GFLL Softball Parents,

We hope these notes continue to keep you informed about GF Softball!

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

Clinics: Softball clinics are going to be ending in the next couple of weeks so please try to have your daughters attend this coming Sunday.  We are trying to get a sliding clinic or two scheduled before the end of the season…stay tuned and we will get you more information as soon as it is available.  

Lost and Found: The Softball Lost and Found is growing quite large. If your daughter(s) have left behind any clothing or equipment during the season please stop by the shed when it is open during your next game or any of our GF team games and reclaim your items.  

***Spirit Wear Coordinator Needed: Karen Bush has been doing an amazing job ordering and selling spirit wear for may years but it is time for her to pass this 

important job onto 1 or 2 other parents at the end of this season. Money earned from spirit wear pays for our clinics each Sunday among other things so this job is vital to the success of our league. Spirit Wear coordinator does not have to be a one-person job, you can put together a committee of parents to help out and split up the work.  Please consider taking on this role.  If you have questions about it please reach out to Karen.

THE WEEK’S HIGHLIGHTS:

Play of the week—unassisted triple play—see AA Force write up below!

Langley Game:  We had a good turn out (20-25 girls from all of our leagues) for the GFLL Night at Langley. The girls enjoyed watching Langley defeat TJ 8-2 and got to see many great hits into the outfield and one homerun over the fence, as well as many excellent defensive plays. The Langley girls were great examples of how hard work in practice and games can make softball players much stronger athletes.  

Last week our teams had a tougher time against McLean.  Two Majors teams (the third was idle) and both AAA teams lost to McLean, while both AA teams posted wins.  

Majors: The Thunder and Racers battled strong McLean teams and the games were quite competitive.  

Top ranked GF Thunder hosted the top ranked McLean team.  It was a very fast paced and well pitched game featuring the staring pitchers from last years 9-10 All Star tournament, Valerie Templin for Great Falls and Katie Longo for McLean.  The game was a pitchers dual early. McLean was up 3-1 after 3.  Great Falls tied the game at 3-3 in the 4th inning on an exciting squeeze play at the plate.  However, McLean came back to score 5 unearned runs in the 5th to take a lead that would hold.  Final score McLean 8 Great Falls 4.

AA:  The AA Thunder beat McLean 9-4 on Saturday.  Taylor Maguire gets the hustle award for retrieving a passed ball and tagging out a runner stealing home  unassisted.  Colleen Sherry had a clutch RBI hit capping an excellent offensive game.  May Slack and Caroline Bennett teamed up to make a great 6-4 force out to end the second inning. 

The AA Force beat McLean Blue Lighting 9-6 on Saturday for a great team win. The Force played an excellent defensive game, highlighted by an extremely rare unassisted 'triple play' by Caroline Nielsen.  Caroline caught a fly ball from the Blue Lighting batter, stepped on third base and tagged the runner from second for the play of the game! Sarah Semko made a great play at third that stopped a rally by McLean. On offense, the force continued with a strong hitting performance led by Eliza Nielsen, Reese Torres and Morgan Exley.  Sarah McCue came through with a key hit in the 5th inning to help secure the win. Grace Rappaport closed out the Blue Lighting pitching a strong 6th inning.

Game at The Grange this Saturday 5/19:

CP Thunder vs Bandits at 12:00

Games at Nike 6 this week:

5/18 Friday

Majors Thunder vs Racers at 5:30

5/19 Saturday

AA Force vs McLean #1 at 12:00

The other AA game and both AAA games are in McLean this Saturday. Majors 

Bandits plays in McLean on Friday eve.

Have a great week!

Clinics will be held a little earlier this year, starting Sunday at 12:00 noon for the first session, and 12:45 for the second session.  Clinics will be held on the Nike 6 field and batting cage area. 

Please be ON TIME, so the instructors don't have to back up and reiterate their instruction for late-comers.  And please attend the proper age/experience session, as skills vary greatly between 7 and 12 year old players.

If your player wants to pitch in a game, she is strongly encouraged to attend the pitching clinics.  GFLL provides these clinics free to registered players, as an investment in the girls and the program.  Please take advantage of the pitching clinics so your player has the best chance of personal success in the pitcher's circle.

We are pleased to have Angie Tyson and Mike Sharkey as the instructors for our Sunday skills clinics this season. 

Angie is the head coach of the Wakefield HS Varsity Softball team, as well as the head coach for a 16U Arlington Sage travel team.  She is a life-long player, having pitched at Muhlenberg College in their Division III Varsity team.  She and an assistant will provide pitching instruction for novices through experienced pitchers.  (Please see details, below.)

Mike has led our hitting clinic for almost as long as we've offered one.  He is the head coach for the 16U Great Falls Sharks, and also the Assistant Coach for the Langley Varsity softball team.  His coached his daughters' teams as they rose through the ranks of GFLL Softball and high school ball.

For the pitching clinics:  Players MUST bring a parent or older sibling to serve as their catcher.  The clinic is as much for the pitcher as for their catcher, so that the catcher can provide after-clinic feedback and instruction to the pitcher when practicing at home or with their team.  The first session, from 12:00 to 12:45, we welcome new pitchers and those who are just learning how to pitch.  The second session, from 12:45 to 1:30 is for those who have some pitching under their belt and need help refining their pitches.

For the batting clinics:  The first session, 12:00-12:45 is for older players, AAA and Majors levels; the second (12:45-1:30) is for younger players:  Coach Pitch and AA.

These clinics are weather-dependent.  If significant inclement weather is forecast, please look for a message from the league as to whether or not the clinics will take place

Coaches and Parents,

GFLL softball uses the official little league rulebook for 99% of the rules and regulations for league play.  There are however some "Local Rules" that have been setup by GFLL and McLean oto ensure that we have a fun and competitive league.  The following documents layout the rules for each division.

Rule Summary - this on page document provides all the basic rules for each division

Local Rules - this document spells out in detail the specific local rules used

Pitching Rules - this document details the rules specifically around pitching at each division

One of the first steps to a successful and enjoyable softball season is to ensure your child is properly equipped.    The summary below should help you with this task.   Most sales representatives at sporting goods stores are knowledgeable and can provide valuable recommendation.  We have included some additional guidelines on selection and sizing for your information.  If your child has properly fitted equipment we are all one step ahead.  The end game is to  make this softball season safe and enjoyable. Click on "More Information" to see details about all the equipment.

Pure Performance is offering softball camps at Nike Park this summer during the weeks of July 16th and July 30th. 

These camps are for ages 5-12.  Hours are 9am-2pm with a half day option for 5 and 6 year olds.  All camp directors and instructors are former standout college or high school players trained in positive coaching techniques.  Our goal is to provide a safe learning environment for your daughter while instructing hitting, throwing, fielding and helping them be the strongest softball player possible.  An age appropriate and softball specific warm-up designed by a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist is taught to all players and performed each morning.  One nutrition "nugget" of knowledge is shared with players every day over lunch.  Player to instructor ratio at camps is always at least 9:1.  Players are divided according to age and skill level.  Scrimmages are played at the end of each camp day.  Players should bring a glove, visor/hat, cleats, sunscreen, and lunch. 

Please visit www.getpureperformance.com for more information on instructors and camps. 

To go directly to the registration page please click https://cui.active.com/camps-reg/login?a=216802 . 

Any questions can be directed to Anya Adams at 571-332-2052 or pureperformanceinfo@gmail.com