Here is a link to some photos from the Team USA selection camp back in September 2008 that hadn’t been posted previously. Thanks to Coach Peter Turner and his staff for providing access to the camp and players.
Click here for our prior post regarding the final selections for Team USA, for the squad that will travel to Saskatoon, SK, Canada in July 2009 for the ISF World Championships.
(Click ASA logo for official press release)
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Amateur Softball Association recently announced Tom Dowd of Clovis, Calif. as the new Central California ASA Commissioner effective November 1, 2008. With over 20 years of experience with the ASA, Dowd is thrilled to be taking on this new position and thanks Dick Grove, former Central California Commissioner, for his guidance to get him to this point.
“This is an honor and privilege to serve ASA and our association membership in the Pacific Coast region,†said Dowd. “I want to build on the foundation that we have right now and continue to grow the sport of softball. Dick (Grove) has been a mentor to all of us and I am so fortunate he took me under his wing years ago.â€
It was Dowd’s second daughter Anne who jump started his association with ASA dating back to 1987. She was eager to play the sport of softball and Dowd and other parents searched around the area and eventually started the Clovis California ASA league that is still in existence today. It started with teams ranging from 10-14-years-old and today ranges from 10-18- years-old with over 90 plus teams.
“Working with the association membership has been my most favorite part of ASA,†added Dowd. “I look forward to continuing those relationships and meeting new people from throughout the Central California association.â€
Once the Clovis ASA League took off, Grove asked Dowd to come on board in a couple different capacities and he was named the Junior Olympic Commissioner in 1992. Serving in that position for almost 15 years, in 2007 Dowd then moved on from the JO position to Grove’s executive assistant in order to ease the transition after Grove’s retirement.
“Tom is a good guy and a great worker,†said Grove. “He knows how to get things done and is a good communicator. I don’t have any worries as he has been around and I have rotated him through a lot of things. This way everything will keep rolling and together we have things set up well.â€
Dowd’s primary goals in the commissioner role is to expand the Adult Program Championship play in his area and also to bring back the visibility the men’s and women’s adult fast pitch game had years ago.
“It has been a little slow coming,†said Dowd. “I want to work to get the recreation departments to promote more ASA Championship Play in slow pitch. Our registrations in the adult area are great, but we have to get them into the championship play. Also, the adult fast pitch game…. We need to bring it back to the level it was at years ago.â€
Editor’s note: We wish Dick Grove the best as he moves on from the position. Dick (along with our old friend “Hodgie”) were responsible for a lot of the fastpitch events in Central California. And we are encouraged by Tom Dowd’s comments about placing more emphasis on the game of men’s fastpitch. (Emphasis in story ours)
Related story from the ASA website on Dick Grove’s retirement after 23 years, after the jump.
Update: We bumped this one up, to include a link to the final bracket for the tournament. Click here for the bracket. (Still waiting for ASA to post the All Americans, link below)
[Fort Worth, TX] – Here are the results from the ASA website for the 50+ Masters National:
Place M/R Team Name Hometown Record
1st Harold’s Supermarket Lexington, MO 5-1
2nd United Sports Academy Galt, CA 4-2
3rd Texas Stars Houston, TX 5-2
4th Savala Painters Hayward, CA 4-2
5th Ohio Battery Ashland, OH 2-2
5th Geo-Per Houston, TX 2-2
7th Houston Diablos Houston, TX 1-3
7th Big Sky Helena, MT 1-3
9th Seattle Fast Pitch Seattle, WA 1-2
9th San Antonio Classics San Antonio, TX 0-3
9th Glow Worms San Antonio, TX 0-3
Editor’s note: ASA insists on calling 50+ fastpitch “Seniors” fastpitch. ( ASA Men’s Senior 50-Over Fast Pitch) In my book, ballplayers still playing fastpitch after 50 are anything but “seniors”.
Here is the list of All-Americans posted on the ASA website:
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From the official ASA/USA Softball website:
Posted to official website: 9/29/2008
ASA announces 2009 USA Softball Men’s National team
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced today 15 of the 17 athletes that will be on the roster that will compete in a series of events leading up to and including the ISF World Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan July 17-26, 2009. The two remaining positions will be announced March 1, 2009.
