Softball Notebook

Conditioning Training for Pitchers

By Kristi Spielman
Physical Therapist, Pitching Coach & Former Division 1 Pitcher

The topic of conditioning training for pitchers has been getting a lot of attention lately, as it should. There are so many specialized instructors out there teaching the mechanics, but so little review of general conditioning. Yes, there are speed camps and sports-specific training that you can get into with a licensed professional, but it’s going to cost you. Fortunately, there’s a lot you can do on your own. So to review, training workouts for pitchers should contain the following:

Cardiovascular Conditioning: Biking, jogging, walking, adding inclines, elliptical, jump rope, rollerblading, or any other activity that would increase your heart rate for 20 minutes or more.

Flexibility: This is a sustained or dynamic stretch that should include major muscle groups: quadraceps, hamstrings, gastrocnemius (calf muscle), low back, trunk rotators, biceps, tricpes, pectoralis muscles, forearm muscles, and the rotator cuff muscles.

Strengthening: I am a big fan of using your own body weight as resistance. Start off with squats, split lunges, heel raises, sit-to-stands, wall squats, sit-ups, planks, push-ups, and reverse curl-ups. The “core” which is your abdominal area is crucial for control of the entire pitch. I often see injured athletes, pitchers in particular, who complain of back pain and have terrible abdominal strength and lack of flexibility in their lower torso. So the key is to engage in a total body conditioning program to create muscle balance and strength. Do all exercises for 2-3 sets of 10 reps. It usually takes 4-6 weeks before muscle fibers will make any change for strength goals. So keep at it—you will see results in your pitching.

Proprioception (Body Awareness): This is just balance awareness. See how long you can stand on your right leg—your goal should be 60 seconds without holding on. Then see on long you can balance on your left leg. This should be equal—if not, work on the leg that is most difficult to balance on.

Agility/Endurance: I combined these two because the more you work out for agility, the more you will build the endurance component. The cardiovascular portion will also help your endurance. Agility is something that tends to be sports-specific, but for pitchers it involves being quick on your feet after throwing a pitch, so you can quickly return to a defensive position to field the ball. Being agile also helps prevent injuries in the long run. Endurance is important because a pitcher can easily start to get gassed after pitching a full game in the midst of heat. You may also be your team’s only pitcher throwing 2-3 games in one day. In that case you’ll have to dig deep, and your endurance level will help you get through it.

Overall, this is a basic program anyone can do on their own without any specialized equipment. If you need extra resistance, TheraBands are a great choice. These are essentially large rubber bands that can be added to all the strengthening exercises, you just need to be creative.

Good luck with your conditioning and keep at it—it will pay off in the long run.

Should You Take Protein Supplements?

Amino acids are called the building blocks of life because they are assembled one after another into the thousands of different proteins that constitute and maintain the body’s tissues and organs. They are a group of 20 organic acids made up of just a handful of different elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and occasionally sulfur. The order of amino acids in a particular protein is determined by the “blueprint of life,” DNA.

Of the 20 amino acids, nine are classed as “essential” in that they are not capable of being produced or synthesized within the body; thus they must be acquired through the diet. To achieve proper protein synthesis, all of the required amino acids must be present in the body at the same time and in the right quantity. “Complete protein” contains all these essential amino acids, and is obtained from animal sources such as meat, chicken, fish, dairy products, and eggs. “Incomplete protein” comes from fruits and vegetables. Since a shortage of even one amino acid can cause protein synthesis to be greatly reduced—or stop altogether—vegetarians need to combine these foods in the right way to get complete protein.

Eating the right kind of protein is especially important for athletes involved in intense training, due to the increased synthesis of muscle protein in their own bodies. So are amino acid supplements necessary in this case? Probably not, if the athlete is eating a balanced diet.

It’s been estimated the formation of additional muscle tissue in response to training can be achieved through increased amino acid consumption varying from as little as 5% to as much as 1.5 to 2 times the recommended dietary allowance for the normal adult—something a diet containing quality protein can easily provide. And since nutrients are most efficiently absorbed into the body through food, synthetic supplements are considered an inferior way to consume the extra protein.

On the other hand, athletes don’t always eat right. They typically choose protein sources that are convenient and require minimal preparation, so they can become deficient in certain amino acids. Protein supplements offer a fast and easy way to obtain very high quality protein that requires no meal planning, and they often provide additional components of a balanced diet such as vitamins and minerals. In addition, they are relatively safe, and studies show athletes training at high altitude can definitely benefit from them.

