Pitcher of the Year, Congratulations Sarah Pauly

Congratulations to Sarah Pauly who was named Pro Fastpitch Pitcher of the Year!

Great job Sarah!

Sarah pitches for the Connecticut Brakettes in the National Pro Fastpitch League. The Brakettes advanced to the NPF Championship game, but eventually lost to the New England Riptide on Monday.

Sarah's story was printed in The Dunn County News. Mr. Rick Pauly, Sarah's dad, was also mentioned in the article - Go Rick!

Also - congratulations to the New England Riptide
National Pro Fastpitch Champions!

Doping Tests at World Championships

Wow, there will be 21 doping tests done during the World Championships in Beijing China.

Here's an article excerpt:
"A testing laboratory designated by the event organizing committee confirmed the teams to be tested two days prior to the tournament. In-competition test athlete will be chosen by drawing lots when the game goes into its fifth inning. The second round tests for top three teams will be conducted on the last day of competition "

Read the whole story here

Watch Team USA Online

Wow, this is so cool! Watch the US Women's National Team compete in the ISF Women's World Championships. It's going on right now in Beijing. Here's the link where you can watch video casts of the games.

http://www.2006softball.org/video/

It may take some time to load, so be patient. The game is split into 3 parts.

Slow Pitch Softball Game Last Night

Well, I got a good workout at the slow pitch softball game I played in last night. I haven't played since last year and certainly felt much better playing last night than I did last year.

I could get a little more accurate on my throwing, but considering the lack of practice time, it wasn't bad. Last year when I tried to play I just felt so "off." It had been less than a year since the birth of my son and I hadn't really done enough to get back into playing shape. This year, though I haven't been exercising quite as much as I'd like, I'm still in better condition /shape than I was last year.

It was nice for my body to more or less react and respond the way I was expecting vs. having my mind know what I should do and having my body simply not do it which is how I felt last year. I actually got a hit last night which is an accomplishment because I've always had some trouble with waiting for that ball to drop down from the sky. Then I walked in another at bat so I got on base two out of the three times I batted. I know if I actually see more of these slow pitches I'll get better at hitting them. I haven't hit slow pitch since last year and last year was really my first true experience trying to hit slow pitch (played about 5-6 games over the course of two weekends - no practice).

The great thing is...nothing hurts today! LOL

The team asked if I could play with them this weekend in a tournament, so I'll probably play again on Monday. My Sunday is already busy. We probably won't win too many games, but that's okay. I'll probably see some of my old fastpitch teammates playing on other teams, so it'll be fun. :)

Fastpitch Talk Radio Podcast

It's so cool. I checked my audio stats this Monday morning and the short audios I'm recording while I'm preparing to launch the show are actually being downloaded by podcast. How neat. If you're like me and are new to podcasting and have no idea how to listen to the Fastpitch Talk Radio Podcast, I'll make it easy for you. Go to http://feeds.feedburner.com/FastpitchTalkRadio ~ there you can listen to the most recent audios (scroll down a bit) and there is also a way to sign up for the feed so that it comes to you instead of you having to go to it (see subscribe now box).

Also, an update on the whole My Space thing - so far it's not so bad. I even have some friends now so that's cool. My sister even came by to show me how to make my page look better than the generic one you're given when you first sign up. I can guild websites, but I couldn't figure out how to customize my My Space page on my own. LOL. It's seems to un-user friendly when you first get started. Now that I've used it a few times, I'm getting the hang of how to get from where I am to where I want to be. If you have a My Space account and would like to add All About Fastpitch as a friend, you can do so at www.myspace.com/softballstacie ~ see you there.

And finally - I just have to say this because it's a big thing for me. I woke up at 4:45 this morning just to go exercise. I prefer to work out in the afternoon. I have no problem with that, but my husband, who is trying to get into a more regular workout routine, thinks it'll be easier to stick with one if we do it first thing in the morning. So today was the first day of this new arrangement. I gave up 2 hours of sleep to make this happen. That may not sound like that big a deal, but sleep is a precious commodity to mothers of young children. We'll see if I'll get used to this early morning arrangement. One day down...

AAF on MySpace?

I know, I hardly believe it, but I actually have a page on MySpace. It's something I've been against for so long, but I'm giving it a try just to see how it goes. I've got a number of pictures there that I don't have here, so go check it out at www.myspace.com/softballstacie - plus, I get to keep an eye on all the softball players I know and make sure they aren't getting too rowdy in there.

