18 games, which includes four playoff games and every contest of the league’s best-of-three championship series, began July 7.

Remaining TV Schedule(All times listed are ET)

August 4 —Pennsylvania Rebellion at Akron Racers, 8:30 p.m.August 5—Pennsylvania Rebellion at Akron Racers, 7 p.m.

August 11—Chicago Bandits at Pennsylvania Rebellion, 8:30 p.m.August 12—Chicago Bandits at Pennsylvania Rebellion, 7 p.m.August 13—Akron Racers at Chicago Bandits, 7:30 p.m.August 14—Akron Racers at Chicago Bandits, 8 p.m.August 20—NPF Pool Play, 9 p.m.August 22—NPF Championship Game 1, 8 p.m.August 23—NPF Championship Game 2, 2 p.m.August 23—NPF Championship Game 3, 4:30 p.m.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced the 10 student-athletes who have been selected as recipients of the 2014 NFCA Golden Shoe accolade.

The NFCA Golden Shoe award is presented annually to the player

determined to be the most outstanding base stealer from an NFCA member institution in each of the following divisions: NCAA

(Divisions I, II and III), NAIA, NJCAA (Divisions I, II and III), Cal JC, NWAC and high school.

A committee comprised of elected head coaches in each of the 10 divisions selects the winner of their respective award. This year’s winners of the

prestigious honor are as follows:NCAA DIVISION I

Taylor Gadbois, University of MissouriNCAA DIVISION II

Kassidy Tally, Delta State UniversityNCAA DIVISION III

Kayla Malkos, Virginia Wesleyan College

NAIARachel Laird, University of Houston-Victoria

NJCAA DIVISION ITheresa Decosty, Jefferson College

NJCAA DIVISION IIRebecca Wyatt, Phoenix College

NJCAA DIVISION IIIEmma Traina, Joliet Junior College

CAL JCJoanna Peruccio, Cerritos College

NWACRachel Ray, Clackamas Community College

HIGH SCHOOLTaylor Lockwood, Walker High School (La.)

Speedsters Garner NFCA Golden Shoe Award Honors

Team USA Claims World Cup Of SoftballTeam USA reclaimed the World Cup

of Softball title on July 13, utilizing a three-run fifth to defeat Canada 5-2 at the General Tire World Cup of Softball IX in Irvine, Calif.

A strong performance from pitcher Sara Nevins (6.1 innings, two hits, eight strikeouts) and the bat of Raven Chavanne (3-for-4, two RBI), allowed the Americans to claim the annual tournament for the first time since 2012, when the United States won the last of its six straight crowns.

“Sara was spot on today and was throwing the ball really well,” said USA Head Coach Ken Eriksen. “We’ve still got a long way to go and we still have some things we need to tighten up on.”

Chinese Taipei finished third in the tourney after a 3-1 victory over defending champion Japan, who also won

the inaugural event in 2005.Team USA finished the event with

a batting average of .361 with Valerie Arioto leading the team with 12 RBI and five home runs. Nevins collected two wins, leading the pitchers with 20 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.52.

Team USA will play in the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championships, from August 12-24 in Haarlem, Netherlands.

—Courtesy ASA/USA Softball

Rules Committee Supports Ball ExperimentThe NCAA Softball Rules Committee

recommended an experimental rule for the use of a new softball during the 2014 fall non-traditional season that is softer but livelier than the current softball being used in NCAA championships.

The committee is interested to see how coaches and players feel about the newly developed softball.

All experimental rule proposals must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which was scheduled to discuss the Softball Rules

Committee’s recommendation during a conference call later in July.

“We’re asking coaches to try it out in the fall and give us feedback,” NCAA Softball Secretary-Rules Editor Dee Abrahamson said. “We are interested in the ball, because it is the ball used in the bat certification process and has several attractive properties.”

If you are hosting a fall event and wish to participate in the study, contact Abrahamson via email at [email protected] with details.

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Head coach Rachel Lawson, associate head coach Kristine Himes, assistant coach Molly Johnson-Belcher and volunteer assistant coach Kara Dill of the University of Kentucky were voted the NFCA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year.

It was truly an historic 2014 season for Kentucky, as the Wildcats tallied a UK-record 50 victories, earned the program’s first-ever Women’s College World Series berth, defeated a school record 15 ranked teams during the season and finished the year ranked No. 6 in the final USA Today/NFCA national poll.

Entering the annual Southeastern Conference tournament as the seventh seed, the Wildcats caught fire, advancing all the way to the title game. That postseason momentum carried over to UK’s run through the NCAA tournament, as the Wildcats won the Lexington Regional before venturing out to knock-off No. 2 UCLA in the best-of-three Los Angeles Super Regional. Kentucky christened its first WCWS trip by topping Louisiana-Lafayette before being eliminated via consecutive defeats to eventual national finalist Alabama and Baylor.

Having just completed her seventh year in charge of the Wildcat program, Lawson has taken Kentucky from just 17 victories during her initial campaign in 2008 to the lofty heights of this past season. Already the winningest head coach in UK history, she has registered 244 triumphs, guided the Wildcats to three NCAA Super Regionals over the past four years, as well as berths in the past six NCAA tournaments and already owns more SEC wins than the Kentucky had combined prior to her arrival at the helm.

For their work this season, Lawson, Himes, Johnson-Belcher and Dill also reaped the NFCA Southeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year award.

NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year winners are:

CENTRALUniversity of Oklahoma

Head coach Patty Gasso; associate head coach Melyssa Lombardi; assistant Coach Tripp MacKay; volunteer assistant coach Whitney Cloer; Director of operations Sharon Carter.

GREAT LAKESUniversity of Michigan

Head coach Carol Hutchins; associate head coach Bonnie Tholl; assistant coach Jennifer Brundage; volunteer coach Nikki Nemitz; Director of operations Erin McLaughlin.

MID-ATLANTICUniversity of Notre Dame

Head coach Deanna Gumpf; associate head coaches Kris Ganeff and Lizzy Lemire; volunteer assistant coach Brittany O’Donnell; Director of operations John Whitty.

MIDEASTUniversity of Tulsa

Head coach John Bargfeldt; associate head coach Crissy Strimple; volunteer assistant coach Jeff Allen.

MIDWESTUniversity of Nebraska

Head coach Rhonda Revelle; associate head coach Lori Sippel; assistant coach Diane Miller; Director of operations Katie Brown.

NORTHEASTJames Madison University

Head coach Mickey Dean; assistant coaches Jennifer Herzig and Loren LaPorte.

PACIFICUniversity of Oregon

Head coach Mike White; assistant coaches James Kolaitis and Chelsea Spencer; volunteer assistant coach Mike Roberts; Director of operations Megan Murphy.

SOUTHUniversity of Alabama

Head coach Patrick Murphy; associate head coach Alyson Habetz; assistant Coach Stephanie VanBrakle; Volunteer assistant coach Adam Arbour; Director of operations Kate Harris.

SOUTHEASTUniversity of Kentucky

Head coach Rachel Lawson; associate head coach Kristine Himes; assistant coach Molly Johnson-Belcher; volunteer assistant coach Kara Dill.

WESTUniversity of California, Los AngelesHead coach Kelly Inouye-Perez;

assistant coaches Lisa Fernandez and Kirk Walker; Director of operations Jodie Legaspi-Kiaha.

Kentucky Voted Top Staff In NCAA Division INFCA COACHING STAFFS OF THE YEAR

The University of Kentucky earned NFCA Division I Coaching Staff of the Year honors. UK photo.

NFCA HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICANS

First TeamPos. Name SchoolP Devin Durando Indian Hills (N.J.)P Steph Thomas Immaculate Heart (N.J.)P Kiana Millsaps Alexander Central (N.C.)P Abby Langkamp The Woodlands (Texas)C Reagan Hathaway Olathe NW (Kansas)C Brianna Cassidy Cajon (Calif.)1B Caitlin Plocheck Deer Park (Texas)2B Vanessa Shippy Lake City (Idaho)3B Savannah Moore Washburn Rural (Kansas)SS Kristen Cuyos Pearland (Texas)OF Emily Neal Caravel Academy (Del.)OF Taylor Lockwood Walker (La.)OF Jessica Adell Ballard (Ky.)UT Julia Andersen Papillion-LaVista (Neb.)AL (UT) Rebecca Drake Monsignor Donovan (N.J.)AL (SS) Aubrey Leach The Woodlands (Texas)

Second TeamPos. Name SchoolP Tatum Buckley Masuk (Conn.)P Allison Stewart Olathe East High (Kansas)P Kelsee Henry Washburn Rural (Kansas)P Brenna Macha Red Mountain (Ariz.)C Stephanie Abello Benet Academy (Ill.)C Maddie McCracken Olathe North (Kansas)1B Carly Roleder Oaks Christian (Calif.)2B Alexis Mack Brecksville-Broadview (Ohio)3B Madison Shaw Bridgewater-Rynhm (Mass.)SS Savannah Wood Essex (Va.)OF Mia Baldassari Morris Knolls (N.J.)OF Kayla Braud St. Amant (La.)OF Lindsey Stewart Pearland (Texas)UT Emily Schaffer Raritan (N.J.)AL (DP) Baily Rhoney Alexander Central (N.C.)AL (P) Miranda Elish Crown Point (Ind.)