But there are legal risks to consider, especially for elite athletes, despite the fact that neither protein nor amino acid supplements are banned substances. First, there is some evidence that certain amino acids stimulate the release of growth hormones and/or growth hormone releasing factors—including human growth hormone, the substance at the center of the steroid debate in Major League Baseball and a principal hurdle in softball’s Olympic reinstatement effort (see the Softball Notebook article Play Clean: The NPF Fights Steroid Abuse).

Second, the nutritional supplement industry has a long history of adding substances to the formulation that are either not disclosed to the consumer or are disguised in the packaging. This is not by accident—manufacturers are tempted to add these substances to the “legal” ingredients listed on the package to increase the effectiveness of their products. Case in point: the addition of the prescription drug Bumetanide to StarCaps, a commercially available weight-loss product, which led to the suspension of six National Football League players last week (see the Fastpitch Forum topic The Unthinkable Question, Does the NPF Drug-test?). As far as protein or amino acid supplements, up to 25% allegedly contain forms of anabolic steroids or their precursors.

Because of these concerns, the United States Anti-Doping Agency’s website warns:

If you take nutritional or dietary supplements you may test positive for a prohibited substance which is not disclosed on the product label. If you test positive you will be sanctioned in accordance with applicable rules.

USADA understands that some trade associations and even reputable companies are attempting to test supplements and even are “verifying” or “certifying” that certain nutritional or dietary supplements are safe for athletes and others to use. Athletes need to be aware that these verification or certification programs do not guarantee that those dietary or nutritional supplements are free from minute amounts of prohibited substances which could result in an adverse laboratory finding and a doping violation.

Bottom Line: USADA warns against taking any dietary or nutritional supplements. Athletes who take dietary or nutritional supplements, even if “approved” or “verified,” do so at their own risk.

Is it really worth it?

NPF Athletes Embrace the Younger Generation

As far as professional sports organizations go, the National Pro Fastpitch league continues to shine in providing positive role models for girls and young women. In contrast, major league male sports in America have struggled with this concept in spite of—and perhaps largely because of—outrageously high player salaries.

Fifteen years ago Charles Barkley of the National Basketball Association uttered his famous line, “I am not a role model.” Lately, the National Football League seems intent on proving him right. Yesterday, New York Giants star receiver Plaxico Burress was hauled out of a police precinct in handcuffs facing two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which could result in a prison sentence of 3 ½ to 15 years if convicted.

Burress joins a long list of NFL stars in trouble with the law, including Baltimore Ravens star middle linebacker Ray Lewis, Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Tank Johnson, and former Atlanta Falcons superstar quarterback Michael Vick. Add to that the rampant allegations of steroid abuse in the NFL and—as exhaustively documented in the Mitchell Report—Major League Baseball, and you’re providing an extremely negative blueprint for impressionable young sports fans to emulate.

Despite this appalling behavior, male pro athletes continue to enjoy enormous wealth and popularity in America, whereas their relatively “squeaky clean” female counterparts are largely ignored. Thirty-six years after Title IX was enacted guaranteeing women equal opportunity to men in high school and college athletics, most female professional sports leagues are still struggling for their very survival. What’s wrong with the picture?

Most women athletes actively embrace their responsibility to mentor the younger generation, because they remember their own struggle to achieve athletic success. Olympic gold-medalist and Chicago Bandits superstar Jennie Finch is a prime example, lingering after each and every game to talk to spectators and sign autographs. And she’s not alone—this type of fan-friendly behavior is the norm rather than the exception in the NPF. Hopefully one day their efforts will be acknowledged—probably by the same kids lined up to get their autographs today.

Are High School Players Committing to Colleges Too Soon?

By Selena Collins
Chicago Bandit All-Star Catcher 2005/2006

I was trying to think of relevant topics the young softball generation would be interested in, and I found the ins and outs of college recruiting are on everyone’s mind as early as the freshman year of high school. Growing up I never had to worry about the recruiting process so early in the game. My generation and before had the luxury of receiving letters and college brochures while just sitting back and enjoying the process. I remember being able to weigh my options and wait out the process until I had taken all my official visits, which could only occur your senior year in high school. In fact, it wasn’t until July after your junior year that one could even be contacted by a college coach, and you could only be contacted three times and evaluated four.

Nowadays softball players become prospects their freshman year in high school, which means they can be evaluated but not contacted (they can email a coach as much as they want and receive emails back, however). So while the recruiting process holds a lot of rules the coaches are responsible for obtaining and following, the one thing that baffles me is that players are committing as early as their sophomore and junior year in high school.

