Don Bates Named Head Coach of Canadian Menâ€™s National Softball Team

December 14th, 2009

(click logo for original news story)

(Ottawa, ON) Softball Canada is very pleased to announce that Don Bates (Saskatoon, SK) has been chosen as the Head Coach of the Menâ€™s National Team program. Don was an assistant coach with the Menâ€™s program since 2006, and also served as an assistant coach with the Senior Womenâ€™s Olympic Team in 2008. Bates will replace Mark Smith (Falmouth, NS), who stepped down earlier this year to take on the Head Coach position of the Womenâ€™s National Team program.

â€œI am honored to assume the position of Head Coach of the Canadian Men’s National Softball Teamâ€ stated Don Bates. â€œThe program has a rich tradition of being one of the best in the world. I look forward to working with Canada’s top male softball athletes as we begin our initial preparation for the 2013 ISF World Championship in New Zealand.â€

A Level III coach working towards obtaining his Level IV certification, Don has also helped Softball Canada on the administrative side of the game. He has been a member of the Long Term Athlete Development Steering Committee, and just recently accepted to chair the committee at the 2009 Annual General Meeting held in Ottawa. A retired school principal who now runs Saskatchewanâ€™s first High School Softball Academy, Don will devote most of his time to promote and teach the sport of softball.

â€œIt will be a real pleasure to have Don Bates on board as the Head Coach of our Senior Men’s National Team programâ€ said Softball Canada President Kevin Quinn. â€œDon is highly respected in the softball community for both his softball expertise and his ability to work cooperatively. Don has great technical knowledge, especially in the pitching area, and will be a real asset in developing young athletes as we start our rebuilding process. I am extremely pleased that Don has accepted the challenge and look forward to working with him in the future.â€

The Senior Menâ€™s National Team recently won a Bronze medal at the 2009 ISF Menâ€™s World Championship held in Saskatoon, and is always considered a Gold medal threat.

â€œWith a number of our current National Team players retiring from competitive play, one priority over the next two years will be to identify our top young players who appear ready to make the transition to International competitionâ€ assessed Bates. â€œThese players will need to be exposed to top International competition to gain the experience required for success at the ISF World Championship. I look forward to working closely with the Provincial/Territorial associations as we begin the process of identifying and developing our National Team roster players.â€

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For more information, please contact:

Gilles LeBlanc
Manager â€“ Marketing and Communications
Softball Canada
(613) 523-3386 ext. 3105
gleblanc (at) @softball.ca

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French version provided after the jump for French speaking fastball fans in the province of Quebec and beyond. Read the rest of this entry »

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Birthday Greetings to Joe Todd

December 11th, 2009

Happy Birthday to another member of the Ballparkradio crew, Joe Todd, a young 55 today. Joe was the original ISC II broadcaster – pre-Ballparkradio, in 2003, and has been with the ISC II broadcast crew ever since.

(click logo for Joe’s bio)

Send birthday greetings to Joe: ftode739 (at) rogers.com

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Nelson strong in Southern Pride

December 11th, 2009

Marty Grant at the Helm

By WAYNE MARTIN – The Nelson Mail

ON THE DIAMOND: Nelson softball players, pictured clockwise from left, Marty Grant, Brendon Ross, Dominic Mahutu-Mason, Nick Max, Jack Fletcher, Simon Ashby and Yvette Grant, have been named in the Southern Pride squads for the national fastpitch championship.
Black Sox pitcher Marty Grant is banking on some personal responsibility by his players to help prepare them for this month’s national fastpitch softball series.

With Grant now retired from international play, the three-times world champion is player-coach of the Southern Pride squad confirmed to compete in the new national fastpitch championship at Mainland Foundation Ball Park in Christchurch from December 27-30. It replaces the national softball league which was held for eight years.

The Southern Pride’s player pool covers the entire South Island Island, apart from Canterbury, making it difficult for his team to train together heading into the tournament. However, Grant has been involved with a number of the players in representative sides over the years, so there will be some familiarity.

“The core of them are based around a number of players who’ve played together in various age group teams over the last four years,” he said.

And he expects his players to put in some hard work prior to their assembly in an attempt to hit the ground running in Christchurch.

Joining Grant in the Southern Pride side are fellow Nelson players Dominic Mahutu-Mason, Derryn French, Simon Ashby, Jack Fletcher, Nick Max and Brendon Ross. Nelson’s Don Glennie is Grant’s assistant coach, Hamish Fletcher is the team manager and Danielle Fletcher the official team scorer.

Also included in the side are Marlborough’s Ryan Schollum, Kyle Marfell and Jordan Tulloch, Otago’s Scott Cartwright, Chris Anderson and Jamie Robinson, Hawke’s Bay’s Ray Te Wake and Southland’s Jonathan Campbell. Grant, Mahutu-Mason and Te Wake comprise the pitching staff.

The Southern Pride women’s team includes Nelson’s Yvette Grant, who won a softball gold medal with Australian team Brisbane Renegades at the World Masters Games in Sydney earlier this year.

No Black Sox players are available for the four-day tournament, which could count against Auckland, who won the last four national league titles. Canterbury and Wellington are the favoured sides, with North Harbour and Central Vikings completing the men’s draw. Southern Pride will compete against Auckland, Hutt Valley, Wellington and Canterbury in the women’s draw.

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Pitcher Available

December 10th, 2009

From Bryan Lathrop:

SOFTBALL TEAMS:

After giving it considerable thought, I have decided due to travel and financial constraints that I will no longer play for New Image Salon.

It was a great four years, winning the NAFA National Championship three times and once the ASA Class A National. No one will ever forget the 97-3 year.

I would like to thank manager Jeremie Holman; sponsor Peg Holman; team fans; and all my teammates. No one could have asked for a greater bunch of guys to be teammates with. Wishing them the best of luck in 2010 and beyond.