Third TeamPos. Name SchoolAL (P) Payton McBride Deer Park (Texas)AL (P) Caitlyn Brooks Burbank (Calif.)AL (P) Sarah Dawson Bridgewater-Rynhm (Mass.)AL (C) Emily Kurkul Bridgewater-Rynhm (Mass.)AL (1B) Aidan Falk Our Lady of Mercy (N.Y.)AL (2B) Angelina McGuire Immaculate Heart (N.J.)AL (2B) Abby Lee Enid (Okla.)AL (2B) Vada Blue Sherrill Alexander Central (N.C.)AL (SS) Ariel Virgulto Maloney (Conn.)AL (SS) Maddie Bullington Sahuarita (Ariz.)AL (OF) Sara Wilkerson Mt. Zion (Ill.)AL (OF) Katelyn Kelly North Fort Myers (Fla.)AL (OF) Haley Harrison Deer Park (Texas)AL (OF) Danielle Hamilton Howell (Mich.)AL (UT) Lauren Burke Marist (Ore.)AL (DP) Rylie Spell Pearland (Texas)

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NFCA COACHING STAFFS OF THE YEAR

Head coach Kevin Blaskowski, associate head coach Christina Helland and volunteer assistant coach Ross Middleton of the national champion West Texas A&M softball program were voted the NFCA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year.

After winning the regular-season title in the Lone Star Conference with a 23-4 league mark and entering NCAA tournament play as the top-ranked team in the country, West Texas A&M finished off its dream season in Salem, Va., by topping Valdosta State (3-2) to earn the program’s first NCAA Division II Softball Championship. The Lady Buffs won 60 games, becoming just the fourth team in

NCAA history to win a title while also reaching the 60-win mark (Cal State Northridge in 1985, Augustana in 1991 and North Dakota State in 2000 were the others).

Having been hired to re-start West Texas A&M softball following a 24-year absence, Blaskowski has wasted little time in building the Lady Buff softball program into a perennial national title contender. In nine years at the helm, he has registered a 320-219 mark, recorded four NCAA tournament berths and possesses an overall record of 672-496 over 22 seasons.

West Texas A&M also netted the NFCA South Central Region

Coaching Staff of the Year award.NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of

the Year winners are:MIDWEST

Wayne State University Head coach Gary Bryce; assistant coach Pat Kent; graduate assistant coach Nicole Abel.

CENTRAL Southeastern Oklahoma State

Head coach Ron Faubion; assistant coach Courtne St. Clair; graduate assistant coach Paige Priest.

EASTLong Island University Post

Head coach Jamie Apicella; assistant coaches Carla Campagna and Megan Butterworth.

WESTDixie State University

Head coach Randy Simkins; assistant

coaches Justin Buchanan, Doug Rogers and Nate Miller.

SOUTHValdosta State University

Head coach Thomas Macera; graduate assistant coaches Marti Littlefield and Colette Rollins.

SOUTH CENTRALWest Texas A&M University

Head coach Kevin Blaskowski; associate head coach Christina Helland; volunteer assistant coach Ross Middleton.

ATLANTICWest Chester University of Pa.

Head coach Diane Lokey; assistant coach Margaret Kichler.

SOUTHEASTArmstrong Atlantic State University

Head coach Ted Evans; assistant coach Shelly Tait.

West Texas A&M Is NCAA Division II Winner

Back-To-Back NCAA Division III Titlist Tufts Again CSOYFor the second straight season, Tufts

University won the NCAA Division III national championship and for the second consecutive season the Jumbos earned NFCA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Head coach Cheryl Milligan and assistants Lauren Ebstein and Emily Beinecke guided top-ranked Tufts to a 13-1 record in the postseason — all on the road —including a 10-1 mark in NCAA tournament play, which was capped by a pair of 6-0 wins over Salisbury in the best-of-three championship series at Texas-Tyler’s Suddenlink Field.

Milligan, who won 92 percent of her games (47-4 record) in her 11th season at the helm of her alma mater, won her 350th game this year and holds a career mark of 355-112. Under her leadership, the Jumbos have reached the NCAA championship site in four of the last five seasons and won three straight and six New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championships overall. Earlier this season, Milligan won her third consecutive NESCAC Coach of the Year award, which was the seventh of her career.

Tufts is also the New England Region Coaching Staff of the Year recipient for

the third consecutive season.NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of

the Year winners are:ATLANTIC

Salisbury UniversityHead coach Margie Knight; assistant coaches Sarah Alpaugh, Chelsea Brooks, John Krahling, Nicole McClaskey, Hannah Mills, Terri Sharpless, Tom Stitcher and Jess Stoltz.

CENTRALTrine University

Head coach Donnie Danklefsen; assistant coaches Sarah Belote and Dennis Smith.

EASTMontclair State University

Head coach Anita Kubicka; assistant coaches Heather Bergman, Ryan Doty and Leslie Korkgy-Valenti.

GREAT LAKESUniversity of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Head coach Brenda Volk; assistant coaches Beth Bonuso, Steve Evans and Erin Weber.

MIDWESTUniversity of St. Thomas

Head coach John Tschida; assistant coaches Becky Eischens, Roman Foore, Eric Heflin, Brad Horstman, Jim Tschidand

Erica Wilson.NEW ENGLANDTufts University

Head coach Cheryl Milligan; assistant coaches Lauren Ebstein and Emily Beinecke.

NORTHEASTUniversity of Rochester

Head coach Margaret Yerdon-Grange; assistant coaches Jen Colquhoun, Karen DiTucci and Nicole Osovski.

WESTEast Texas Baptist University

Head coach Janae Shirley; assistant coaches Bill Galloway and Guy Shirley.

Auburn Montgomery Claims NAIA Coaching Staff RecognitionThe NAIA national championship

staff of head coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson, assistant coach Scottie Wilkes and student assistant Emma Johansen of Auburn Montgomery earned top honors in balloting in the NAIA division.

Auburn Montgomery’s run to the program’s first NAIA title saw the (44-7) Warhawks go 25-1 in Southern State Athletic Conference play to earn the NAIA tournament’s second seed and they defeated seventh-seeded Lindsey Wilson, sixth-seeded William Carey and fifth-seeded Reinhardt in that order to advance in the winner’s bracket to the best-of-three final against William

Carey.In six seasons in charge of Auburn

Montgomery Steiner-Wilcoxson has a 234-97-2 record and an overall coaching mark of 318-177-2. She has guided the Warhawks to three consecutive 40-plus win seasons, three straight NAIA tournaments and back-to-back NAIA World Series berths, all firsts in the history of the program.

The Warhawks were also the NFCA East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.


EASTAuburn Montgomery

Head coach Chris Steiner-Wilcoxson; assistant coach Scottie Wilkes; student

assistant coach Emma Johansen.GREAT LAKES

Olivet Nazarene UniversityHead Coach Ritchie Richardson; graduate assistant coach Jordan Reynolds.

MIDWESTCentral Methodist University

Head Coach Pat Reardon; assistant coach Gene Reardon; graduate assistant coaches Kayla Yount, Jacqui Cappuccilli and Lyndsey Talbot.

SOUTHWESTOklahoma City University

Head Coach Phil McSpadden; assistant coach Bobbi Bridges.

WESTCollege of Idaho

Head coach Al Mendiola; assistant coaches Patrick Gonzalez and Curt Thiel.

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Angelina College, the 2014 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I national champion, was voted as the NFCA’s NJCAA Division I National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Under the guidance of head coach Mark Mattson and assistant coach Barbara Mattson, Angelina College (42-12) entered the NJCAA DI championship event unranked and as the No. 10 seed before eventually

becoming the first team from Texas to win the title via an 8-5 victory over the College of Central Florida.

Angelina was also selected the NFCA Midwest Region Coaching Staff of the Year.


SOUTHCollege of Central Florida

Head coach Kevin Fagan; assistant coach Mike Lingle.

MIDWESTAngelina College

Head coach Mark Mattson; assistant coach Barbara Mattson.

WESTArizona Western College

Head coach Nikki Bethurum; assistant coaches Mark Garcia and Miguel Villarreal.

NFCA COACHING STAFFS OF THE YEAR

Angelina Achieves NJCAA Division I Honor

LSU-Eunice Lands NJCAA Division II CSOYThe coaches from back-to-

back NJCAA Division II National Champion LSU-Eunice were selected as this year’s NFCA NJCAA Division II National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Head coach Andy Lee and assistant coach Haley McCall led the Bengals to an impressive 64-3 overall record while picking up the program’s third junior college national crown in the past four years.

LSU-Eunice won nearly 96 percent of its games this past season, including

going a perfect 29-0 at home, 12-1 on the road and 23-2 at neutral sites.

The Bengals defeated Wallace State-Hanceville 6-4 in eight innings to win the Gold crown at the NFCA’s Junior College Leadoff Classic in March at the South Commons Complex in Columbus, Ga, and defeated Jones County twice — including 8-6 in the decisive game — on May 17 to win this year’s NJCAA Division II tournament in Clinton, Miss.

LSU-Eunice and Phoenix College (eight titles) are the only NJCAA Division II programs to win multiple national championships.

LSU-Eunice was also selected the NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year.


EASTMercyhurst North East

Head coach Brian Dewey; assistant coach Ron Bretz.

MIDWESTDes Moines Area CC

Head coach Bob Ligouri; assistant coaches Daron Harris, Brittany Martin, Carlye Satterwhite and John Wilkinson.

SOUTHLSU-Eunice

Head coach Andy Lee; assistant coach Haley McCall.

Fourth Title In Six Years Earns Mount Hood NWAC Nod

Winning its fourth Northwest Athletic Conference tournament title in the past six seasons earned Mount Hood Community College head coach Meadow McWhorter and assistant coaches Amanda Bunch and Ricky McWhorter the honor of being named NFCA NWAC Coaching Staff of the Year.

