Choosing A Fastpitch Softball Glove by Gary Leland

There are a lot choices in Fastpitch Softball Gloves. It can be very difficult to find the best glove with all the sizes, designs, and models available.

Fastpitch Softball Gloves have a larger pattern length because the ball is larger. A deeper pocket is commonly designed into a softball glove also. New glove manufacturers designed certain Women Fastpitch Softball mitts with small hand slots. The distance between the thumb and index finger is shorter to support a small hand. … Continue Reading

NPF Announces 2012 College Draft Date And Location

Nashville, Tenn – National Pro Fastpitch announced final plans today for the 2012 NPF College Draft. The 2012 Draft which is presented by Miken will take place at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis Tennessee on March 7 at 5:00 CST. The Memphis Sports Council is hosting the event in conjunction with the Peabody Hotel. … Continue Reading

Wisdom for the BusyCoach by Stephanie Zonars

The man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides.
Henri-Frederic Amiel

You face hundreds of decisions daily, BusyCoach. Venti or grande? Recruit A or recruit B? Practice more or rest? … Continue Reading

New Bloggers Welcome by Gary Leland

Do you have a passion for softball?

Do you think people may be interested in what you have to say?

Do you enjoy writing? … Continue Reading

New NPF Team In North Carolina Set To Begin Play In 2012

CHARLOTTE, NC – January 24, 2012 – The National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) League announced today that a new professional women’s fastpitch team, the Carolina Diamonds, has been franchised and will begin play in 2012. The team is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“The League is certainly happy to be making this announcement,” said Cheri Kempf, Commissioner of the National Pro Fastpitch League. “We believe the Carolinas region is a very good area for expansion in the women’s professional fastpitch market for a number of reasons. Primarily, there is an audience there that understands and appreciates the game and has shown their support in the past. We are looking forward to returning the top level of competition the sport has to offer to current and future fastpitch fans in the Carolinas area.” … Continue Reading

National Girls And Women In Sports Day To Celebrate Title IX’s 40th Anniversary

STARKVILLE, Miss. – You can celebrate in your own community or join with thousands in Washington, D.C., to celebrate National Girls and Women in Sports Day on February 1. The theme of this year’s event is “Title IX at 40: In it for the Long Run.”

Started in 1987 to honor Olympic volleyball star Flo Hyman, National Girls and Women in Sports Day has grown into a nationwide celebration to honor the participation, success and accomplishments of girls and women athletes. The Washington D.C. celebration is organized by five national organizations for girls and women — Girls’ Incorporated, Girl Scouts of the USA, National Association for Girls and Women in Sport, National Women’s Law Center and the Women’s Sports … Continue Reading

Defending Champs Arizona State Are Unanimous No. 1 in USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll

STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Arizona State Sun Devils will began the 2012 exactly where they left off last year, as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, according to the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll that was released by the Association on Tuesday.

The defending national champion Sun Devils (60-6) claimed all 30 first-place votes in the poll to top the rankings for the sixth straight edition dating back to last season. Florida (56-13) and Alabama (53-11) also remained unchanged in the preseason poll, finishing the rankings in second and third, respectively. Rounding out the top five was California (45-13) who moved up one spot from the final poll last year to fourth, while Oklahoma (43-19) shot up two spots to fifth. … Continue Reading

Keeping It Simple by Aaron Weintraub

Keeping It Simple Is a Pre-requisite for Releasing Talent

Today’s Mental Skills Tip – I wrote a book with 200 pages and I can talk to athletes for hours about thinking DOs and DON’Ts. This leads some to think that they should avoid mental skills training because they don’t want to make the game too complicated. Not to worry: a primary goal of mental skills training is to help athletes keep it simple when it’s time to perform. … Continue Reading

USA Softball Names Athletes To 2012 Women’s National Team

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Twelve athletes have been named to the 2012 USA Softball Women’s National Team, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. An additional five athletes will be named to the squad, which will compete at the International Softball Federation (ISF) Women’s World Championship, following a 2012 USA Softball Women’s National Team and USA Softball Women’s Elite National Team Selection Camp in June. … Continue Reading

Are You Planning Ahead? by Jan Greenhawk

Are you planning ahead? As a former teacher, I know the importance of planning lessons in the classroom. As teachers we are taught to set objectives, set deadlines for when skills have to be learned, and then making progressive plans that lead us to the final result; our students learning what they need to learn and demonstrating that via exam or project.

