And then there were 8!

I don’t know about you, but I’ve been enjoying all the softball action in this year’s post season.  Super Regionals were crazy with many matchups going to Game 3.  Now we’re down to our Final 8…

1. Alabama
2. Arizona State
3. Florida
4. Oklahoma State
5. Oklahoma
6. California
7. Baylor
8. Missouri

Who’s your favorite?

Even though not all games are televised, I was able to keep up with a lot of the action via Twitter.  You’d be surprised how many softball teams have an account that you can follow!   Not only that, you can follow NCAA Softball themselves.

The NCAA website has the full bracket laid out as well as a printable version you can save to your computer or print out for your convenience.

See the 2011 DI Bracket

If you want to know which games will be broadcast and where, click here.

I’m looking forward to watching the series unfold.  I really don’t have a favorite at this point, but I sure did enjoy watching Mizzou’s Thomas in the circle!

What about you?

Who are your rooting for?

How come players don’t practice on own during week – team practice doesn’t count – yet they want 2 play n college? Help me understand

Oh man!  Sorry Cindy, I can’t help you there because I don’t get it either.  I could go on and on and on about this subject, but let me just touch upon the flurry of thoughts that immediately ran through my head when I read her tweet.

First of all, forget “practice on their own.” I see so many young softball players today who *think* they are on their way to the next level or *say* they want to play in college and yet they can’t even make it a point to give their best effort during TEAM practice!

Read this and think about it: When I compare college practice to youth practice, I’m sure you’d agree that, for the most part, college practice is  far more demanding.  What you may not realize is that on top of this more demanding practice, every college player that I personally know puts in time OUTSIDE of the required team practice time to train. If you’re having a hard time with the concept of putting in “your own time” for training now, when you’re regular team practice isn’t nearly as demanding as it will be in college, how do you expect to survive in the college environment where practices are longer, harder, more demanding AND the rest of your teammates are ready and willing to put in the extra time on their own on top of that to get better?

Who cares what I think? I’m not a college coach. You’re right, I’m not…and probably neither is your travel ball or your high school softball coach.

HOWEVER, if any of them are telling you you’re not doing enough or that you have work to do because you’re not where you need to be yet, I highly suggest you LISTEN!

Why should you listen to them? They aren’t the college coach you’re trying to impress right? You think some college coach is going to be impressed with you because you got skills?

You know what? I’ll admit, you might be right. They may very well be impressed with what they see on display at a tournament here or there; or on film that you send them. But what about when they begin seeing you day in and day out like your coach does?

Wake up call coming up in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…

If your coach…

• who is NOT a college coach
• who does NOT have the same high standards or expectations that college coaches do
• who’s livelihood does NOT depend on coaching your team…

If he ain’t impressed…What makes you think a college coach will be?

Yeah, maybe you’ll get there, but then what?

Then you get a major kick in the butt because all this time you’ve had your mind and ears closed to what your coaches have been trying to tell you? Because you’ve been under an illusion about your own skills and work ethic? Because you thought your cannon for an arm and your big bat were going to be enough to “Wow” those college coaches beyond belief that they would blindly overlook the flaws your coaches see?

Look, I’m not saying this to be mean or disrespectful. I’m saying all of this so that you, hopefully, get the wake up call BEFORE you fall flat on your face in college and have to figure out how to scrape yourself up off the ground.

The transition to the college level is tough enough when you are well prepared. I believe that no matter where you go, no matter how good you are, it’ll be an adjustment. If you go in unprepared or under-prepared, college can be tremendously overwhelming.  College is a different pace, a different routine from what you’re used to.  Pile all that up with your lack of preparation on the softball front and you may start doubting whether or not you really belong there.  Players quit playing and drop out of college because of this kind of thing.  I don’t want this to happen to you.

