Coach Kelly Helms talks about our Pitcher & Player Clinics!

A nice break in last week's rain allowed us to hold the first of our weekly pitcher and player clinics last weekend. Here's what coach Kelly Helms had to say about the girls (and coaches!) who participated:

"I just wanted to thank the young ladies and their parents who committed their time this weekend to softball. Friday night I had a chance to work with five young ladies pitching. The younger girls worked on basic technique, while the older girls fine tuned their pitching motion. We even did a bit of work on a change up.

"Saturday we worked with three young ladies and their dads/coaches working on throwing technique and defensive stance. Dads and Coaches even got a chance to participate and learn too! We worked on skills like shuffle step, forehand, and backhand and then practiced them with simulated ground balls. To wrap up the session, we worked a bit on base running. We worked on running through the bag and rounding the bag in the event of a base hit.

"Next session we will expand on the skills we worked on this time but add defensive skills like flips, fly balls, crow hop, and more! We hope to see you there!"

We'll be back out on the Pacific Union School field this Friday and Saturday (April 3-4)! Coaches: This is a great opportunity, not only for your players, but for you to learn some great new skills and drills as well!

Pitchers' Clinics:

Friday nights at Pacific Union School in Arcata

8-10 year olds from 5:00 to 6:00

11-16 year olds from 6:00 to 7:00

No charge, but every pitcher needs to bring a catcher (adult preferred).

Player Clinics:

Saturday mornings at Pacific Union School

7-10 year olds from 9:00 to 10:30

11-16 year olds from 10:30 to 12:00

$5 per player per session helps cover the cost of Kelly's assistant coaches.

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New Dates for Opening Day and the Jamboree

Due to our beautiful Humboldt County spring rains and the lack of dry playing fields, we have officially moved Opening Day to Monday, April 12th. Our traditional season-opening Jamboree and team pictures will happen on Saturday, April 17th. A late start to be sure, but at least we'll all get some quality practice time before the games begin.

Now, if the rain would just quit for a bit, we can really get started. It's way past time for the umps to holler, "Play ball!"

Special Pitcher and Player Clinics Begin This Week!

Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association is excited to add former Arcata High softball coach Kelly Helms to our coaching staff this season. Kelly will be leading pitching and player clinics all registered MRGFSA players on Fridays and Saturdays for this season. Kelly is an outstanding coach and a great teacher of softball skills. We're excited to have her on our "staff".

Pitchers Clinics:
Friday nights at Pacific Union School in Arcata
8-10 year olds from 5:00 - 6:00
11-16 year olds from 6:00 - 7:00
No charge, but every pitcher needs to bring a catcher (adult preferred).

Fri 3/26: The PU field is open and the clinic will go on as scheduled!

Player Clinics:
Saturday mornings at Pacific Union School
7-10 year olds from 9:00 - 10:30 am
11-16 year olds from 10:30 - 12:00.
$5 per player per session helps cover the costs of her assistant coaches.

All registered MRGFSA players are invited to participate in these clinics throughout the season.

We'll see y'all out on the diamond.

Our first weekly update!

Welcome to our 2010 Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball season! Due a great turn-out at last Saturday's assessment we've nearly matched last years numbers and we're on the verge of creating yet another team in one of our divisions. Here are a few notes and updates from the first few days.

Fields: Due to the wet weather of late, all the fields in Arcata are unusable until at least the week of March 22nd. McKinleyville's Hiller Field is available for practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Board officials are working with the city of Arcata to know as soon as possible when we can get out on the infields. Your coaches will let you know when your practices are able to begin.

Coaches' note: There's a link on the right side of this page to the practice field schedule for the next 3 weeks. Please contact Jeff at 845-0106 or coachjeff14@sbcglobal.net to reserve your practice field and time. We may end up sharing field times with each other, at least until the weather clears up a bit.

New dates for the season's start and the Jamboree: Thanks again to the rain, we've decided to push the start of the season back to Monday, April 12th. Games will begin in earnest that week. We will hold our traditional season-opening Jamboree and take our team pictures on Saturday, April 17th.

New players = More teams: We can still accept late registrations (again, thanks to the rain) for girls wanting to play this season. Currently, we have 3 teams in each of our 4 divisions. We are very close to creating 4th team in our 12 & Under division. If you know of girls who want to play but didn't get the chance to sign-up, tell them to contact us at 822-3575 or email us at: madrivergirlssoftball.org. (3/25 update: The 10 & Under and 12 & Under divisions are full at this time. We may still have room for additional 8 & Under or 16 & Under players. Contact us at 822-3575 for more information. Thanks!)

