Monica Abbott 7 Jared Faherty Has Been Extremely Valuable
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Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association THE LINE DRIVE January 15, 2018 VOLUME 6 Message from the President… Brad Ceranski President I hope 2018 is off to an incredible start and Cindy Suess that your excitement is building for the Vice President upcoming softball season. Cindy Suess has Clinic Director put together a spectacular lineup for our th th Greg Lampe coaches clinic on February 24 and 25 at Executive Director Chula Vista Resort. We all owe Cindy a Awards Committee Chairperson debt of gratitude for the hard work she puts into providing us with such an out- Tammy Rademacher standing educational and networking opportunity each year. Secretary Website After last year’s season, Tim Whitford, Jeff Agnew and Roger Schliewe all stepped down from their positions as District Representatives. I would like to take a mo- Jane Briehl ment to thank them for their excellent work representing the schools in their dis- Treasurer trict. We are extremely excited to let you know that they will continue to serve the Tom Drohner athletes and coaches and help the WFSCA in other ways. Tim will be serving as an Border Battle Coordinator All-Star Game Coordinator, Jeff will continue as the Hall of Fame Chair and Roger District 1: Large School Rep. will be sharing his knowledge as one of our speakers at this year’s clinic. They are Dave Bjorge incredible individuals who we are fortunate to have volunteering their time and District 1: Small School Rep. talents. Tim Whitford All-Star Game Coordinator During our fall meeting, the Board was charged with selecting three new district representatives. We are very excited to welcome Julie Detjen (Fox Valley Luther- Sue Stoltenberg Academic All-State Coordinator an), Dan Bayreuther (Janesville Craig) and Scott Ritzema (Laconia) Newsletter Coordinator to the Executive Board. I have no doubt their passion and ideas Inside this Issue: District 2: Small School Rep. will strengthen our Board and enhance the softball experience for Message from the President 1 Jeff Agnew the student athletes and coaches in our state. Hall of Fame Chairperson 2018 Hall of Jeff Agnew is busy putting together another excellent program to Fame Inductees 2-3 Jeff Hodgson honor our four tremendous coaches who will be inducted into the WFSCA Hall of District 3: Small School Rep. WFSCA Hall of Fame this year. We will again be starting off the Fame Coaches 4 John Ruffolo banquet with a social for Hall of Fame members. Thank you, Jeff, Changes for 2018 5 Clinic Vendor Coordinator for all your work to make this a special event for the inductees District 4: Large School Rep. Keeping Deadlines and their families. Please join us in honoring the legendary A Priority 6 Scott Ritzema coaches on Saturday evening of the clinic. District 4: Small School Rep. Coaches Clinic Speakers: The input we have received over the years from our membership Monica Abbott 7 Jared Faherty has been extremely valuable. Surveys and conversations over Tony Abbatine 8 All-Star Game Coordinator Amanda Chidester 8 the past several years have been very helpful in decisions for our Randy Schneider 9 Julie Detjen sport at the state level. Please contact your district representa- District 2: Large School Rep. 2017 State tives, Greg Lampe, or myself, with any suggestions on how we can Qualifiers 10-11 Dan Bayreuther continue to grow as an organization. See you at the clinic! Being a Good District 3: Large School Rep. Teammate 12 Brad Ceranski, WFSCA President Important Dates 12 Page 2 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association WFSCA Announces 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees The Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association would like to congratulate the 2018 Hall of Fame Inductee Class: Don Bjelland – Grantsburg HS Don has been Head Coach at Grantsburg High School for 21 years, having started the Pirate softball program in 1996. He has coached in 466 games and has a career record of 406-60. The Pirates playoff record is 56-16 and includes 15 regional ti- tles, 8 sectional titles, state championship titles in 2006 & 2009, and state runner-up in 2016. Don has 17 conference champion- ships and coached an All-Star team in 2004 & 2013. Tom Drohner – Stevens Point Area Senior High Tom has coached at SPASH for 20 years. He has coached in 533 games during that time picking 468 wins and continues to coach with a current record of 468-65 through the 2017 sea- son. He has won 19 Conference Championships, 17 Regional Championships and 14 Sectional Championships. Under his tenure, SPASH advanced to the State Tournament 14 times and has won the State Championship in ‘01-’04, ‘08, ‘09, ‘11 and ‘16, with a Runner-Up in 2000. He is the only coach in Wisconsin State softball history to win 4 consecutive State Championship from 2001—2004. He has helped develop 48 first team All-State players, won 18 consecutive