Bob's Fastpitch Bulletins
Volume 7, Number 78 -- 6/13/08 :: Friday, June 13, 2008
Hello Fastpitch aficionados,
Here is a bit more information about the all state lists. It’s intended to be non-judgemental and purely informational.
The 92 players hail from 36 of the conferences in the state.
Here is a list of conferences and the number of players from each
Wisconsin Valley – 9; Fox Valley Association – 7; Mississippi Valley – 6; Big Rivers – 5; Packerland – 5; Southeast – 4; Fox River Classic - 4; Greater Metro – 4; Bay – 4; Cloverbelt West – 3; Coulee – 3; Little 10 – 3; Classic Eight – 3; Badger South – 3; Woodland – 2; Central Wisconsin Small – 2; Lumberjack – 2; Six Rivers West – 2; Trailways North – 2; Capitol North – 1; Lakeshore – 1; North Shore – 1; Lakeland West – 1;Eastern Valley – 1;Marawood – 1; Rock Valley – 1; Eastern Wisconsin – 1; Wisconsin Flyway – 1; Cloverbelt East – 1; Scenic Bluffs – 1
Midwest Classic/Classic – 1; Southern Lakes – 1
There are 8 Districts in the WFSCA structure and the number of selections that came from each district:
South Central – 9; North Central – 14; North East – 13; Valley/Lakeshore – 12; South West – 7; Western – 11; Northwest – 10; South East – 16
A regular reader of the Fastpitch Bulletins, Opening Pitch Blog and other WSN softball site pages sent the following e-mail to me:
Hi Bob,
I found your bulletin tonight full of great information. I especially liked the listing of pitchers and how they were clocked for speed. As was evident at State, speed isn't everything especially if you don't have movement on the ball.
What I gleaned from the All-State selections was the weight that was put on the Team's win/loss records. No pitcher selected had more than 6 Team losses according to the stat's on the WSN website. Only 3 pitchers selected were on a team that was not listed in the top 15 of each Division Ranking on the WSN website. I'd be curious to find out the weight if any that's put on the pitchers other stat's that they control. That is, ERA, Fielding PCT, Innings pitched, Strike-outs, Walks Allowed, number of At-Bats, Batting AVG.
Thanks for all you did in keeping this new website interesting and up-to-date. I looked forward each day of the season to reading your bulletins and Opening Pitch Blog.
Have a Great Summer!
Dave
Alyssa Roberts of Kenosha Bradford was named the Gatorade Player of the Year for Wisconsin on Tuesday of this week. Congratulations to her!
Have a great weekend!
Keep it Rising!Bob
Volume 7, Number 77 -- 6/12/08 :: Thursday, June 12, 2008
Hello Again Everyone – It’s been an interesting day and a day filled with phone calls and e-mails from people across the state that took a look at the all state lists announced yesterday by the WFSCA.
The All State Selection meeting was Sunday in Stevens Point, there nearly all of the District Reps met and hammered out the lists.
As I looked at the lists my first thought was that there seemed to be about half as many kids on the lists as there have been in the past. I figured the District reps must have chosen to reduce the number of players by about half. I was apparently correct in that assumption as I talked with one of the reps this afternoon.
I decided to print out the list and take a close look at it. I decided to count how many players from each District were on the list and how many of those players are from Division 1, Division 2, Division 3 and Division 4 schools.
[b]Here is the data:[/b]
There are 92 players on the lists.
Of the 92 players – 52 are from Division 1 schools which is 52.5%
Of the 92 players – 15 are from Division 2 schools which is 16.3%
Of the 92 players – 16 are from Division 3 schools which is 17.3%
Of the 92 players – 9 are from Division 4 schools which is 9.7%
Of the 52 players from Division 1, 6 are from SPASH which is 11.5% and 6 of 92 is 6%
In 2007 there were 192 players listed on the all state lists.
Here is a little more information on the pitchers on the list as well as some that are not that we pionted my radar at this spring. These are simply facts gleaned from sitting behind home plate at the state tournament and other games such as the all star games and other regular season, regional and sectional games and recording the data.
