USA Softball Names 2007 Women's National Team Coaching Staff

[Al's Fastball News]

Received: 5/2/07 3:48:38 PM 
From:  "Brian McCall" <bmccall(at)softball.org> 


 
Subject:  USA Softball Names 2007 Women's National Team Coaching
Staff  



For Immediate Release
May 2, 2007

USA Softball Names 2007 Women’s National Team CoachingStaff

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK-USA Softball has announced the selection of
Mike Candrea (Casa Grande, Ariz.), asthe head coach for the 2007
USA Softball Women’s National Team that willattempt to win its
second consecutive World Cup of Softball and its sixthconsecutive
Pan American Games gold medal this summer. 

Candrea, currently the head coach at the University of Arizona,
led the USA toa third consecutive gold medal at the 2004 Olympics
in Athens, Greece and mostrecently to its sixth consecutive ISF
World Championship title in 2006 and itsfirst World Cup title.

Sincearriving on the campus of the University of Arizona, Candrea
hasdeveloped the Wildcat softball program into a perennial powerhouse.
Enteringhis 21st year of coaching this season at ArizonaCandrea
has won a whopping 1081 games for an overall mark of 1081-214
and awinning percentage of .835. 

”Mike Candrea has proven thathe has the ability to take the USAprogram
to the highest level and maintain that success,” said ASAExecutive
Director Ron Radigonda. “USA Softball has thrived underMike’s
leadership and we have no doubt he will have the team ready todefend
its gold medal in Oklahoma City at theWorld Cup and Rio de Janeiroat
the Pan Am Games.” 

Assistant Coaches for the 2007 USA Softball Women's National
Team will be ChuckD’Arcy (Sacramento, Calif.), John Rittman,
(San JoseCA) from Stanford University and Karen Johns (Charlottesville,
Va.from the University of Virginia. 

D'Arcy brings a wealth of knowledge to the USA coaching staff
as a formernational team player and as a coach. He served as
an assistant coach for the 2006USA Softball Women’s National
Team that won their first World Cup ofSoftball and their sixth
consecutive World Championship. D’Arcy has alsoserved as an assistant
coach with the USA Softball Junior Women's National Teamthat
captured the silver medal at the 2003 ISF Junior Women’s WorldChampionship
in Nanjing, China. 

As a pitcher, D'Arcy competed in the ASA Men's Major Fast Pitch
division foralmost 30 years spanning four different decades.
He participated in 17 ASANational Championships and eight USOC
Olympic Festivals. He was selected toplay for the USA Men's National
Team in the 1983 Pan-Am Games in Caracas, Venezuelaand was voted
team captain by his teammates. 

His Hall of Fame numbers include more than 1,000 victories, more
than 10,000strikeouts, more than 60 no-hitters and more than
15 perfect games. He held anearned run average of 0.85 over his
30 year career. For his accomplishments hewas inducted into the
National Softball Hall of Fame in 1997. 

Johns also brings knowledge to the staff as a former national
team player andas a coach. In 2006 she served as an assistant
coach for the USA Softball Women’sNational Team that won their
first World Cup of Softball and their sixthconsecutive World
Championship. She also served as an assistant coach with theUSA
Softball Women’s National Team in 2005 at the World Cup of Softballand
with the USA Elite Team at the Canada Cup. 

As amember of the U.S. National team, she won medals at the 1990
and 1994 ISF WorldChampionships, the 1994 South Pacific Classic
and the 1995 Pan American Games.Johns led her team to gold medals
at the U.S. Olympic Festival in both 1989 and1990. She returned
to the festival in 1994 and 1995, and both times her teamclaimed
the bronze medal. 

In June of 2005, Johns became the head coach at the University
of Virginiaafter serving as the head coach at the University
of Florida for five seasonswhere she compiled a 192-131 record
for a .594 winning percentage. 

Rittman has been involved as a coach with the USA Softball National
Teamprogram since 2001. Most recently he served as an assistant
coach for the USASoftball Women’s National Team that won their
first World Cup of Softballand their sixth consecutive World
Championship. He was an assistant coach withthe USA Elite Team
that won the 2005 Intercontinental Cup in Madrid, SpainHe was
an assistant coach for the 2004 USA Olympic Team that won a gold
medalin Athens, Greece. He was also a part of the'03 team that
won a gold medal at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic as well as a gold medal at the U.S.Cup. Rittman
was also the assistant coach for the 2002 USA National SoftballTeam
that won the 2002 US Cup, Canada Cup, Japan Cup and the WorldChampionships.
In 2001 Rittman coached the USA Red Team that won the gold medalat
the US Cup and also competed in the Canada Cup and USA Softball
Shootout. 

He is currently in his 11th season at the helm of the Stanford
women's softballprogram after being named head coach on July
12, 1996. During that time,Rittman has brought the Stanford softball
program from a non-scholarshipclub-level program to a fully-funded
championship contender including 10consecutive winnings season,
nine post-season appearances and two appearancesin the NCAA Women’s
College World Series. 

USA Softball Women’s National Teams have been among the most
dominatingof any sports team in history. The USA’s ability to
bring homethe gold in World Championships, the Pan American Games
and the Olympics isunchallenged, with a total of seventeen. 

The USA Softball Women’s National Team won the first Olympic
gold medalin the sport’s history during the 1996 Olympic Games
in AtlantaGA, and defended its gold medal both at the 2000Olympic
Games in Sydney and the 2004 OlympicGames in AthensThe USA Softball
Women’s National Team, which is the defending World CupChampions,
has won the past six consecutive World Championships, the past
fiveconsecutive Pan Am Games and the past three Olympic gold
medals.

 

 

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