What I like though, is that many of them have private profiles so that's good. Either that, or you need to know their last name to add them as a friend and be able to see their information and/or be able to post comments to their page.

Plus, I've been having fun with it, because the high school I went to apparently has many alum there, so I've been able to connect with people I haven't seen in a long time or people who's number I lost when my cell phone fell into water last year. LOL

Anyway - Like I said, go check it out, I've got some good pictures there.
www.myspace.com/softballstacie

I like what I see

We are going to begin our official pre-season conditioning on Sept. 1st for the high school season. We could actually have begun as early as Aug. 14, however our head coach felt that a conditioning period from Aug. 14 all the way until Oct. 23 was quite long. Therefore, he decided on Sept. 1 as the official first day of conditioning for softball.

However, there are some players that have been going out to the track or to the weight room on their own time voluntarily. Most of them are seniors, but I like it because it is a change from last year. Last year's senior class never really opted to do much more than what was required of them. This year's class, though inexperienced at this Varsity level, seems to be taking a different path. That's a good sign which is why I say I like what I see. Not that last year was bad, but we no longer have our conference title and we didn't make it back to the state championship game, so I'm looking for more this year.

I say this senior class is inexperienced at this level because the '07 class had 0 representatives on our team as freshman and as sophomores. All of the '07 players on last year's team were rookies and none of them had a regular starting role. So it will be interesting to see if any of them step up to become a starter and if so, will they also step up and become a leader as well?

Maybe people ask me, "So how does the team look this year" or "What kind of season are you going to have?" Well, I haven't seen this year's team so I can't say anything with certainty. We, as coaches, always have a general idea of how we think things will go, but I'm finding that what we think is going to be rarely is. Some players improve greatly over the summer, others get worse. Some come back as expected some don't. Then there are always surprising new faces - players that we didn't know of or new students at the school. Then there is also the factor of how much (or how little) players have developed as far as maturity. Just like anything else, sometimes it's a pleasant surprise, other times it's a disappointment. Whatever the case, it's always quite difficult to accurately predict the outcome of the season prior to even getting started. I certainly know what I would like to happen and I know what I expect to happen, but whether or not we'll get to that point remains to be seen. But no matter what, it's always fun, and I look forward to another year of high school softball.

Location for Hillhouse Clinic Set

Great news, I just received confirmation this week that the location for the Bill Hillhouse Pitching Clinic has been set. We will hold the pitching clinic October 21-22 at Central O'ahu Regional Park, Softball Complex, Field #1! Thanks to Wendell of the OJO for helping us set that up. There's plenty of parking, lights, convenient and clean bathrooms, and places to eat close by. Plus it's a relatively central location and a place that most people know how to get to.

If you're interested in this pitching clinic and want more information or want to register, please visit www.allaboutfastpitch.com/BillHillhouse.html - this clinic is filling up fast, so get your registration in as soon as possible. I look forward to seeing you there!

Larry Ray Interview Coming in September

It took a bit longer than I expected, but I'm sure Mr. Larry Ray of the University of Arizona is a busy guy. I have gotten the interview questions and answers for Mr. Ray's interview and will have it up and available on the site for the month of September.

We asked Mr. Ray about his history in sports, common mistakes slappers make, what it takes to make in onto the U of A team, and more.

So be on the lookout for this interview it'll be posted next month.

World Championships coming up

Our US Women's National Team will be competing the XI World Championships later this month in Beijing, China. The US will open competition against Italy. Best wishes to our team!

You can read more about this at http://www.softball.org/about/getStory.asp?nid=1209

The official World Championships website is at http://www.2006softball.org/

I wonder if any of the games will be aired on TV.

Coming Soon - Fastpitch Talk Radio

I'm so, so excited to announce yet another new project that I'm getting ready. It's Fastpitch Talk Radio! You may or may not be familiar with other Talk Radio/Internet Radio shows out there, but basically I'll be recording radio shows for you to listen to on a regular basis. If you love fastpitch, you'll enjoy the show. It'll be a mix of tips, fun, and discussion about softball issues.

Our guest line is up and running so you can call in and record a message or ask questions for possible broadcast on the show. Comment about a show that you listened to, share your thoughts on the existance of a fastpitch talk radio show, or let us know how much you like something here at AllAboutFastpitch.com.