Beth Spoehr – Appleton East – 60-62 mph top speeds, mostly right around 58-59
Lexi Johnson – Madison Memorial – 54-56 mph top speeds, mostly right in that range
Stacey Tuskowski – SPASH – 55-57 mph and mostly in that range
Ashely Meinen – McDonell – 56 mph top speed, consistently at 55 mph
Bev Nordin – Verona – 52-54 mph consistently at state tourney
Cherise Waltz – Oakfield – 55-56 mph consistently
Courtney Wautier – Southern Door – 59-61 mph tops, 58 consistently
Laci Pustina – Highland – 54-55 mph consistently
Lauren Beres – Eisenhower – 60-61 mph – consistently threw 58 mph
Kayla Schlegel – Eisenhower – 60-61 mph – consistently threw 58 mph
Kesley Walasek – Park Falls – 58-61 mph with consistent rise ball at 57 mph –
Michelle Smith – Catholic Central – 56-58 mph
Jeni Luzinski – Thorp – 55-56 mph – mostly right around 54-55
Jordan Martin – Aquinas – 52 mph consistently
Carissa Neina[font=arial][size=2]s[/size][/font]– Sevastopol – 54 mph – mixed things superbly between 51-54
Renee Schuttler – Monroe – 57 mph –
Rice Lake – Alyssa Anderson – 52 mph
[font=arial][size=2]Jami Kessenich[/size][/font] – Arrowhead – 52 mph
Ashley Wagner – Middleton – 56-58 mph
Bekah Rennicke – Homestead – 52 mph
Eryn Edgerton – Wausau West – 55 mph
Allison Stanke – Oak Creek – 51 mph
Alyssa Koch - Racine Case - 58-59 mph
Alyssa Roberts - Kenosha Bradford - 57-59 mph
Rachel Bublitz - Columbus - 55-56 mph
Lydia Free - Luther Prep - 56-57 mph
Nichole Nolan - Oakfield - 55-56 mph
Michelle Friedel - Portage - 54-57 mph
Michelle Mueller - LaCrosse Logan - 61-62 mph
Maddy Werner - Randolph - 53-54 mph
Tieraney Planasch - Dodgleland - 59-61 mph
Chelsea Hensler - Waterloo - 54-55
All the speeds were done with my Decatur Electronic ProSpeed DSP radar gun tuned perfectly at 77 mph. That radar gun is a $2000 piece of equipment that I have been using for many years. I periodically stand snext to those police department radar gun trailers and compare speeds. They are always the same or within one mile per hour of each other. My radar gun is accurate.
The above speed information is informational in nature and not meant to be judgemental in any way. It does show however that, for the most part, Division 1 pitchers are not any faster than D-2s, D-3s or D-4s.
Volume 7, Number 76 -- 6/12/08 :: Thursday, June 12, 2008
It’s high and tight!
Hello Everyone – It was great to be at the state tournament and at the all star games within the past week. It gave me a chance to chat with many of you and to watch some good games and some excellent players.
The high school season is officially over now and it’s time to start reflecting on what transpired during the past year and what the possibilities are for the future.
My agreement with the Wisconsin Sports Network was a noteworthy one and a move that I contemplated for a while. I knew that it would be tough to get the word out to many people that things were a bit different and I also knew that, in fastpitch softball in this state, publicity and notoriety for players is a tough thing in many areas.
Simply stated, there are just too many schools whose coaches fail to get involved with that aspect of being a coach. In the end their players are the ones who suffer.
I’m sure the WFSCA all state lists that are now posted on that site will raise many, many conversations across the Badger State and many of the gripes will come from parents of players whose coaches simply fail in the area of publicity, promotion and notoriety.
Take a look at the all state teams. They are posted on the wfsca.org website and there is also a link to the page on the WSN site’s Opening Pitch Blog that I write. There are some excellent, excellent players on all those lists and in my humble opinion there’s not much, if any difference between a kid who is listed on the first team and a kid who is listed as an honorable mention player. To me, they are all simply all-state players.
Coaches and umpires who still don’t understand the DP/Flex rule and how it can be used to benefit a team could take some lessons from New Berlin Eisenhower’s great coach, Jeff Setz. We were impressed with what he was doing with the DP/Flex rule and using it to directly win a state championship. It was Eisenhower’s first state title in six trips.
I thought the state tournament featured a lot of defensive lapses. Errant throws, dropped throws, dropped balls that seemed like “cans of corn” to the fans were all a part of what we saw take place down there. Most of those lapses cost that team a victory.
A parent once told me that “errors are part of the game” and that I should accept that. My answer was the same one I used on a basketball player who told me that “basketball is a game made from turnovers.” My answer was, “errors certainly are a part of softball and the team that loses normally commits more errors than the team that wins!”
People forget quickly that an error occurred when the team gets out of an inning without yielding a run. However, that base runner determines the part of the batting order that opens the next half inning. There is a reason that coaches put their better batters at the top half of the order rather than the bottom half. When an error occurs, that’s one inning sooner for the leadoff batter to step into the batter’s box and the entire game is different than it would have been if that error the inning before had not occurred.