Do the work NOW to prepare yourself as much as you can for the journey ahead. Listen to the feedback others are giving you and use whatever you can to make yourself better.  If the situation you’re in is a cake walk and isn’t challenging to you, find a way to challenge yourself so that you’re not shocked by the obstacles you may come across in the future.  Practice dealing with and overcoming adversity now so that you’ll be able to tackle it head on in the next chapter of your life, whatever that may be.  There is a lot to enjoy after high school BUT you have to be willing to prepare now in order to reap those rewards at any level.

If you’re not on Twitter yet, it’s very easy to sign up.

1. Go to Twitter.com
2. Click on the sign up button.
3. Follow the directions.

You can literally have your own twitter account within minutes!

Once you have your account, the easiest thing to do to find a lot of cool softball people to follow is go to My Page, then click on the “following link.”

That will show you all the people I’m following, then you can simply go down the list and click on the “Follow” button for the people or teams you want to see updates from.

Oh yeah, and don’t forget to follow me too!

Enjoy!

Who’s your pick? What team are you rooting for?

Leave a comment below and also share your thoughts at our Facebook poll!

While UCLA’s head coach has some Hawaii ties, I have to say, I’m cheering for Mike Candrea and the Wildcats of Arizona.

If you missed it on TV for whatever reason…here’s the bottom of the 7th of the UH vs Alabama game.  Gotta love YouTube!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJvYE6oLgxc

By the time your a junior, HALF your academic time has already passed.  ONE great semester does not undo the sins of four, or six for that matter.  While you may not care much about your grades now, believe me, when you’re a senior, and you’ve finally gotten serious about what happens after high school and your ready to grab ahold of the freedom you so desperately want – you WILL care.  You WILL want as many opportunities as possible. You WILL feel frustrated and bummed and sick when there are wonderful opportunities right there in front of you but you aren’t able to take advantage of them because you didn’t take care of business in the classroom as an underclassman.

I know, you may be only 14 0r 15, but the poor choices you make now will eventually come back to haunt you at what will likely be the most inopportune time.  Do NOT let this happen to you.  Give yourself a chance!  Start preparing for the future NOW!  Get in the habit of making good decisions and choices now.

• Wake up and get to school on time every day.
• Go to class every day.
• Do your homework every day.
• Get to practice on time every day.
• Do quality work in the classroom and on the field every day.
• Be your best every day.

The more you practice making the right decisions, the easier it will become and the more prepared you will be for life after high school.  Making good choices now will set you up for the brightest, most exciting, most enjoyable future possible.  High school and college are fun, fun years IF you make the right decisions.

Don’t leave your future to chance.  Make it what you want by laying the groundwork now.  It’s never too early to start practicing good habits or start making good decisions.  Be the best you can be every day.  Good things will come your way.

This week is an exciting week in softball all over the place I’m sure and Hawaii is no exception. If you don’t live in Hawaii, don’t dismiss this message just yet. There will be a way you can watch some of the Hawaii action live via the internet! I’ll tell you more about that in a second.

Anyway – the Hawaii High School State Softball Championships begin TODAY at UH Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. Today’s games are at 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, and 7:00 pm. Admission is $7 for adults and $5 for kids and seniors.

There are also Div II games going on at CORP. Today there are a total of 4 games. Two starting at 5:00pm and the other two starting at 7:00pm.

While none of today’s games are being shown via the internet, games on Thursday and Friday will be shown online via live streaming video at http://www.oc16.tv. Two games will be shown each night. One starting at 5:00pm HST and the other at 7:00pm HST.

If you’re in Hawaii and want to catch some fun college action, head over to HPU for NCAA Div II Regionals this weekend starting Friday.

For more information on the Hawaii High School State Softball Championships, check out today’s article at http://bit.ly/acF0Ob

To view the bracket for the NCAA Div II Softball Oahu Regional go to http://bit.ly/9OQUUp

NCAA Div II Regionals Hub is at http://bit.ly/b6Q4dQ

Enjoy!!!

“How Do I Stack Up?”

This player is a freshman that college coaches of some of the best programs in the nation already know about.  She’s got great grades and doesn’t have to be hounded by her parents or coaches about it.  She’s not one of those players who’s been playing since she was 5 and yet, she can hit the ball and “has it all” as a pitcher.

