Rec and Travel Ball Update

The Board of Directors for the Mad River Fastpitch Softball Association believes that communication is immensely valuable within our organization. As a result, we feel the need to update you after our recent Board meeting:

1) Currently, there are over 100 softball registrants ranging from ASA age 3 in the new KinderPlay program to age 13 in the 14u recreational and travel ball programs. It’s quite a bit of data to process so please be patient with us while we organize! We are very pleased about our numbers especially on our first go within our new organizational structure. We also want to make sure we do it right so are taking our time to do so! We hope that is okay with all of you (we know that waiting can be a killer!).

2) Recreational team distribution is being based on several factors, including assessment information collected on Sunday, March 4th, which, by the way, the turn out was FABULOUS! Thank you very much for making the commitment to be there. We know that some of you came from Willow Creek, some from Garberville, and some raced home from the basketball tournament in Crescent City! Your efforts were much appreciated! Along with assessment information, geographics, willingness to travel to a neighboring city, and special requests (in the hopes for team parity) will be evaluated. The first round of team distributions have been completed and will be shared later this week.

3) We are currently gearing up for our recreational coaches meeting, tentatively set for Tuesday, March 13th. We have contacted individuals who are interested in coaching at the recreational level. If you fall into that category and have not notified us of your interest to coach, please do so ASAP. We are also seeking "support personnel" if any of you are interested in helping and working with your daughter's team. (An email response works fine)

4) Practice sites have been secured to start practice the week of March 19th. That should give recreational coaches plenty of time to contact players and notify them of their first practice. Any paperwork that parents and players still have on hand can be turned in to any Mad River Softball Board Member or to the coaches themselves on the 1st day of the practice.

5) As for travel, the response back to my initial "Calling all Travel Players" email about the upcoming Medford tournament about a week or so ago, has been slow. We know there is plenty of interest because many of you indicated that on the registration forms and we even have some travel deposits! It is our feeling that you may not know enough or understand enough about how that program works or maybe you are joining us late? We aren't really sure. We understand that many of the details might be fuzzy as we are working cooperatively with the Fogg organization to create a stronger, united, and more competitive travel program and some of you might just be new to the notion of travel ball itself. Our plans are to get more thorough travel information out relatively soon but unfortunately, time has been very limited with all the details we are working through relating to the rec program. Quite simply, there are not enough hours in the day for all the things we'd like to accomplish!)

As a result, the Board has decided not to rush into anything that might jeopardize the integrity of our program and has canceled the notion of heading to Medford. This occurred for a few reasons: 1) 10u, 12u, and 14u did not have enough players to field a team based on the feedback I was provided by the email Kelly sent, 2) word from Medford is only one 14u team is signed up for this Medford tournament and it is not us! There are approximately three 12u teams and there are ZERO teams signed up for the 10u division. 3) It has been our experience that when we don't listen to instinct and try to move something forward before it is ready, it often backfires. It just seems to make sense to slow the process down, build it right, put the players in place appropriately, and focus on the next tournament contest scheduled in April. The Board figures that if things go well over the course of our travel adventure, we can always extend and/or expand our travel season somewhere else within the travel schedule to make up for that missed contest date.

If any of you have any questions, comments, concerns, or feedback, whatsoever, please be sure to speak up!! Thank you

Welcome to Mad River Girls Softball!

Thank you parents and players for participating in our 2012 player assessment at Humboldt University last Sunday! We experienced an incredible turn-out and an amazing level of enthusiasm for our rapidly expanding program - Humboldt County's only ASA Softball multi-level, recreational and competitive travel organization! We also thank our many skilled volunteers that ran the varied assessment stations, which included several former college players, current and former High School fastpitch coaches from Arcata, Eureka, and Fortuna, and many other softball-savoy volunteers. It was an excellent day and a great way to kick-start the season for Mad River's newly expanded and "retrofitted" program. Now that we have player numbers defined, stay tuned for upcoming announcements and emails relating to Rec Program team assignments and practice and games schedules.

We are pleased to provide you with a choice when it comes to selecting a girl’s softball organization! Thank you for choosing Mad River, which is unique in many ways! How unique is it? Below are just a few of the reasons why we stand out from other programs:

1. We are the only Amateur Softball Association (ASA) organization in Humboldt County. Why is this important? First, ASA softball is aligned with the college level and style of play. What does this mean? It means that the rules enforced in the NJCAA, NCAA, and NAIA are the same rules that apply to ASA softball, making it a seamless transition for the amateur softball player to further her softball career at the college level of play and beyond. To give you an example, in ASA and in college, both feet must start on the pitching mound prior to the start of a pitch and when delivering the pitch, a pitcher may not step back off the rubber. In other softball organizations, including Little League and High School softball, these moves are legal. In ASA and college, however, these moves are are strictly enforced as illegal. Such differences in regulations make it challenging for a player to transition into college level play as it mandates that the player significantly modify their habituated playing techniques.

2. ASA softball is not bound by territories. Because of this, we are excited to announce that we have players stretching from Willow Creek to Garberville! Over time, our hope is to expand those areas into Crescent City as well as Hoopa!

3. ASA has many levels of play including recreational and more competitive travel programs. These levels include “Gold” for the elite 18u travel softball athlete, “A” for the highly competitive, skilled travel softball player ranging from 8u to 18u, “B” for the recreational athlete who enjoys travel play but at a less competitive level, and “C” the recreational program that challenges the first year player to the most seasoned and experienced.