Great teams seldom give the other team a chance to steal a victory from the jaws of defeat. Great teams combine pitching, defense and offensive success.
Another thing I liked this year at Goodman Diamond was the decreased number of campfire songs emanating from the dugouts. I’m old school and I like diamond chatter as I grew up with it.
Congratulations to all the teams that advanced to the state tournament and congratulations to the four state champions and to the state runner-up in each division of play. To the coaches who won the title, those that lost in the championship game or lost in an earlier round – I know the feeling of all three situations – I’ve been there.
Keep checking the site as I will try to keep bulletins flowing and will try to get other interesting information to you.
Have a great day and a great summer.
Keep it Rising!
Bob
Volume 7, Number 75 6/5/08 :: Friday, June 06, 2008
From behind the backstop at Goodman Diamond!
Hello Everyone - The day started with a four-hour rain delay and games scheduled (onj paper) every 90 minutes. Anyone who has been around a ball yard and ball tournament with no time limits even 10% as often as I have been knows that on paper is just that.
There are diamond preparations between games and that takes the crew quite a bit of time at Goodman Diamond. Then there are rounds of infield and player introductions and then the play ball.
The final game ended at 12:27 am today (Friday).
I enjoyed the games and surely enjoyed the conversation with everyone I chatted with (and there are a lot of people to chat with).
I was impressed by some individuals in the D-4 quarter finals and impressed with some pitchers who, although didn't throw extremely fast, kept the ball down and away from batters and kept them off balance.
For detailed results of all the games go to the WIAA website at wiaawi.org and click on softball and state tournament on the drop down boxes. I can't do it any better than what is there.
See ya at the yard!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
Volume 7, Number 74 - 6/4/08 :: Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Hello Everyone - Earlier this spring I was asked to take part in a survey conducted by the National Federation . Here are the survey questions that needed answering.
Part 1 - Are these changes made last year satisfactory?
1. Permitting players to wear metal cleats and metal toe plates?
2. Restricting the head coach, in addition to the offender, to the dugout when a second unreported substitution occurs.
3. Requiring the batter to take her position in the batter's box within 10 seconds after the ball is returned to the pitcher.
Part 2 Observations - Are you seeing in your area?
1. An increase in serious lacerations due to permitting players to wear metal cleats.
2. A decrease in serious knee injuries due to permitting players to wear metal cleats.
3. An increase in sliding injuries from the use of non break-away bases.
4. An increase in base coaches being struck by batted balls.
5. Teams making their equipment available in a timely fashion prior to the game for inspection by the umpires
6. Defensive player equipment being discarded during live ball action.
7. A decrease in the number of unreported substitutions.
8. A decrease in batter delays.
9. The DP/Flex rule generally understood by coaches.
10. The DP/Flex rule generally understood by umpires.
11. An increase in the number of teams using the DP/Flex option.
12. An increase in the pitching rules being properly enforced by umpires.
Part 3 - About Rules for 2009 -- Would you favor?
1. Moving the pitching distance to 43 feet (current distance is 40 feet).
2. Requiring a double first base for all interscholastic contests.
3. Requiring the use of breakaway or releaseable bases.
4. Reducing the COR (coefficient of restitution) of fast pitch softballs (current max is .47)
5. Reducing the compression of fast pitch softballs (current max is 375 pounds)
6. Requiring adult and non-adult base coaches to wear protective head gear (currently, only non-adults are required to wear protective head gear).
7. Prohibiting defensive player equipment (ie face/head protection) to be discarded and requiring it to be worn througout the entire half inning.
8. The umpire declaring a bunt attempt when a player holds the bat in the strike zone.
9. Requiring the pitcher to start with two feet on the pitcher's plate (currently, only one is required).
Those are the questions I answered. How would you answer them?
Volume 7, Number 73 - 6/3/08 :: Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Hello Everyone – It’s state tournament week and I’ve been told that the weather might affect the event.
I was at the Verona complex last Saturday and it’s a dandy so if teams get moved to Verona, don’t fret, the fields look just like Goodman Diamond and play just like Goodman Diamond except for the seating for fans.
Weather permitting, I’ll be at Goodman Diamond for the fourth Division 1 quarter final, the Division 1 semi-finals and all the other games. You will probably be able to find me most of the time sitting at the media table right behind home plate.
