Softball at the Olympics in 2020? There is hope!

As the London 2012 Olympics wind down, I can say I have really enjoyed these games. The American women have been exciting, amazing and tough as nails. Too bad all of our best don't get to enjoy these games. I'm truly missing softball at these games.

During these games we got to witness the American women, win a team gold medal in Gymnastics with brilliant performance’s. The US women also SHATTERED the WR in the 4x100 relay, running clean, fast and as loving teammates. Let’s not forget we got to witness probably the greatest women’s soccer (football) game ever played, regardless of what you think on the officiating. The game was nail biting and just fun to watch. If you ever want a person you daughter to model herself after, I'd look no further than Alex Morgan. What a solid amazing player that NEVER gives up. She puts pressure on opposing players like no other women I've ever seen play.

Again, how great would it be for our greatest US women to be playing Softball at these games? I really think it would have even made these games better.


Lets look at why they aren't there really fast, what they are doing to get back in . Why they left- an IOC vote of 52 - 52 was the vote for a game most of the IOC members thought was "women's baseball". There was one further member that didn't vote, but I'll go into that later. It needed 53 votes to keep it in.

Had the vote been taken 4 days later, many think that Softball would still be in. There was tons of thoughts that the US was too dominate. The US lost the last game of the Bejing Olympics to Japan. After that game, many of the NO votes stated they seen and knew that it was no longer only "female baseball".

Only four teams ever won a medal in the sport during its very brief time leading those no votes to see it as a 'non world' game. Which is very far from the truth.

Let’s be truthful, the IOC is about money. Host countries really complained that making TWO separate stadiums was very costly. Both China's and Greece's softball stadiums cost over $100 million and sit empty. No, this isn't proper planning on these countries part but I can understand why this could cause issues. A single sport venue that costs this much is hard to justify.

On the way back?

They are making strides, one key is that now Baseball and Softball have teamed up to show the IOC members what they can offer. They have also said they will fall under the same banner making it a single sport and shortening the cost to a host country.

ESPN reports they are going against sports for the 2020 games such as Squash, Sport climing and board sports. Aug. 1st there is a meeting that might help make this easier, they are meeting with Major League Baseball to propose them to find a way to compete. If they come about it will surely make this easier. Japan, Australia and Korea have already committed the best players for the Olympics if they get back in.

The ISF has had a strong presence and worked hard at swaying the IOC, by 2013 there should be a solid vote to see which sports will get in. More news then I guess. So until then we are stuck wondering why a generation of young ladies get their Olympic dreams smashed.

The ISF has also been masterful at doing clinics and setting up coaches to team the game of Softball in other areas of the world.

Here is a link from the ISF that shows just how much media coverage that has been going on over the course of the London games that shows there is very much a want for this sport to come back. As the report from the New Zeeland paper points out, only a handful of team sports can draw as much international representation.

I'm still saddened that Softball is gone. I wish I could do more to help get it reinstated. I wish so many didn't only realize it was gone only while the Olympic Games are going on! There is alot I wish for here, but mostly I wish the IOC members knew more or lots about the sports they decide to rip dreams away from athletes who work so hard to grow a sport on the grandest stage.

London really has been a memorable Olympic games but most memorable for me will be the fact that for the 1st time in recent memory I didn't get to see Softball.

Let’s change that for next time.

On a side note, if you go to the ISF home page there is a spot you can got to and donate to further their cause. Don't forget to like their Facebook page too.

Try out season is here!

What are your plans for tryouts?

It creeped up faster than I thought it would. The tournament season was over in what felt like a blink of an eye. But we didn't let what our plans were wait til the last minute.

Today's post is about what you can do to find the right fit if you plan on switching teams. It is never easy looking for a new team but having options and ideas of what you are looking for before roll into the tryout never hurts.

The easiest thing for what to do for next season is stay put or move up with in the same organization. That makes life easy but for many that isn't how this new season will start. There are a variety of reasons to find a new team, I won't go into them here, because if you are looking for a team you know why, you don't need me to tell you W H Y!

Due to trial and error and doing some research here is what I have come up with to help your daughter and your family find the right team:

Have an idea of what teams you want to play for. (be realistic on the level you play and where they play) Do you want a relaxed team, a state champ winner or do you want to see Nationals?

BIG TIP TIME: If you want to play college ball in your home state, do not get on a team that is doing tournaments out of state every weekend, or playing at the national level. This will not get you noticed by the very college you want to attract!