Below are the 15 athletes named to the 2009 USA Softball Men’s National Team roster:
Frank DeGroat (Ringwood, N.J.)
Chris DeLarwelle (Denmark, Wis.)
Nate Devine (Merced, Calif.)
Don Garvey (Appleton, Wis.)
Paul Koert (Brooklin, Ontario, Canada)
Adam LaLonde (Ashland, Ky.)
Terry Luster (Bunceton, Mo.)
Kyle Magnusson (West Valley, Utah)
Blake Miller (Kingsville, Texas)
Daryn Miller (Bloomington, Il.)
Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa)
Stephen Pinocchio (Merced, Calif.)
Travis Price (Corona, Calif.)
Landy Rodriguez (West Haverstraw, N.Y.)
Chase Turner (Sacramento, Calif.)
The 2009 Men’s National team will be led by head coach Pete Turner (Stockton, Calif.) and assisted by Thad Brown (Modesto, Calif.) and Avon Meacham (Upper Marlboro, Md.).
Editor’s Note: Pitchers listed in bold.
Team USA was in camp over the weekend, at the Arco Olympic Training Facility in Chula Vista, CA (near San Diego) Friday-Saturday, September 26-27, 2008, with most of the 30-some-odd players on the current expanded roster present. Maddy and I were guests, courtesy of the USA Softball staff, and got a first hand look at things Saturday afternoon. We hope to be able to share some photos with you shortly. The squad broke camp late Saturday, with the staff to begin work on the final roster selections for next year’s ISF World Championships in Saskatoon, Canada. We’ll keep an eye out, along with the rest of you for the press release from USA Softball.
Click USA Softball logo above to see the list of players on the current expanded roster.
Story at our ISC II blog, “The Deuce”, click logo below.
Courtesy of Herb Dower, of “The Dower Report”:
Class C Scoreboard
ASA C National Tournament in Prescott, AZ
First Round
Tucson Rattlers 6, Vergedaal Shellers 2
Landis Markets 16, Wolfpack 0
Montgomery 12, Badger Roofing 11
Manor Dirtbags 9, Amigos 1
G2 2, Atlanta Vipers 1
Colorado Rage 10, Nor-Cal 9
Boise River Dogs 9, Albuquerque Risers 2
A Perfect Game 14, Vandehey Builders 0
Salt Lake Magic 8, Blue Lake 3
AZ Brewers 7, Caribbean 0
NM Sundevils 5, Panteras II 3
Eagle AA 14, Brennan Aire 6.
KHT Pumpers 4, Progresssive Roofing 2
Savala Silverhawks 15, Twin Pine 14
Katman Sports 14, Barros Roofing 11
Albuquerque Hitmen 17, Flor De Cana 1
South Carolina Tornadoes 7, Shockers 6
Tucson Hurricans 7, Bloodline 0 (forfeit)
Second Round
Tucson Rattlers 4, Southern California Hustlers 2
Landis Markets 9, Lumpy’s (SLC) 7
Montgomery 11, Tucson Hawks 3
Manor TX Dirtbags 13, Albuquerque Bulls 7
G2 5, San Diego Primetime 4
Colorado Rage 10, Boise River Dogs 6
Santa Rosa Fastpitch 5, A Perfect Game 1
Salt Lake City Magic 14, Peoria Guns 1
Piper Lake 9, AZ Brewers 1
Brotherton Pipe 4, NM Sundevils 1
Da Bruddahs 15, Eagle AA 6
KHT Pumpers 11, Techna Glass 4
Cedar Ridge 12, Savala Silvehawks 7
Katman Sports 12, Albuquerque Hitmen 10
Prescott Cool Arrow 10, S.C. Tornadoes 9
Tucson Hurricanes 9, Funky Monkey 1
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — The Amateur Softball Association, the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, recently announced the 34 athletes invited to attend the September 25-28 selection camp for the 2009 USA Softball Men’s National Team.