I want to get summer softball tournaments on the WSN site and have been looking at the WSN Directories pages. They way they have things set up right now it appears to be basketball terminology. I’ll try to get them to change the grade levels to age groups such as 10-U, 12-U, 14-U, 16-U and 18-U instead. I’d imagine that people will be best to e-mail me their tournament information like the name of the event, the dates, the entry deadlines if there are any, entry fees, starting date and ending date.
Then after your tournament is over I will request and e-mailed, detailed report from your tournament that I can post on the Opening Pitch Blog and be able to use information from those tournaments for future Fastpitch Bulletins.
To view the Tournament Directory you must go to the far, far right hand side of the red options bar on the softball site of WSN. Click on the "More+" and go from there.
Many have asked me how the past season went for me in terms of taking on the position of Content Provider for WSN and not using The Fastpitch Chronicle website. Here are a few general answers to those questions.
1) I think the WSN site offers coaches and teams a great venue for promoting themselves. The game score reports forms where coaches can fill out the boxes and e-mail it automatically to media outlets is one thing that many coaches really tell me they like.
2) We need to clean up the glitches in the way the game score reports appear on the site but we’ll get there.
3) The biggest issue for everyone that uses the site are the coaches who don’t. When a school’s schedule and roster is not on the WSN site every score reporter’s hands are tied when it comes to doing a perfect job of score reporting in terms of line scores and box scores. It’s impossible for a score reporter to simply type in the name of kids from the other school. That is aggravating and I realize that.
4) Some coaches report that they find the site much harder to navigate the The Fastpitch Chronicle site. We have plenty of time to iron out some glitches.
5) Trying to find all the scores from games played compared to just being able to scroll down through a day’s worth of games was another issue that many of you told me about. I’m trying to figure out how to remedy that without me having to spend countless hours doing what it took to make that happen on the old site.
Have a great day and as always
Keep it Rising!
Bob
Volume 7, Number 72 - 5/31/08 :: Saturday, May 31, 2008
Hello Fastpitch Fans!
I just finished updating the Fastpitch Chronicle/WSN Coaches Honor Roll pages by adding a year to some names and adding a couple of names of coaches who will now be coaching in their second state tournament. If there are names and numbers that need adding or editing just drop me an e-mail and I'll get at.
Things have pretty well wound down statewide now that the state tournament field is set (save for the D-4 Verona Sectional being played later today). I'm going to make an effort to be there for the first round games anyway.
I'm trying to figure out where to go from here with this website. It's not really my website so I'm really limited in my thinking but I know there are people out there who really thirst for things to read about this game.
I need to start working harder on the book I've started that will be "chock full" of great fastpitch stories from my many years in the game."
Jim Turner of Altoona and I share a great state tournament story and he's promised to write up his version of what transpired that day in 1999 during the umpire and coaches meeting at home plate at the Saratoga Complex in Waukesha.
I'll also type up a good story from the Poynette Jamboree this past spring. That particular story still has me chuckling every time I put lines on a diamond.
I typed up several forever memories last night and sent them off to another great friend who had returned home disappointed after a sectional experience.
I'll be in Madison for the state tournament. I'll have my radar guns along, my video camera and my ears will be waiting for the stories that many of you will relate to me. I look forward to that.
Have a great day and weekend --- and as always --
Keep it Rising!
Bob
Volume 7, Number 71 -- 5/27/08 :: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
[b][size=4]Top Notch Junior looking for summer 18-U team![/size][/b]
Hello Again Fastpitch enthusiasts! I don't usually start bulletins off with a headline. As a matter of fact I have never started a bulletin off with a headline.
However, this one is different. A friend of mine, whom I have worked with just a little is looking for a summer 18-Under team to play with. It seems that the team she was planning on being a part of has changed leadership and direction and the kid is "an excellent pitcher without a team to pitch for."
That's an unusual scenario because what usually happens is a pretty good team is looking for a pretty good pitcher and not a pitcher looking for a team.
The pitcher has two high school teammates who are also looking to play summer 18-Under weekend tournaments. One is a first sacker and the other catches.
The pitcher is a junior. She long, strong and throws hard. She has a great attitude and has a great sense of humor. If I were a person running a summer fastpitch program, I'd latch onto the pitcher in a heartbeat. I'd also chat with the other two players as well.
If you are running a summer 18-Under program and are in need of some players contact me and I'll put you in touch with the pitcher. I certainly do not want to publish her name and contact information here.
Just e-mail me your interest and your phone number and I'll get you the information you need to contact her.
Again,
Have a great day and -----
Keep it Rising
Bob
Volume 7, Number 70 -- 5/27/08 :: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
For the second time today!
