SOFTBALL COACH IS BACK

SOFTBALL COACH IS BACK!

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YES AFTER A BUSY JANUARY COACHING 40 GAMES IN 20 DAYS ITS NOW TIME FOR A DIFFERENT ROLE.

     In the past week I have taken on the convenor role for the ACT's highschool girls softball program and today we had 16 teams compete with top 4 teams from year 7/8 and year 9/10 will advance to the finals on march 14.

      The competition was of a much higher calibre than i expected but when we did a pitching catching demonstration with our best ACT pitcher and catcher they were spell bound with the speed and movement of the ball. They replied in the way i hoped they would by asking how they could learn to pitch a ball like that.

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      Campbell High School proved beyond a doubt that a good pitcher wins ball games, and with ACT's top junior pitcher going to that School, they allowed only 4 runs and came away with 4 convincing wins. They were the only undefeated team in the competition and will be very hard to beat in the Grand Finals.

After two games hungry and lining up for something to eat

    In the meantime i am putting my selectors hat on, and looking through statistics, as we are down to the final 14 months, before we challenge for the Mens World Softball Championships. I will be off to Perth for a week and getting the right players to fit into a world champion team will be my goal.

  Hope you enjoy this post and photos and i would enjoy your ratings and comments

Article credit: Bob Harrow

Photo credit: Bob Harrow

WEEK 19

WEEK 19 OF THE SOFTBALL COACH THE BIGGEST AND BEST WEEK OF THE COACH THIS WEEK WAS NOT ABOUT REWARDS BUT LOOKING TO THE FUTURE WITH THE SUCCESS AND TALENT I SAW OF SO MANY ATHELETES The past week not only consisted of lots of coaching but as FPSL president making sure every little detail was put in place for the skins tournament. Monday saw our b grade and c grade play there competition games. The "b" grade was a real test to get there players ready for the skins tournament on the week-end. Singapore represented by Raffles Institute arrived late Monday night and assured us they would have 40 players ready for coaching clinics on Tuesday. Tuesday was a big day; after all the greetings and introductions were finished five hours of practice began. Greta our Diamonds pitcher from Italy worked as a specialist pitching and catching coach for five days with the 4 girls who were sent over especially for this training. It was then time for our own Canberra Diamonds training and a lot of time went into our defence and signals to make sure we all were on the same page. Then it was final plans on everyone's duties for their fund raising at the skins tournament. The "a" grade men played there league games and you could see the extra intensity of all players as they prepared for 7 games in the skins tournament. A lot of our local players will be seeking selection on our mens national team. Wednesday was a big day for Singapore as we had three coach's come in and work on their hitting and bunting techniques. Laing Harrow our national coach took charge of this program along with Head coach Nelson from Raffles. It was a rare moment neither coach realized until they got talking. They both played in the World Series in the Philippines in 1996 against one another a rare coincidence. Andrew Kirkpatrick worked with the pitchers and gave them an insight into what it takes to become a world class pitcher. Thursday night was another double wham as the Diamonds had an extra training session which I could not attend as the "b" division of the skins started with Singapore and our local dragons opening the tournament. Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw a total of 82 softball games played with for champions crowned. Strikezone from Canberra won the prestigious skins tournament and over $3600.00 in prize money. Mounties from Sydney won the "b" division and collected their first prize pool of $1500.00. Now it was time to put my chairman of selectors hat on and keep an eye on all the talent as we want only the best players to represent Australia at the next Worlds which will be held in Canada in 2015. The Aussies got Talent Tournament was won by FPSL Kirkpatrick in the U/13s with FPSL Tanner the runners up. In u/15s FPSL Folkard won over the Scorpions from Sydney. All players who reached the finals received a medallion and the winners our annual plaque. There was not one boy who left the park without a smile on their face, known that they had done their best. This week is not just about selecting and coaching. Reality is, it is time to clean up and say thanks to the many volunteers and start to think about next year. A special thanks to Allison who keeps our website up to date and if you want to see all scores and follow our league log into fpsl.act.softball.org.au and enjoy a few photos. WEEK 19 OF THE SOFTBALL COACHSingapore arriving for there first coaching clinic. WEEK 19 OF THE SOFTBALL COACHThe finals underway with Strikezone defeating Storm 4-1 and winning a total of $3600.00 as they skinned a few teams. WEEK 19 OF THE SOFTBALL COACH Canberra diamonds served up some great homemade cakes which all the ladies made for there fund raising venture. WEEK 19 OF THE SOFTBALL COACHAdam Folkard rated the worlds best pitcher takes time out as he ices himself before the final game so he can talk and inspire more young players