AND is just a freshman in high school this year!

So how do you stack up?  Where are you in your skills and grades and attitude?  Are you working hard enough?  Or are you just “settling” for “being the best” where you are at?  Are you really, truly striving to being the best you can?  Why should a coach choose you?  Can you do better?  Can you strive for more?  Can you push for more than you’re doing now?  Do you need to raise the level of your softball performance?

Maybe now is a good time to do a serious self-check and re-evaluate your direction.  Be Great!

Yahoo Sports also shows a list of college sports that will be broadcast in some way shape or form so you can check there to see if your favorite college softball team is one of them.

Another place to follow your college team online is CSTV. You can search for specific events or schools there.

Hopefully we see even more and more of these avenues for following softball pop up!

By the way - who’s your favorite college team this year? Leave a comment here and let us know!

I was actually worried about these two because they were in the situation many seniors find themselves in: it’s senior year and still the future is uncertain. They didn’t know what college they’d be going to or even IF their softball careers were going to continue.  It’s not a fun position to be in.  In fact, it can be a downright stressful situation to be in.

Neither one of these players are what I would consider “blue chippers” however, they do have better than average softball skills and great attitudes.  They are the type of player that coaches find so easy to work with and always a pleasure to have on the team.  But they also had one other factor working for them which ended up being a major contribution to the opportunity they now have.  But before I tell you all about that, you have to understand that being that it was already their senior year and neither on had secured an offer from any colleges, their opportunities were definitely vanishing.  Most softball programs had already finished even looking at this year’s graduating class and are focused on undergrads.

Why were these two student-athletes in this position in in the first place? Well, there are a number of factors that contributed to it, but a few of the main reasons were simply not starting early enough and not getting the word out to enough coaches.  These two mistakes are so, so common!  Too often student-athletes do nothing to get their name out there and in front of college coaches until end of sophomore year or junior year and even then, they only contact a handful, or *maybe* 10-15.  That in an of itself, severely limits the opportunities you’re going to have.

So anyway, these two seniors were more or less in limbo during those first months of their senior year.  Both wanted to go to college and both hoped to continue their softball careers, but neither knew what their future held.  It’s not a situation I like to see senior student-athletes in; especially not ones that are such great people (not just great players).

Well, in the conversation I had with this coach, I found out that they BOTH are going on to the collegiate level.  Why?  How?

Because of doors that their strong ACADEMICS opened up for them. With this first student-athlete we’re talking Advanced Placement courses and a 3.9+ GPA.  She had specific colleges in a specific state she wanted to go to and had no problem qualifying academically.  The softball programs however, had used up all their funding and had no scholarship money to offer by the time she had contacted them.  Her first choice college also had a softball program that does not open up tryouts to unknown walk-ons.  If you’re going to get a spot on this team, you have to be asked by the coaching staff to be there.  Well after establishing that she qualified for NCAA for and had been accepted by the school for admission and was able to secure some academic funding, she got back in touch with the coach and let him know what her situation was.  She let him know that this was the college she wanted to be at, she’s already been accepted academically, and just wanted to know if she could also be a part of the softball program while she was there.  Guess what happened?  She was offered a preferred walk-on opportunity.

So she’ll be going to the college she wants to be at, in the state she wants to live for the next 4-5 years, studying the major she wants to study, has a chance to continue her softball career, and has opportunities for aide through academic paths.  Seriously – it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.

The other student-athlete had also been told by a handful of college coaches that while the coaches liked what they saw on her video and in her packet, no athletic funding was available.  She was disappointed because no one had “softball money” left.  Somehow, she failed to overlook the fact that she would be able to receive 85% academic funding for one of the schools she wanted to go to. She had been so focused on athletic scholarship money that she forgot to look at the situation from every angle. Thankfully, this coach I was talking with pointed this out to her.  The very next business day she got back in touch with the coach of that school (newer DI program).  She let him know that she was accepted to the college academically and had been able to work out aid through her academics.  She told him that this is where she wanted to be and asked if she still had a chance to be a part of the softball program.  The coach said he’d love to have her and that, as usual, there was always a possibility of athletic funding in the future.

