If you watched the Mayweather/Ortiz fight this past weekend, you surely have an opinion about how it ended.  While many defend Mayweather saying his blow was not at all illegal and many fault Ortiz because one of the first things you learn as a boxer is “Defend Yourself at All Times” there are some of us who still think Mayweather’s shots were cheap.

Just as the fight ended there were a ton of facebook status updates about the subject.  Here’s what I posted…

The head butt may have been dirty but true champions don’t have to match dirt for dirt.

After all the talk of the fight and people bringing up that Ortiz’s headbutt was illegal and Mayweather’s knock out punches weren’t, something else came to my mind.  I posted that too.

I have a few thoughts on that type of mentality (it’s “okay” or there’s “nothing wrong with it” so long as it’s “legal”).  First of all, “right” and “wrong” are not always defined by rules or laws.  For example, just because you “can” cleat defenders when you slide into them doesn’t mean you should always intentionally do so.  Along those lines, here is another facebook post I made the night of the fight that came as a result of comments people made on the Mayweather/Ortiz fight…

When true athletes go into competition their goal is not just to be better than that opponent on that given day but to be the best THEY can be every single day.

Whether it’s training or competition, big stakes or no stakes, millions watching or with no one watching, under ideal circumstances or under adversity, there is no difference. True athletes strive for excellence in all they do.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!

So, let’s hope this is the end of this ridiculous website problem era!

After all, we have better things to talk about, like softball.

That said, while the site was down, I was keeping communicate open via the All About Fastpitch Facebook Page. If you have taken a moment to stop by there, please do so and click the “Like” button. This will quickly and easily keep you up to date with the latest here at AAF right there through facebook.

If you’re already a facebook user, you probably spend more time there than here, so it’s a simple way for you to get your softball fix without having to visit lots of different places. If you’ve never been by the AAF FB page, go check it out now. You’ll see some great comments, quotes, and stories there since I haven’t been able to post here!

Plus, when I do post here, it shows up there too. Like I said, simple way to keep up with the latest and greatest stuff from AAF. Hope you “like” it!

Click to enlarge…

• Three umpires knocked out of duty.
• Dozens sent to the hospital.
• Warnings of Pavement Explosions!

Whoa – it gets hot in Hawaii, but not like this!

At the state softball tournament in Fort Dodge, where the heat index reached 120 degrees, three umpires left in the middle of games to be treated for heat-related problems.

Each umpire had worked back-to-back games, and officials with the state girls’ athletic union said umpires will never again work consecutive games. The three were treated on site and did not require hospital visits.

Read more about this crazy hot softball tournament here

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?

Before you go off and read her story, I have to share something about Roz…

I had the pleasure of being her teammate for 1 year as a freshman at Kamehameha Schools. The one thing that has always stuck in my mind about Roz is how, on the first day of practice when the coach finally gave everyone the okay to jump into a position, Roz ran out and claimed 2nd base. Literally, she ran over there and said, “This is MY position.”

It was her senior year and the first time she finally got to start at her position. From day one, she went out and took ownership of it. Even though she wasn’t the fastest, or the most athletic, and certainly not the tallest (luv ya Roz) 2nd baseman you’ve ever seen, she played that position like a senior that year and helped lead us to a State Championship.

After she graduated, that position became mine.  Though I’d never played 2nd base before, I knew how to OWN it because Roz had shown me how.   Thanks sis! Now 2b is my favorite position.

I haven’t been in touch with Roz since that year until this week on facebook. 20 years later, within days of reconnecting, she’s been a source of inspiration in my life all over again with her story of survival over breast cancer. She is a Bobby Sox National Champion, a Hawaii High School State Champion, and I’m sure you’d agree a champion in life as well.

Read her story in today’s paper here

Jennie Finch

But now that she is retiring, the question has been posed: Who will the next softball icon be?

Do you think someone else will reach the notoriety in softball that Jennie Finch has?

What player do you think has the best chance?

Leave a comment here and let us know!

Hawaii just completed it’s ASA 10U State Tournament this past weekend. Shown above is a picture of Ho’onou the A Division Champions.

Here are the Hawaii ASA 10U champions and runners up for the 3 divisions:

C Division Champion: Palolo
Runner Up: Pound 4 Pound

B Division Champion: Kulia
Runner Up: Lahaina

A Division Champion: Ho’onou
Runner Up: Psykos

Congratulations to all teams, players, and coaches who participated in the 10U State Tournament!

Shown below: Ho’onou and Psykos after the 10U A Division Championship Game.

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

The cool thing? Anyone that’s a fan of softball and wants to watch this year’s WAC Tournament LIVE via the internet will have the opportunity to do so at WAC.tv. Find out more from this article http://www.ktvn.com/Global/story.asp?S=12391377

I hope to catch a few games, but we’ll see. Busy schedule this week!

Hope you have a great softball week!

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!

Hey – just a quick note to let you know about a live interview I just found out about.

• Who: Make It Pro, Michele Granger, and YOU!
• What: Live Interactive Interview
• When: Jan. 7th, 5pm Pacific.
• Where: Take part, listen in, watch the interview live at http://www.makeitpro.com/tv

Hopefully you and I are able to take advantage of this opportunity to check out a fun softball event.  Mark your calendar.  Set an alarm on your phone or in your e-mail program.  Tell your friends, teammates, and colleagues about it!  Should be lots of fun.  Hope to “see” you there!

Participating pitchers can now attend this 2-day clinic for just $50 (includes BOTH days!).

• Saturday: clinic/instructional session (3 time slots to choose from)
• Sunday: small group session (6 sessions to choose from)

More information is available on the Clinic Flyer.

You may print/save the registration form for this clinic HERE.