What I find with most coaches is that they know when their first games are and they have an idea of where they want their team to be when that game comes, but they don’t really have anything written down. That make work for some coaches; the ones who are truly gifted, but the rest of us tend to get sidetracked without a guide to keep us focused. … Continue Reading

Don’t Sink The Ship by Stephanie Zonars

You’ve heard about the Titanic, the ship that “not even God could sink.” Maybe God couldn’t sink it, but an iceberg sure did. The ship’s operator had received multiple warnings to “look out for icebergs,” and after the 6th warning he even shot back, “Shut up! I’m busy!” Perhaps he thought they didn’t look big enough to damage his huge ship, yet he forgot one important fact: 90% of an iceberg lies below the surface.

What a powerful metaphor for leadership. Dr. Tim Elmore, author of Habitudes, likens the 10% of an iceberg above the water to our skills and the 90% of the iceberg below the surface to our character. Though unseen, our character is much bigger and has greater potential to wreak havoc. How many coaches are “too busy” honing their skills to heed warnings about character flaws that can sink their ship? … Continue Reading

Slapper Save 10% by Dalton Ruer

I often get asked about my feelings regarding slapping in the game of fast pitch softball. In a nutshell I say “It’s unfair.” Really it’s like stealing when you think about it. Not sure why they even allow it. Why? Well in any normal foot race things are even. The “racers” line up on the same line and they run to the same location. Occasionally the two racers might even come to an agreement like “Hey Meghan you know you are way faster than me how about giving me a 5 foot lead?” Many times Meghan and Anne will then negotiate the size of the lead, and the slower runner will get the “head start.” … Continue Reading

Blueprint to Success by Dianne Baker (HOF)

I recently had the opportunity to visit with baseball’s great Pete Rose. No matter people’s opinion about Pete, one thing everyone will agree on is that Pete went all out when he played baseball. During our visit, Pete asked me this question. In the thirty years that I coached, what was the most important thing I learned to do? I went into all my lists of things, such as recruiting speed, having an offensive that would create runs, win with defense, etc. and when I was finished Pete smiled at me and wrote three letters on a piece of paper in front of him. WIN … Continue Reading

NFCA Announces 2011 NFCC Four-Star Master Coach Recipients

STARKVILLE, Miss. – Fourteen coaches were honored at the 2011 Convention In Las Vegas for having achieved the prestigious rank of Four-Star Master Coach, an honor bestowed to those that have completed all eight National Fastpitch Coaches Colleges courses.

These fourteen join 82 other coaches who have also reached the milestone since the program began in 2002. The first class of Four-Star Master Coaches was recognized at the 2005 Convention and included 22 members. … Continue Reading

NPF Announces New Youth Program With Three Different Ways To Get Involved

Nashville, TN – National Pro Fastpitch announced today the establishment of the NPF Official Developmental Partnership Program. The Program is designed to join the professional ranks of owners, players, and staff with the amateur ranks of youth participants, their coaches and parents.

The NPF Official Developmental Partnership Program is broken into three distinct groups: Park Partner, Performance Partner, and Playing Partner. ODP’s are linked with NPF through a benefits and privileges package that includes preferential camp and clinic booking, preferential guest speaker scheduling, discounted tickets to NPF games and special events, opportunity to become an Official Retailer of NPF gear, equipment and apparel discounts, and more. … Continue Reading

May-Johnson Leads USA Softball Athlete Of The Year Awards

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Stacy May-Johnson has been named the 2011 USA Softball Female Athlete of the Year while Greg Connell was selected as the Male Athlete of the Year, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. Cheyenne Cordes has also been selected as the Athlete of the Year from the Junior Women’s National team program.

