Schedule adjustments as of 5/10/09

Revised schedules reflecting last week's rainouts are posted on the league website and available now. Changes effect games as soon as tomorrow, Monday 5/11. The Master Schedule and individual division schedules should match.

Please look over the revised schedules closely. It is the coaches' responsibility to communicate the changes to your teams.

8 Under Division: No changes to the existing schedules. The rained out interleague games will not be rescheduled.

10 Under Division: There were changes reflecting rainouts.

12 Under Division: There were changes to adjust for rainouts and schedule conflicts.

16 Under Division: There are no changes to the remainder of the schedule.

We've tried to fit in as many rescheduled games as we could. In some cases, either coaches' requests or field availability left me without good options for rescheduling. Changes from here on out will take place on a case by case basis. With just three weeks remaining in the season, and fields and umpires in short supply, please understand that we may not be able to make up each and every game.

Thank you all for your support and patience as we find times for games missed due to weather or school conflicts.

Remember that a post-season championship tournament for the 10U, 12U and 16U divisions will take place during the week of June 1st.

Schedules! April 4th Jamboree and 2009 Season Schedules are now online!

It's time for softball!

Saturday, April 4th...yes, that's this weekend...is our Opening Day Jamboree for the 2009 Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Season. A schedule of the days events - which includes team photos, 1-inning mini-games, chocolate bar fundraiser distribution, and the concession stand - is posted in the link to the right.

Game schedules for the complete season are located to the right as well. This season as in the past, we will be partnering with the Cutten-Ridgewood Softball Association, our ASA neighbors in Eureka, for a 12-13 game season. Games begin on Monday, April 6th and will run through the end of May. A championship tournament and divisional all-star games will close our season the first week of June.

We'll see y'all on Saturday!

Forgot to sign up? It's not too late!

Coaches, parents and nearly 110 softball players enjoyed a great Saturday afternoon testing their softball skills on assessment day last weekend. On Sunday, your coaches spent another afternoon divvying up the kids in to 12 teams and 4 divisions. You should be hearing from your coaches about practice schedules this week.

If you missed our assessments or haven't registered, it's not too late! We're still accepting registrations for new and returning players of all ages (7-16). Please download the player registration form on the right of this page and send it in to us as soon as possible. High school JV players from any area high school looking for quality playing time and coaching after the JV season ends are encouraged to join our program.

If you would, please drop us an email at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com and let us know you plan on registering. Late registrations are not necessarily guaranteed placement with specific teams or coaches, but everyone will have a chance to play.

Practices have already started and games begin on Saturday, April 4th.

Player Assessments: Saturday, March 14th at the HSU Field House

Softball Season has finally, finally arrived!

Player assessments for the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's 2009 Spring Season will be held this Saturday, March 14th, at the Humboldt State University Field House (on campus at the north end of Union Street).

Players need to bring only their softball gloves. Rubber softball cleats are permitted in the field house.

These are not try-outs! Every player registered will be placed on a team. Saturday is a simple skills assessment to help coaches determine the best team placement to ensure a competitive and rewarding softball experience for our players.

Players should show up at the times set for their age groups. A player's division is determined by their age on December 31, 2008. Here are the times:

7 & 8 year olds: 12:00 - 1:00

9 & 10 year olds: 1:00 - 2:00

11 & 12 year olds: 2:00 - 3:00

13 to 16 year olds: 3:00 - 4:00

Registration forms and fees will be collected at the assessments (f you've not pre-registered already). Please download the registration form here, and bring it with you, along with the $60 registration fee and $30 refundable uniform deposit. Players will not be able to participate in practices or games until all fees are paid.

The player draft is scheduled for Sunday, March 15th. You should be hearing from your coach during the week of March 16th. Practices may begin as soon as coaches have contacted their players. (And after the fields are dry enough for us to play on.)

If you have any questions about the assessments or team placement, please don't hesitate to contact us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com , or call the league hotline at 822-3575.

We'll see you Saturday!

Coaches Meeting - Sunday, March 8th, 2-5pm, St Mary's School, Arcata

Calling All Coaches!

Our pre-season Coaches' Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, March 8th, from 2pm -5pm at St. Mary's School in Arcata (on Janes Road, right next to St. Mary's Church). This meeting is critical for all new and returning coaches to attend...and any potential coaches. Assistant coaches are encouraged to attend as well.

We will be covering a variety of issues including:

• Schedules for the upcoming spring season
• 2009 Rules updates
• Plans for next weekend's player assessments and draft
• Our new and improved umpiring crew
• Coaching skills instruction by Kelly Helms, Arcata HS varsity coach
• ASA Coach Certification

Please plan on attending this important meeting. Let's get our 2009 spring season up and running in style.