• Look for teams that you played where the coach impressed you while playing them.
• Have an idea where you want to go and don't just obtain info from a web site, we all know websites have the BEST info on a team and not the whole story.
• Find out where the try-outs are.
• You can find this info via news paper, local forums or word of mouth. I went here and here!

This is where the choice is made and the best info will be obtained -  Email the coach or contact on the try-out ad. Ask the question you need answered. IE...how often do you practice, what is the budget, how many tournaments are you playing and what kind?

This is the time to add any good solid info you have on the player. Like a recruitment video and what her plans are for the future. I'd stay away from stats or making comments about playing time.

If they do not have the time to answer you, don't answer you, or give you info totally different than what you asked for, this tells you alot about the coach or organization. I'd give them one more chance because emails always get lost or sent to junk. If you get no response...I'd start looking else where.

Communication is the key to this search, why? You get to learn a few things by the response: If the coach is going to be there again, how happy they are to be in the position they are in, how interested they are in you, and just what kind of organization you are going to be headed to or looking at.

To some extent on a much smaller scale, you are doing the steps you would take to find the correct college to attend, you are going to be with this coach and these players/parents for at the very least, the next year.

At tryouts, look at how the girls on the team interact. Are they happy, having fun and look like they like each other? Do they pout, move slow and yell at one another?
How is the coach? well organized? Do the people there react well to his direction?

This is the time to talk to them and their assistants, do they seem to be on the same page? Do you get a good feeling about them?  Do they have the time for you while there?

Let your gut reaction guide you here. This is your 1st impression of the team and the coach that will be setting an example for a team of 12+ young ladies and handling upwards of thousands of dollars.

TL; DR -
Find your team.
Ask your questions!
Communicate further?
Plan the tryout course!
Go to tryouts.
Have fun next year!

Beat the Heat! Guide to Summer Tournaments.

This has been a hot HOT summer.

Really hot.

Summer is far from over and the heat is always part of our sport. You can really never beat the heat totally until the game is done but below is my guild for getting you and your kid thru the worst times.

I'll keep it simple. Stay cool as you can. Drink water. Know the signs of heat related problems. As soon as you can, get out of the heat when done playing.

Staying cool: Shade is the key. Find some during offensive innings and between games. If you are out of the sun lots of radiate heat and the suns effects can't zap more energy, water and even cause burns.
Hopefully you have parents that have tarps, umbrella's and shade tents. Use them! Use rags and other objects with COOL water on them to bring your body temp down. Remove as much gear as you can (catchers gear, batting helm) when they aren't needed.

Drink water: Hydrate! You must. This will ruin your preformace faster than anything and will cause onset of heat problems quicker. When you sweat, you lose water and salt (electrolytes) both need to be replaced. Prehydration is key to really hot days. Drink lots of water before the weekend games. If you do this your fluid levels will be easier to maintain.

If you are thirsty, its too late! you already dehydrated. What do I mean by this? Thirst is a telltale sign that you need fluids. With the increased loss during hot days, by the time you realize you need water, its too late.  Get some water in you. Sports drinks are ok, but even better if mixed with water during game times. As silly as it sounds, don't drink ice cold water...why? Your body must cool this water taking more energy to find out where it needs to be. Leading further to zapped energy.

Signs to really bad to sever dehydration is extreme thirst, headaches and irritability. Any further than this you are ask inf or heat problems that take lots longer than a few bottles of water or gatorade to fix you up.
Under normal conditions a normal adult, needs 1 gallon of water a day. Under the conditions we have seen lately, you can need two times that.

Heat related issues: Minor to major!(CDC)
Heat exhaustion (cramps or fainting) -  the 1st sign a problem is going on. This can be obtained in not very hot temps and onset can be due to dehydration. You feel dizzy, light headed and cramp. Vomitting can happen too as it progresses. Quickly reversible but care and caution needs to be taken as it can happen very quickly again if steps are not take to be removed from heat or the player wants to play again.
1st aid- Get them out of the heat, into air conditioning and have them hydrate and place cool rags on person. Sit or lie down.

Heat Stress -  Brought on by dehydration, high temps and heavy work load. A physiological change takes place in the body too. Blood pressure rises, sweating occurs, people get dizzy and confused. They can can be pale and complain of being tired. This is pretty urgent and action must take place quickly.
1st aid- Get them to a cool spot, in the air conditioning. Drink water, or sports drink. Showers, lots of water and cold cloths work well here.