So both these student-athletes now know what their college plans are.  They will both attend DI schools and will both have an opportunity to be part of the softball programs as well.  Though it was “too late” to get there from the softball angle, their strong academics opened up windows that would not otherwise have been opened. On top of that, they are both attending schools they WANT to go to is huge.  Neither fell into the “trap” many high school student-athletes fall into of simply picking-the-school-that-offered-a-scholarship.  They were both able to avoid that less than ideal situation because they had other avenues by which they could accomplish the goal they wanted.

I know that both these young ladies will go on to have awesome college experiences because they are in the place they want to be and they both have such positive attitudes that I know they will be able to, not only handle all the challenges college life brings, but handle them well.

I wish the best to them and to all the high school seniors who will be continuing their education in college next school year!

Are Showcase Tournament an effective way to be seen by college coaches? Are camps more effective if know what college you want to attend?

Are you more likely to be seen during the Summer or Fall by coaches?

I do feel that Showcase Tournaments and camp can BOTH be good ways of getting seen, HOWEVER, simply showing up isn’t enough.  Yes, you *may* get “discovered” just by going, but chances of that a much lower than if you do some preliminary work FIRST!

All players should be contacting colleges they are interested in within their first two years of high school (the earlier the better).  Getting in and staying in touch with college coaches at least possibly puts your name in front of a coach on that staff.

Many coaches go to showcase tournaments with a “list” already in hand of players they want to look at.  Not all will go just “hoping” to find “someone.”  Remember, making the trip to showcases or recruiting camps usually costs them money too, so they will no go in unprepared.  Chances are they already have a core list of players they will be looking at and how will you be one of those players if all you do is show up to the tournament, clinic, or camp?

As far as when you are more likely to be seen, I think it’s more a matter of when you’re more likely to be seen by the right coaches.  Look at who will be in attendance.  Which events have more of the coaches you are already in touch with?  The level of play you are going for and the program you are looking at also plays a part in “when” is an optimal time to be seen.  College programs are NOT all on the same timeline.  Some have a big recruiting budget.  Coaches from those schools can send out more pamphlets and probably attend more events than others.  They usually try to identify potential recruits as early as possible.  Other coaches prefer to wait until the “big fish” go after their favorites and wait to see who’s left.  Then there are the coaches who NEVER attend events because their budget doesn’t allow it.  Where are the coaches of the programs you are interested going to be?  If you limit yourself ONLY to coaches a a showcase or two, you are severely limiting your opportunities!

So while I do believe attending events can be a great way of being seen, I think that action ALONE is not even close to being enough when it comes to giving yourself the best chance of furthering both your education and your softball career.  Too many families think that they are doing “enough” just by going to these recruiting events.  Often times, they are mistaken and it’s tough to see because they spend a LOT of hard earned money to be there!

Go through to recruiting process smarter, don’t work harder and spend more.  Get educated and get informed so that you can take the necessary steps to maximize your opportunities!

Here are some great places to learn more about college recruiting…

1.  NCAA – they put out a guide each year for families.  It says $11, but that’s only if you want a hard copy sent to you.  There is also a link to download the file for free.

2.  College Recruiting Articles - I have posted a number of college recruiting articles here on the blog that are free for you to read

3.  College Recruiting Reports and Webinar – I also have some resources up on our Fastpitch Resources page that you might be interested in (5 Common College Recruiting Mistakes, 25 College Recruiting Facts, $1 College Recruiting Webinar).

In addition, if you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed and want to make sure you make the best possible decisions throughout the college recruiting process, you can also talk to the experts at NCSA.  They work with families just like yours every day.  BUT, you have to be serious about this journey (that means working hard on and off the field).  If that’s you, you can have a live person from NCSA give you a call to discuss and help you with your college recruiting plan.

