Happy Holidays....

Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association

Association Update

Thank You... On behalf of the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association, we sincerely thank the summer and fall players, parents, coaches, volunteers, and sponsors for their support and enthusiasm for our organization’s newly established travel ball program, the Mad River Mist. At the onset of forming this ASA sanctioned program, our goal was to provide a positive fastpitch learning experience in a fun environment – one that fosters a love of the sport in the young players that is clearly evident in the Mist’s talented array of experienced coaches. The Mist’s 12u, 14u, and 16u summer travel teams participated in two out-of-area tournaments and hosted one “round robin friendly” event that brought in teams from outside our local community, including the Willits Hot Shots!. The success, excitement and momentum generated by the summer travel season translated into the formation of 12u and 16u fall ball teams that played in three out-of-town tournaments. The combined registration for the Mist’s summer and fall travel teams included nearly 100 players that came from Arcata, Blue Lake, Eureka, Fieldbrook, Fortuna, McKinleyville, and Trinidad. These positive statistics for this rapidly developing program were overshadowed, however, by the words of encouragement and volunteerism of parents, supporters and sponsors, the growth in player skills, and the many smiles observed from players, parents, and coaches during the summer and fall seasons!

Winter "Tune-up" Clinics... Now that the rains have arrived and the fall season has ended, we are taking November and December to prepare for next year. We are currently dialoging about hosting "tune up clinics" in January and February to, in part, get our high school players in shape and ready for their JV and varsity seasons. These clinics will also provide a system where progress made with both the younger and older players during the spring, summer and fall is not lost in the off-season, but rather maintained or advanced. This has great potential to improve the caliber of play in our local communities, especially given the talented collection of former college players/coaches we have lined up as instructors for the clinics! Please stay tuned for more information in the coming months.

Change in the Association's Board Of Directors... We also want to share several organizational changes that have been made in the Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball Association. This past summer, Jeff Denny resigned from his role as the Association’s President and as a member of the Board of Directors. This fall, Tammy Flint also stepped down from her tenure as Secretary for the Association and from her position on the Board. We sincerely thank both Jeff and Tammy or their unselfish service to the Association and to the youth of our community. While they will be absent from the Board meetings, we look forward to seeing Jeff, Tammy and their families at the ballpark next season!

These and two other long-standing vacancies on the Board have since been filled, making the five member Board of Directors whole, as directed in the Association’s bylaws. We are very excited about these additions to the leadership of our organization, which now includes notable individuals such as NCAA Hall of Fame pitcher Kelly Helms, NCAA Division II National Softball Champion Sarah Jones, and former CR Pitcher and Eureka Coach Shanna McCracken. Jessica Beckett will serve as President for the Association and brings a wealth of knowledge and history of the Mad River recreation program to the Board. Nicholas Hetrick rounds out the Mad River Board with his experience as a former NCAA Division I athletic-academic scholar and as a Board member for other not-for-profit public foundations.

New Committees Being Formed... We are also in the process of creating committees to help run various aspects of Association’s recreation and travel ball programs. These committees are where the “rubber meets the road” and will target specific aspects of the Association such as player recruitment, public relations, sponsorships and fundraising, field maintenance, uniform and equipment managers, player representative, tournament host, webmaster, etc. When functioning in unison, these newly established committees will help make the overall organization run more smoothly and efficiently, and do so without overly taxing any one individual… like Kelly! We also thank Valerie Neumeyer, Joe McDonald, Tiffany Morais, Katrina Anderson, and Heather Goodwin, among others, for helping to fill these essential committee roles in our interim “reorganization phase” and for providing valuable input at our Board meetings. As soon as the remaining details have been worked out, we will be posting the new structure for the Mad River Organization on our website, along with a call for individuals to take an active role in these committees. In addition, the Association will also be posting approved minutes from its Board meetings and financial reports for the organization as the new Board of Directors is committed to establishing and maintaining an open, transparent organization….so stayed tuned for updates!

Oct 8th Tourney Switch for 12Us

Please Note: Due to cancellations in the 12u division, the 12U Mist will be going to Roseville instead of Fairfield for the Oct 8th tournament date. Game times are scheduled for 11:45, 3:15, and 5 on Saturday. The website for the tournament is http://www.asatournaments.com if you want to check out the bracketing. Valerie is working on a switch of hotels so 12u parents, please make sure that you cancel your Fairfield accommodations. Additional updates will be provided via email and our facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/groups/155033233999/. The goods news is that the 12Us will be playing... now set for the 3 game guaranteed tournament in Roseville! The 16u Mist team will be participating in the Fairfield Tournament as planned. Great job Kelly for making this adjustment!