The Saints went 38-3 en route to the NWAC crown, with two of the three losses coming to Clackamas, which they defeated 4-2 in the championship game.

Tournament co-Most Valuable Player Kayla Anderson struck out seven batters en route to the victory, getting an abundance of offense along the way.

Teammate and co-MVP Amanda Bunch hit a home run and a single in the contest, while Mai Galusha hit a homerun and a triple, Jessica Guy hit three singles and a double and Brittany Chestnut hit a single and a double.

Rock Valley Locks Up NJCAA DIII CSOY

The coaches from NJCAA Division III National Champion Rock Valley College were selected as the NFCA NJCAA Division III National Coaching Staff of the Year.

Head coach Darin Monroe and first-year assistant coaches Katie Dixon, Chad Kulpa and Alyssa Novak led the Golden Eagles to a school-record 42-9 record this past season, picking up a national championship in just the program’s third NJCAA tournament appearance. In three years under Monroe, Rock Valley has gone to two NJCAA tournaments — finishing sixth in 2013 — and compiled a stellar 104-39 mark.

Monroe picked up his 100th career triumph in the Golden Eagles’ 8-7 victory over College of DuPage in the Region IV championship game and then defeated defending national champion Herkimer for the second time in three days as part of a 4-0 run at the NJCAA national tournament in Rochester, Minn., that also included beating No. 1 seed Brookdale in the semifinals.

State Title Nets Sierra Cal JC CSOY CrownSierra College rallied to win three

times in four games and capture the program’s first California Community College Athletic Association state championship and make its coaches a lock for Cal JC Coaching Staff of the Year honors.

Head coach Darci Brownell and assistant coaches Bob Hayes, Cortney Magorian and Brett Magorian led the squad to a 43-5 record this past season, capped by a 6-5 victory in eight innings over Mount St. Antonio in the championship contest.

The Wolverines trailed 4-0 until they broke free for five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and Kaitlyn Garcia’s

RBI single won it in the eighth. During Brownell’s 15 seasons at the

helm, Sierra has recorded more than 600 victories and Brownell has won three Big 8, Northern California and State Coach of the Year awards.

The NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year winners are:

NORTHGavilan College

Head coach Nikki Dequin; assistant coaches Danielle Sanchez, Juan Jose Ochoa and Angela Avants.

SOUTHPalomar College

Head coach Lacey Craft; assistant coaches Mark Eldridge, Ginalee Davis,Carl Grubb and Danielle LaBeau.

Do you know something Fastpitch Delivery should be writing about? Would you like to write articles for Fastpitch Delivery? Just have a question? Email your ideas, questions and suggestions to Dave Hines at [email protected] FD

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to be put to the test, when I received a phone call from my surgeon that the mass she had removed the day before was in fact breast cancer.

I HAD FOUND a lump in my breast three months prior, and many different doctors told me that I had nothing to worry about, that it most likely was just a fibroid. However, I still decided to remove the mass and then have it biopsied, and am I ever grateful that I did.

My family immediately circled around me with love and support. For Christmas, my mom had “Team Maggie” shirts made for the family and close friends, but we learned quickly how many supporters and friends wanted them as well.

We decided to sell the shirts to help raise money for medical bills, a nice wig and other necessary expenses, and we wore them to several 5k races, encouraging “Team Maggie” to come

join us at the runs.After a long month of doctor’s

appointments and tests, I decided to have a bilateral double mastectomy, the complete removal of breast tissue from both sides, on January 6. The test came back negative for breast cancer in the remaining tissue and lymph nodes. The tumor was also her2 (protein) negative, and progesterone negative, but estrogen positive.

MY ONCOLOGIST wanted to be aggressive with my treatment to ensure that I lived a long cancer-free life, so I could continue to do the things that I enjoyed in life, such as slow pitch softball and working out. She recommended that I complete four rounds of chemotherapy and take a medication called Tamoxifen, hormone therapy, pill for five-plus years.

Once again I found myself in more doctors’ appointments, but this time not for cancer treatment. I was sent by

my oncologist to see a reproductive biologist in order to harvest some of my eggs in case the chemotherapy affected my fertility.

I FOUND MYSELF questioning everything at the time, but I am so thankful that my oncologist recommended this option to me before starting treatment. I went through an expensive procedure that is not covered by insurance to ensure that even if I became infertile after chemotherapy I could still one day have children of my own.

I have completed the four rounds of treatment, have started the Tamoxifen, and had my last surgery July 10, but throughout this entire process I refuse to be anything but positive, and fight like a girl. I have decided to rise above all of these struggles, fight and stay active as much as possible by going to the gym, playing ball and refusing to let this life experience get me down.

Through positivity, I hope to inspire others to fight when faced with challenges. In order to inspire, support, educate, and provide financial support to others who are fighting just like me my mother and I have created a charity called “Team Maggie.”

ALTHOUGH THIS has been the scariest and most difficult time in my life, I wouldn’t change it for the world, because I have met so many wonderful people, gained many new friends and even some that seem like family now through this experience. It has really shown me to live life to the fullest, because it truly is too short.

Remember cancer is one thing that does not discriminate against age, so please be aware of that and push to get checked.

If you are interested in being a supporter of Team Maggie, like us on Facebook or follow us at www.teammaggieforacure.org.

DAVIS UPBEAT ABOUT HER BREAST CANCER BATTLE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

DOING THEIR PART TO HELP STRIKE OUT CANCER

KEEP THE DONATIONS COMINGMore than 130 member teams have combined to raise over $150,000 so far this year to help the American Cancer So-ciety and NFCA’s StrikeOut Cancer efforts. The University of Notre Dame’s fundraising activities netted $30,872, while Virginia Wesleyan College collected $12,931, Lamar University raised $10,000 and St. Patrick (Miss.) High scored $6,476 for the cause. Among the other teams helping make a difference are East Texas Baptist University ($5,000), the College of Charleston ($5,000), the University of Georgia ($4,749), Pearland (Texas) High ($4,000) and the College of Wooster ($3,200).

ABOVE: A closeup look at the eye black being used by a McNeese State player during its fundraising game (Photo provided by McNeese State). LEFT: Anna and Sarah D’Aquilla flank their father, David, a nine-year cancer survivor, during ceremonies at St. Patrick Catholic High in Biloxi, Miss. (Photo provided by St. Patrick Catholic High School). BELOW: A pink ball and base on the field at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

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COURSE 406 – COACHING DYNAMIC TEAM PRACTICESSEPT. 12-13 — UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY, LEXINGTON, KY.

FEATURING COURSE INSTRUCTORS CAROL BRUGGEMAN

NATIONALLY-RECOGNIZED SPEAKER, COACH, AUTHOR, CLINICIAN & NFCA BOARD MEMBER

RACHEL LAWSONHEAD COACH, UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

2014 WCWS PARTICIPANT & NFCA NATIONAL COACHING STAFF OF THE YEAR

PATRICK MURPHY HEAD COACH OF 2014 WCWS RUNNER-UP & 2012 WCWS CHAMP UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA

2013 NFCA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT WWW.NFCA.ORG AND CLICK ON COACHES COLLEGE OR CALL 502.409.4600

“I have been coaching for 12 years and feel like I’m a good coach. Then I attended the NFCC and was blown away by what I still don’t know!”

ROBERT WIEBORT, HEAD COACH, IRVINE HIGH SCHOOL (CALIF.)

Thinkoutsidethe box

A whole new perspectiveon coaching from someof the best in the game!

� ��

TOP LEFT: Members of the East Texas Baptist University softball team pose beside the giant logo painted in their outfield (Photo provided by ETBU). ABOVE: A cancer survivor tosses out the ceremonial first pitch before a game at the University of West Florida (Photo provided by University of West Florida). NEAR LEFT: An UMass player wears a shirt honoring late coach Elaine Sortino (Photo provided by UMass). FAR LEFT: Players huddle up between innings at Kilgore College (Photo provided by Kilgore College).

NFCARECRUITING APP

College prospects can go to the Apple Store to download the free app to enter their profile for college coaches.

DOING THEIR PART TO HELP STRIKE OUT CANCER

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Ibarra Helping Set Path For Tomorrow’s Stars

Akadema Elite 18-and-under softball coach Diego Ibarra, left, makes a point to one of his players. Photo by Colin Dailey.

Akadema Elite 18U, Immaculate Heart Academy Coach Has An Always-Improve Attitude

Being mentored by two of the most successful coaches not only in New Jersey but the entire country, one can’t help but pick up a few pointers. For Diego Ibarra, every day is a learning experience with new and exciting things to be gleaned about his chosen sport.

Ibarra, 28, is in his fifth year working under Anthony LaRezza at nationally-ranked Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township, N.J., where he serves as the junior varsity head coach and assistant varsity softball coach. Ibarra is also the 18-and-under head coach for Akadema Elite, a travel ball program based in northern New Jersey, where he has also coached 14-and-under and continues to assist in the development of all the program’s age group teams.

THE OPPORTUNITY to work with LaRezza in softball and former Don Bosco Prep and longtime Teaneck Titans travel ball coach Leon Matthews in baseball has given Ibarra an unique chance to see two elite teams from the inside out.

“The Teaneck Titans Baseball organization is where I started my coaching career,” Ibarra said. “The program is led by Leon Matthews. He is credited with building the Don Bosco Prep baseball program to a No. 2 national ranking in 2008, and has produced some of the finest ball players to come out of the Mid-Atlantic region. He’s had countless players go on to succeed at top D1 programs and be selected in the (MLB) draft.