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kcadams/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

1. Prepping for the SAT/ACT

Many students don’t see the point in taking prep courses until they realize they need a higher SAT or ACT score to get into the college they want to go to. By this time they’re scrambling at the last minute to take classes to learn the valuable test taking strategies that will help them improve their scores. Now imagine if you had start early and begin this test taking preparation in your freshman or sophomore year. By the time you’re junior year rolls around you begin taking her entrance exams, you’ll have had time to get really comfortable with the test taking strategies and the vocabulary words most test prep programs cover. Starting early just gives you more time to really get well prepared vs. trying to cram at the last minute.

Plus, imagine having to take that SAT or ACT as a senior knowing you need a great score and knowing that your chances are running out. That’s a lot of pressure to carry into a test! Why not get it out of the way sooner? You’ll probably perform better if your aren’t at the point where you whole college future is riding on the test you’re about to take. Can it still come down to that even with the planning? Yes. But at least if you start early and take the prep courses and tests earlier, you know exactly where you stand and what you need to do to get where you needs to be by senior year. Plus, if you start early, you’ll probably have a few years vs. just a few months to work on it.

2. The GPA Factor

Grade point averages are a lot like batting averages, shooting percentages, or per game averages. The further you get into the season and the more games you have under your belt, the tougher it is to raise your average, even with an awesome game performance. The same is true for grade point averages. The farther along you are in your high school career, the tougher it’s going to be to raise that GPA even with straight A’s. In the beginning of a softball season a 4-4 game can raise your batting average hundreds of points. Just like a GPA, if you have a perfect semester or two (or even good semesters in the beginning), your GPA will be nice and high. But toward the end of the season a great game may only raise your batting average 20 points or so, if that. By the same token it’s very tough to try to raise a 2.6 GPA to a 3.0 in just a semester or two. I don’t even know if it’s possible. I haven’t worked the numbers, but if it is, it’s certainly very tough! If you start planning early, if you know where you need to be to give yourself the best opportunities at the end of your high school years. Plus, if you keep an eye on your progress and make sure your necessary GPA is always in sight or surpassed, that just makes your life so much easier toward the end.

3. The Physical Factor

Another aspect to take into consideration is the physical factor. You simply aren’t going to go from average to elite in 1 year. For instanc, if a softball players is running a 3.4 second home to first time and she needs to be at 3.0 or better by senior year, wouldn’t it be better to begin working on that from her freshman year and give her a good amount of time to really improve? It’s certainly much more attainable than trying to go from 3.4 in the middle of junior year to 3.0 by the start of senior year. Some things are just about physically impossible. Again, early planning can give you the best chance of being where you need to be when you need to be there. Plus it’ll give you ample time to prepare and work toward those goals. That makes the journey less stressful and more successful. So don’t wait! Start that process of preparing for the future as soon as high school begins! If you need a little help, check out some of the free college resources at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/freeresources.html.

—

If you’re serious about playing softball in college, get help with your own personalized college recruiting plan with NCSA.  It’s college recruiting simplified!

What do you think – will softball follow?

TO: College Baseball Bat Manufacturers.

FROM: xxxxx xxxxx, chair
NCAA Baseball Rules Committee.

SUBJECT: Composite Bat Moratorium.

This correspondence is being sent on behalf of the Baseball Rules Committee, alerting the college baseball bat manufacturing community to an important action being taken in regard to certain bats that have been used in NCAA competition. After significant dialog and review of research collected during the Division I Baseball Championship, the committee is proposing an immediate and indefinite moratorium on the use of composite barreled bats. The committee believes this action is needed in order to protect the integrity of the game and to enhance the safety of the student-athletes.

Before the committee’s recent meeting, numerous concerns were voiced by the membership with a request for action. After a thorough review of compliance testing and a review of the improved performance of composite bats, often exceeding NCAA acceptable limits, these concerns have proven to be valid. Therefore, the committee has decided to put an immediate and indefinite moratorium on the use of composite bats in NCAA competition.