Any questions, please email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com or call the office, 822-3575.

Note: We are still looking for interested coaches for the 8 & Under "Rookie" division and our 16 & Under division. If you're interested in coaching opportunities (in any age division) please contact us now!

Pitchers Clinic Cancelled...But wait, there's more....

Unfortunately, Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's 2009 pitchers clinic, scheduled for March 21st has been cancelled.

However...instead of a one-time, two-hour clinic, league pitching coach, Hannah Whitlow, will be conducting weekly pitching lessons for Mad River pitchers beginning in March and running through the season. Two pitchers per team will be eligible to participate in these lessons. Lessons will be scheduled for specific age divisions (10U, 12U, 16U). If you're interested in participating, please talk to your coaches.

The 1st Arcata Area FastPitch Umpire Clinic - March 21-22

The Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association is excited to announce our first annual

Arcata Area Fastpitch Umpire Clinic

March 21 and 22

8 am - 4 pm

at Pacific Union School

on Janes Road in Arcata (next to Mad River Hospital)

Registration is $25 for both days

and includes lunch on both days, free t-shirts,

and certificates to all who complete the training.

Click right here for your downloadable registration form!

Registration deadline is Saturday, March 14th.

Late registration is possible, but will not guarantee a t-shirt or lunch.

Please send a an email of your intent to register to umpiringisgreat@gmail.com.

Advance registration is required for this first-of-its-kind umpire training in Humboldt County. The registration deadline is Saturday, March 14th. Contact league Umpire-in-Chief Gary McLachlan at 707-502-9361 or via email at umpiringisgreat@gmail.com to register.

This special clinic will develop basic fastpitch softball umpiring skills for the participants, regardless of previous experience. We will focus on correct field positioning, umpire movement on each play, responsibility as part of the team of umpires on the field, basic rules, pitching positioning. Umpire decorum and how to handle coaches and players will also be covered.

While ASA Fastpitch umpiring standards will be emphasized, the clinic is open to all umpires, regardless of experience or affiliation, in area fastpitch softball programs, including ASA, Little League and High School programs.

Please join us for this important training.

Meet Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball's new Umpire-in-Chief: Gary McLachlan moved to Humboldt County from Atlanta last summer. An active umpire for many years, Gary has officiated ASA, High School and Junior College level softball. He has umpired in three national tournaments in his 40 year career. Gary's emphasis is to assist the recreational softball umpiring in the Arcata-Eureka-McKinleyville area.

Opportunities for umpiring in Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's spring season are available now! Contact Gary at umpiringisgreat@gmail.com or the league at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com for more information.

Spring Season Registrations Continue! Saturday, February 28th at the Arcata Community Center

Softball Registrations Continue This Weekend!

Saturday, February 28th from 9am 'til 2pm
at the
Arcata Community Center

League officials will be on hand to register new and returning players and answer any and all questions you might have about our upcoming season.

Registration forms will also be available at Pacific Union and Sunny Brae Schools during the Arcata Youth Basketball games today. They can be downloaded right here and brought to the registration table as well.

Registrations may be handed in in-person today, mailed in to the league before our March 14th player assessments at HSU, or brought directly to the assessments.

Fees are $60 for player registration and $30 for the uniform deposit which is refundable at the end of the season.

If you have any questions, find us today, or email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com.

We'll see you out there!

It's 2009! Spring Softball is just around the corner!

Has it really been this long?

By mid-June last summer, our seasoned players had drifted off to summer camps and family vacations. The Mad River 12 & Under travel team played on a while longer, competing in tournaments across northern California in July.

By August our softball players had become soccer players. Older coaches took their kids to college while our older players headed off to high school. October slid into November which eased into December. Soccer goalies became basketball point guards.

And now, finally, it's a new year. Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's spring season is barely a month away. We're pulling our gloves out of the closets or breaking in the new ones we got for Christmas. When the sun shines (which it's doing quite frequently these days), you'll even hear the sharp pop of ball on leather. Muddy cleats, still stinky from last season, begin to scratch the edges of the community center grass.

Spring Softball. You can feel it. It's almost here.

Your Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball coaches and board members are already hard at work getting ready for the coming season. Registrations for returning players are stamped and on their way to your mailbox.

Stay tuned to these pages in the coming days for important dates, updates, registration forms, schedules, and all the info you'll need for the coming season.

Let's play some softball!

Congratulations to our 2008 League & Tournament champions!!

We have had a wonderful (and rain-free for a change!) spring softball season here in northern Humboldt County. All of our teams, regardless of their final records, have played like champions, learned a tremendous amount about the game and about teamwork, and hopefully made some great friends along the way.

We'd like to take just a moment and congratulate our 2008 Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's Season and Tournament Champions.