Spaces ARE limited so please reserve your spot as soon as possible by turning in both your registration form/waiver and payment.  This will be Bill’s 3rd time coming to Hawaii and each time parents ask when he’ll be coming back!  This is your chance to work with one of the premier men’s fastpitch pitchers and clinicians without having to travel to him.

I hope to see you there!  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.  Contact information is avaialable on both the flyer and registration form.

Coaches, parents, and anyone else who wants to come watch, learn and ask questions are invited to come for FREE!

Here are some pictures from Bill’s 1st clinic here in Hawaii.

Fantastic Fury Local softball teams finding ASA success

SD Fusion Has High Hopes For ASA Nationals

Heat rides wave into nationals

12-Under national fastpitch championship begins

Teams flock to Tracy for softball tourney

Renegades win ASA softball title

Belgrade wins Regional 16U softball tourney

Magic works magic in 12-U softball

ASA SOFTBALL STATE TOURNEY: Galesburg ousted, title game at 2 pm

Local 14U softball players going national next week

TONIGHT the Schaumburg Flyers baseball club, of the independent Northern League will battle the Chicago Bandits, of National Pro FastPitch softball at Alexian Field.

The really cool thing is that it seems like a lot of people will have a chance to see first hand, what the Chicago Bandits can do. While most of their games average under 1,000 spectators a game, this Battle of the Sexes match-up has a chance of selling out the 8,500 capacity field by game time.

I sure hope there’s another article after this game is over that will let us know how it went.  While it’s not a true, men’s softball vs women’s softball game – I think it’s great that an NPF team will have a chance to play in front of a big crowd and hopefully spark interest in people who’ve never really watched the pro fastpitch league (or even the game in general) before.

If you’re in Chicago and are attending this game, you have to give us a report here!

@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).

Congratulations Roosevelt!

In addition to all the hard work Roosevelt did, I think their success is also attributed to their approach. There was something Coach Clay said in the newspaper article about their championship win that caught my eye.  It was a topic I had wanted to talk about, but didn’t really know how to go about it or explain it well.  Hopefully by referencing this article, it will help, so I’m going to try.

In the article, Coach Clay said, “To be honest, we didn’t really think about (an approach to Mililani’s lineup),” Roosevelt coach Clay Okamura said. “Mililani is a mean team, take nothing away from them. But we didn’t think about (them), we were more concerned about what we had to do.” That’s a big part of why they won.

Too often we focus on our opponent. The pitcher has a great change up.  Their batters can hit the ball.  They’re great at putting down the bunt.  They’re aggressive on the bases.  Watch for the rise ball…etc, etc, etc.  Not that it’s wrong to know your opponent, but I think it’s a mistake for them to be your primary focus.

What about YOU and what you CAN do? When you go into a game thinking primarily of all these things your opponent CAN do what happens when you start to see it in the game.  You see that great change up the pitcher has working.  You see them being aggressive on the base paths.  You see them getting great hits.  All they need to do is show any of those things a few times and you start thinking, “Oh man, there’s that change up of hers” or “Gosh, they really are fast on the bases” or “Yup, they sure can hit the ball a ton.”  What does that do for your confidence or your view of the game?  It only affirms your “beliefs” in what the other team CAN do, probably starts to discourage you or at least plants seeds of doubt about your team’s chance at success, and only makes the other team more of a formidable opponent.

And since you’ve been so focused on them, when your team gets a great hit here or there or your pitcher makes some great pitches or when your team makes a great defensive play, you almost don’t even “see” it because you’re too busy seeing all the great things the other team can do.

But what if you hadn’t been so focused on your opponent.  Yes, be aware of the threats they may throw and you and be ready for them, but focus on your team, what you CAN do and what YOUR STRENGTHS are. Then when your team gets a good hit or two, you think, “See, we CAN hit this pitcher” – it builds on your confidence to be successful in the game even more.  When you focus on knowing that your defense is strong and can make plays and then you see it start (just start) to happen in the game, again, it only builds your confidence and re-affirms your belief in your team’s ability to get the job done on defense.  And while all this is going on, since you haven’t put much focus on the other team, you probably aren’t thinking so much about the things they are doing in the game.  Yes, they may get a hit here or there or they may make a great play on defense or their pitcher may make great pitches throughout the game, but if you’re focused on your team and what you CAN and ARE doing, I think you’re a whole lot more likely to be successful and play closer to your full potential.

PERFORMANCE = POTENTIAL – INTERFERENCE

Dr. Tom Hanson talks about performance in terms of the formula PERFORMANCE = POTENTIAL – INTERFERENCE.  I think focus on the other team strengths is interference that takes away from your potential and lessens your performance.

I mean, let’s get real here for a minute.  If you’re playing a tough team they ARE going to hit the ball, they ARE going to make good defensive plays, their pitcher probably WILL get some of your batters.  It’s all a part of what makes them a worthy opponent. If you’re going to allow those things to discourage you, then you’re probably going to get discouraged real quick because those things WILL happen in the game.  Focus less on them and more on you because your performance is the only one you can do anything about.

I will actually be putting up an interview with Mr. Harper at Fastpitch Talk Radio once he gives me the okay. He just has a few details he’d like to work out before we actually let you listen in on the interview.

For the time being however, it would help tremendously, if you went to the State website and Facebook Fan page and showed your support. Check to see if your team is already listed at the State website. If not, go ahead and add it, if it is already there, make sure your name is included.

If you have a Facebook account, please take a moment to become a fan of State via Facebook (and SHARE the link with your friends and family – FB makes that very simple). If you don’t have a Facebook account, you can create one for free. Don’t forget to request Ronnie and myself as friends. Oh yeah, and you can also become a fan of AAF there too!