Haven't heard from your coach? Have no fear...that call is on the way. Several of our coaches are waiting to hear about practice field availability so they can give the best information to parents and players. You should be hearing from your coach this week. If you haven't heard by Friday, please call (822-3575) or email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com to find out how to contact your coach.

We're still looking for league sponsors for this season. If you know of an individual or a local business that would like to help us in creating and rewarding and fun softball season, we invite you download a copy of our sponsorship form and contact the league office. Thank you for your help in soliciting and supporting our local sponsors.

Feel free to contact us with any questions now or during the season. Our email address is madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com, or call the hotline at 822-3575.

And don't forget to join and contribute to our new Facebook Page. Check it out now!

Player Assessment Day: Saturday, March 13th at the HSU Field House

Our annual player assessment day will be held this Saturday, March 13th at the HSU Field House in Arcata. All prospective players should plan on attending!

The assessment is not a tryout. We will take about an hour to give the players a chance to hit, field, run and throw, to help the coaches determine team assignments for the season.

It is not too late to register for the 2010 Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball season! If you haven't registered yet, please download our registration form from this website and bring it with you on Saturday!

Players should arrive on Saturday ready to play with gloves and cleats or sneakers (no metal cleats!) with their appropriate age group. A player's age for team assignments is based on their age as of December 31, 2009. Assessment times are:

7 & 8 year olds 11:30 to 12:30

9 & 10 year olds 12:30 to 1:30

11 & 12 year olds 1:30 to 2:30

13 years and older 2:30 to 3:30

We will have volunteers on hand to help players order the proper sized uniforms, and to place orders for knee pads and sliding shorts.

Coaches will gather on Sunday, March 14th to determine team assignments. Parents and players should receive a call sometime in the following week from their coaches informing them of practice times. Practices may begin as soon as Monday, March 13th pending the availability of fields.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact us at 822-3575 or by email at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com.

Once again, it's not too late to register for the 2010 season. Download the registration form here and bring it with you to the assessments on Saturday.
See y'all on Saturday!

Umpiring Clinic Set for March 13-14, 2010

The Second Annual Humboldt Area Softball Umpiring Clinic is scheduled for the weekend of March 13th and March 14th. This clinic is affiliated with Amateur Softball Association and CA State High School Athletic Association.

The clinic will be held on Saturday, March 13 and Sunday March 14 on or near the campus of HSU from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm daily. It will be taught by qualified instructors with experience in collegiate, high school, and ASA softball.

We plan to cover:

· Up-to-date rules and mechanics (where to move for different plays)

· Umpire signals

· Placement drills

· Plate “mechanics”, for both Fast pitch and slow pitch

· Slow pitch and Fast Pitch positioning

· We will also attend (at least a part of the) HSU Women’s Softball game on Saturday.

There is a two-day commitment to be certified as ASA umpire. Initial high school official training is also being built in to the clinic. Upon certification, you will receive 2010 Membership in ASA, recognizable across USA and Canada. And, you’ll be Insured for $2,000,000 liability coverage.

Lunch will be provided on Saturday.

The cost for the clinic is $50.00.

We are offering a rebate of up to $25 if you agree to umpire five (5) dates for Humboldt County’s only ASA softball league, the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association during April and May. Rebates will be provided with regular payment for games. (Regular pay is $30/game… normally 2 games per evening.)

A clinic registration form is available by contacting Gary McLachlan at umpiringisgreat@gmail.com or call him at 707-502-9361.

We'll see you there!

2010 Player Registrations - One More Time!

Our final on-site registration day arrives this Saturday, February 27th at the Arcata Community Center from 9:00 am through 3:30 pm.

Our new reduced player registration fees are just $45 plus a one-time $30 uniform fee (pay the uniform fee just once and you'll have a uniform for the rest of your MRGFSA career!)

And, if you can't make it this Saturday, that's ok. Download our application from this website (link's on the right) and bring it to our Assessment Day on Saturday, March 13th at the HSU Field House. If you could, drop us an email or give us a call at 822-3575 and let us know you'll be there.

See y'all on Saturday!