You'll be able to go to the website and listen while you work on your computer or while you do other things around the house (eat dinner, wash dishes, relax with the family, etc). If you have your own private office, you could probably even listen to it while you work.

The other cool feature is that you can also listen to it on the go. There will be an option to download the audio to your computer. You can then transfer it to an mp3 player or an iPod and listen to it on the go, in the car, at the field, etc, etc, etc.

To learn more, visit Fastpitch Talk Radio today!

If you'd like to add audio to your website click here.

An Upmire Made My Day

How often does that happen when an umpire makes your day? This 10U summer season has been a challenge. We have a number of girls that came up from 8U and most of the experienced 10U players we had during the spring are up at 12U since they have to play there next spring. So with a number of 7 and 8 years olds who've never played softball before 2006 it's been a challenge. We knew going in that wins would be limited, but as a coaching staff we wanted to teach these girls the game and give them a good foundation on which to build come spring when the more serious competition heats back up. The thing we stressed most was best effort and hustle. Hey everyone is going to make mistakes, but what are you going to do next? Whether we win or lose on the field, we should all be able to look back and at the very least know that we did our absolute best. I told them last week, that it was so important for me that they understand these ideas because it doesn't only apply to softball, it applies to life as well and that's why I'm such a stickler about it.

I must say that with the short season (just 3 weeks of games) I didn't expect to see a whole lot of improvement, but these girls are coming around. They aren't close to where our spring team was (mostly older girls), but I think that in two years when they are the same age our spring team was, they will be a tough team.

So anyway - back to the umpire. This summer we've taken our lumps as expected. Thankfully all games were played with a 5 run cap per inning so things couldn't get too boring or carried away. This past Saturday, we posted our only two wins of the summer season. These were the last season games before the summer ending tournament that runs this week. For both games we had an umpire that I've never seen before. After the second game he came over and told me that we had a well coached team. They players know what's going on, where they need to be, and how to play the game. He told me the skill will come, but he said ,"They are well coached and that comes from you." I was so surprised, but very touched at the same time. That just completed my day. It was already a good day because our girls got to see that they can do it! They can be at the right place at the right time. They can hit the ball and they can get outs. But to hear what that umpire said on top of all of that was like icing on the cake. It was definitely a great day.

ISC World Tournament Results

The International Softball Congress World Tournament (men's fastpitch) is going on right now and you can get updated schedule and results at
http://www.iscfastpitch.com/uploads/File/Pool_Play_2006.htm

This tournament is a big deal in men's fastpitch - Yes, men play fastpitch softball at the international level too!

For more general information about this year's tournament, check out
http://www.kwfastball.com/2006.htm

Train your Eyes

Train your eyes - That was one of the tips that Marc Dagenais shared on the call last night. Like he said, some players have beautiful swings. Their swing mechanics are awesome, but if they don't see the ball, they still won't hit it. Sometimes that leads to coaches actually trying to change the player's swing. Before doing that - make sure it's not just the eyes that need help. Sometimes it's plain old vision. My daughter, for example, wears glasses, but she doesn't use them in games because glasses are annoying to play with. I'm quite sure that has a lot to do with why she swings and misses as often as she does. She's only 9 though, but next year for her eye exam, we are going to take her to a sports vision eye doctor (the same one the college I went to sent me to when I was playing). Hopefully, she'll be able to handle contacts and actually be able to see clearly when she plays. I think it'll be a big help to her game overall.

Also - in addition to plain old sight, there are other areas is "vision." Learn more about them and how vision affects softball performance at www.FastpitchVisionTraining.com. I've mentioned this site before and have links to it on different pages of www.AllAboutFastpitch.com, but it seems like there are still quite a few people who haven't had a chance to check it out yet. Not only will you find information on Vision Training, but you can also get some free sample exercises as well. So head over to www.FastpitchVisionTraining.com and check it out.

Teleseminar is tonight!

Fastpitch members - don't forget the teleseminar with Marc Dagenais is tonight. Marc of SoftballPerformance.com will reveal 25 Performance Secrets Used by the World's Best Softball Players. If you're a new fastpitch member and don't know how to get in on the call e-mail me at allaboutfastpitch@hawaii.rr.com and I'll send you the link. The teleseminar is tonight at 9pm (EST), 6pm (PST), and 3pm in Hawaii. If you haven't already registered, please do so now!

