Hawaii Advances to Super Regional

Congratulations to the University of Hawaii and all the other teams who are advancing to the Super Regional part of the NCAA Championship Tournament. There are 16 teams participating in the Super Regional. Those paired up will play a Best of 3 Series - winner advances to the Women's College World Series.

Should be fun!

Hawaii Upsets UCLA

Okay - you know I had to write about this. I don't have all the details, but I do know that the University of Hawaii softball team has advanced to their regional final with their 3-1 win over UCLA today! The game was tied at one a piece, but in the top of the 8th, UH scored two runs and held off the Bruins in the bottom of the 8th to advance to the LA Regional Championship Game!

Of course, I wasn't home, so I DVR'ed the game, BUT, my husband's boxing program, which has a higher "priority" than my softball in the DVR schedule, cut the game off in the middle of the 6th inning and started recording instead. So I did get to see UH score one of their runs, but wasn't able to watch the rest of the game.

Congratulations to the team and great job Brandi Peiler who drove in all 3 of the Rainbow runs. It's great to see a local girl (and a graduate of my high school alma mater) doing well. Robinson, who got the win on the mound for the University of Hawaii, and Kaulana Gould are also graduates of Kamehameha Schools! Just had to add that in. :)

Anyway - Go Bows! I'll be waiting to hear/see the results of tomorrow's game.
More details of this game are available at
http://www.ncaasports.com/softball/womens/recaps/d1_0519_546841/2007

If I didn't have my own ASA tournament to coach, I would be looking for a way to get to the Super Regional right now. Like I said before, the two teams I'm watching are UH and Tennessee because of local connections. They just may be meeting up in the Super Regional. I sure hope so. Tomorrow, we shall see.

Softball Makes Me Get More Cable

So yesterday I called my cable provider so that I could UP my subscription package and get ESPNU. I wanted to be able to watch all the LA Regional games!

I wonder if I could write off that "extra" monthly subscription to get the softball regionals as a business expense...Hmmm.

Anyway - I also set up my DVR to record the games in case I'm not at home. Can't wait for a weekend of softball! Unfortunately I have a very busy weekend myself, so I probably won't actually get to see the games live. But at least I'll be able to watch a bunch of them!

Wishing the best to all the teams in the regionals!

Softball FAQ - Increase Pitching Speed

In running AllAboutFastpitch.com and my other softball websites, I get quite a few questions via e-mail. Overall, one of the most frequently asked questions I get is,
"How can I help my daughter/pitcher increase her pitching speed?"

First of all, I firmly believe that proper mechanics is a must if any pitcher wants to reach their optimum pitching speed. Second, you all know that I am a big fan of Bill Hillhouse and his Building the House DVD. So if you need help with pitching mechanics or aren't really sure what to look for as far as what your daughter/pitchers should be doing, get that DVD. It's available at www.HouseofPitching.com.

Third, Marc Dagenais of Softball Performance, has a couple of products geared directly to this most frequently asked question. Now why do I feel comfortable recommended Marc's website? Because he has a ton of training and experience working specifically with softball players and a number of different levels. He's not just a fitness coach or personal trainer that has never worked with athletes in the sport of softball. He knows a lot about strength and conditioning AND knows a lot about strength and conditioning for softball players of all ages and levels of play. So....if you're looking for specific training methods that can help improve pitching speed, check out the following items at Marc's Website (links on the left hand side of the page):

***Pitching Speed Enhancement System

***Elite Pitcher Training Program

***Maximum Pitching Speed Program

***Secrets for Training & Conditioning Superstar Pitchers

Softball On TV

It's that time of year when there is quite a bit of softball on TV as compared to the rest of the year. I love it! I also like watching with my kids because it's fun for them and it's also an opportunity to teach and learn. It's especially cool with DVR because I can ask my daughters a question about a play and see what their answer is, then rewind and show them the play again so that they can see the point I'm trying to make or see that their answer was indeed correct.

I was amazed last year when I was watching a game and the ball was hit outfield, then relayed backwas 9 years old and had never played the position, but wanted to. To my surprise, she knew exactly where the pitcher went. She was covering home plate because the lead runner had advance to 3rd on the hit. There wasn't even a play there. The action on the screen was not focused on the pitcher or on home plate, yet she noticed where the pitcher went on the play. I didn't think she would catch on to it, but she did. So, from then on, I started asking her more questions just to see how much of the game she understood and to take the opportunity to teach her something new that she may not have noticed before.

If you have a daughter that plays softball - try it. Watch a game with her and ask questions. Allow her to ask questions. Teach and learn together.

Abbott Breaks Record, UT Wins Title

Monica Abbott struck out 6 against Alabama to break Cat Osterman's NCAA career strike-out record. Abbott now has 2,271 strike outs for her career.

The University of Tennessee also clinched their first ever regular season SEC title with the sweep over then ranked #1 Alabama in a double header over the weekend.

Congratulations to the University of Tennessee on a great regular season! With the wins over Alabama, Tennessee earned the top seed in this year's Southeastern Conference Championship Tournament which is scheduled to begin this Thursday, May 10th. For more information on the tournament, Click Here.

University of Hawaii Softball - On Fire!

Congratulations to this year's University of Hawaii Softball Team! Their win over the weekend secures their 2nd regular season WAC title. Overall their record is 45-9 - the best regular season recored in school history. Great job ladies!

I hope to be able to see UH on TV in post season play this season!

Best wishes on the rest of the season from everyone here at AllAboutFastpitch.com ~ Go Bows!