“It was with him that I learned his system of development and the incredible amount of detail and discipline necessary to develop high-level competitive athletes. This preparation has helped me create a strong foundation in my coaching. I continue to help out in their winter training regiment.”

Meanwhile, Immaculate Heart was ranked as high

as sixth nationally this season in the USA Today/NFCA High School Top 25 Poll. LaRezza just joined Akadema as its president after spending 24 years as the co-founder, longtime coach and administrator for the New Jersey Pride travel organization.

“Over the years (LaRezza) has been a tremendous mentor and friend,” Ibarra said. “He has given me full confidence to strengthen the (Immaculate Heart) program from the bottom up. Our high school has a long tradition of excellence and maintaining that standard is never easy.

“We have a great staff of coaches and work very hard at creating a championship culture year-in and year-out. IHA is nationally recognized for their academics and athletics. Because of this, we are fortunate to have girls that are not only great in the classroom, but determined athletes.”

Ibarra has found those “determined athletes” rebound from setbacks better generally speaking than their male counterparts, which is a good thing.

By DAVE HINESEditor

IN THE PRESS BOX WITH DIEGO IBARRA1) How has the game changed in the time you’ve

been coaching?“As a culture, we all want short-term rewards. I feel

that this approach is creating false perceptions in the players in terms of recruiting and setting them up for failure. Everyone wants to ‘showcase’ before they are ready and most do not reach their full potential. Pa-tience and discipline are necessary for success and should be rewarded. Over the long-term, players will develop much more confidence if they learn how to ride through the ups and the downs.”

2) What are some problems coaches now face

that are different from when you started coaching?“I feel that the perception that players ‘have to be

recruited’ in order to play in college is one of the big-gest challenges we have in developing players. At Akadema Elite, we have two coaches that walked on and earned full scholarships at Division I programs. It seems like every tournament nowadays is labeled as a ‘showcase,’ and more are even going without having one true winner. Not only is this corrupting the system, but it’s also taking the competitive nature out of the game.”

3) If you knew then what you know now, how

would your coaching have been different?“Thankfully, I’ve had two great mentors to learn from

that having a process-driven approach can serve as your greatest asset. It eliminates distractions and keeps you on track.”

4) Is there a secret to success in coaching?“NEVER stop learning! I attend as many clinics as I

can. Pick the brains of the best in the game and learn from every experience.”

5) What would your ideal season be like?“Constant improvement, no injuries and enjoying

the ride.”

COACH’S PROFILE

SEE IBARRA PAGE 23

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We have broached the subject of hitting a few times in the past, but Smitty notes things are happening which probably should be addressed.

How do we train young hitters? There are a variety of ways once we have established things like the grip on the bat, stance, position in the batter’s box and the like.

We all know how important eye contact with the ball is and we know that the eyes cannot actually see a pitch hitting the bat. We lose sight and/or focus when the pitch is about 10 feet or so from the plate.

WE ALSO KNOW that our mind’s eye sees it all the way through the “radar” of the eyes, something that has been discussed already. Thus, it is important that a batter see the ball all the way to the plate. This may be the first priority in training a person to hit a pitch.

So what’s next? Well, the student-batter must learn to swing the bat properly. There are many very good

coaches who are able to accomplish this without much trouble. It involves taking the hands to the ball when swinging, not dipping the shoulder, not leaning forward, keeping the weight back for rotational hitters and the like.

ONCE ALL THIS is set in motion, the next step is to swing at a pitch. His can be effectively trained in a variety of ways. Pitching a wiffle ball; hitting from a tee; front toss; side toss; slowly pitching the ball; using a pitching machine; actual live pitching and so forth. Now what’s next and what’s best?

Much depends on the available facilities. Often there isn’t room or time for live pitching or there’s a lack of funds to purchase a pitching machine.

Most of the methods are great for teaching fundamentals, observing and correcting swings, as well as helping batters to see the ball properly. However, other than live pitching, none of the methods allows a hitter to take them into the batter’s box.

Most batters learning to hit will eventually become quite proficient

at hitting soft tosses, machines, slow pitching, wiffle balls and balls off the tee. But once in a game and facing a live pitcher, things become rather unsettling.

Batters tend to disregard much of what is taught, plus the stress of facing someone pitching a ball in their direction. Mr. Fear is also present, as all batters have trepidation about being hit by a pitch. It hurts! Plus, it can cause an injury that could be devastating, although most instances do not cause much trauma.

The reason batters become proficient in practice is because the ball is always coming at them from the same direction. Smitty is of the opinion that a mentally challenged, spastic ape can learn to hit a pitching machine, side and front tosses, and slow pitching … and do it well.

THUS, THE CONCLUSION is that live pitching is the best, if it can be done with the available facilities. Even then, unless the pitcher is throwing meatballs (most will throw “stuff’ and not groove a ball, per their training), hitters will have difficulty making contact. However, this is still the best way for a batter to become acclimated to game conditions.

One can simulate live pitching by using two pitching machines side by side and dropping balls randomly into each. Batters hate this, but it is fairly efficient to train hitting.

What to look for in batters, including their hitting faults, is not easy. Most faults have been previously discussed and can be found in just about any softball book. The very experienced eye, a rarity, can spot little things that

might creep into a batter’s swing, causing failure at the plate. Corrections can then be made at practice.

Smitty has one huge caveat regarding coaching batters. It must be done at practice and not at games. Coaches who demonstrate hitting motions while in the coaching box or from the dugout while a kid is hitting is taboo in Smitty’s opinion.

Batters have enough to think about in the box, and their minds are often going in many directions at once. A coach throwing last-minute advice into the mix at these critical times does little good and can adversely affect hitters.

Remember, players do not always respond well to advice and/or coaching. They often say, “I can’t.” It has been noted that “I can’t” means “I won’t.”

Coaching is not easy. Some think it is until they enter the fray, but they soon become experts at being the targets of advice from parents, fans and railbirds.

Dick Smith is the former head coach at the University of St. Francis and previously coached at Valparaiso University.

Want to argue, cuss or discuss? Email Smitty at [email protected].

SOFTBALL BY SMITTY

Coaching Hitters Effectively Is Hard WorkBy DICK SMITH

After any season any coach that has a love for the game will ponder what went right and what went wrong, with emphasis usually on the latter. It is easy to become negative. Rather than let that happen, try to determine exactly what went wrong and work to fix it when the next season begins. In this way, negative events can be turned into positives, which will benefit future teams. Try it. You’ll like it.

SMITTY’S TIP

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We have all been there. You walk into the first team meeting and you are the new person in the room, the new pitching coach. You say, “Hello, I am …” But then what?

You know you only have a small amount of time to prepare them for the season, but you may not even remember all of their names. What happens next can have a significant impact on what you are doing at the end of your season.

THE KEY is to be ready to go the first day. This will set the tone for the year and breed excitement and readiness among your pitchers. While everyone is different, there are a few key things to remember for the first staff meeting.

When you first meet them, let them talk first. Tell them your name then ask them to tell you about themselves and, most importantly, about their pitching. Having them tell you about their pitching will give you great insight into how they think about pitching and how they learn and evaluate their pitching. Listen to their answers and make notes. This will help you make their first few workouts.

Depending on the age of your players you may have to have a list

of questions about their pitching. Make sure if you do this there is one question that asks them to tell you anything they feel is important for you to know about them as a person and a pitcher.

BRIEFLY TELL them about your background in pitching. This does not need to be a brag session for you, just the basics so that they know what planet you are from and that you know your elbow from second base about pitching.

The next important piece is to give them clear expectations for them as a staff. The team as a whole will have policies, but many times there are specific ones for pitchers and catchers. Make sure you are clear with what is expected.

I tell my players the first thing we will do is get better. I tell them this so they are not surprised when I have them make adjustments the first day. Also tell them how the workouts will be conducted. If you are doing individuals, tell them the basics of how things will go in a workout.

I TELL THEM they need to be prepared to talk to me and answer questions about their pitching. I do this so they are not surprised when they have to think during workouts. It is not simply, “I say, you do.”

I want to know my pitchers know

the how and why of what we are doing. By giving your players a clear set of expectations and an understanding of what will happen, you will already begin to put them at ease with you as a new coach. You will also begin to foster an environment where they can focus on pitching and increasing their skill set.

THE NEXT piece is a question to pose to the staff. Ask them, “What are you trying to do in the weight room?” Most, if not all, will respond, “get stronger.” Next question: “Since you are trying to get stronger, does that mean you are weak now?” Obviously, the answer to this is “no.” Most of your players, if they are using weights, are not weak.

The problem is sometimes our players, especially when there is a new coach, tend to hold tight to the way they currently do things and see adjustments from the new coach as you saying they are not good pitchers. While this could not be farther from the truth, it is important to tell them this is the first day.

They need to understand that what they will be doing this year as a pitching staff is the same as what they are doing in the weight room. They are strengthening their pitching. Any adjustments made are

like adding weight to a bar. Nothing negative, only positive, showing everyone they are getting stronger.

Finally, allow players to ask you any questions they might have. This will help them feel at ease and come ready to work. No matter how you structure your first meeting, remember the old expression “You never get a second chance at a first impression.”

Make sure you make the one you want.

Megan Brown is an assistant coach at the University of Akron and the pitching coach for the Great Britain National team.