Wisconsin Val- ley Conference Championships (WVC), coached 2 Gatorade players of the year, and 3 WFSCA players of the year, and 12 WVC Players of the Year. He was named the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Coach of Year for the State of Wisconsin four times 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2011. Page 3 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association WFSCA Announces 2018 Hall of Fame Inductees (cont’d) Doug Mock – Oakfield HS Doug coached varsity softball for 21 years at Oakfield High School. He has coached in 484 games with a record of 383-101. His teams have won 8 Conference Championships, 17 Regional Championships and 9 Sectional Championships. Oakfield ad- vanced to the State Tournament 9 times and won the State Championship in 1997, 2001 and 2009, with a Runner-Up in 2004. Cindy Suess – Oshkosh North High School UW-Oshkosh Verona Area High School Cindy coached softball at Verona Area High School for 12 sea- sons. During that time, she directed the Wildcats to a 228-49 record, including 5 State Tournament appearances and 8 Badg- er Conference Championships. Verona finished 2nd at the WI- AA Division 1 State Tournament in 2001 and 2002. Cindy was Head Coach at UW-Oshkosh for 9 seasons; leading the Titans to a record of 229-140-1 (a 62% winning percentage). She was named Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2007 and 2013. UW-Oshkosh finished in the top three of the WIAC 6 times under Suess’s leadership, including a league title in 2007. That year, she went 32-11 and reached the Regional Championship game—one victory away from the NCAA Division III World Series. The Titans finished 2nd in the WIAC in 2005, 2006 and 2008. For the past 4 years, Cindy has coached the Oshkosh North Spartans to a 76-28 record, 2 State Tournament appearances and a Conference Title in 2017. Page 4 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame Coaches 2018 Don Bjelland, Grantsburg Tom Drohner, Stevens Point Doug Mock, Oakfield Cindy Suess, Oshkosh 2017 2012 Denny Coppernoll, River Valley Kris Allison, Westosha Central Tim Hering, Whitewater Mike Regner, LaCrosse Central Jeff Setz, New Berlin Eisenhower Del Schneeberger, Johnson Creek/Fort Atkinson 2016 2011 Dave Keel, Homestead Jim Haines, Pepin Roger Schliewe, Horicon Steve Ryan, Waunakee Jim Wickert, McFarland & Madison College Steve Schmikla, McFarland Diane Yager, DC Everest & Seneca 2015 Tim Pederson, Amherst 2010 Bob Sulser, Madison Memorial & Beloit Turner Greg Lampe, Oak Creek Marv Youngbeck, Mayville Bob LeCaptain, Denmark & Green Bay West John Malin, Kimberly 2014 Russell Shaub, Middleton John Schroeder, Beloit Memorial Bob Tomlinson, Poynette Glenda Smith, Tigerton Rod Wilterdink, Cedarburg Don Vruwink, Milton 2009 2013 Tory Acheson Whitnall, UW-Parkside/TN Tech Dale Buvid, Monroe Phillip Adam, Ashwaubenon Paul Olson, Fort Atkinson David and Mary Lou Jones, Platteville Jim Turner, Altoona Pete Kopplin, Marshfield Darrell Laschen, Loyal Debbie Malueg, Marion Page 5 Wisconsin Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association Changes for 2018 by Brad Ceranski, WFSCA President The WFSCA Executive Board discussed several topics for the upcoming season during the June meeting. In- put was taken from survey results, discussion with coaches and parameters in other sports. Recommen- dations from this meeting were sent to the WIAA Soft- ball Coaches Advisory and on to the committee process which culminates with the WIAA Board of Control. The Board of Control approved following three recommen- dations related to softball at their October meeting: This season the Division 1 State Tournament will seed the top four teams and randomly draw the remaining teams. Divisions 2 through 5 will continue to use pre- determined placements in the brackets. The maximum roster limit allowed to request an extra -inning waiver was raised from 18 to 20. The waiver allows players to play three innings in a game without it counting toward their game maximum. Without the waiver players are allowed one inning without it counting toward the twenty-six game maximum. Starting in 2019, the regional game schedule for Divi- sions 2 through 5 will change from the current Tues- day, Wednesday and Friday format to a Thursday (of the prior week), Tuesday, Thursday format. Division 1 regionals will be on Tuesday and Thursday instead of the present Wednesday and Friday schedule. The WIAA Board of Control approved three recommendations at the October meeting. We would like to thank our entire membership for their input on these and many other issues in our sport. The information gathered through survey data and conversa- tions with coaches is vital to the recommendation process. Please contact your district representatives, Greg Lampe or myself, with any questions or ideas for future recom- mendations. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not mention how fortu- nate we are to have Associate Director, Stephanie Hauser, working with the WFSCA.