Don't miss out, there is no charge to be in on this call with Marc Dagenais - I hope to have you with us!

Bill Hillhouse Clinic Filling Up Quick

We are already beginning to take registrations for the Bill Hillhouse pitching clinic here in Hawaii for Oct. 21-22. This clinic is going to fill up fast. I already have 29 girls penciled in that want to attend. Their coaches or parents have already called me saying they want to come. Of course, the first to actually send in their registration and payment will get the spots. As it stands, I've had a number of coaches call me regarding the team slots and if all of them get their forms to me, there will only be 1-2 slots left.

Once the Saturday sessions fill up, we will begin a waiting list. If that waiting list is long enough, we may be able to open up one more session, but we'll have to play that by ear.

Registrations forms are now available at http://www.allaboutfastpitch.com/BillHillhouse.html. I highly suggest downloading and printing those out as soon as possible if you want your daughter to attend this clinic. Spots are going very quickly, but if you can get your forms and payment in early, you can secure yourself or your daughter a spot. It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I don't want you to miss out, so please don't wait until October or even the end of September to register.

What I Thought of the USA National Softball Team

Wow - these ladies are a sight to see to say the least. I'm so glad my family and I went to the park early. The exhibition game started at 7:00, we were there at 5:00. We got to see pre-game batting practice from the opposing dug-out at field level. Balls were routinely flying over the homerun fence which, at UH Softball Stadium, is at 200 feet. The ones that weren't going over were usually line shots to the gaps or off the fence. There were even a handful that went over the big black net that is supposed to keep the tennis courts safe from softballs. This net is probably about 100 feet high and is behind the 200 foot homerun fence. I was worried someone in the tennis courts beyond that was going to get a concussion.

Things that stood out to me as I watched:

• I didn't see any players swing and miss during pre-game batting practice
• They all swing with what my husband calls "bad intentions"
• Even Cat Osterman brought in a bucket of balls from the outfield when the pitcher needed a refill (why do younger players think they are above such things?)
• These ladies are heads and shoulders above the DI players that were there as far as physical fitness is concerned
• Some of them look slimer in person vs on TV as expected, but others looked less skinny than on TV (in a good way)

Another thing I noticed while at the game was that, no matter what, the fans love Jennie Finch. It doesn't matter that she just came off of maternity leave and probably doesn't feel like she's on top of her game. It doen't matter that she's not the ace of the pitching staff. It doesn't matter that she didn't start the game or that she dropped a ball at first (it wasn't the best throw, but handlable). When she came up to bat, you saw a good portion of the crowd get up off the bleachers and move toward the field to take pictures of her. That's when all the cameras came out in full force. In her very first at bat, she gave the crowd what they wanted to see - a long shot over the fence!

It's such an awesome opportunity for the young ladies here to see these women in action. To know that there is a higher level they can reach for and work toward. I'm looking forward to seeing them once more tomorrow night. Of course, the game will probably be another run away, but that's okay. On Tuesday they played 9 innings, shut out the other team, and scored 15 or 16 runs. I'm expecting more of the same, but it's still going to be fun to watch!

Met a Great Lady - Lovie Jung's Mom

As you know, I got to watch the USA National Team play today, which was awesome. I'll post more about that later. But one thing I wanted to share before I go to sleep - I had the priviledge of meeting "Aunty Gloria," Lovie Jung's mom. I just have to say "Mahalo Nui Loa" to you - (thank you very much) for the kindness you showed my daughters this evening.

After the game, my daughters took their softballs and mini sharpies down to the area where the USA players were exiting their dugout. Of course, there were a number of players already waiting there. "Aunty Gloria" took one look at my youngest daughter, (age 5) with her brand new, bright yellow softball, mini red sharpie standing in a sea of ball players a good 2 feet shorter than everyone else. She immediately asked my daughter if she wanted to get some autographs for her ball. She then took full charge of, not only my youngest daughter's ball, but of all 3 of my daughter's softballs. She encouraged my girls to follow her as she led them straight through the crowd to a few players that were in the clear and asked the players to sign the balls. She kept an eye out for my girls and led them to each available player she saw. It seemed that since the players knew her, they took the ball without question and signed.

