PREMIER GIRLS FASTPITCH AND PERFECT GAME JOIN FORCES TO FORM PG SOFTBALL

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PREMIER GIRLS FASTPITCH AND PERFECT GAME JOIN FORCES TO FORM PG SOFTBALL

Groundbreaking Partnership of Two Powerhouse Brands Solidifies World’s Largest Girls Fastpitch Platform and Scouting Service

HUNTINGTON BEACH, California and CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (July 27, 2020) Perfect Game (PG) President Jerry Ford and Dan Hay, President/CEO of Premier Girls Fastpitch (PGF) is proud to announce it has entered into a groundbreaking partnership with Perfect Game (PG) to form PG Softball, an entity that will provide individualization and exposure to athletes in the rapidly growing world of amateur softball.

Perfect Game Softball brings together two of the most credible brands in fastpitch softball and baseball to give amateur softball players a platform to be recognized nationwide. PG Softball will produce national player rankings, consistent evaluation metrics and national scouting reports, creating a system similar to the one Perfect Game has successfully built in baseball over the last 25 years.

“This groundbreaking partnership between PGF and Perfect Game will now enable us to individualize our sport by focusing on our players,” said Dan Hay, Co-Founder and President/CEO of PGF. “Perfect Game is recognized by Major League Baseball and college baseball programs as the leader in player evaluations and player and team rankings, in the sport of amateur baseball. Our fastpitch softball athletes will now enjoy expanded opportunities that they have never seen before. The PGF softball community and the national landscape will benefit greatly, as these two powerhouse brands continue to lead our young female athletes and families into the future.”

Hay will serve as the President/CEO of PG Softball, with Andy Ford of Perfect Game appointed Vice President.

The two industry leaders will work alongside one another, co-branding prestigious national events with the purpose of making PG Softball the top player service in the country. Through this venture, they will each continue to grow their existing successful entities.

“Perfect Game takes great pride in the fact that we enjoy a longstanding reputation as the nation’s leader as the largest elite youth baseball platform and scouting service in amateur baseball,” said Jerry Ford, Founder and President of Perfect Game. “Our longtime goal was to do the same thing in softball. The best way to do that was to partner with the nation’s leader in softball. Dan Hay and PGF represent the very best when it comes to the game of softball. This will definitely expedite our goal of providing girls fastpitch with all the same opportunities the boys enjoy in baseball.”

An updated event schedule will be released shortly.  A new website is in development, initial information can be found here: www.perfectgame.org/Fastpitch/ or at www.premiergirlsfastpitch.com

About Perfect Game
Perfect Game is the world’s largest elite youth baseball platform and scouting service, producing over 1,400 tournaments and showcases each year across the country. Perfect Game is dedicated to giving amateur players exposure to take their game to the next level, whether that be in college or in the professional ranks. At Perfect Game events, players are performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters and professional scouts from all over the country. Because of this, these events prove to be invaluable to the college coaches as well as Major League Baseball, as they can scout a large population of talented ballplayers in one location. To date, more than 1,400 players that have played in a Perfect Game event have also played in Major League Baseball. Since 2003, 12,776 Perfect Game alumni have been selected in the MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft. In the 2020 Draft, for example, 93 percent of all players selected had played in Perfect Game events, and all but one player selected on the Draft’s first day had previously attended Perfect Game events. And in the 2019 College World Series, every player on the roster of national champion Vanderbilt and all but one on the runner-up Michigan roster had played in a Perfect Game event.

About Premier Girls Fastpitch
PGF was founded in 2009 and today crowns the unquestioned national champion across nine age divisions. In 2019, 635 teams competed across those age groups, with the 17-day event held across parks in Huntington Beach, Fountain Valley and Irvine, California.  Premier Girls Fastpitch is where the best of the best play in amateur fastpitch softball.  Since 2009 thousands of female student athletes have realized their dreams to play on the college level by performing with top-level competition in front of college recruiters.  PGF produces hundreds of tournaments and showcases each year across the country.

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Tips for High School Coaches dealing with Club Softball Players

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Tips for High School Coaches dealing with Club Softball Players.

by Sean Hall

First of all I have a ton of respect for all of the High School Coaches out there. I get a chance to coach against the best High School Coaches and the best Club Coaches and I personally see no difference when you are talking about the best coaches in each. There are some great coaches all over the country. I want to talk about things I have seen/heard over the years that I think might help some coaches. I have also heard from many high school coaches that have had issues with KNOW IT ALL PLAYERS. I am hoping these tips help players and coaches.