I am now the assistant softball coach at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas and I find in order for any school to compete for the athletes they want, they have to start to push and expect commitments from girls that haven’t even taken official visits to see the campus and school. A lot of the prospects take unofficial visits, which means they come to the campus at their own expense.

I always thought the whole fun of the being recruited was being able to pick five different schools to take an official visit to, being pampered at each to see where you best belong. But what I see today are schools having to compete to get the best players, and the only way to do that is to get commitments early. Schools are potentially almost done recruiting their players for 2010, and are moving on to 2011 and 2012—which is truly bewildering to me.

I understand recruiting is now a contest and no longer a fun journey to be traveled. It’s no longer “take your time and pick the school that’s best for you,” it’s “pick the school that gives you an offer.” I can understand the pressure that some of these young girls might feel to commit early. But my fear is they will realize only too late the school they committed to two, three or even four years earlier is no longer the best fit for them.

I have noticed many players are afraid to leave their home town. Although I have always been extremely close to my family, I guess I am more of a free bird. I realized early on in my life my family is not going anywhere. I feel you are only young once, and if you have the opportunity to take your official visits without getting lost in the shuffle, you should do so.

One thing I do recommend to prospects is if you like a school, attach your profile each and every time you send them an email. Also, make sure you put your graduation year in the subject header so the coach knows who they are looking at.

I believe in the recruiting process and by no means am I trying to take the wind out of a recruit’s sails, but I do believe with hard work comes rewards. So if you are being recruited and you like a school, let them know it—because the process is tough, and you don’t want to be overlooked. No matter what year in high school you are, make sure if you commit early it’s the best fit for you. Four years really fly by in college, and you want them to be the best years of your life.

I would love to answer questions anyone might have regarding the recruiting process, and what a coach might be looking for.

College Recruiting in DIII

The college softball recruitment process for Division III is very similar to that for Division I, but there are a few differences. Here are a few tips for making the process as successful and stress-free as possible:

1- Make Contact
You should DEFINITELY contact college coaches instead of waiting to be discovered. With fewer resources for recruiting, Division III schools won’t be as active in this department (especially if you are out of state) as those in Division I. Since they also can’t offer scholarships, they love seeing a player’s active interest, and will usually be more than accommodating to schedule a visit to campus.

2- Get Referrals
Have your past coaches put in a good word for you. Any time a college coach can hear your name with good things behind it will help your cause.

3- Be Yourself
Grades and attitude are very important, but so is your overall personality. My coach asks us specifically about each girl that comes in for a recruiting visit, to know if she will be a good fit with the team. I know it’s intimidating, but try to relax and be yourself!

4- Ask Questions
The team wants to know about you and answer questions. Have some questions ready to go so you can start conversations. Ask about majors, practice routines, off-season routines, if there are any extra fun team activities outside softball, etc. It’s best to be talkative!

5- Be Prepared to Sweat
The amount of conditioning required by each DIII school is variable, so this is also a good thing to ask players and the coach about. My school does an hour of conditioning 3 times a week plus an hour of lifting 3 times a week in the off-season. During practices times, we still lift 3 times a week, but include the conditioning into our 2-hour practices.

You will be pushed enough to stay in shape, but it’s more of a responsibility to push yourself. It’s very important to be self-motivated. The NCAA limits instruction by the coach throughout the off-season in DIII, so it’s up to you to stay on top of things.

I have found that players will not be as motivated as in a DI atmosphere to do extra workouts. At a DIII school, you’re not trying to keep a scholarship and chances are you chose DIII so that you could have an outside life and keep up on school work. But again, this area is variable based on the particular school and would be another question or aspect to feel out on your visit. Depending on what type of person you are, you’ll want to find the best fit.

6- Go To A Game
Because the talent is so different from team to team, it’s very important to actually GO TO A GAME of the team you’re interested in. This will give you a very good idea of how they play and what competition to expect. That doesn’t mean you won’t feel a bit apprehensive when you show up for your first practice, but you’ll soon feel fine. Depending on what you have been used to in high school, the competition will not be so intense that you feel uncomfortable at your position. I came from a pretty competitive suburban area and found the same type of competition.

7- Don’t Forget Grades
Get an idea for how the coach deals with academic conflicts. Again, you’re there to be a student/athlete, and since there are no athletic scholarships, they should be accommodating to this type of thing. Asking how professors deal with them is also important.

8- Know Your Coach
Ask the players how they really feel about the coach! This is very important because you’ll be dealing with him/her constantly, and no matter how much you think YOU know how to run a team, you’re not the one running it. You still have to answer to your coach and they are the ones making the practices/workouts. Ask what their style is and generally what type of person they are.