In the 10 and Under Division, our season champions (best record at the end of the season) are the Fog, coached by Mike Rice and sponsored by Hank's Coffeehouse.

The 10 & Under Tournament winners this season are the Swinging Monkeys, coached by Rob Flint and sponsored by Alves, Inc.

In the 12 & Under Division, the Black Widows, sponsored by Soroptimist International, and coached by Melissa and Willie Ward, captured both the the regular season championship and the tournament championship!

The 16 & Under Division's regular season was won by Evergreen Pulp's Donkers, coached by Jeff Denny. The Donkers also won the tournament championship game for the 16 & Under division capping a 14-0 season.

Congratulations to all our outstanding softball players and teams on a successful and wildly fun 2008 softball season!

...And the weather holds on for a great opening week of softball!

The north coast's weather teased us a bit both on opening day and the middle of this week, but the skies stayed mostly dry for us. Despite the wet threats and a few showers, the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association's 2008 spring season kicked off this week. Even a brief hailstorm on Tuesday night couldn't drive our teams off the fields!

16 games have already been played in this young season, in three towns, on five fields, and among 21 teams. And there's plenty more to come.

Check out the photos from last Saturday's games between our own Mad River 10 & Under teams. Our youngest pitchers are already looking like seasoned pros out there.

We'd love to share your photos or hear your softball stories on this website. Coaches, parents, kids, grandparents...please email us your photos, classic moments, or play-by-play game commentary, and we'll do our darnedest to get them up for all to see. It'll be great to share the fun we're having playin' softball in Humboldt County.

And if you want to catch some really great softball, the HSU softball team begins their hunt for the CCAA championship tournament this week, and HSU and the city of Arcata host the NCAA Division II Western Regional Tournament May 7-11 at HSU. Check out the papers or the HSU softball website for updates.

Calling All Coaches! Mandatory coaches' meeting on Sunday, 3/16

Our 2008 Spring Season Coaches' Meeting will be held on Sunday, March 16th, from 2:00-5:00 at St. Mary's School (Janes Road in Arcata).

If you're planning on being (or interested in becoming) a head coach, assistant coach, or team parent, please plan to attend this important organizational meeting.

Our agenda includes:

• How to organize an effective practice,
• Update on critical dates (practices, jamboree, games, and tournaments),
• Discussion of the April 5th player assessments and April 6th team draft,
• Update on league rules for the 2008 spring season,
• Season schedules and effective in-season communication,
• Reserving practice fields and times,
• Upcoming coaching clinics and ASA certification requirements,
• And....
• Our renewed emphasis on positive coaching techniques and sportsmanship, including the league's new sportsmanship award program.

In addition, Arcata High varsity coach Kelly Helms will join us to discuss the essential skills we should be teaching at the youth level to have our players ready for high school softball.

We are still looking for positive and committed coaches and assistant coaches in all divisions. If you are interested in coaching or helping coach a team this year, please call us at 822-3575 or email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com and/or attend the March 16th meeting.

We'll see you there.

Play Ball...soon! The 2008 Girls Softball Season is just a few rainy days away.

A good rainy January afternoon to all of you. Where I sit, it's a cool, drizzly 51 degrees. The skies are gray and full of moisture.

But you know what? It's not going to stay this way, and before too long our hands will yearn for the cool smoothness of a well-worn leather mitt. Our fingers will reach for the gentle rise of red-stiches on a yellow ball. Our ears will anticipate the slap of ball against leather and the ringing ping when the bat strokes that first pitch into the outfield grass beneath a warm spring Humboldt County sun.

Yes, the softball season is just around the corner. Your very own Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association is already well along in preparing for the 2008 Spring Season. Our player assessment day is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, April 5th at the HSU Field House. Practices will begin by April 7th with games running from April 19th through June 7th.

In these pages in coming days and weeks, you'll find information regarding our first annual "Winter Warm-Up", a special clinic for all girls between 7 and 10 led by some of our best coaches and big sister players from the upper divisions.

Our league's calender is already posted here, as is our new email address where you can direct any questions or suggestions directly to our board of directors and coaches. You'll also find our 2008 spring player registration form and 2008 league sponsorship forms right here. (2008 registration forms will be mailed to all players from last year at the end of January! Anyone else who wants one, feel free to request one by phone at 822-3575 or via email at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com)

This blog will be updated periodically as time allows and necessity demands. Bookmark us now and check back often. And please take advantage of our email address to ask your questions or share some ideas on how to make the best youth softball league on the north coast even better.

Begin to loosen up those arms. Find a few minutes to toss the ball around with Mom, Dad, neighbors, or against the side of the house. The welcome cry of "Play Ball!" is just a few short weeks away.

'til next time.