She earned her doctorate in kinesiology from Auburn University and was a three-time All-America pitcher at Florida Southern College, earning Hall of Fame induction for both her alma mater and the Sunshine State Conference.

Brown played in National Pro Fastpitch from 2007-09 and in Europe from 2010-13. She previ-ously coached at the University of Connecticut under longtime coach Karen Mullins.

Make Your First Impression A Good OneEDUCATION

By MEGAN BROWNAsst. Coach, Univ. of Akron

I know the football program shaped me into the individual I am today and has had the biggest impact on my life. I wouldn’t know how to react if I woke up tomorrow and all of a sudden, it was gone.”

Former Temple assistant and current St. Joseph’s University coach Terri Adams said she had many fond memories of her time with the Owls

under late longtime coach Rocci Pignoli.

“The most memorable moment was in 2004 when we lost our final game in (NCAA) Regionals in Tucson, Ariz. I remember Rocci trying to address the team and not being able to control his emotions,” Adams said. “We were all losing it. Finally, he said, ‘This is what it’s about … FAMILY!’”

“Temple Softball was and always will be family.”

Both Amy and Damon Moscato’s teams were cut. She played for the softball team, while he competed for

the baseball squad. They met at the Ambler Sports Complex, where both teams played their games.

“It’s sad that an university as large as Temple will no longer offer these first-rate, very popular sports programs,” Amy Moscato said. “A big part of Temple’s history and legacy has been erased. Without these two programs, we never would have met, gotten married and had our three amazing children. It’s sad to think that my husband and I can never take our kids to a Temple softball or baseball game.”

A mix of injuries, poor weather

and, yes, the dark cloud of having their program cut hanging overhead contributed to Temple’s 15-30 final campaign, which didn’t match up with the 115 wins head coach Joe DiPietro led the squad to in his first five seasons.

“Obviously the season wasn’t what we hoped for,” DiPietro said. “We were hit hard by injuries to a couple of our starters and things just spiraled downward from there. We tried different things, but nothing really worked.

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The point of formal goals is to facilitate goal-directed behavior. That is, goals are useful because they help leaders direct attention appropriately, they provoke physical action on this focus, they improve time-management skills, and they increase persistence — in large part by preventing frustration with the great distance of reaching long-term goals.

Most athletes display goal-directed behavior much of the time. Still, actually writing goals down and monitoring and adjusting them using specific guidelines can significantly increase and intensify this behavior, even for highly motivated athletes.

GOALS NEED TO have certain characteristics and meet certain standards to be optimally effective. Diligently meeting these standards is an investment of time and effort that will pay off tenfold in the long run. Setting and maintaining optimally effective goals is quite uncommon. Discipline is required.

Written goals should be SMART+2—that is, they should be specific, measurable, attractive, realistic, time-constrained, controllable, monitored and adjusted.

The SMART and controllable characteristics of optimally effective goals can and should be met with all daily or weekly goals. Goals for today or the near future can be completely controllable if they focus on the process rather than the product. Sometimes, new statistics must be invented to analyze completely controllable behavior.

For example, a player may rate on a scale of 1-100 how focused she was on the task at hand today. The process of inventing and then keeping track of these new statistics is valuable for increasing awareness and making effective adjustments to relevant, controllable skills.

Once an athlete has selected her goals in measurable terms, she must find the right level to strive towards.

The challenge is that it must always be both attractive and realistic. Often it is impossible to definitively know that an attractive goal is realistic. If, after looking for and honestly evaluating all available information, she believes that she can achieve the goal, then it is acceptably realistic. If she is wrong, this is OK because all she can do is make her best guess now and the mistake will become apparent in the monitoring and adjusting process.

ATHLETES MUST actively look for the appropriate level for each goal, not just guess. They can research available information by comparing their goal to their own past performances or other athletes’ performances, and by listening to the opinions of coaches. They should not believe that something is unrealistic just because someone says it is.

At the same time, they should not ignore evidence simply because it is not helpful for what they want. The tendency among young Americans is to believe that they can do anything and while they do have unlimited potential, they also live in reality, not Fantasyland. They may believe they can achieve extraordinary goals without extraordinary effort because they have not evaluated the available information or because they do not have awareness of how tough their goals actually are.

Typically, they have not looked for this information because it is easier to do nothing than something, especially when the answers they find by doing something could be painful, scary or intimidating. Leaders look, knowing the extraordinary achievement comes from extraordinary behavior.

IF THE ATHLETE cannot find a level for a goal that is both realistic and attractive, then self-perceived “failure” is inevitable. She should reevaluate her set of beliefs (her perspective) so that success can be defined by something controllable.

For example, many softball players would like to play professionally, but only a small minority will get the opportunity to do so. By no means does

mean that they cannot have wonderful experiences in softball. Dealing with this issue now is healthy and productive. Ignoring it does not cause the problem to go away.

BALANCE IS paramount, of course. No one knows the limits of an athlete’s potential, so athletes should be realistic without ever selling themselves short. The easiest way to do this is to focus on short-term goals and trust that the long term will work itself out well if behavior is consistently good. The long-term goals are “emotional buzz” generators. The key goals for driving specific positive behaviors are the short-termed ones.

Many athletes will set impressively high goals—if they take the time to write their goals down. Setting short-term goals will logically lead to an increased chance of achieving long-term goals. Each of the long-term goals should be specific, measurable, attractive, realistic and time constrained. They may not be completely controllable, but should still be strongly influenced by behavior.

SOME PEOPLE would argue that a statistical goal such as wins or batting average is inappropriate because it is dependent on many factors outside of the singular athlete’s control. This issue is appropriate to consider, but if this statistic is the one that fires the athlete up, it should be kept.

She will be motivated to figure out all the things that she needs to do today and in each game to give her the best chance to reach her goal. She should also realize that if she does all these things and still does not reach the goal, she has not “failed.”

The last part of this process is critical, and it is the easiest place to get an edge over the competition. Effective goals must be monitored often and adjusted.

Leaders work towards their season and lifetime goals every day using short-term (daily and weekly) goals. The monitoring process will prevent the goal from being forgotten or disregarded, which is common —

such as is the case with New Year’s resolutions — and damaging to self-esteem.

Then, the goals will maintain their value if they are regularly adjusted so that they stay both attractive and realistic. When the athlete starts this process, finding the appropriate level for each goal is a “best guess” procedure. Further along in the process, that is no longer the case. Hard data is available to adjust goals to their most effective level.

If the goal is no longer important, it should be dropped. If it becomes apparent that another variable is critical to reaching long-term goals, then a new goal should be added. The behavior of monitoring and adjusting goals takes discipline and is a clear mark of a champion.

By AARON WEINTRAUBMental Training Expert

Aaron Weintraub holds a B.A. from Emory University (1993) and a M.Ed. from the Uni-versity of Virginia (2000). He served as an as-sistant baseball coach for 13 years at Emory, UVa, Presbyterian College, Brevard College, and Cedar Valley College. Four of those pro-grams achieved school records for wins while he was there.

I n 2 0 0 6 , We i n t ra u b s t a r te d w w w.CoachTraub.com, a consulting business whose mission is to over-deliver value on goods and services designed to help you win the mental side of the game. He has worked with teams and individuals in all sports around his hometown of Dallas and around the country.

His company also runs events such as softball camps and coaching clinics and sell books, videos, Elite Athlete Audios, and motivational cues. Leadership Training for Softball, the book from which this article was excerpted, is now available.

Goals Can Help Keep Athletes On Right PathTRAINING YOUR MIND

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At the beginning of the academic year last fall, we met with our team and handed each of them a document titled, “2013 – 2014 Adelphi Softball Fall Challenge.” The first page listed four groups and a Rules & Guidelines section. The rules were as follows:

1. This is a competition. Do not discuss progress or ask for help from other groups.

2. If some of the objectives appear rather vague, this is intentional.

3. Your academics remain a priority, always. Do not compromise them.

4. Everything should be completed as a group, unless otherwise specified. However, all members must do each individual task to receive credit as a group.

5. You have from Thursday, September 5 until Friday, September 20 to complete challenge.

The next two pages were numbered objectives, including an additional bonus round. Each number had an accompanying checkbox, task and type of proof required. The objectives varied from seemingly silly to thought-provoking and inspirational. Some were specific, while others broad.

EXAMPLES INCLUDED tasks like: Bake a cake, research your jersey numbers, find the Adelphi fight song and record your group performing it, create a replica of our stadium, watch “Jimmy’s 1993 ESPY Speech” on YouTube, perform a random act of kindness, define success and go on an adventure. Bonus round objectives were a bit more time-consuming and could require them to leave their comfort zones, like connecting with not-so-recent alumni or speaking with other coaches in the department about what they value.

Upon completion, we would meet again and debrief. Everyone would be involved in scoring the competition, using a grading sheet and ranking groups for each objective.

The winning group was given the opportunity to choose and design a new practice item. Off they went.

Why did we do this? Words that may come to mind most likely include team chemistry, team building, or team bonding. I hear these words and phrases a lot and spend a good deal of time breaking them down. It seems when the team succeeds they often credit team chemistry, and when they fail, they cite a lack thereof.

As coaches, we know there are many more pieces to the puzzle, but this seems to be a hot topic, and probably rightfully so. Often times we approach it like a virus requiring a prescription. For example, my team is not getting along, so we’re going on a retreat. Maybe rock climbing and trust falls will cure it.