9- Know Your Teammates
Go on a visit! Meet other players and pick the school that has the players you can see yourself being friends with. You’re with your team a lot, and you want to find a place where you think you’ll fit in.

10- Pick A Winner
Check the team’s history in its conference as well as in the post-season NCAA tournament. The best schools are the ones that win their conference and make it to this tournament. Again, since the talent is not consistent from school to school, if you’re looking for a quality team, these are the benchmarks you should be looking for.

The Rockford Thunder Gets A New Home

At the start of the 2008 National Pro Fastpitch season, the Rockford Thunder’s future couldn’t have looked brighter. Coming off an enormously successful inaugural season in Rockford that saw the team come within a hair’s breadth of the 2007 NPF Championship, the Thunder blasted into 2008 with a near-sweep of arch rival Chicago in their season-opening series. Then the flood gates opened—literally.

On June 9, 2008, a 400-foot portion of a highway traversing Lake Delton 116 miles north of Rockford failed after heavy rainfall, completely draining the lake in two hours and sending an out-of-control torrent of water into the Wisconsin River. Both the Wisconsin River and Rock River adjacent to the Thunder’s field at Sportscore One empty into the Mississippi, and the water had to go somewhere. Sportscore One began to flood the next day, and a week later the Rock River completely overflowed its banks, submerging the complex.

The Thunder quickly evacuated to nearby Players Park in Roscoe, Illinois for what was supposed to be just a few games—but turned into an entire season. It was a blow the team never recovered from, finishing dead last in the league standings. To make matters worse, the Thunder learned it might never be able to return to its Rockford home. And the Chicago Bandits went on to win the 2008 NPF Championship.

But there’s a silver lining to the story. Last week it was announced the Village of Roscoe and Stateline Youth Athletics (SYA)—a not-for-profit organization providing recreational baseball and softball leagues for boys and girls ages 4-16—have partnered with the Thunder to turn Players Park into a premier softball facility. Roscoe will chip in $160,000, and another $100,000 will be donated by private sources. Fittingly, the new recreational complex will be known as “Thunder Park”—the first facility of its kind to be named after an NPF franchise.

Construction started this week on what is to become a unique, family-friendly venue. Denny McKinney, vice president of the SYA, is spearheading the project. His eyes light up when he talks about the planned improvements. New in-ground dugouts are taking shape, and a press box will be built behind home plate next week. Two sets of stands, each holding 600-650 spectators, will flank the press box along the first- and third-base lines. Stadium lighting will be upgraded. And the infield will be redone with a high-tech material that resists moisture.

But the region encircling the outfield is where it really gets interesting. Ever hear of a “softball pool party?” That’s what’s going to be happening just beyond the centerfield fence next season, in a new area surrounding an above-ground pool. The pool got clearance from insurance carriers a few days ago. There will also be miniature diamonds for T-Ball practice just beyond the left field fence. And for the kids who just can’t get into the game of softball, a state-of-the-art playground has recently been added between the park’s two ball fields.

“It’s a win-win situation for all three parties,” says McKinney. Roscoe gains the distinction of hosting a pro sports franchise; the Thunder acquires a facility “rivaling the best anywhere” with the stability of a ten-year lease; and the SYA benefits from clinics and lessons organized by the Thunder players. “The girls in our youth program love all the attention they get from the pro players,” adds McKinney. For a beleaguered Thunder team pushed out of its home last spring, the feeling is undoubtedly mutual.

The NPF Fights Steroid Abuse

Modern medical science continues to devise ingenious chemical methods to enhance athletic performance, sending sports officials reeling in an attempt to detect and ban these substances. Lately, it looks like the chemists might be winning.

Last December a comprehensive study by former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell—the Mitchell Report—documented the rampant use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball. And late last week the National Football League became embroiled in its own steroid controversy, centered on the use of diuretics (”water pills”).

The use of diuretics as masking agents for steroids, if true, would be the most devious—and ingenious—maneuver yet by athletes to chemically boost their performance. And it would underscore the need for blood tests—as opposed to urine tests—to detect performance-enhancing drugs. As I mentioned in an earlier Softball Notebook article Biomolecule Madness, the reluctance of Major League Baseball to embrace blood testing may have contributed to softball’s demise as an Olympic sport, due to the perceived association between baseball and softball in the eyes of the International Olympic Committee.

Blood testing has become essential because medical science is now capable, through recombinant DNA technology and other means, of synthesizing performance-enhancing drugs—human growth hormone, for example—which are absolutely identical to what is normally found in the human body. That means the amount of these substances, rather than their composition, must be measured to detect illegal doping. And it is only in the blood, where the concentration of these chemicals is normally tightly regulated, that such measurements are meaningful. That’s why the IOC requires blood testing for Olympic competition.