The biggest issues I have heard when it comes to players or parents complaining about coaches generally deals with hitting. Specifically, coaches trying to change their swing. This is tough because hitting can be a very complicated subject. I have coached for 32 years but the more I study different hitting instructors and listen to different people, I sometimes come away more confused.

Here are some thoughts on the subject…

#1 Allow the player to take ownership of their own swing. Many parents spend a lot of money with hitting instructors and/or hitting clinics. To expect that you will be able to come in and help them change their entire swing in a few months is unrealistic and counterproductive.

#2 NEVER put the players between two coaches. If Sally is working with a hitting instructor don’t put pressure on her to SWING your way. The first thing this will do is get her thinking too much and worry about pleasing you and/or her hitting instructor instead of just hitting the ball.

#3 That being said, they still need help. Ask them what they are working on with their hitting coach and how you can help. This may seem like a small thing but now everyone is working together. If you have time it would also be great to talk to the hitting instructor. This works even better if that instructor is working with a lot of your players. When you do this the player WINS! Now you have a TEAM approach to the players swings and will have much more confident hitters.

#4 I would suggest using the word TRY more than the word do. Save the word DO for when you are absolutely sure they are doing something wrong. If you are going to be respective of them they need to be respective of you. For this to work both ways when you suggest a player TRIES something they NEED to make sure they try to make it work. If you run into the player that tries to make sure it doesn’t work then I would keep my eye on that player. The more cooperative the player is when I am trying to help the more she could get the benefit of the doubt. The kid that knows it all better keep hitting or they will be on thin ICE! That being said, if a player is hitting well while standing on their head I probably wouldn’t mess with them too much.

The previous comments are ASSUMING their hitting instructor/coach knows what they are doing. If their hitting coach tells them to “Squash the Bug” then forget the last 4 points I just made! Also someone may have a swing that works well against weaker pitching but will struggle at a higher level. I would start making those adjustments. For many smaller schools the high school coach probably is the “hitting guru” in town.

#5 Focus on your strengths as a coach. Many coaches make the mistake thinking they have to know everything about all facets of the game. This is false. Focus on what you know and don’t try to be an expert on the things that you don’t know as much about. If you don’t know a lot about pitching try to hire some assistant coaches that can help in that area. If you don’t know a lot about pitching and you try to change a pitcher you may lose credibility and then they will be less likely to trust you in the areas you are sure about. Also don’t be too proud to think you can’t learn from your players. A lot of players have put a lot of time in so don’t hesitate to ask questions about who taught them this skill and how do you think it helps you?

#6 Be yourself. I made a mistake my 2nd year at Saint Bernard’s thinking I needed to coach more like a former coach did to be successful. The problem is that wasn’t me. Players will see through it. Once I became myself I was much more comfortable and did a much better job.

#7 If you REALLY want to work for the players ask their club coach to get you a list of the things that their player needs help with. The coaches that work together for the player’s best interest are really doing things for the right reasons.

#8 IF ANOTHER COACH NEEDS TO BE BAD FOR YOU TO BE GOOD THEN YOU AREN’T A VERY GOOD COACH. The coaches that constantly criticize other coaches are insecure and want it to be all about them. A really secure coach will say great things about other coaches. This works both ways with Club Coaches and High School Coaches.

#9 Even though you may decide to allow input from players you are still the one in charge. If players get too opinionated then you probably need to slow them down and remind them who is in charge. But if you can develop good relationships with your players it makes things easier.

#10 The toughest job of a High School Coach is trying to get players playing time in 20 games when EVERY GAME is important. Your most difficult job is filling out a line-up. If you want to show your players how hard it is have them write the line-up down for 3 fictional games. Then if you want to scare them, tell them to sign their name to it and pass it around for everyone to see. You might see a line-up you like? But players will realize how hard this can be and will hopefully understand how hard it is to fill out a line-up.

These are just my opinions and are based on listening to many issues over the years while being a High School and Club Coach. I hope you can take one or two things out of this list that may help. Remember it’s about the girls and the worst thing we can do is pit coaches against each other.

Reposted with permission.

https://www.facebook.com/sean.hall.14203

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Former Wildcat Taryne Mowatt Changed the Stereotype

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First Choice Softball note: The following is a 2007 article from the Arizona Daily Star. We have reprinted it here with permission from the publisher, as we believe the message is timeless and can be an inspiration to other pitchers facing the “shorter than 6 foot” challenge.

Arizona’s Mowatt: Above and beyond

By Patrick Finley -Arizona Star (2007 original publication date)

OKLAHOMA CITY — Taryne Mowatt stands 5 feet 6 inches, but she looks taller. She has an extra foot of tenacity.