The athletes will take part in a three-day camp at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. in order to be selected to the 17-member 2009 Men’s National Team. The 2009 team will compete in a series of events leading up to and including the ISF World Championships in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan July 17-26, 2009.
“We have a mixture of proven veterans and first timers and young talent in this group,†said head coach Peter Turner (Stockton, Calif.). “I think our young talent will push the veterans and we will be able to fill our roster with the right combination to continue moving forward. I think the international experience some of the younger players received over this past summer will go a long way for us.â€
Below are the 34 athletes invited to attend the September camp in Chula Vista, Calif.;
Paul Algar (Lexington, Il.)
Jeremy Cline (Pauma Valley, Calif.)
Nick Cole (Sacramento, Calif.)
Camden Decker (Yorkville, Il.)
Frank DeGroat (Ringwood, N.J.)
Chris DeLarwelle (Denmark, Wis.)
Nate Devine (Merced, Calif.)
David Drotzmann (Hermiston, Ore.)
Don Garvey (Appleton, Wis.)
James Hartman (Hartford, S.D.)
B.J. Hunhoff (Harrisburg, S.D.)
Tim Jorgensen (Green Bay, Wis.)
Sean Kelly (Homer, Mich.)
Eddy Ketelhut (Canton, Mich.)
Paul Koert (Brooklin, Ontario, Canada)
Adam LaLonde (Ashland, Ky.)
Brian Lammers (Lincoln, Neb.)
Terry Luster (Bunceton, Mo.)
Kyle Magnusson (West Valley, Utah)
Tyron McKinney (Ashland, Ohio)
Chris Miljavac (St. Joseph, Mo.)
Blake Miller (Kingsville, Texas)
Daryn Miller (Bloomington, Il.)
Omar Moraga (Tucson, Ariz.)
Matt Palazzo (Pleasant Hill, Iowa)
Sonny Perkins (Phoenix, Ariz.)
Stephen Pinocchio (Merced, Calif.)
Travis Price (Corona, Calif.)
Landy Rodriguez (West Haverstraw, N.Y.)
Todd Schultz (Williamston, Mich.)
Marcus Tan (Union City, Calif.)
Cody Thomson (Herriman, Utah)
Chase Turner (Sacramento, Calif.)
James Butler (Sonora, Calif.)
The 2009 Men’s National team will be led by Turner and assisted by Thad Brown (Modesto, Calif.) and Avon Meacham (Upper Marlboro, Md.).
About ASA
The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.
2008 was a banner year for men’s fastpitch teams from California:
Gold:
ISC II Champions – California Lumberkings.
ASA “A” Champions – Italian Athletic Club
NAFA 23-and-under champions – Santa Barbara Young Bucks
Silver:
ASA “B” – Team Pape
ASA “C” – Santa Rosa
NAFA “A” – Fat City
Not to mention a 6th place finish among 32 teams by the So Cal Bombers in the toughest division of them all, the ISC World Tournament. Did I miss anyone?
Masters are next, September 20-21, 2008 at Carson City. Who’s next to join the group above?
And while we’re plugging California’s finest, did I mention that Santa Barbara’s Mark Bennett tossed a perfect game against multiple-National champions New Image, Wisconsin in the ASA “A” Nationals?
We congratulate the new ASA “A” champions from California, the Italian Athletic Club. Team members:
Ed Brooks
James Butler
Larry Machado
Marco Marciasini
Joel Manfredi
Tony Peeples
Steve Pinocchio
Jason Porto
Mark Summers
Josh Tisdale
Chase Turner
Peter Turner
Bryan Wells
Pitcher Tony Peeples was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, sharing All American honors with teammates Jason Porto (outfield) , Chase Turner (Utility), James Butler (Infield) and Steve Pinocchio (Infield)
The team has worked hard over the past four years, with a steady progression to the top, playing up to the next level, then the next, and finding their place atop the heap.
Italian Athletic Club’s last four seasons:
2005 25th C natonals
2006 2nd place B nationals
2007 3rd A nationals
2008 A NATIONAL CHAMPS
Perhaps some inspiration for two other California teams following similar paths — Santa Rosa finishing 2nd in the “C”, and Team Pape, 2nd in the “B”.