I do feel I still have some wins left in this old arm so if anyone is in need of a pitcher, please contact me. My phone number is 608-846-6813 or 608-628-9015. My e-mail address is balnickel (at) yahoo.com. If you can not reach me, you may contact my dad, NAFA Vice-President at 608-225-1321. His e-mail is oldfab (at) hotmail.com The decision will ultimately be mine but will listen to any good advice. Hopefully so teams can get there schedule set, a decision as to who I will pitch for will be made by February 1st.

Bryan Lathrop

(Ed Note) Pitched for Kitchener-Waterloo Cubs, runner-up in 2009 ISC II Tournament of Champions)

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Calling All 2010 AAU Rosters

December 9th, 2009

If your team is competing in the 2010 AAU International Tournament in January, and has not yet submitted a team roster, we invite you to do so. See others on this blog for samples. Nothing official, just for the reading enjoyment of fastball fans around the world. Send to: jim (at) fastpitchwest.com — and be sure to cc: a copy to Al Doran at fastball (at) pmihrm.com.

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2010 AAU Roster # 2 – Team Minnesota – USA

December 9th, 2009

Courtesy of Al’s Fastball:

Team Minnesota Roster for 2010 AAU

OF Brad Ezekial
OF Lucas Goring
OF Matt Darling
Inf Jason Wandler
Inf Matt Palazzo
Inf Chad Boom
C Brian Lammers
Inf, OF BJ Gulick
Inf Tom Owen
OF Tommy Thompson
Uti BJ Boom
1B Roman Foore

P Frank Cox
P Ward Gosse
P Gerald Muizelaar
P Rick Lang
Mgr James Landreman
Asst Coach Brett Bresnahan
Brett Bresnahan
brett.bresnahan(at)gmail.com

The 2010 AAU International tournament will be played at the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World at Orlando, Florida on January 21-24, 2010. The tournament was started by AAU tournament director Alex Linares in 2000 with eight teams, growing to 40 teams in this, its eleventh year. Fastpitchwest/Ballparkradio/Maddy’s Photos has been providing coverage of the event since 2004.

Click here for a list of all 40 teams competing in the 2010 tournament.

Click here for other 2010 AAU rosters posted to date.

Posted in International, Teams, Tournaments | No Comments »

Softball Australia Newsletter

December 9th, 2009

Softball Act Newsletter, from Australia. (PDF)

Male Athlete of the Year ? You guessed it. Adam Folkard.

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2010 AAU Roster # 1 – NY Gremlins USA

December 8th, 2009

Courtesy of Al’s Fastball:

Updated Roster, 12/9/09:

NY Gremlins 2010 AAU Roster

John Rozich C/OF
John Heinsch DH
Chad Busch 2B
Chad McConnell SS
Jay Herr 3B
Derek Pukash OF
Reggie Barrau OF
Landy Rodriguez C/INF
Jeff Hook 1B
Justin Dauvin OF/INF
Ed Jackson OF
Dan O’Brien OF
Travis Wilson INF

Blair Ezekial INF/P
Bill Hillhouse P
Bryan Newton P
Jeremy Tracy P/OF
Dean Holien P/DH

Sponsor – Bruce Tanski
Mgr. – Gregg Leather
Coach – Jim Busch
Coach – Steve Kooser

The 2010 AAU International tournament will be played at the Wide World of Sports complex at Disney World at Orlando, Florida on January 21-24, 2010. The tournament was started by AAU tournament director Alex Linares in 2000 with eight teams, growing to 40 teams in this, its eleventh year. Fastpitchwest/Ballparkradio/Maddy’s Photos has been providing coverage of the event since 2004.

Click here for a list of all 40 teams competing in the 2010 tournament.

Click here for other 2010 AAU rosters posted to date.

Posted in International, Tournaments | No Comments »

AAU – Final Team List for 2010

December 8th, 2009

Click here to view full color PDF flyer (photo by Maddy)

Sorted by country:

1. Cobourg Force Canada
2. DC Arrows Canada
3. Millwood Logistics Countrymen Canada
4. Kitchener Outlaws Canada
5. Niagara Storms Fury Canada
6. Nova Scotia Canada
7. Dominican Republic Natl. Team Dominican Republic
8. Jamaica National Jamaica
9. Atascados / Tijuana Fastpitch Mexico
10. Radio 560 Mexico Mexico
11. Puerto Rico National Team Puerto Rico
12. Puerto Rico National Jr. Puerto Rico
13. Barranquitas Puerto Rico Puerto Rico
14. ADASI Spain Spain
15. Carnage U.S.
16. Earls U.S.
17. Big Cove Fastpitch U.S.
18. Minnesotta Angels U.S.
19. N.Y. Gremlins U.S.
20. Maccabi USA / Red U.S.
21. Maccabi USA U.S.
22. Ashland, OH Stock Pack U.S.
23. Florida Fastpitch U.S.
24. Team Minnesota U.S.
25. P.K. Broward Pirates U.S.
26. Italian Athletic Club U.S.
27. Oklahoma Fast Pitch U.S.
28. Hill United U.S.
29. Venezuela / Miami U.S. / Venezuela
30. Dominicana U.S. U.S./Dominicans
31. Chicago N.Y. U.S./Dominicans
32. Gigantes De Venezuela Venezuela
33. Los Socios,Venezuela Venezuela
34. Capitalinos de Caracas (Venez) Venezuela
35. Combatientes de Venezuela Venezuela
36. Sopotocientos Venezuela
37. SureÃ±o Soy / Venezuela Venezuela
38. Brewers de Venezuela Venezuela
39. Indios de Venezuela Venezuela
40. Eagles / Virgin Island Virgin Islands