4. Our organization’s Board of Directors includes three former college players: Kelly Helms, Hall of Fame Humboldt State University pitcher, Sarah Jones, NCAA National Softball Champion from Humboldt State University, and Shanna McCracken, College of the Redwoods utility player.

5. Our first-year travel coaches included former ASA, high school, and college players like Lilo Reith and Heather Goodwin, as well as coaches with recreational and high school level coaching accolades like Lori Reed and Melanie Pizzini. As we move into the second year of our travel program, we are looking to include and incorporate College of the Redwoods players Karlie Harpin and Brittany Gonzalez, as well as Humboldt State University player, Kirsten Nouzovsky into our already strong coaching staff.

6. We care deeply about providing a quality softball experience for you and your softball player. Our purpose is not to tally wins, but to instead support the development of the players, the teams, and the program as a whole. In our organization, it is all about the experience that we provide in hopes of developing strong, confident and empowered young ladies as the foundation for an elite softball organization that can successfully host all the competitive levels that ASA softball has to offer.

Again... Our thanks to the players, parents, and the Association's many volunteers that are the Foundation of our Program.

The Board of Directors, Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association
~Kelly Helms, Nicholas Hetrick, Sarah Jones, Shanna McCracken, and Jessica Parker~

Assessment Day & Sign-ups this Sunday March 4th!

Welcome to Mad River Girls Softball! We are looking forward to an exciting season of change! Last season we expanded our recreational program to include a travel division and this season we are looking to accommodate players in both a recreational and travel capacity. Recreational and travel players this season stretch from Willow Creek all the way to Garberville! With that said, we would like to remind you about the recreational and travel assessments scheduled for Sunday, March 4th at the Humboldt State University Fieldhouse. Players 10 and under are scheduled for a 9:30 assessment time. Players 12 and under are scheduled for a 10:30 assessment time and players 14 and under are scheduled for an 11:30 assessment time.

We would like to stress the importance of player attendance at assessments for the evaluation of each player and the effective distribution of players to a recreational and/or travel team. On assessment day, player and team distribution will be evaluated based on geographics, skill, and age. For example, a player based on skill who qualifies for a 12u age bracket would be more appropriately placed and challenged at the 14u level. Evaluators at the assessments include three board members, Kelly Helms, Shanna McCracken, and Sarah Jones, all of which have played college softball and coached at either the recreational, travel, high school, and/or college levels. Other evaluators will include former softball players in ASA, high school, and college programs like Cari Killingsworth, Lilo Reith, and Heather Goodwin. Support personnel will also be on hand to assist with the logistics and operations of the assessments. If you have not yet signed up with Mad River Girls Softball, it’s not too late! Simply come at the appropriate time for your player's age and we will get you signed up and run thru the assessment!

Finally, if you are not a member of our facebook page, we would encourage you to check it out! The website is located at:http://www.facebook.com/groups/155033233999/

We invite you and your business to partner with us

The Mad River Association relies on the support of community volunteers to carry out all aspects of its recreational and competitive travel program (with the exception of umpire fees). This volunteerism, however, is not enough as we also depend on sponsors like you to help cover operational costs such as field rentals, uniforms, equipment, player scholarships, etc. Upon request, all sponsors will receive a tax deductible letter of charitable donation. We thank you for supporting the young female fastpitch players in the communities of Humboldt County.

If you are interested in joining us this season, please fill out the 2012 Sponsor Form and mail to:

Mad River Girls Fast pitch Softball Association (MRGFSA)
PO Box 4361
Arcata, Ca. 95518

Our players, parents and communities appreciate your support

2012 Tentative Travel Schedule

We have scheduled an ASA travel meeting for players and parents for Tuesday, February 28th! The location for the meeting is Eureka High School in portable P11, with a start time of 7 pm. Our Coaches have been busy pulling together what is looking to be a very exciting season, as shown in the 2012 Tentative Travel Schedule, which can be downloaded from this website.

If you know any players that are interested in this challenging and fun-filled fastpitch experience, please invite them to join us... regardless of the recreational league they play in! We are looking to fill travel teams ranging from ages 10u through 18u. We hope to see you there!

Missed sign-ups?

Still want to play ASA softball? Not to Worry.... There's still time to register! Download your registration form here, complete, and mail to us at:

MRGFSA
PO Box 4361 Arcata, CA 95518

Note that we will also be accepting registrations at the Recreational and Travel Player Assessments scheduled for March 4th, 2012 at the Humboldt State University Field House.

9:30 a.m. – 10:30 am
...Kinder Play (5 and 6 year olds)
...Junior Play (7 and 8 year olds)
...10u (9 and 10 year olds)
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 am
...12u (11 and 12 year olds)
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 pm
...14u (13 and 14 year olds)

ASA Softball
Aligned to College Level Play
“Bridging, Blending, Building Softball Communities"

*Schedule is Subject to Change
Please check our website: www.madrivergirlssoftball.blogspot.com
and/or
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/155033233999/
for final schedule on or before assessment day!

Travel Ball Anyone?

ASA travel meeting has been scheduled! Mark your calendars for February 28th! The location is Eureka High School in portable P11. The meeting will start at 7 pm. Travel ages include 10u through 18u. All teams will be predicated on interest level and registration numbers so if you know anyone interested regardless of recreational league bring them along! See you there!