HERE’S WHAT I think I know about team cohesion, unity and chemistry: It is a constant, moving target that requires constant monitoring and adapting. It is a place you are always working to move toward, but never a permanent destination. I cannot speak for everyone, but I’d venture to guess that the beginning of the school year and the first team meeting is often a review of team rules, schedules, expectations, etc. I wanted to do everything possible to avoid “talking at” my players. I also didn’t want to hand them a packet of rules and simply say, “Follow these.”

More important than a review of rules to start was an understanding of the culture we strive to maintain within our program. How do you get six freshmen to truly understand a culture? Our answer was to make them feel it by merging them into it, possibly without them even realizing. Plus, the stronger a culture, the less reviewing of rules is necessary.

Each year, the DNA of a team is different. Players graduate and new players come in, and with them come new challenges. Last year, we had seven freshmen and seven upperclassmen in the fall. It was crucial

that they understood our culture sooner than later.

Our goal as a staff is to maintain a system of excellence in which with the right personnel — both staff and players — the odds of success will be in our favor. In all aspects of our program we aim to avoid interventions, fixes, or Band-Aids, and strive to create structures and ways of operating that are sustainable.

SURE, WE CAN take our team to a campsite or climb ropes or kayak, and these are great things to do, but how effective are they in terms of moving toward the team chemistry we so desire?

What I really enjoyed about our challenge was that it required all members of the group to participate in all tasks and most of them at the same time. They had to coordinate, make time and possibly work through issues ranging from differing schedules to lack of desire. They also had to critically think and follow directions, which some did better than others.

The interesting part for us was that we’re able to develop our own ideas of what we thought we might see when we came back together to discuss it. It wasn’t about right or wrong, there were no consequences for not completing tasks, and it wasn’t a test. I had to remind myself that it wasn’t a test. It was a way to teach and a way for them to learn about something valuable to us as a program: Our culture.

THE MOST important part of this activity wasn’t the cakes (contrary to what some may have believed), or the stadium replicas, or the number of state license plates they found, but rather the debriefing – the conversation – that followed. We came together for a few hours to discuss, share and celebrate the beginning of a new year and a new team.

We wanted to hear what they thought, what they gained from the experience, what challenges, if any, they faced. As coaches, we listened and observed.

We wanted to see who cut corners, who found angles, who tackled the bonus round, who did things that were probably uncomfortable for them and who didn’t. We also wanted to see what the standard was. Even baking a cake can tell us a lot.

Who bought it at the store? Who made it from scratch? What is cool about culture is that when it is good and strong, it appears to welcome like-minded, like-valued people in with open arms, but it can be a very cold place for those who don’t embody it.

When I look at my team in terms of culture, it is easy for me to define the nucleus: Who “gets it?” When there is a nucleus, there are outliers, and they

By BREE NASTIHead Coach, Adelphi University

Bree Nasti just completed her second season as the head softball coach at Adelphi University.

Adelphi won 27 games this past season and went 25-5 in Northeast-10 Conference play in her first season, winning the Southwest Divi-sion regular-season title and the program’s first Northeast-10 Conference Tournament crown to garner a berth in the NCAA Division II East Regional. In recognition of their efforts, Nasti and her staff were named the NFCA Division II East Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

Prior to Adelphi, she spent four years as the hitting instructor and outfield coach at Stony Brook University, helping lead the Seawolves to their best batting average since becoming a Division I school. She also spent time as an assistant coach at St. John’s and Hofstra.

Nasti has a degree in psychology from the University at Buffalo, where she is the softball leader in nearly every offensive category. She was a four-year letterwinner and a three-time All-Region and All-Mid-America Conference honoree.

Activities Can Help You Define Team CulturePSYCHOLOGY

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We have all done it. Started thinking when we stepped into the batter’s box, overthought the next pitch, tried to change everything in our swing in the six seconds it took for us to get from the on-deck circle to the box after we went 0-3 so far. And it can be detrimental when we do it more often than not.

There are two mindsets that we talk about in sports psychology, and to understand why and how we operate on the field we need to understand both and be aware of when to be where.

Over 90 percent of all athletes I have worked with have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Simply, they have overthought when they should not be thinking at all. Even professional athletes that I have worked with have told me they realized they had this backwards at times.

WHAT HAPPENS when we don’t get this right? We end up falling into a trap that is very hard to get out of.

The first mindset is called training mindset or practice mindset, and it should be logically used during practice. This is where we want to focus on the following: Analyzing, breaking down mechanics, evaluating, active and inquisitive

minds, striving for goals, forcing it to happen or making it happen, relying on mechanics, looking good in form and focusing on improving for the future.

The second mindset is called trust mindset or game mindset, and it should be used for competition. In this mindset we want to focus on having a quieter, more passive mind, being non-judgmental and non-critical, having patience and letting things happen, getting the job done, relying on instincts and playing in the present mindset.

THESE TWO different mindsets seem to be pretty self-explanatory, but the issue that arises is when we try to shift between the two in the middle of a game. As a coach, you are responsible for creating the awareness and making sure you don’t do anything to shift focus in the wrong direction. Things like telling your players what they are doing wrong from the third base coaching box while they are in the middle of their at-bat will take them out of trust mindset and shift them to training mindset immediately and easily. The biggest issue is that once this happens, it’s really hard for them to go back to trust mindset.

The reason why it’s critical to learn what they each look and feel like is so that you can be aware of whether or not they are in the right place at the right time. And it’s pretty simple

to tell the difference, because an athlete in trust mindset is relaxed, poised, confident, and allows her body to just react to situations. An athlete in training mindset uses cognitive control of motor skills, is more pensive and judgmental of her performance and thinks her way through instead of allowing her body to react.

AS A COACH there are a few things you can do to make sure she stays aware of where she is and how to control her process.

The first is to introduce these concepts to your players. Help them to understand what each feels and looks like so they can be aware of each and help monitor each other in the dugout. When they are in the middle of the game, you really want them completely trusting themselves that they know what to do and their body will just respond when needed.

The second is to practice trust mindset at the end of practice time. We always talk about making sure your players practice and feel prepared for situations in order to go into games with high confidence. If you spend the last 5-10 minutes of practice putting your athletes in trust mindset, they can practice what it feels like.

Create a game-like situation, or competitive feel at the very end of practice for them to let go of the

critical mind and just react. Just like everything else, they need to practice this.

The third is to use words and cue phrases like “Trust it,” “Let go,” “Let it flow,” etc. When we stop using physical corrections in the middle of a game and remind our players to focus on trust, it will be a lot easier to keep them there.

A player who knows how to let go and trust is more often than not a winning one.

THE MENTAL GAME

Jen Croneberger is a mental game coach who speaks at clinics, team workshops and corpo-rate seminars. She has been interviewed on ABC news (Philadelphia affiliate) on many occasions about the mental game, consulted by MTV’s MADE as a fear coach and was the 2009 Female Business Leader of the Year for Chester County, Pa. She works with many organizations and sports teams from pro-fessionals to youth and is formerly the head softball coach at Ursinus College. Her blogs and more information on her programs can be found on www.thefivewords.com.

Understanding Trust Over Training MindsetsBy JEN CRONEBERGER

President, JLynne Consulting Group

“I believe the team mentally just wasn’t there. The last game was really difficult for all of us. I couldn’t say much, but I told them I was proud of them. I think for them it was hard to play for a university that turned their back on them. These kids deserved better than what they got from Temple.”

One place the team was able to excel was the classroom, where they posted

a 3.24 grade-point average. “That is a tribute to them,” DiPietro said.

Temple officials announced in December that the softball, baseball, men’s crew, men’s gymnastics, men’s indoor and outdoor track & field and women’s rowing programs would be eliminated as a result of a seven-month analysis of the overall athletics program. In a press release, the school said cutting the athletics program from 24 to 17 varsity sports would bring Temple in line with the other schools in the American Athletic Conference and

“mean a better and more sustainable experience for its remaining student-athletes.”

“Temple does not have the resources to equip, staff and provide a positive competitive experience for 24 varsity sports,” Director of Athletics Kevin Clark said at the time.

Immediately following the school’s announcement, team supporters started online petitions and newspapers carried editorials and op-ed pieces opposing the decision. The online petitions needed less than a month to accumulate more

than 20,000 signatures of support.Only the men’s crew and women’s

rowing teams were reinstated in the end. Others may go forward as club programs.

“Although Temple Softball is gone, our legacy will live on,” Stanek said. “They can’t take away our identity as Temple Softball players and what we stand for. Those memories will live on. forever and we will make sure of that. My kids will without a doubt know what it meant to be a Temple Softball player.”

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Animals are intriguing! Valuable lessons on life and leadership can be drawn from wildlife.

While visiting the world-renowned St. Louis Zoo, my husband and I went wild. We spent some time observing the primates: chimpanzees, orangutans, and finally, the gorillas.

From a windowed area on the ground floor, we saw the large male gorilla. He sat about 50 yards from our observation area. Just moments after we entered the platform, the 400-plus-pound animal then began galloping toward us on all fours, hurdling small bushes and boulders along the way.

HE GAINED speed quickly, while bounding closer to our window. What an incredible sight. Within milliseconds, however, our exhilaration turned to discomfort. Discomfort shifted to terror.

The ape left the ground, hurling himself in our direction, like Michael Jordan dunking a basketball from the foul line. While he was flying in mid-air, I was paralyzed in fear. All I could think was, “I hope this glass is stronger than it looks.”

At full speed he slapped the top of the glass with his gigantic hand. Fortunately, the barrier between us was sturdy. We all froze, standing less than three feet from the enormous primate, as he glared at us through the glass.

He then turned his broad back in our direction and plopped on the ground.