Heat stoke- a MEDICAL EMERGENCY! Hot skin and dry and red skin! No sweating will be going on. Chills, confusion and head aches will be common. Bodies core temp will be rising and can rise to permanent damage area quickly. Medical attention is needed quickly.
1st aid- CALL 911
Dampen or wetten their clothes, get in a cool place and have them sit or lie down. Make this person comfortable.
At this point the person and their body is past the point of thermoregulation. I cannot stress enough that they need medical help immediately.

After the game and in between games, get them to cool areas. Most preferred that air condition be used. Shade and a fan is also useful in this down time. Make sure they get some small snacks (such as fruit or a granola bar) and fluid is taken in. Relaxing at this time goes a long way.

When they get IT!

You have watched them all season, even in High School. Parents know when they make a mistake, even if the coach or the bench didn't catch it. Parents know their kids flaws and weakness, even if their kid is the best player to lace up some cleats. Ok, on that last one I kid a bit but really, we know.

We are their biggest fans and most knowing critics. They of course are their biggest critic. Even if you seen a mistake and ask them about it, they already know they did that wrong and beat themselves up over it many times over.

Then you see them play that game! Not the perfect game, oh no no! But the game where they battle, do all the little things right and fight thru the not so good things and shine as a star you always knew they were but others don't always see it.

Now remember I'm not talking about their perfect game. The one they will always remember thats too easy, this is the kind of game that they will probably forget but you know they did things during this game that added to them as players and people.

I watched my daughter play that game tonight. She was amazing! She scooped and shot a ball to home on a grounder to the outfield with a perfect throw. It was a close play but the catcher dropped the ball. She came over to me and didn't complain about the drop, oh no! She said, that throw was a bit high might have made that an easier tag. WHAT? I didn't say this to her, I told her hang in there, those will come.

The very next inning she it a LAZER to the short stop, one they had no business getting too, yet they did and threw the lead runner out. She didn't hang her head, nope! Not today, she played her best. In her half of the inning in the field, she had a blooper hit to her, she ran in HARD yet some how the ball got to the ground even thou she slid, she came up throwing and missed the runner by a step. Was it the perfect out come? No, but it was the correct play. She had 3 more plays like that and sold out to get them all. Her at bats weren't awesome, but they were tough and she worked the count finding her pitch.

A few innings later after an at bat she hit a shot over the pitchers head, standing at 1st base and the 5th hitter hits a soft liner down the 3rd base line, the runner from 2nd scores and she rounds and wants to go to 3rd, the cut sees this and doesn't go home but due to her heads up base running she doesn't get throw out. Sound simple, doesn't it? but in the heat of the moment all year long she'd have been thrown out. Next play she scores on a bloop single.

None of this may sound impressive but it was a proud moment today when she walked off the field saying, she could have done better but is still happy with how she played overall. I smiled to myself and knew, she is getting it. While it might not be perfect, no one is! But she gets it.

Blue Chips, Michigan style!

Everyone says there's it the best. Some tout that they have 300 coaches invited to come view your child. Others will tell you they will give you the best shot at getting to the next level if you come to their camp and use their service.

This week I was fortunate enough to allow my daughter to play with some first class talent and even more showcase her talent in front of close to 30 college coaches from all levels. She was able to learn from these professional men and women who were there from some of the biggest institutions in the country (more on that later). They were willing to give them the tips and tricks that makes players move to the next level.

My daughter is a 2014 graduate, so she still has time to grow and improve. Showing her the talent that was at that camp this week left a huge impression on her and motivated her to move past her current progression point she is currently at. The talent there was truly impressive and from what I hear there were three girls that signed D1 level letters.

My intent is not to bad mouth anyone else or say that the Michigan Blue Chip camp is the only way to go. I do want to say that of the several I've sent my daughter too, this one was by far the best. Not only did she get some first rate exposure, instruction but she was also talked to by several colleges stating they'd like her to send her schedule to them so they could take an even deeper look at her.

Thanks to Brad and Matt for having the vision to set this up and to come thru with the promises their web site makes. Colleges will see you and teach at this camp.

They have several upcoming camps for the rest of the summer and in the fall, so if you have some time, check these guys out.



Just and FYI in attendance for this camp was: (not in any real order and if I have forgotten someone I'm really sorry. Coaches seemed to be everywhere)

Alabama

Purdue

North Dakota

Central Michigan

Western Michigan

Eastern Michigan

Illinois Chicago (UIC)

Albion

Alma

Muskegon

Concordia

Siena Heights

Hillsdale

Lake Michigan

Grand Rapids

Aquinas

Cornerstone

The Skills Video

Hey everyone, I just wanted to take a few to go over something we recently did to improve my daughter exposure. You can do it too.