Unfortunately, the drug policies of pro sports leagues like the MLB and NFL still rely on urine testing. Such testing is cheap and easy, but unreliable because the water content of urine can vary so widely—an individual in the desert, for example, excretes very little water into the bladder, whereas someone who has just drunk five cups of coffee excretes a lot. So if you wanted to hide the fact you’d taken an illegal substance, you’d want to drink lots of liquid prior to your test to dilute it.

Of course, downing half a pot of coffee right before your drug test might look rather suspicious. An alternative, more discrete method would be to quickly pop a diuretic pill (”water pill”) when nobody’s looking. Diuretics accelerate the excretion of water into the urine. That’s why they’re used for weight loss: they get rid of excess “water weight” by flushing it out into the urine. If you’re really trying to beat a drug test, you’d ideally want a diuretic that’s taken as a single dose by mouth, well-absorbed, fast-acting, and safe—one exactly like Bumex.

In contrast to male pro sports, the NPF has always maintained a “squeaky clean” image when it comes to drugs. Unfortunately, as the MLB’s “Official Development Partner” it must rely on baseball’s effort to clean up its act—or be guilty by association. That’s why it was so important the MLB and NPF jointly announced an anti-doping campaign just prior to this year’s NPF Championship Series, in cooperation with the Taylor Hooton Foundation to fight steroids. Each NPF player’s personal pledge to Play Clean™ was an acknowledgement of the growing concern over illicit doping by athletes—in male as well as female sports.

Of course, more needs to be done. The NPF needs an official drug-testing policy and, along with the MLB, needs to seriously consider testing the blood—not just the urine—of its athletes. Besides being the right thing to do, it might be just the ticket for softball’s return to the Olympic Games in 2016.

The 2008 NPF Home Run Explosion

Something very unexpected happened in the NPF in 2008: the amount of overall home runs in the league exploded. From 2007 to 2008, NPF home runs increased from 166 to 232; a nearly 40% increase. The team with the biggest increase was the Chicago Bandits, who improved their overall home run total from 16 in 2007 to 57 in 2008—a whopping 256% increase. In fact, the Bandits scored more homers in 2008 than in the entire previous three-year history of their franchise! Four of the six NPF teams increased their overall home run output; and 3 of those teams nearly doubled their home runs or better. The number of players putting up power numbers also increased; in 2007 only 6 players hit for 8 home runs or more, and in 2008 10 players accomplished that feat.

These numbers beg the question: what is going on? How do you account for the 2008 NPF Home Run Explosion?

Explanation 1 - Improved Bat Technology
Every year bat technology gets better. The materials that are used in bats get stronger, more flexible, and lighter. After watching game footage on Bandits Weekly and from the NPF Championship Series, I conclude that the best pro hitters are using either DeMarini or Worth brand bats. For example, I saw Jaime Clark and Oli Keohohou slugging with DeMarinis and Stacy May and Rachel Folden preferring Worth bats. If the best players are selecting only 2 brands out of the many brands that produce high end fastpitch bats, then those 2 brands must be doing something right. DeMarini currently uses a “double wall” technology and advanced carbon composite materials in making its bats. Worth has a similar “Performance Inner-Core” technology and uses advanced aluminum alloys to construct its bats. Ever advancing technology will continue to play a role in giving hitters a power advantage over pitchers. But there have been no major advancements in bat technology recently, so I am reluctant to conclude that DeMarini and Worth’s 2008 edition bats accounted for a 40% increase in home runs.

Explanation 2 - The Best Pitchers Were at the Olympics
Initially I thought the sole explanation for the 2008 NPF home run explosion was the absence of superstar pitchers Jennie Finch, Cat Osterman, and Monica Abbott due to the Olympics. Their absence certainly played a role in 2008’s increased home run production—I would expect hitting numbers to improve with the 3 queens of softball in Beijing—but after looking at the numbers, I cannot say that their absence alone accounted for the increased home run production. The first important fact to mention is that Abbott only pitched 25 innings last season—so the argument that her absence made an impact on the increased home runs is a wash, because her impact in 2007 was minimal. So we are left with Finch and Osterman to make the argument—but rookie pitchers Angela Tincher and Katie Burkhart were dominant in 2008 and had numbers that approached the dominance of Cat and Jennie in 2007. So while the national team’s plucking of the two top statistical pitchers in 2007 likely affected the increase in home runs, it cannot claim full responsibility for the 40% increase.