The research reviewed included compliance testing during the Division I Baseball Championship. During this testing, 80 percent of the composite bats tested failed the current NCAA performance level. Because all bat designs must pass this test before mass production, this research indicates that the performance of such bats changed thereafter, most likely due to repeated, normal use and/or intentional alteration. Offensive statistics at the Division I level also indicate a significant increase in batting averages and home runs the past two seasons.

By proposing a moratorium, the committee is not necessarily discarding the possibility of a return of composite bats to NCAA competition at some point in the future, and looks forward to working with manufacturers in an attempt to find a solution towards that end.

The committee requests your feedback and proposed solutions to this issue. Please send any feedback to xxxxx xxxxx at the NCAA (xxxxx@ncaa.org).

Thank you for your attention to this memorandum.

What do you think?

• How do you feel about this change?
• Do you in favor of it?
• Do you think softball will follow?
• How would you feel about that???

Leave me a comment here and let me know.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve heard me talk about Twitter.   Even if you haven’t, you’ve probably heard about Twitter through some other source.  Many major news stations, radio stations, newspapers, celebrities, and softball people are ALL on Twitter.

Now you have another reason to jump into the fun – COLLEGE.

Earlier this week, ESPN published an article about how colleges and college coaches are tapping into social networks like Twitter and Facebook for recruiting and exposure.

Some coaches use Twitter as a way to allow fans and potential recruits to see what the program/coach is like.  Others utilize it as a way to “stay in front” of a recruits face (and at the forefront of their minds) without breaking NCAA contact period rules.  According to the article:

“Currently, the NCAA allows coaches to direct-message recruits from Twitter or send them a private message on Facebook.”

If you’re looking to attend college and play sports – this is HUGE!!!

Like me, there are coaches out there who prefer Twitter over Facebook “mostly because of the ease of posting.”   Of course, there are others like my husband who prefer Facebook because there are more pictures and it’s similar to MySpace which he’s already familiar with.  Twitter does have a different sort of layout/format and does take a little while to get used to, but once you do, you’ll love it!

The ESPN article also talks about why Twitter is so super popular:

“It’s the reason why USA Today worked. It’s the reason why people want to see the ticker on ESPN. [People] don’t want large bites. Give me a small bite; make it fast, I’ll see what it is, I’ll laugh and I’ll move on to something else.”

Another important point…

“The one thing I like is that it’s a little bit of an unobstructed view,” Calipari said. “They (fans/recruits) get to know what you are and how you are and how you think without someone telling them who you are, what you are and how you think.”

So you don’t have to take someone’s word for it. You have a way to judge for yourself what a program or coach is like. This is a very important part of choosing the right college for yourself or helping your child do so.

Signing up for Twitter is super easy…

1.  Go to Twitter.com and click on the green Get Started – Join! button at the bottom of the screen.

2.  Fill out the fields on the next page and click Create My Account

3.  Choose the options you want on the following pages (add contacts from e-mail or follow suggested users) and you’re all done!

Once you’re in, here are some softball coaches you can follow…

AuburnSBCoach

coachjaymiller

UFCoachWalton

UACoachMurphy

…and you’ll probably also want to check out the other cool softball people I listed in this post and this post.

Happy Tweeting!

If you follow baseball or read Sports Illustrated, then you’ve probably heard of Bryce Harper. I actually just heard of him for the first time this week via conversations that were going on over at Twitter.

Apparently an article recently came out that this young man will take a high school equivalency test and forgo his last two years in high school in hopes of entering the MLB draft earlier. He’s actually registered at a community college and will start taking classes in the fall as well as play baseball there next season. He then hopes to enter the draft in 2010 or 2011 since players become draft eligible at age 16 if they have already completed high school.

There are two main thoughts that run through my head when I think about this situation:
1. Provisions should be made for higher education (in case he blows his millions and has a career that’s prematurely shortened for whatever reason)
2. There no doubt will be others ambitious parents out there who think they should take this route with their kid even though their child is no where near the one in a million type prospect that Harper is

What do you think about Harper Leaving High School Early?