Rookie infielder May-Johnson (Reno, Nev./Iowa assistant coach), who saw time at shortstop and third base, came out of retirement in 2011 to make her first USA Softball Women’s National Team at 27-years-old. … Continue Reading

Brown Resigns As Head Coach Of Chicago Bandits

ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Chicago Bandits annouced today that Darrick Brown has resigned as head coach of the Chicago Bandits.

“We want to thank Darrick for the wonderful year of service he provided to the Bandits,” said Bandits GM, Aaron M. Moore. “He was a big reason for the team’s success in 2011, including winning the team’s second NPF Championship.
“We respect his decision to focus on what he has going on in Michigan with his family and indoor center, Brown’s Fastpitch, and the Bandits organization wishes him nothing but success moving forward.” … Continue Reading

Focus Is Pre-Potent! by Aaron Weintraub

Today’s Mental Skills Tip – Athletes can do everything else beautifully, but if they fail to focus, they will not release their talent.

Did you ever try to hit a ball or target that you didn’t see? Stop an opponent with your eyes closed? It won’t work too well. What about the opposite? Did it ever look like the game was going in slow motion, and relevant cues (ball, target, etc.) seemed bigger than normal? That’s a tunnel vision focus on the task-at-hand. The goal is to get zoned in like that and making the attempt to get there will help performance, whether it becomes a “peak performance” or not. … Continue Reading

SALE Going On Now At A Field Near You – Dalton Ruer

There is nothing that people seem to love more than sales. You can’t really argue with the logic either.
If you wanted to buy something anyway why pay full price when you can get it for less. The word “sale” alone isn’t always enough to prompt folks to go out of there way to buy something. But if the “X% off” is a big enough number, people will camp out overnight and stampede over each other to purchase the item.

Yet on the softball field we so often neglect to even look at the numbers involved with what we do, let alone see what we could get “on sale.” If you ask the vast majority of coaches and players how far it is from home to first they will tell you that it’s 60 feet. … Continue Reading

Choosing Joy by Stephanie Zonars

In separate conversations with four different coaches recently, a common theme surfaced—they wanted to show more joy and enthusiasm during the season. Even when they experience these emotions, they struggle to express them outwardly to others—especially to their teams.
While competitiveness and intensity are the hallmarks of great coaches, those strengths turn into liabilities when taken to an extreme. These four coaches strongly desired to live more joyfully—even, and most importantly, during the season. They had grown weary of allowing their joy to be stifled in the crucible of intensity, competition and pressure. … Continue Reading

Tarango’s Grand Slam Gives USA Gold At Junior World National Championships

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – The United States claimed the 2011 International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship today in Cape Town, South Africa, with a 4-1 defeat of Japan in the Gold Medal Game. After a semifinal loss to Japan on Friday, the Americans topped Chinese Taipei 12-3 in the six inning Bronze Medal Game and then topped Japan to secure the Gold Medal.

“This is one of the greatest days of my life,” designated player Cheyenne Tarango (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) said. … Continue Reading

Rosemont To Host NPF (Women’s Softball) Championship

Rosemont will host the 2012 National Pro Fastpitch Championship Series, Aug. 23 through 26, at Rosemont Stadium, home of the Bandits, officials announced today.

Dubbed the “World Series” of women’s softball, the NPF Championship Series is the league’s hallmark event and will feature the nation’s top four professional teams. … Continue Reading

White Throws Perfect Game Against Botswana To Help Team USA Improve To 5-0

CAPE TOWN — The United States thumped Botswana 17-0 in three innings Monday at the 2011 International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa. Nyree White (Eugene, Ore.) threw a perfect game, striking out three, to help the team remain undefeated after five pool play games.