AFTER SEVERAL seconds, the mousy voice of a blonde little boy broke the silence. “That scared the crap out of me.” The entire group of adults, all silently breathing sighs of relief, suddenly burst into laughter.

In direct contrast to the angry ape, consider the lion. Rabbi Daniel Lapin in his book, “Thou Shall Prosper” asks, “Have you ever wondered why popular Western culture depicts the lion as the king of the animals? The lion is neither

the strongest nor the largest animal. Among animals, he neither lives the longest nor possesses the largest brain.“

He later explains, “Lions are more economical in movement than any other large animal. Even when exploding into action, to pursue and kill its quarry, the lion’s body seems to flow smoothly with no unnecessary movement. You would have to be fortunate even to see a lion in motion. Most of the time he will lie alert but almost motionless. The lion’s demeanor is regal because of his appearing to have total control over his body. That is impressive.”

THE LION CARRIES himself in a noble manner. His demeanor displays power. The king, the leader, the creature at the top of the food chain in the animal world, holds wisdom for leadership among people.

Learning to lead effectively requires the development of discipline and lion-like control.

Leaders (and yes, even we coaches) sometimes throw temper tantrums in an attempt to control situations or to dominate conversations. In a sincere effort to lead, we talk without really listening. Have you ever become loud and agitated like the ape at the zoo? This inevitably scares the crap out of people and rarely recruits devoted followers.

GREAT LEADERS are those exuding lion-like self-control of action and reaction. Lions seem at ease until a situation demands action. Only when circumstances compel do they display their harnessed strength and fierce preeminence.

When facing confrontation as a leader, the demeanor of a laid-back lion, rather than an angered ape allows for more efficient and effective resolution. Instead of making assumptions and springing into out-of-control action, be willing to ask questions and listen without interrupting. Be patient. Only spring into action when action is necessary.

Addressing conflicts with patience

is not natural, but one skill can move a leader with ape-like tendencies to king-of-the-jungle discipline: Listening. Most leaders think they know how to listen; few actually do.

WHILE OTHERS TALK, rather than fixating on the words spoken, people usually formulate their own next thought. When listening is appropriate, people tend to talk to themselves internally. This internal dialogue unintentionally interrupts lines of communication that provide valuable information for conflict resolution.

Great leaders should become great listeners. To lead, we must not be the most eloquent. We must, however, effectively connect with those around us.

“Now there are brilliant people who cannot listen much. They have no ingoing wires on their apparatus. They are entertaining, but exhausting, too,” says Christina Marshall of Intrinsic Solutions International.

Christina teaches that we are “happy and free” when others truly listen to us.

BRILLIANT PEOPLE are not necessarily effective listeners or leaders. When we become intentional about listening to others, people are drawn to us. The opposite is also true. Those given to temper tantrums or who are simply too arrogant and close-minded to hear from others tend to scare people. Followers want to be heard, and they will follow people who are willing to listen.

Listening is a skill that can be learned and practiced just like hitting, fielding, pitching or throwing, but learning to listen takes intentional focus.

How do we listen effectively? We simply A.S.K.

• A—Actually Ask. Those who ask better questions receive better answers. When participating in a conversation, learn to ask good questions. Asking questions that include the word “want” are typically effective and thought provoking for people. We typically only ask the question, “What do you want?”

out of frustration or annoyance. Asking people what they really want will guard us from assuming. Assumptions are dangerous, and can lead to confusion and unnecessary outbursts.

• S—Shut Up. Stop talking on the outside and on the inside. Shut off the internal dialogue. If you are thinking, “What is internal dialogue?” then you just answered your own question.

• K—Keep Listening. Choose to continue listening. This is simple, but not easy. Listen until you learn something surprising. Continue to listen, even when you do not understand or agree. Get comfortable with silence. This provides room for others to think and process without trampling on their thoughts. We can only think one thought at a time. If we are disciplined and continue to bring our minds back to the present conversation, we will inevitably become great listeners.

Powerful communication is unlocked through listening, not talking.

Wise words are worthless if no one

By CHARITY BUTLERFounder, Exceed Sports

Charity Butler is respected nationally & in-ternationally as a pro athlete, writer, speaker, collegiate coach, hitting instructor and Certi-fied Intrinsic Life Coach®.

As a Pro Speaker for Sports World, Inc, Butler travels the country speaking to more than 40,000 people annually. As a recognized ex-pert in confidence training, she also presents at various conferences, colleges & universities.

Butler is the founder of Exceed Sports, LLC (www.Exceed-Sports.com) and of the I HEART FASTPITCH Campaign (www.iheartfastpitch.com). Follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @CharityButler

Lead Like A Lion By Listening Before TalkingVIEWPOINTS

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By JAMI LOBPRIESMarketing Strategist

Remember when New York Mets infielder Daniel Murphy was chastised for taking paternity leave and missing two games to be present for the birth of his first child? Enter the world of women’s professional sports, where the birth of a child can mean a female athlete missing an entire season. Where returning from maternity leave takes a little more than just finding daycare. And where returning to compete against the world’s best takes commitment from the whole family and team.

On May 31, Danielle Lawrie threw her first pitch in almost two years. That pitch symbolized more than a strike to the Pennsylvania Rebellion leadoff hitter. It symbolized the two-year journey of one of softball’s newest moms, as that first pitch came just five and a half months after Lawrie had given birth to her and husband Andrew Locke’s first child.

LAWRIE GAVE BIRTH to Madison Nicole Locke on December 16. Five weeks later, the two-time USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year did what many new moms do — she went back to work. Returning from maternity leave in the corporate world is one thing. Returning from maternity leave in professional sports is another.

Lawrie had five months to get back in playing shape to compete against the world’s best. This meant a full regime of cardio, weights, and, oh yeah, live pitching. All while embracing the new world of motherhood.

Lawrie has never been a stranger to hard work. She worked out throughout her pregnancy, something she advises all new moms to do.

“I worked out as long as I could, until I was 38 weeks, and that was the best possible thing for delivery and for recovery,” she said. “As hard as it was, I really owe a lot to what I did during my pregnancy.”

Five weeks after giving birth, Lawrie was back to working out. “I started working out at that five-week mark where I could start doing cardio,” she said. “Two and a half months out, I really started to amp it up.”

Amping it up included traveling to nearby Boston College to throw live. Newborn Maddie traveled with her.

Lawrie’s pregnancy has been a hard road from the beginning. Lawrie learned of her pregnancy last April while playing for Toyota Shokki in the Japan Softball League (JSL). Sounds simple, except that the pregnancy test Lawrie took was in Japanese and she had no idea what it initially read.

TO MAKE THE situation harder, her entire family was back in North America. Lawrie is originally from British Columbia, Canada and her husband is from Boston. So, perhaps the biggest news in Lawrie’s life was discovered while she was alone.

“I‘ve had emotions in the game before and being nervous with your heart racing, but nothing compared to reading that test,” Lawrie said. “And it was like ‘Is this a yes or no?’ And here I am all alone in Japan.”

Fortunately, Google and her Japanese translator helped Lawrie read the test and confirm she was in fact pregnant. Lawrie immediately called Locke to tell him the big news. Lawrie had full intentions of completing the first half of the JSL season (which ends in late May), but a blood clot in her uterus, and two weeks of bed rest sent her home early.

It was during that time at home, and a trip to an USSSA Florida Pride game that Lawrie realized she hadn’t thrown her last pitch.

“When I came back to visit last summer, I really noticed how much I missed the girls and felt like I should be here,” she explained. “I couldn’t end on having that feeling in my stomach of just not finishing on my own terms.”

After giving birth to Maddie and missing the entire 2013 National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) season, Lawrie was

determined to pitch again. Her phone call to USSSA Pride General Manager, Don DeDonatis, was a welcomed one.

“I watched Danielle develop through her career as a pitcher from college championships to a seasoned veteran on the Pride,” DeDonatis said. “I honestly thought once she got married and started to grow her family that she would be moving on and putting her softball career aside. So you can imagine my excitement in receiving the call from Danielle just a few short months after giving birth to Maddie.”

BEYOND THE training, there was one other major element that needed to be addressed. Who would watch Maddie? The only way Danielle could play was if her mom, Cheryl Lawrie, could travel with her for the summer to watch Maddie and if DeDonatis could make accommodations for Maddie and Cheryl during the summer.

“She had talked about coming back this summer to play and the only way she would be able to come back was if I could travel with her and look after Madison. I was willing, but had to talk it over with my husband and also my boss.” Cheryl said.

The Lawrie family is no stranger to professional sports. Lawrie’s brother Brett plays third base for the Toronto Blue Jays. And it was her husband Andrew, a former minor league baseball player himself, who was the first to encourage Lawrie’s return. They all understood Danielle’s desire to return and end her career on her own terms. It was a sacrifice they were all willing to make as a family.

When Cheryl approached her boss about taking three and a half months of leave to spend the summer with her daughter, he told her “you’ll never get an opportunity like that again.”

When it came time to head to Florida this summer, Danielle, Maddie and Cheryl all made the trip. Andrew had to stay in Boston to work through the summer, but makes road trips when work permits it. One of those trips included a June trip to Round Rock,

Texas, which occurred during Lawrie and Locke’s wedding anniversary.

DeDonatis made sure both Maddie and Cheryl can travel with the team. When they can’t, Cheryl remains in Florida with Maddie. When Lawrie is practicing or playing, Cheryl takes on mom duties. “My mom is so good with her,” Lawrie said. “When we have practice or games, my mom will get up and feed her so I can sleep. She knows it’s a grind for me and has helped me so much.”