Explanation 3 - The Fences Were Moved In
It’s true that the Chicago Bandits moved to a new field with fences 25 feet closer than last year, and while I’m sure this affected the Bandits’ incredible 256% home run production increase, it cannot account for the league-wide increase in homers. The Bandits were only 1 team among 4 that experienced an increase.

Explanation 4 - Better Hitters
A number of players really stepped up their offense this year—including several rookies. The pack of young power hitters was led by Bandit Rachel Folden, who hit 11 home runs in her rookie season. Other notable rookies include Akron’s Kate Robinson with 8 home runs, Rockford’s Tonya Callahan with 7 home runs, and Philadelphia’s Savannah Long with 7 home runs. The college ranks have been producing pitchers that are far advanced of their batting counterparts for almost a decade; perhaps the coaching and experience level of young hitters is starting to equal that of pitchers. It’s possible that the new crop of 2008 rookies are the beginning of a new trend in fastpitch where hitters are closing the gap with pitchers.

Explanation 5 - Performance-Enhancing Drugs
I know bringing up the “S word” is very controversial and I am hesitant to mention it, but after seeing the home run totals explode in professional baseball and in light of the well-publicized Mitchell Report, I think it is a topic that must be discussed in professional softball. To date the NPF has no official drug testing policy—either for steroids or other performance-enhancing substances—and history tells us that when players see an opportunity to get a competitive edge, they will eventually take advantage of it. I don’t personally believe that any softball players are “juicing,” but I feel that the subject must be brought up. Sports fans lost a lot of their innocence with the baseball steroid scandal, and no fans want to be caught sleeping on the issue again.

In conclusion, I think that Explanations 1 through 4 (and hopefully not 5) all played a part in the 2008 NPF home run explosion. I have been advocating for changes in the NPF rules that increase home run production, but I am happy to see this occur without them. Home runs create lots of excitement and deliver a better experience to NPF fans. I will also be curious to see if this home run trend increases, stays steady, or plummets back down to Earth in 2009. Bring on next year!

By John Thorson
Father of Chicago Bandit pitcher Kristina Thorson

Although the Olympics is taking center stage right now, the National Pro Fastpitch league is the most viable post-collegiate venue for softball in the future. With its hopeful success, more players may see it as a goal to strive for and more potential owners will see it as a worthwhile investment.

There is no question that there has a long way to go before the NPF can claim any real measure of success. Many have given their opinions on things that are wrong and some have given positive suggestions. This is all good stuff and something that the NPF is aware of. But I want to tell you about some things I think are being done right and the people behind it.

My daughter, as some of you know, pitches for the Chicago Bandits. I made my first trip back to Elgin, Illinois, a few weeks ago and had the opportunity and distinct pleasure of meeting many of the people behind the scenes that are working hard to make this franchise work.

The premise behind the ultimate success of this team is that it is THE local pro team (greater Elgin area) and are doing what they can to make it something the community can rally behind. Some of the specific things being done include:

• The players are making many appearances at local venues, including restaurants, sports bars, and others. Much success comes with the many young softballers, their parents, and others identifying with and coming out to support their favorite players.
• The game announcers, Jeff Myers, the Chicago Bandits play-by-play analyst, and Kyle Bault, the color commentator, do more than just announce the games. They also spend time out in the community to talk about the team and the players.
• Not necessarily big for the local crowd yet but definitely for those of us not local, home games are carried on both live video and live radio. The local radio station, WKRM, is a big supporter and promoter. Radio sports announcer and fan Mike Green has girls on regularly when they’re in town doing everything from announcing the weather or making short statements about the team to spending a couple hours sharing the microphone during his daily stint.
• The field itself, although not perfect, is a nice venue for watching the games. Both the Bandits organization and the City of Elgin worked extremely hard to get the facility up and running by the first game and did so despite some absolutely horrible weather. Fans are greeted with many special events (when we were there, a special presentation was made to about 20 players from the All American Girls Baseball League) and fun stuff on the field between innings like a tug-of-war or a “Name That Song” that keeps fans engaged. It seems they have wisely borrowed the book from minor league baseball in using some of their promotional ideas.
• My understanding is that the City committed $710,000 to rebuild the current field and has promised something like $3.5 million to build a stadium to be opened by 2011. The City plans not only to host the Bandits in the best facility available but also to attract major softball tournaments using the 15 additional fields by the stadium location (I haven’t seen the location or fields but was told of them). If they pull this off, it could be a mecca for softball and very profitable for the community. In turn, it should greatly help the Bandits franchise.
• Local businessmen have committed to supporting the team by providing food and other booths at the field plus hosting the team at their businesses (e.g. Dairy Queen is a good example). Another I met is planning on building a pizza place close to the Bandits retail store and office in downtown Elgin, and using the team as it’s theme.
• The Bandits organization has a number of interns that seem to work very hard. Rather than just working for the Bandits, these young people seem to be part of the Bandits family and really care about making this a success.
• The owners (Bill Conroy, Bill Sokolis, et al.) are TOTALLY committed to making this work. They have spent and are spending SUBSTANTIAL funds with no short-term payback in sight (sorry guys). Signing Jennie Finch, one of the biggest draws in the game today, to a three-year contract exemplifies their long-term commitment.
• For me, one of the biggest items is everyone’s commitment to the players. They have trainers, doctors, and other professionals readily available for the players. Kyle (the color commentator) gives all the players his cell phone number with orders to call him ANYTIME they need help: flat tire, need transportation, etc. The girls have nice rooms on campus just a short walk from the field and training room.

