Click to enlarge…

The Hawaii Bustos Bash is just two weeks away!

Please remember to share this information with anyone you think may be interested!

What to Expect at the Clinic

The Got Bustos? motto is: “See It, Feel It, Fix It”

This is something that Crystl and instructors take to heart. They let the players “see” what they are teaching, “feel” how their body should feel when doing the exercise and give the tools to “fix it” if they are not doing it correctly.

The Got Bustos? clinics started as “Weekend with Gold” back in 2005 with the help of Mary Ellen Bonner who is now our clinic coordinator. From that one clinic the response to Crystl and her method of teaching was tremendous, but more importantly reaching out to the players that weekend turned into Got Bustos? Sports Training, LLC.

Crystl’s goal has always been to give the players a lot of quality time and training with a limited number of players at a cost that is affordable. It’s always been quality, not quantity with Crystl. We set up our clinics with separate stations. We try to limit the stations to 4-6 players. Crystl and her instructors teach proper throwing and fielding mechanics, which all corresponds with hitting and the rest of the clinic Crystl instructs the players through her “Seven Steps of Hitting.”

Players of the same skill level are put together in stations. The clinics start out with Crystl and the instructors demonstrating a specific drill. The girls then return to their station to work on that drill with an instructor. As Crystl and/or Howard walk around they check to see if all the players understand that particular drill. If not she brings them back together and does another demo. Then back to their group. If there are still players who are struggling she will then put them individually with an instructor until they understand what she is teaching.

In each clinic Crystl always takes time at the end of the session to take pictures with each player (and she lets them wear her Olympic Medals in the picture) and autographs. I have never seen Crystl leave a session without making sure each player gets a picture and something signed. Sometimes that means she signs item after item for the same player.

Each player leaves a Got Bustos? clinic feeling not like they just had a workout with the best hitter on the planet but also made a new friend.

Education and training are both important to all of the Got Bustos? staff and Crystl takes time to talk to the players and explain what having good grades can mean. She also makes it known that she believes it takes a lot of hard work and you have to be willing to put in the time and effort in order to succeed.

Crystl’s motto is: “At the end of the day there is no one to blame but yourself for something you do or do not get”.

Crystl is working to help today’s young players, who will be our Olympic Softball Players should softball make it back to the Olympics, prepare to bring the Gold back to the USA!

Register now to see and work with Crystl in person => http://www.staciemahoe.com/bustos

We now have the registration form ready for you to view, print, or save to your computer.

Get the Clinic Registration From HERE

Crystl will do a coach/parent clinic on Friday night (August 5th) then a 2-day player clinic which will include BOTH offense and defense on Saturday and Sunday (August 6th & 7th).

Cost for the coach/parent clinic is $40.

Cost for the 2-day player clinic is $99 (includes both days).

Register to reserve your spot in this first ever Crystl Bustos clinic.

The clinic is slated for August 6th and 7th at Kapolei High School.

Cost is $99 per player for BOTH days.  Get softball hitting instruction from one of the BEST in the game!

General layout for this event will include hitting on Day 1 and fielding/defense on Day 2 (many don’t realize Crystl played SS for the National Team before).

Exact times will be announced soon.  I will keep you posted here at All About Fastpitch when registration forms come out.

Crystl is also interested in doing a coaches clinic for $45 on Friday night.  We don’t currently have a location set for this but will keep you posted as details unfold.

This is an event you don’t want to miss! Got Bustos is offering this first Hawaii clinic at a very special never-been-done-in-Hawaii-before discount.  Hope to see you there.

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

First is the Island Softball Experience which is a 2-day camp, October 16-17, featuring instruction from experienced softball coaches and former USA Olympic players.  It will also include position specific training for pitching, hitting, base running, infield, outfield, slapping, catching and bunting.  Cost is $200 if you register by the 1st of October.  For more information or to download a flyer/registration packet, go to Wahine Sports Network.

Next we have the Bill Hillhouse Pitching Clinic which will be November 20th (Saturday).  The location has not been set yet, but the format will be as follows:

9:00-10:30am – Pitching Clinic session required for all non-returnees

10:45-11:45 – Private Lesson (max 2 pitchers)

12:00-1:00 – Private Lesson (max 2 pitchers)

1:30-2:30 – Private Lesson (max 2 pitchers)

2:45-3:45 – Private Lesson (max 2 pitchers)

4:00-5:00 – Private Lesson (max 2 pitchers)

How much does it cost?

Pitching Clinic Session – $30/pitcher

Private Lesson Sessions – $45/pitcher

Important Information: ALL pitchers must provide their own catcher.  You CANNOT attend a Private Lesson Session if you have never been to a Bill Hillhouse Clinic in the past.  All new clinic pitchers MUST attend the Pitching Clinic Session at 9:00am.  If you have been to a clinic before, you do not have to go to the 9:00am session.  You can just choose a private lesson time slot and sign up for that session only.  For more information or to reserve a spot, contact me at staciemahoe [at] gmail.com.

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

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!!!

Congratulations to Po’okela for winning FIVE games this past Sunday to come back through the loser’s bracket to win the Hawaii State 12U ASA “A Division” Tournament.

They looked strong in the beginning of the tourney, but when they were 1 of just 4 unbeaten teams left in the tourney, they lost 6-4 to the Lady Rebels in the last game of the evening on Saturday.

They had to come back at 8:30 am the next morning and play at 8:30, 10:30, 12:30, 2:30, and 4:30. They didn’t just come back and win, they came back and obliterated every opponent they faced on Sunday (including the Lady Rebels who had just beaten them the night before). I don’t think there was a margin of less than 5 runs in any game. In fact, I think most of the 5 games were run-rule games. I didn’t get to see every game, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a team come back from the losers bracket with that kind of dominance in the remaining games.

Just goes to show you, even if you have the loooooooonnnngggggg road on the last day – it CAN be done. Nice to see it happen every now and then. Congratulations again to the Po’okela girls (and coaches and parents and supporters too). Awesome job!

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.

Broadcasts begin TONIGHT, Thursday at 5:30pm Hawaii Standard Time. I know that’s really late on the East Coast, but there will be games shown on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at http://oc16.tv – 2 games each day beginning at 5:30 HST.