I have to say that I never met Lovie Jung's mom before tonight. Even as she started talking to my daughters, it wasn't until she looked up from them and told me who she was that I understood why she felt she could help them get autographs. At this point, I seriously doubt she even knows my name and has probably never heard of this website before. The only reason I know her name is because I heard other people talking to her. Though she doesn't even know I'm writing this post, I just wanted to say, "Aunty Gloria" ~ my family and I are most grateful for the thoughtfulness you've shown to complete strangers.

Teleseminar is set!

The teleseminar with Marc Dagenais of SoftballPerformance.com is set for Monday, August 14th at 9pm EST. We have 96 lines available for the call all of which are open to All About Fastpitch Members only. On this call Marc will reveal 25 Top Performance Secrets Used by the World's Best Softball Players!

This teleseminar is free so those 96 lines will fill up fast! Fastpitch members, don't forget to register at the link sent out via e-mail. If you're not a fastpitch member, but want to become one, you can sign up at www.allaboutfastpitch.com/members.html or simply fill in your name and e-mail address in the form on this page.

Just e-mail me if you have any questions. Hope to see you there!

Going to See US National Team

The USA National Team will be playing a couple of exhibition games here in Hawaii! I can't wait to go. My family and I plan to attend the game on Tuesday night. For those of you in Hawaii the game will be at UH Softball Stadium at 7:00 pm. I may even get to meet one of our resident experts Brandon Marcello as he is in the islands with the team as well.

The head coach I work with at Kapolei High School will be coaching the team that will play against the USA National Team. I talked with him last night and he is looking forward to the experience. My daughters don't know Team USA is in town, but I know my oldest at least will be excited to see them play.

I have to remember to take my camera. In the next 3-4 years, my family and I plan to start traveling more to see softball events that we just don't get here (College World Series, Pro games, World Cup, World Championships, etc), but it's so awesome for us to get this opportunity without having to pay big bucks to travel to it. You can bet I'll be back here posting my thoughts on seeing the USA National Team so check back here later this week.

Free Healthy Breakfast Smoothie E-book

Here is a free e-book with some great, home made, cost effective alternatives to Starbucks and Jamba Juice. I know the high school players I work with seem to think Jamba Juice and Starbucks are essential parts of their daily diet. Well, here's a FREE Healthy Breakfast Smoothie e-book filled with awesome smoothie recipes you can quickly and easily make at home.

This e-book includes:

• Fruity Smoothies
• Cereal and Bran Shakes
• Smoothies for Coffee Lovers
• Soy Smoothies
• Protein Blasts
• and Low Carb Smoothies

Each recipe comes complete with ingredients needed, directions for making the smoothie, and Nutritional Facts per serving.

Here's to healthier breakfasts!

Pick up your free Healthy Breakfast Smoothie e-book here.

Open, print, or save this e-book to your computer. Feel free to attach it to an e-mail forward it on to a friend!

Born 10 Years Too Early (Bean Batter Rule)

Local ASA league has the new rule that beaned batters have the option to take the base or stay and hit. Oh man I wish that rule had been around when I was playing. There were so many times I would have opted to stay and hit! Of course, my coach may not have let me. But I know there were a bunch of times when my coach would say, "I wanted you to hit, not walk" on regular walks, so maybe he would have let me stay and hit.

Of course, there were many other times too when I was glad to get the base.

Right now though, I'm working with 10U girls and a bunch of them are young enough to play 8U next spring still. So this summer season is the first time they are facing opposing pitchers with a count vs. having their coach pitch to them. Most of them don't want to hit or take the base after getting hit by a pitch ~ they're too busy hurting (and some times crying ~ I know, I know, there's no crying in softball). This age group for summer is just sort of like that ~ a learning league where you have new pitchers who are just learning (and a bit wild) and batters who've never had pitches come at them before. So there are bound to be hit by pitch incidents that end up in tears, ice, and a pinch runner on 1st.

Softball Performance Teleseminar in the Works

Marc Dagenais of SoftballPerformance.com contacted me about doing a Teleseminar on Softball Performance. We've tentatively set the date for Monday, August 14th. This will be a FREE Teleseminar. I will announce all the details once we finalize them here on the blog and will also send e-mail reminders to Fastpitch Members. If you're not a Fastpitch Member, sign up here if you want to make sure you get notification about this Free Teleseminar.