At least one organization seems to have a great local strategy and is continuously looking at what else they can do to build the kind of fan support that will be needed to sustain this venture. I’m sure that others are working just as hard to achieve this, and that the Bandits organization is just one example. The thing that impresses me the most is that this organization isn’t one or two people—it is many people wearing many hats that seem to truly care about the future of this team. It has a good community feel about it.

Yes, there is a long way to go. I’m sure the NPF has a well thought-out marketing strategy but it’s hard to know what it is and, working on a shoestring budget, it’s hard to implement. This is a great game that needs visibility; heck, few people have a clue a professional league even exists. However, the success of the Womens’ College World Series on ESPN, people tiring of the cost and egos involved in the MLB, televising NPF games on Fox Sports Net and Comcast Sports Net and, hopefully, more teams including a West Coast division, should have a very positive effect on the ultimate success of the league. I’m just hoping the NPF can succeed and become a viable dream for many of those young ladies wanting to follow in the footsteps of those players already done with their Pro careers and those currently in the league, and for the owners and others that have given so much to provide that dream.

In 2004 Team USA looked invincible. Not only did it win the gold medal, but it went 7-0 and outscored opponents 51-1; the lone run scored against it came in the final game versus Team Australia. With a trio of superstar pitchers in Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman, and record setting power numbers from slugger Crystl Bustos, Team USA crushed every opponent to atoms. Team USA was equally dominant during the 1996 and 2000 Olympics; where it won the gold medal in a similarly brilliant fashion.

But Team USA’s rich history of dominance didn’t start with softball’s Olympic debut in 1996; rather, it began in 1965 when the United States first sent a softball team to the ISF World Softball Championships. Team USA reached the finals in both of its first two appearances at the ISF World Championships, but unfortunate errors in the final game prevented it from winning the title each time. Instead, the championship went to Team Australia in 1965 and Team Japan in 1970, but beginning in 1974 the United States has been practically untouchable in international play. Team USA has captured eight gold medals at the International Championships and has outscored opponents 650-45 en route to a 106-10 overall record since 1965.

Fresh off of its gold medal in the 2006 ISF World Championship, Team USA plans to add a new chapter to its long history of success at the 2008 Olympics. Though its trio of superstar pitchers from 2004 will be broken up in 2008 with legendary pitcher Lisa Fernandez serving in a replacement capacity only, Team USA has added NCAA superstar and NPF Champion pitcher Monica Abbot to its roster. The addition of Abbott to Team USA will create a new dominant trio of pitchers along with Jennie Finch and Cat Osterman. During Team USA’s 60-game “Bound 4 Beijing” Tour this summer, Abbott, Osterman and Finch have combined for 50 wins, 666 strike outs, a .50 ERA, and a .087 opponent batting average. Cat Osterman has led the trio with 247 of its strikeouts, a team low .42 ERA and a 15-0 record.

Though the American pitching staff is good enough to inspire terror in its opponents, Team USA doesn’t need to win with pitching—it is equipped to out hit any team in the world. During the “Bound 4 Beijing” Tour, Team USA had a .432 team batting average and hit 125 home runs. Jessica Mendoza led the US with a .495 batting average, 102 hits, 89 runs, and 107 RBI; and Crystl Bustos supplied the power, leading Team USA with 28 home runs and 93 RBI of her own.

Despite their history of dominance and status as a clear favorite for the 2008 Olympics, there are some indications that the international softball community may be catching up to Team USA. The clearest example came in the 2006 World Championships in Beijing, China, where Team Japan, despite Team USA’s impressive roster, defeated Team USA 3-1 in the final round of group play. Additionally, the rosters of several international teams now include athletes that have played on American college teams. Team USA will face stiff competition from China, Japan, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.