How else to explain what the UA pitcher did while becoming the Most Outstanding Player in the Women’s College World Series?

Mowatt threw 1,035 pitches in eight games over seven days to lead the Wildcats to their second straight WCWS title. She defeated Tennessee’s Monica Abbott, a pitcher 9 inches taller who had thrown two fewer games.

In doing so, she might have changed the perception of softball pitchers.

“You know what’s so nice, I think, for the game of softball?” UA coach Mike Candrea said. “Everyone thinks pitchers need to be 6-foot. To see a little petite girl throw her (butt) off makes me so proud.”

In recent history, dominant pitchers have been bigger. Former Texas star Cat Osterman, widely considered the greatest pitcher in history, is 6-3. So is Abbott, the NCAA’s career leader in wins, shutouts, innings pitched, starts, appearances and strikeouts.

Alicia Hollowell, who led the UA to a title last year, is 6-1. Jennie Finch, the 2001 WCWS hero, measures 6 feet tall.

UCLA’s Keira Goerl and LSU’s Kristin Schmidt — 2003 and 2004 tournament MOPs, respectively — stand 5-10 and 5-9.

While height is listed for softball players, weight does not appear in media guides and is not widely discussed.

“I have little girls come up to me and they’re like, ‘It’s so good to see somebody who’s not the biggest person out there,'” said Mowatt, who has played since she was 7. “I just hope little girls think that you don’t have to be 6-foot and above to be a main pitcher. You can pitch as long as you want — you just have to work hard.

“I definitely like the fact that you don’t have to be 6-3. I think I changed that stereotype a little bit.”

She did it at a disadvantage — at least compared to Abbott. The Volunteers’ fireballer threw harder than 70 mph from the pitching rubber, located 43 feet from the plate.

But from where the ball is released from her hand, “that’s 70 from about 34 feet,” Candrea said.

At about 140 pounds, Mowatt puts less body weight behind her pitches than Abbott. But the UA junior proved you don’t need to win the radar gun battle to win games.

If Abbott was Randy Johnson, Mowatt was Greg Maddux. Throughout the tournament, she mixed pitches as if she were psychic.

Nancy Evans — like Mowatt, a sub-6-foot pitcher when she won the WCWS in 1997 — called pitches from the dugout.

Hollowell, an undergraduate assistant this year, had a simple explanation for Mowatt’s success.

“She has the heart,” Hollowell said. “She’s a little girl. They make it sound like the stereotypical pitcher has to be tall and lanky, but there are plenty of pitchers who aren’t tall but get the job done. Nancy Evans wasn’t 6 feet tall.”

Mowatt said she couldn’t sleep Monday and Tuesday nights because both of her arms ached. And save for a tearful talk with her mom, Suzie, on Monday night — “It was just like everything, the loss, how tired I was, and I let it all out,” she said — Mowatt was the picture of toughness.

“A machine,” said second baseman Chelsie Mesa.

Candrea got a preview of Mowatt’s heart last year. That’s when Mowatt’s father, Larry, told the coach about his daughter’s potential.

“Last year he said, ‘You know what, hang in with her, and she’ll give you some special moments,'” Candrea said.

After Wednesday’s game, Candrea hugged Suzie Mowatt. He told her to thank her husband, who was home in California, for the advice.

“I can’t remember seeing such a gritty performance by an athlete as this young lady gave us,” Candrea said. “Everything was on her shoulders, and she did it.”

Reprinted with permission from Arizona Daily Star.

First Choice Softball note: In the 2007 Women’s College World Series, Mowatt lead the Arizona Wildcats, at that time, to their second consecutive and 8th overall national softball title. All-American, Mowatt was awarded two ESPY Awards during her Wildcat career; Best Female Athlete and Best Female College Athlete. She went on to graduate from Arizona in 2008. Mowatt went on to play professional softball, coached at California Baptist University and is currently (2017) the pitching coach at Ole Miss University.

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Choosing a Softball Recruiting and Skills Camp

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RECRUITING and SKILLS CAMPS! What to ask before and how to act during!

SELECTING YOUR TARGET SCHOOLS (Pre-Camp):

*Pick AT LEAST 10 schools of interest:
-5 realistic
-3 fall backs
-2 pipe dreams

-Know what type of softball players these schools like to recruit

-Check out their roster! What positions will they need your year?

WHAT TO ASK WHEN CHOOSING A CAMP:

*How BIG is the camp? This is probably the very first question you should ask when looking for a camp.  If the numbers are small, not only will your child have more opportunity to be seen, but usually the quality of the camp is higher.