“The team put up a ton of runs today so it was pretty easy for me just going out there throwing strikes,” White said. “I wanted to use my defense, roll up ground balls, which is the same approach that I usually have. I wanted to make sure that we got back in the dugout so we could keep scoring some more runs.” … Continue Reading

USA Blanks Host South Africa At Junior World Championships

CAPE TOWN, South Africa – With the momentum of five two-out hits in the fourth inning, the United States overcame a slow start to beat South Africa 8-0 in five innings Sunday. The win over the well-supported home country at the 2011 International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa, improves Team USA’s record to 4-0 in pool play with three games remaining.

The Red, White and Blue had only one hit each in the first, second and third innings. In the top of the fourth with two-outs, designated player Lauren Haeger (Phoenix, Ariz.) singled up the middle to start the American rally. Cheyenne Cordes (Fairfield, Calif.) followed with a centerfield triple, the first of six extra base hits for the team, and put the first run on the board. … Continue Reading

Team USA Wins First Game At Junior Women’s World Championships

CAPE TOWN – In their first contest of the 2011 International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship in Cape Town, South Africa, the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team defeated Canada 11-4 in five innings Thursday. The bottom of the fifth started with a Kourtney Salvarola (Arnold, Md.) single up the middle and ended on a similar note, a walk-off Salvarola single up the middle that scored Kylee Lahners (Laguna Hills, Calif.). … Continue Reading

ISF To Stream USA Games

12/7/2011

CAPE TOWN — The local organizing committee for the IX International Softball Federation (ISF) Junior Women’s World Championship (19-Under) in Cape Town, South Africa, announced that five of the 2011 USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team’s pool play games will be webcast live through the official tournament website … Continue Reading

Pallozzi, Weekly Inducted Into NFCA Hall Of Fame; Eldridge, Gasso, Papa Announced For 2012

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Ithaca head coach Deb Pallozzi and Tennessee co-head coach Ralph Weekly became members of one of the most elite groups in all of softball on Friday night at the 2011 NFCA Convention in Las Vegas, the NFCA Hall of Fame.

During Pallozzi’s tenure, Ithaca has made 19 NCAA regional appearances, won 10 consecutive Empire 8 regular-season titles, seven tournament crowns and the 2002 NCAA Division III National Softball Championship. While at the helm of the Bombers, Pallozzi has coached some of the best players in school history including 14 NSCA and Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-America selections. … Continue Reading

Sue Enquist Joins Louisville Slugger TPS Family

Louisville, KY (November 28, 2011) – Louisville Slugger® TPS® is making some serious noise in fastpitch softball. It started with the “mean sounding” XENO bat, as players affectionately describe the loud and unique noise when a XENO crushes the ball. Now it’s with the major announcement that the sport’s winningest coach has joined the Louisville Slugger family. … Continue Reading

NFHS Introduces Online Record Book

NDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – After 32 years as a print publication, the National High School Sports Record Book has officially moved online and can be accessed on the National Federation of State High School Associations … Continue Reading

Michele Smith Answers 10 Questions by Gary Leland

Last week I started a new set of blog posts called 10 questions. On this new blog I am sending 10 questions to great softball players, and coaches. Then I am posting the questions with their answers.

This week two time Olympian Michele Smith answers our 10 questions. … Continue Reading

Attitude Is Everything by Aaron Weintraub

Today’s Mental Skills Tip – What we think directly affects how we feel, which directly affects what we do. Said another way: attitude determines our altitude, and it comes from how we think, whether we realize this or not. Wait…does this mean that athletes who are confident and having fun play better than those who are frustrated and timid? Absolutely! So which comes first, the chicken or the egg? I don’t know. But which comes first: successful outcomes or a positive, confident, fun attitude? For many, success does, but for the greatest athletes in the world, the ideal attitude for performance comes first. … Continue Reading

Defending Champs Oregon Tech Top NAIA Preseason Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Defending national champion Oregon Tech has claimed the top spot in the 2012 NAIA Softball Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Owls, who defeated California Baptist 1-0 on May 25 to capture the 2011 National Championship, received 17 of 20 first-place votes and earned 555 points. Oregon Tech, who went 42-13 during the 2011 season, jumps up 17 spots from last season’s final poll. … Continue Reading