We call it the skills video! It is what experts or recruiting firms say is a must if you want to play at the next level. People charge good money and after doing ours, I see why. Really, if you want to save a few hundred dollars all you really need is access to a computer and a camera.

A computer is a must due to editing it.
Do I really need to say you need a camera to film something?

Reminder this is a tool to highlight your daughter or sons skills. Make sure this production does that.

• Edit out drops, errors and missed swings. Sure coaches don't expect perfection in these videos but leaving this in is a waste of time.
• Remove all downtime such as moving people around.
• Highlight - Highlight - Highlight: Use the best of what you shoot, shoot multiple angles and multiple shots of that skill.
• The majority of this video should be in a practice setting. Do not use or limit game footage.I included a very brief hit of a live game. I felt it showed everything I wanted the coach to see. Why? It mirrored the very same thing we shot in the skills video. Constant game video gets boring.
• Use a tripod and a camera you are familiar with.
• Keep it between 4 and 5 minutes. Any longer and you run the risk of having the full thing not seen.
• Keep it simple.

Here is my finished product:


Prior to starting here is what I did:

• I shot some film of my younger daughter at her softball game to get used to my camera. Make sure your setting are to a movement conducive setting. Using this filmed event, I edited it with my Windows MovieMaker to get used that too. It took me lots of time.
• Find a location you are familiar with and a time that isn't real busy there. Cutting down on the noise in the video.
• A power source is an AMAZING addition to the event.
• Set up your plan on what you want to shoot; know what positions, skills and angles you want to hit before you get there. (this will change but knowing prior till make adjustments easier to do)
• Watch some skills videos on youtube (example 1) (example 2) see what you like on each and what you would change. Take notes.
• Plan for everything that could go wrong IE...no bases, hot weather. Make this event like a tournament and take everything you need. Have a back up location in case your primary is used.
• Set up someone who can assist with catching and throwing. Two helpers is better.

Now for what to shoot:

• Brief intro: 15 seconds of who you are and what you want to coach to know. Shows communication style.
• Make sure you have coaches email address and phone in print on the video.
• Primary positon - 3 or 4 of each, edit what you don't want, use different angles.
• OF - show drop step/footwork, fly ball tracking, ground ball stopping, arm strength. Show throws to home plate and third base from about the middle of RF.
• P - pitches you throw (4 of each at minimum) show side and behind the plate view. If you can show the radar gun speed.
• C -  show how you block the ball, pop times (stop watch) and throw to all bases.
• Corner infield- Bunt coverage, cross diamond throws, foot work to base and ground balls to the forehand and backhand.
• Middle infield- Show your athleticism add movement and take ground balls that show range also show back hand and forehand. Show how you cover bases and turn double plays.
• HITTING - show several angles, behind the plate and side view. I do not recommend soft toss from the side, anyone can hit soft toss. Show bunting and slapping (if you can do it) and any other hitting skill you may have.

Now send them out!

Smooth calls...

I'm not going to use my blog to bag ump's. I understand they are human and make bad calls. Most of the time, they make the perfect call. The best kind of official is the one you didn't realize was there. Often times, they seem to forget this.

When I see a special call, I don't mean balls and strikes either but those ones that stick with you for a while I'm going to just give my two cents...

Why? well, when you complain to others who know the game or even that nice waitress at a restaurant, they don't listen. Its almost as if they are hearing a foreign language.

I'm also going to try and educate myself further, as I have no clue most of the rules these guys live by. I only know the game I've been playing or rooting for most of my life. From governing body to governing body, they have variations of rules.

This week’s gem was at Motor City Showdown in Canton, Mi. If you have never been to Canton, you aren't missing much. It is a dust bowl, expensive and

The ASA ump, called a foul ball on a one bouncer that then hit the bag. Three feet from my daughters team coach. He ruled it foul, stating it bounced foul before it hit the bag.

Here is what I could find and what I know: (source)

Just a side note from parents of our team and this is hear say and more than anything it was probably the ump trying to be friendly; he was heard telling the other team between innings "you welcome for that foul ball call".

B. Batted Ball

1) A batted ball that first hits the ground

before it reaches 1st or 3rd base is fair, if it settles in fair territory, is

touched by a player while the ball is on or over fair ground, or if the ball passes over 1st or 3rd base, regardless

of where the ball hits the ground after going over the base.

2) A batted ball that first hits the ground

beyond 1st or 3rd base is fair or foul based on where it hits the ground

that first time.