*What is the coach to player ratio?  If you are attending a larger recruiting style camp with multiple colleges in attendance a great question to ask is what is the coach to player ratio.  The smaller the ratio, the more work your daughter will get in!

*What is the camp objective?  Is this more of a “skill” camp or is it a “recruiting” camp?

*Will college coaches be interacting with players?  Any time your daughter has the chance to speak face-to-face to college coaches is an excellent opportunity.  Even if it isn’t with the college of her dreams, having the chance to pick the brain of a college coach is a great chance for your daughter to get better!

*What is the cost?  Obviously, there is no right or wrong answer here as it is dependent upon your own individual situations! However, what I can say is don’t go broke sending your child all across the country to camps at schools she is not genuinely interested in.  A lot of schools are now having “satellite” camps, look for ones closer to home to start!

ALRIGHT, YOU’VE SIGNED UP!  WHAT NOW?!?

*What should I wear?  Wear something that is easily recognizable.  Perhaps your travel team’s uniform top or practice shirt so colleges know exactly where to find you after the camp.  If they like you, they’re going to want to come see you again!

*Your first impression is your lasting impression!  Be on time, be prepared, have a smile on your face!  If you look good, people will immediately think you are good.  Tuck your shirt in, make sure your shoes are tied, wear a fresh shirt, LOOK THE PART.

*HUSTLE, DIVE, TALK, HUSTLE SOME MORE.  Be the first person to get to each station. Be the person cheering on others at the camp.  Sprint to your position.  Look coaches in the eye.  Introduce yourself to those running the camp, say “thank you” when you leave.  Leave with the sweatiest, dirtiest shirt there knowing you left everything you had on that field!

*MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.  I can guarantee you a coach does not want to see you hit 15 balls in a row down the left field line, they want to see a multi-faceted, athletic player-showcase your skills!  If you make an error, that doesn’t mean a coach has crossed you off of their list, keep your head up and make your adjustments.  There are 2 things you can control- 1) your effort 2) your attitude.  ALWAYS give your best effort and ALWAYS have a positive attitude!

*If you play multiple positions, showcase that! Colleges are looking for athletes! Showcase yourself!  This shows them that you are not only an athlete, but you are willing and confident!

*Shag balls like you are playing live.  A college who is interested in you is ALWAYS watching you.  They are watching you when you are at a shag station, taking a water break, and when you are speaking to your parents.  It is not just about your athletic ability, but about your character as well.  Be both the player and person they would be proud to have on their roster.

*Last, but not least, HAVE FUN.  If you are upset with yourself it will be noticed on your face and in your body language.  Keep a smile and a positive attitude on at all times, and your experience will always be a good one!

 

jenHeadshotThank you to Jen (Schroeder) Buchan for sharing her article. About our contributor: Jen Schroeder caught at UCLA from 2004-2008 where she competed in three Women’s College World Series’ and earned a degree in History.  She was president of the Bruin Athletic Council where she was extremely involved with an array of community projects.  She is the oldest of four division 1 softball players: Michelle (Stanford), Katie (UCLA), and Nicole (Arkansas). 

In August of 2012 she was married to Kyle Buchan. Jen and her dad now own The Softball Performance Workshop in Placentia, Ca, where it is their goal to leave a lasting impression on the softball community. Jen is a coach, catching instructor and a great inspiration for others!- JenSchro Catching

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Women’s Fastpitch Softball Association

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Women’s Fastpitch Softball Association

The Women’s Fast-pitch Softball Association (WFSA) is the fastest growing recreational and competitive women’s sports program in the country. The WFSA launched its leagues nationwide in the spring of 2010, and is an adult alternative to slow pitch softball. Our mission is to have nationally based leagues, playing fast-pitch softball in cities across the country under a common set of rules. These organized leagues will provide playing opportunities for adult women 18 and over of all abilities.

The WFSA is a fun, family oriented softball environment, where players, managers, and fans feel privileged and honored to still play the game they love softball The WFSA is not about signing a Pro contract, but developing friends and a community of women softball players who feel blessed to still have the ability and opportunity to still play the game they love. It’s not about being paid to play, but about the opportunity to still compete and play the game hard, and to earn a win or a championship through a combined effort of other individuals who love the game and are blessed to still be able to play. If you are one of those players, where it is more important to play for the love of the game, for friendships, and to compete for the honor of the game; then WFSA is a place for you! www.womensfastpitchsoftball.net

Women’s Fastpitch Softball Association Tournaments…

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