@jfinch27, @catosterman, @EricaBeach, @kempf5, @CaitlinLowe

@UACoachMurphy, @ProSballTrainer

Yes, that’s Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, Cheri Kempf, Caitlin Lowe, Pat Murphy, and ProSballTrainer is Erin (Former Pro Softball Coach of the New England Riptide & Washington Glory, Private Instructor, Director of www.thesoftballnetwork.com).  Erica Beach is a 29 year old Assistant Softball Coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes and former Pro softball player!

And that’s in addition to all the great softball names I shared in this post.

See what these people are talking about, what their up to, possibly get into real time conversations with them too.  If you’re not on twitter yet, it’s free!  Lotsa WCWS talk this past week.  Join in the conversation by signing up for a free account at Twitter.com.

This live blogging even will begin at 7:00 Central (2:00 Hawaii Time).  Share your thoughts on the game and read mine and others as it happens! We won’t be able to go the entire game, but we’ll stay “Live” right here at AAF from 2:00pm-3:00pm Hawaii Time (in other words, for the first hour of the game).

There are a bunch of WCWS stories over at the NCAA website. Read them at

http://www.ncaa.com/sports/w-softbl/ncaa-w-softbl-body.html

But I just wanted to share a few things with you that I saw this past week that stood out in my mind…

1. Pat Murphy pinch hits (with a freshman) for his All-American lead off senior Brittany Rogers (Alabama vs ASU game).

At the time, they trail 2-0 and there are 2 outs. It ended up being a coaching decision that made him look brilliant because this freshman pinch hitter, with 2 outs and 2 strikes launches a grand slam to put Alabama up 4-2. They eventually went on to win that game, but the thing I loved about it (just as much as seeing some awesome “nerve” by a freshman in a pressure situation in a big game/venue) was how Brittany Rogers (the senior All-American that was being pinch hit for) stood at the top step of the dugout cheering her heart out for her teammate to make something happen for their team. Too many players pout and hang their face and send out all kinds of negative vibes when they get replaced or subbed for. Not Rogers, she was there on every single pitch doing whatever she could from the dugout to support her teammate that was brought in from the bench to hit for her. That was soooooo awesome to see! That’s what everyone should be doing from the bench. That’s what every player should do at any given time – ANYTHING and EVERYTHING they can to support and help their team, no matter what the role, starter or not.

2. Carol Hutchins Chats with Home Plate Ump about Illegal Pitches

In addition to Murphy’s substitution, the other piece of coaching that I thought was impressive was Michigan’s Carol Hutchins little chat with the home plate umpire about Georgia’s Hamilton’s illegal-ness of her pitching (step outside that 24-inch area directly in front of the rubber). She was very clear in communicating her point and did so in a firm and direct way that was neither “beggy” nor “insulting.” Michigan ended up losing that game 7-5, but I still was quite impressed with the words she exchanged with the home plate umpire.

3. Drawing the throw on a short fly ball.

I can’t remember what game this was, but I believe it was on Day 1 of the WCWS. I got an opportunity to show my daughter why, even on a short fly ball you know you’re not going to advance on, you still come off the bag hard. Runner was at third and a short fly was hit to center (I believe the game was tied in later innings). Anyway, what happened was the CF caught the ball and the runner at 3rd, although she had no intention of going all the way home on the catch still came off the bag hard for a few strides. This forced the CF to make a strong through in. This throw was well wide of the plate. The catcher made a nice move to stop the ball, but I told my daughter that if that throw had been a little more off or somehow got by the catcher, that runner at 3rd scores the go ahead run even though the fly ball was not deep enough to sacrifice her in. If you don’t come off the bag hard and just stand there in an un-athletic position (absolutely no threat of going), then the outfielder can just take her time and make an easy throw back in to the infield. I believe that runners should force some kind of urgent throw from the outfield (not be stupid and put yourself in jeopardy), but at least explode a few steps off and make that outfielder have to make an urgent strong throw in to the infield or to the plate. If she rushes, if the person she’s throwing to isn’t quite ready, if somehow that ball gets by it’s intended recipient, you may score a run (or get 60 ft closer to home if on 2nd). Challenge the defense…make them work!