China

The biggest threat to a fourth consecutive gold medal by Team USA is Team China. China is the host country for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and aside from having “home field advantage,” the entire nation has dreams of winning the overall medal count. China’s passion for victory on its home turf will be a significant factor in this year’s games, and its roster has the talent to achieve its goal. Team China is led by ace pitcher Lu Wei, who compiled a 2-3 record, 29 strike-outs, and a 0.78 ERA at the 2004 Olympics; and excelled at the 2006 World Championships with a 0.00 ERA, 22 strike-outs, and 2-1 record. Wei, at 25 years old, is in the prime of her career and is poised for a breakout performance at the 2008 Olympics. The Chinese also have a potential superstar in 20-year-old Olympic rookie Yin Zhou. Zhou stands tall at 6’2” and has been nicknamed the “Yao Ming” of softball by her teammates. Zhou has honed her skills as a collegiate player in the United States, at Lassen Community College in Sugarville, California. If pitchers Lu Wei and Yin Zhou turn in excellent performances, they could lead Team China to an epic dethroning of Team USA.

Japan

The Japanese Olympic team is equally as scary as the Chinese. Team Japan will benefit from the short trip it gets to make to the Games, and will be riding a wave of success it has enjoyed over the past four years. Japan won the bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, dominated the 2006 Asian games with a 4-0 record and a gold medal, and won the silver medal at the 2006 ISF World Championships. During the 2006 ISF World Championships Japan also handed Team USA its only loss in international competition since 1988. Team Japan also has its own superstar in pitcher Yukiko Ueno, who has a fastball clocked at over 70 miles per hour. Ueno threw the Olympics’ only perfect game in 2004, and went 3-2 with a 0.46 ERA and 31 strike-outs; Ueno allowed just 9 hits and 1 walk in 30 2/3 innings. Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan, and the nation’s baseball obsession has led many young ladies to pursue softball—leading to a crop of talented young players that make up the Japanese Olympic team. Team Japan has a legitimate chance to win gold in 2008.

Australia

While Team USA stole the show at the 2004 Olympics, Team Australia wasn’t very far behind. The Australians went 6-1 in the 2004 Olympics, losing their only game to Team USA in the final game, and they scored the only run recorded against Team USA in 2004. Pitcher Tanya Harding, who went 4-1, had a .79 ERA and threw 18 strike-outs, will return to the team for her fourth consecutive Olympics. Team Australia has three players that have collegiate softball experience in America: Tanya Harding, Melanie Roche, and Stacey Porter. Harding was a standout at UCLA, Melanie Roche was a star pitcher at Oklahoma State University and threw a shut-out against Lisa Fernandez’s UCLA Bruins in the 1993 Women’s College World Series, and Stacey Porter played for the University of Hawaii and remains its all-time leader in home runs. Australia also has a robust amateur softball system, similar to America, which will provide the team plenty of home-grown talent. With a collection of NCAA-tested veterans and young domestic talent, Team Australia has a shot at going for the gold.

Canada

The Canadian National Team will field seven players that have played at the college level in the United States—most have already played against members of Team USA, and that extra experience may give them an advantage in head-to-head play. Team Canada also has their own superstar in pitcher Lauren Bay-Regula, sister of MLB slugger Jason Bay, who can help Canada upset some higher-seeded teams in Beijing. Bay-Regula was an all-star at Oklahoma State University, where she recorded a 25-10 overall record, set a team record for strike-outs in a single season with 451, and is the University’s all-time career strike-out leader with 1,151. With a roster of battle-tested NCAA players and Lauren Bay-Regula leading the team, Canada may have a few surprises in store in 2008.

Netherlands

Though the Netherlands is new to the international softball scene and finished a disappointing twelfth at the 2006 ISF World Championships, Team Netherlands is committed to winning in 2008. It recently finished an exhaustive world softball tour this summer, and has a quality pitcher that gives it a chance to go the distance. Kristie de Vries was a standout pitcher at Ohio State University from 2001 to 2004, amassed 59 wins, 624 strikeouts, a 1.52 career ERA, and was the Buckeye’s 2004 team MVP. Though a long shot for the gold in Beijing , the Netherlands has enough talent to warrant attention, and if any team overlooks the Dutch it could be in for a nasty surprise!

Olympic Prediction

Though Team USA will face tougher competition in 2008 than it did in 2004, its combination of excellent pitching and superb hitting will overwhelm the international field and lead Team USA to its fourth consecutive gold medal.