Mad River Mist Fall Ball Hotel Information

A Note from the Mist's Travel Coordinator, Valerie Neumeyer

So far I have secured hotel accommodations for our two tournaments. Both hotels offer a complimentary hot breakfast and have indoor pools and hot tubs.

Roseville Tournament - October 22-23
The most time sensitive hotel reservation is for our Roseville tournament for the weekend of October 22-23. The best discount group rates are made a month or more in advance. We have reservations at the Fairfield Inn by Marriott at Roseville for Friday and Saturday night. They are all 2-queen rooms and include a hot breakfast for $79 per night as long as you book by this Saturday, October 1st. Any reservations made October 2nd or later will be charged $104 per night, which is still a $10 discount off their regular rates. Not all rooms have microwave and refrigerator so please request one when booking. To book a room, please call the front desk directly at (916)772-3500 and use group code: MRM.

Fairfield Tournament - October 8-9
For the Fairfield tournament, we have reservations at Comfort Suites Vacaville for Friday and Saturday night. They are all 2-queen rooms and include a hot breakfast for $85 per night. All rooms have a microwave and refrigerator. They would only give us this rate by me securing all the rooms with my credit card so I will be cancelling any unclaimed rooms on Wednesday, October 5th. Please make sure you reserve your room before then. To book a room, please call the front desk directly at (707)446-3000 and reference our group name: Mad River Mist.

Please feel free to contact Valarie directly if you have any questions or need assistance making your reservations. She can be reached through the Mad River ASA facebook page or by email (address can be found on previous Mist emails)

Reminder:

16u practice has changed to 5-7 pm @ EHS on Tuesdays & Thursdays. Please bring any registration forms and/or fees, tournament date feedback form, and all spiritwear and glitter headband order forms with payment ASAP. Many thanks...

Updates from the Mist

1) The 12u's will be practicing on Tuesdays at Hiller Park from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and Sunday's from 3:00 to 5:30 pm at Winship School. Additionally, any 12u who cannot attend Tuesday's practice or who want extra practice can attend the Thursday evening 16u practice listed below.

2) The 16u's will be practicing on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and Sundays from 9:30 am-12:30 pm at Eureka High School.

3) As of Sept. 20th, all players should have a $50 registration deposit on file. By October 1st, the remaining $100 registration fee is due, along with a $35 uniform deposit (one time fee for new players). If you have any question about where you stand with registration fees, please speak with one of the Coaches or email us at madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com .

4) The 16u's are still looking for a few more players to fill their roster! If you participated on the summer 14u or 16u and would be interested in being a "pick up player", please let us know! This means you are available for maybe one tournament but can't necessarily commit to the whole season.

5) The teams we expected to participate in our fall ball home tourney have not been as fortunate as we have in assembling fall ball teams. As a result, we are developing a backup plan to get our third tournament in, possibly adding an additional travel date. All players should have received a “Fall Ball Dates” feedback form. Please fill out this form, which can be downloaded off this site, and return to your Coaches or email to madrivergirlssoftball@gmail.com by next Sunday’s (Sept 25th) practice. Thank you!

5) Also on our Blog Page you will find order forms for the Epically Fabulous Glitter Headbands and Mad River Mist Spirit Apparel. All orders need to be returned by October 1st as the group order will be placed on October 2nd. Payment also needs to be included upon return of the completed forms. Thank you!

6) If you have any questions regarding this exciting new ASA Fastpitch program, which is open to all girls in the Humboldt County area, please ask or drop us an email! Thank you!

Fall Softball anyone? It's happening here! Info meeting Thursday, Aug 25th!

Who's up for some fall softball? Mad River Girls Fastpitch Softball launches it's 2011 fall ball season with an information meeting for players and parents on Thursday, August 25th at the picnic tables at Winship Fields in Eureka. The meeting begin at 6:30 pm.

Assessments are tentatively scheduled for September 11th and first practices on September 18th. We're looking at three tournaments for the fall season (along with a little fundraising fun, of course.)

If you've got a love of fastpitch softball and want to play 'til it rains, join us at the meeting next Thursday and see what's in store for the next couple of months!