The WCWS has been full of great softball excitement. If you haven’t been watching, you’re seriously missing out! There was a homerun hit over the right field fence that was called foul by the umpires, but cameras clearly showed that it landed on the chalk foul line that extends beyond the homerun fence. Then there are all the big hits (home runs and grand slams) and a game where, at one point, a team had 8 runs and ONE player had 7 of the RBIs for that game. I’m sorry, there have been so many teams in so many games that I can’t remember exactly who was playing in each one to tell you teams and player names for these situations, but I remember the plays! Then there’s Schlopy (for Georgia) , if I’m not mistaken, who hit a homerun in her 1st AND 2nd at bat in a game. She was a solid defender in CF, then ended up PITCHING in a game. She just one example of the serious skills and talent some of these girls have.  And how about the UW pitcher who not only pitched, but helped her team out on offense with a Grand Slam in the semis? Even Michelle Smith mentioned it on twitter: @MicheleSmith32 “I say all the above & pitchers who hit ROCK!! ” - that was posted by her during the UW/Georgia game.

Like I said, lots of cool softball stuff going on in the series. I can’t possibly tell you about them all, but if there’s anything else I think of that really stands out (or I forgot to mention here and remember about later), I’ll let you know.

So, fighting for the championship (which begins tonight) is the Washington Huskies and the Florida Gators. Neither program has ever won a WCWS title, so it’ll be a first for either program.

The Gators have lost a ridiculously low number of games this season. I think I heard the commentators say only 3 loses all season! That’s just unbelievable. No wonder their ranked No. 1 – yes, as you can tell, I haven’t really been following college softball this season. The odds were completely against Alabama in the semi-final when they were faced with the challenge of having to beat them twice in ONE day to get into the championship)! They’ve only lost 3 games all season, highly unlikely that they were going to drop 2 in one day.

Anyway – who are you rooting for in the final?

Who do you think will actually win?

Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

*Updated: Twitter Responses*

JessicaJobes@staciemahoe GO HUSKIES!!!!

MelakneeRows@staciemahoe i’m going with the gators. =]

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Good stuff right?

Well, after the call, I actually received an e-mail a woman who was on the call asking me to please let her know when the recording was available because she wanted to listen to it again and take notes!

So, if you want to hear it again, or if you missed it the first time, you can check it out right now at Fastpitch Talk Radio.  It’s up and ready for you to listen to online or download and save to your computer or mp3 player.

Enjoy!

Now, I have to say, I’ve never done the P90X program and I’ve never even really seen all the workouts included in the program so I can’t personally recommend it at this time. However, one day when I was working out using some of the exercises from Barry’s Core Power programs, I had someone ask me if all the stuff I do is from P90X.  So I do know that there is some overlap.

I definitely wouldn’t recommend the workout to everybody because it is an “extreme” program (thus the name).  However, if you are in good shape and do want to train like some college players are training, you may be interested in learning more about it.  Definitely do your research before you try anything.  All I know right now is…

1. Some of my family members tried it and loved it (and they weren’t even “elite” athletes) and

2.  There ARE college players out there who are using it

Of course, price wise, P90X is not cheap.  Barry’s Core Power program is certainly less costly and I think, for younger age levels especially, I would simply go with that. I don’t think it’s necessary to spend huge dollars on a workout program at the 10U/12U age level.  Even if you are at a more elite level remember that Barry does also work with a few NPF players, so it’s not as if his programs are only for beginners.  I also have personal experience with Barry’s Core Power workouts and I do think they are awesome!

But if you’re looking for more training ideas (so training doesn’t get boring) or a more “extreme” challenge, I’ll be checking out P90X soon.  I’ll let you know what I think after I’ve had a chance to see it in action myself.

If you’ve had experience with P90X what do you think of it as a training program for softball players?