The addition of Maddie to the Pride family means there is always a smiling face welcoming the team after games. Lawrie, who is known as one of the most competitive players in the NPF, said motherhood has changed her outlook on softball.

“I still want to compete, that’s always the goal when I get out there. But after the game’s done, it’s refreshing to see Madison,” Lawrie explained. “It makes you see the game a little bit differently.”

Her catcher, Megan Willis, said Maddie has been a blessing to the team.

Jami Lobpries is a sports management PhD student at Texas A&M, researching sports mar-keting and women’s sports. She played colle-giately at Texas A&M, where she participated in two Women’s College World Series, and profes-sionally in National Pro Fastpitch from 2009-12.

Lobpries uses her playing experiences and research to discuss marketing strategies to help grow women’s sports. Follow her on Twitter at @JamiLo2 and keep up with her blog at www.womenssportblog.com

Lawrie Latest To Balance Child And CareerTIME MANAGEMENT

SEE LAWRIE PAGE 23

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In the heat of the summer, the possibilities are endless. Though some of us are bound to classes, jobs, internships and educational commitments, we have to admit that there is a sense of freedom that can only be found in this stretch between semesters.

With more time to enjoy the outdoors and activities that are only offered during this season, the pull to post about everything we’ve been up to seems to increase as the days go on. We constantly want to show our friends and followers all the good times and special events we’re participating in, complete with pictures and visuals to accompany our posts.

WITH THE latest apps, such as Vine or Instagram video, followers can get as close as possible to sharing in our experiences with a live look at what’s going on. The beauty in our increasing technological advances involves all of these social media outlets and their ability to connect us with people from across the world.

Like many in my generation, I am extremely grateful for the accessibility to communicate in such a variety of ways. I have come to realize that as much as I love letting others know about my fun trips and summertime whereabouts, I can fully appreciate my experiences when my phone or computer is far out of my sight, and out of my mind.

The first thing that comes to mind when I think about what we’re missing when we make posting a

priority is the sporting event that takes the world by storm every four years: the FIFA World Cup.

I HAVE BEEN captivated by every match thus far, and have watched more soccer this past month than in my entire life. I played soccer growing up and have always had a love for the game. Now, as a collegiate level athlete, I appreciate the passion and power that these teams put into every game.

I know that having a strong fan base in a college town is an incredible atmosphere for an athlete, yet I marvel at the support of entire countries when it comes to the Cup. I have caught a glimpse of the pandemonium surrounding the U.S. team just by seeing the trending topics on Twitter for most of the past month. We have all become cheerleaders to our nation’s team that was never supposed to make it farther than the first round.

AS VIEWERS, it’s completely understandable to want to contribute to this online stomping ground of positivity and encouragement. It can bring a sense of community that can only be felt from a sporting event. While this is certainly special to our country, the way we conduct ourselves on social media can diminish the actual event in a way that we can never earn back.

It is natural to feel the need to comment on a corner kick or a goal scored by our own defenseman because it allows us to grieve or rejoice with other social media users. We don’t feel alone in our disappointment or triumph. The problem with this is that

it requires our attention on a different platform than the TV screen or the sight in front of us.

Unfortunately, I was able to get a firsthand account of this during a session of overtime penalty kicks during a match between Costa Rica and Greece. Though I have no ties to either country, my competitive nature kicked in and I was locked into the match.

OF COURSE, I became overexcited after Costa Rica scored on the goalie in its first few tries, so I took to Twitter to exclaim my happiness about their success. My eyes flicked down to my phone for a few seconds, only to look up and see that Greece had blocked a shot and tied the count 4-4. Thankfully, Costa Rica came back to win, so my lapse in attention was spared (this time).

So easily we can miss the most important part of an event or a moment in our lives because we are eager to see what others are thinking or feeling. We feel that if our input isn’t out there for others to see, we aren’t really present in the realm of social media.

WHILE IT IS fun to share certain aspects of what we’re watching or everyday happenings, it is also important to be fully aware and awakened by the task at hand. I believe that active social media response and commentary to show support for either side of a matchup is essential for the future of athletics.

The advances in our world have given us the ability to be a part of populations and fan bases that make sports a special empire in its own

respect. Let us not take away the actual sporting event and all that it offers.

It may be difficult to distance yourself from the Twitter feed when the College World Series is in game three of the championship, or when the NBA Finals has been taken to game seven. You may feel like the only one in the world without your thumbs pressed to your phone screen, providing input on the last shot made and what’s about to happen next.

I guarantee that seeing the walkoff home run instead of reading about it will be worth it. Even in our own lives, it’s more fun to jog around and touch every base to soak in the glory of winning. After all, none of it counts if you have to go back and touch the base you missed.

By PARIS IMHOLZPitcher, Iowa State University

Paris Imholz just completed her junior year as a pitcher for Iowa State University, where she is majoring in journalism with a minor in sociology and child, adult and family services.

Imholz, a native of Antioch, Calif., led Bowling Green University in wins for two seasons before transfering to Iowa State. She earned Mid-American Conference honors both years, earning selection to the league’s All-Freshman Team in 2012 and the All-Mid-American Conference Second Team in 2013.

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“She’s constantly smiling and happy, which automatically brings a smile to your face,” Willis said. “No matter if we just had a long practice, won or lost a game, or it’s 6 a.m. in an airport, she brings such joy.”

While the journey hasn’t been easy and it has taken a full family effort, the return of Lawrie to softball is a welcomed sight. “I couldn’t be more

excited to have her back as part of the Pride pitching staff and watching Danielle in the circle as her daughter sits with her Grandma Cheryl in the stands,” said DeDonatis.

The presence of Maddie illustrates how being a working mom is possible in women’s professional sports. “It’s been incredible watching Danielle handle Maddie, her personal life and ball. Inspiring actually,” Willis said. “Maddie brings a little slice of life outside of ball into our very inclusive professional softball world and is a constant reminder that life is so much

more than softball.”Work-family balance is something

many women are challenged with in society. Similar to the famous softball moms before her, including Jennie Finch and Jessica Mendoza, Lawrie embraces the work-family balance role of professional athlete and professional mom.

Her decision to return to softball not only helps the Pride in their quest for

a NPF Championship, but it signifies the real world obstacles professional female athletes face, and it serves as an inspiration to moms and female athletes everywhere.

Maternity leave in women’s professional sports may not be the easiest road, and it may take a full family effort, but it embodies the beauty of motherhood and defines the phrase, working mom.

“I always thought coaching girls would be easier than guys,” he said. “Man was I wrong! With boys you can be tough, test them and their teammates will amplify the pressure to produce. Girls back each other up.”

Ibarra learned that lesson very quickly.

“In my first week ever coaching softball, using the same approach as guys, I was overly tough on one player for not giving enough effort,” he explained. “Within two minutes, the whole team turned on me and backed their teammate. Luckily, I recognized what happened immediately and adjusted my approach. Not only was this an eye opener, but one of the greatest learning experiences I had in my transition into softball. I believe that the support girls have for each other allows them to be relentless competitors so they are able to bounce back quicker.”

One of the best players Ibarra has coached is his younger sister, Daniella, an elite shortstop at Immaculate Heart, who earned a Division I scholarship to the University of Iowa. She also

happens to one of the best baseball players around, having competed for the USA Baseball women’s national team and played that sport before switching to softball in high school.

“My brother Hector, and I began coaching her and helped on most of the teams she was on,” Ibarra noted.

But whether he’s coaching his sister

or someone else, Ibarra is committed to getting the most out of athletes.

“I am a firm believer in the process and creating a strong foundation,” he said. “Over and over again I have seen tremendous athletes at the highest levels that are underdeveloped in their skill sets. My goal for each of my players is to help them see the path through

process-driven goals. I recognize their improvements and help them stay on course.

“I enjoy helping people achieve their goals and found my niche in coaching. I never thought I’d end up coaching softball, but when I made the switch, I fell in love with the speed of the game and the competitiveness of the girls.”

hears them. When working to resolve conflict, learn to listen like a lion. Be still and listen.

In the C.S. Lewis novel and movie “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,” when asked if Aslan the

lion is safe, Mr. Beaver responds, “Safe? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

People (including our players) are complicated and frustrating, but we can choose patience and understanding. Like Aslan, leaders can be good without becoming soft or safe. To lead like a king, choose to listen.

LEAD LIKE A LION AND LISTEN BEFORE SPEAKINGCONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

IBARRA SETTING A PATH FOR TOMORROW’S STARSCONTINUED FROM PAGE 14

Akadema Elite 18-and-under softball coach Diego Ibarra, center, makes a point to the members of his team. Photo by Colin Dailey.

are even easier to find. I can’t tell you what lasting impact

this had on our team or our year, but I can tell you it was valuable. It serves only as an example of a way to help players understand culture, team and cooperation.

We’ve done photo scavenger hunts, airport scavenger hunts and text-clue photo Easter egg hunts, all of which

they assume are ways to trick them into conditioning, but are intentional efforts to continue to teach culture. I will say that with just as many underclassmen as upperclassmen and only two seniors, the little issues that often make their way to my desk throughout a season for the most part did not.

Our team appeared to understand the importance and necessity of preserving a culture. They policed themselves, they accepted conflict in the name of preservation, and they held each other accountable to a standard that they defined.

ACTIVITIES CAN HELP YOU DEFINE TEAM CULTURECONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

LAWRIE LATEST BALANCING CHILD AND PRO CAREERCONTINUED FROM PAGE 21

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