Hello Again Everyone - I had an e-mail from somebody who read the earlier e-mail from today and challenged my ruling on the play situation I typed up after watching it happen at a regional final game nearby.
The play once again happened like this - Nobody aboard and the batter hit a pop up right in front of the third base bag and about 1 foot fair. It was medium height. The third sacker called for the ball and was camped under it but the shortstop was running over there and called the third sacker off. The shortstop stopped short, a bit confused and the ball struck her glove but she didn't catch it, in fact the ball then rolled slowly toward the third base dugout. The batter had ran it out and was headed for second when the ball entered the dugout, out of play.
The umpires, both very experienced, awarded the batter-runner third base. I was certain it should have been a two base award from the time of the pitch. The team in the field apparently made no beef about the award and play went on. The runner ended up stranded at third.
For the record. I was correct. Rule 8-4-3h page 67 says
" a fair ball bounces over or rolls under or through a fence or any designated boundary of the playing field. Also, when it deflects off of a defensive player or goes out of play after having passed an infielder excluding the pitcher and provided no other fielder had a chance to make an out.
[b]PENALTY: (Art. 3h) The ball is dead and all runners are awarded two bases from the time of the pitch.[/b]
[b][/b]
Thanks to John Peterson for confirming the rule, section and articles.
I posted a link to a blog from New Berlin Now about New Berlin Eisenhower and their two underclass pitchers who are both very good. One of the two, [font=arial][color=#000000][size=2]Kayla Schegel, has a Poynette connection and actually New Berlin Eisenhower has two Poynette connections. Head Coach Jeff Setz, a Waterloo native, has a brother Dan who lives in Arlington and whose daughter was a standout infielder for us last year. Kayla Schegel is the niece of Poynette 5th grade teacher Sallie Spees whose daughter Megan was a three-time all state softball player for Poynette. Check out the article either on the blog or just click on the link right here: [link=http://blogs.newberlinnow.com/sports_thoughts/archive/2008/05/15/lions-boast-1-2-pitching-punch.aspx][u][color=#0066cc]http://blogs.newberlinnow.com/sports_thoughts/archive/2008/05/15/lions-boast-1-2-pitching-punch.aspx[/color][/u][/link][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2]Here is another situation that makes a person shake their head in wonderment. This play took place this past weekend in a baseball game but the umpires are both WIAA softball umpires and at least one of them did a regional semi-final the other day.[/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]The home team had the bases loaded with one out. A high pop-up was hit in front of home plate about three feet in fair territory. The catcher came out into fair territory, camped under the pop-up but did not catch it. It landed and stayed fair. The catcher picked up the fair ball and touched home plate and the runner at third was called out for not advancing home. As you can read no infield fly rule was called. The field umpire's explanation was that the catcher and pitcher are not considered infielders and therefore the infield fly rule was not in effect.
I asked the umpire about this, he knows I am a softball coach, and he told me the rule also applied to softball. This story relates because he is the same umpire that had our softball regional semi-final. His interpretation did not come into effect in that game.
Unless there is something new or something old that I am unaware of the infield
fly rule should have been enforced.....
Who's right and who's mistaken?[/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2][/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]With a ball that near a foul line the call should have been made while the ball was in the air "Infield fly, batter is out if fair!" [/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2][/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]I've said time and time again, read the rule book often and know it better than the umpires know it. If an umpire, read it time and time again and know it better than the most knowledgeable coach knows it. [/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2][/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]Have a great day![/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]Keep it Rising![/size][/size][/color][/font]
[font=arial][color=#000000][size=2][size=2]Bob[/size]
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Volume 7, Number 69 - 5/27/08 :: Tuesday, May 27, 2008
It's Sectional Week!
I can't take off any school time to get to a sectional site so I'll be finding one I can get to in order to watch the final. My son Eric will be at Oshkosh North to watch the SPASH vs Kimberly game and will then head for the D-3 sectional final at Oakfield.
Here is a play I witnessed at the sectional last week. Nobody on base. The batter hit a pop up just inside the foul line and in front of third base. The third sacker called for the ball but suddenly backed off when the the shortstop mysteriously called her off. The shortstop reached for the ball but it hit her glove and then hit the ground. The ball then rolled and rolled until it went into the third base dugout - out of play. The batter had ran to first and went to second on the drop and roll.
The umpires awarded the batter-runner third base. I was sure that only two bases should have been awarded.
I have been posting all conference lists in the Opening Pitch Blog area of the website so check out that area for the ones I have received.
Have a great day!
Keep it Rising!
Bob
