A Balls & Strikes SoftballMagazine Manage your league more efficiently online. It’s easy! Register ASA Integration NOW HERE! • FREE Website • Easy Player Registration • Automated Fee Collection Start with Clubspaces. End the Hassle. Clubspaces is the official online league management system of ASA for a reason. It’s built to automate manual processes and integrate all operations—from registration to fundraising to volunteer recruitment—within one solution. You’ll free up hours and hours of time each season! That translates into a huge savings of cost and sanity, letting you focus on the game instead of on the administration. XXRegister ASA Integration ASA has strengthened our XXFREE League and Team Websites partnership with Clubspaces XXProfessionally Designed ASA Website Templates this year by integrating XXOnline Registration & Secure Payment Processing Clubspaces with Register XXFundraising ASA. Over the years, we have XXRecruit Volunteers seen our leagues continue XXAuto Game Scheduler to save time and money by XXGroup Email taking adventage of all the XX24/7 Customer Support & No Hosting Fees league management tools Clubspaces has to offer. Get Started Today! Clubspaces is ideal for all ASA leagues. www.Clubspaces.com/ASA —Ron Radigonda, or call 888.427.9170 Option 3, Option 1 “Executive Director of ASA Clubspaces is the official online league management system of ASA *Note: Online registrations may be charged credit card processing and transaction fees. Please call for quote 888.427.9170 Option 3, Option 1 365_10_2011Aug ” September 2011 Letter from the President 5 Help Beat Cancer 8 USA Softball auction for Susan G. Komen for the Cure® runs Sept. 16-26 Sponsor Spotlight 9 Worth FPEX: Fastpitch Experts Association Profile 14 Indiana Amateur Softball Association GOLD! 16 Team North Florida wins 2011 ASA 18-Under GOLD National Championship The Apple Falls Close to the Tree 18 Athleticism runs in the Fagan Family of Dunnellon, Fla. Then I Became a Softball Dad 22 Fearing he would live through his daughters, Keith Graham is living with his daughters Softball: Alive & Growing in Europe 24 Massachusetts ASA Commissioner Joe Alfonse helps spread the game globally 2011 Aquafina MLB Pitch, Hit & Run 26 National Champions crowned during Major League Baseball (MLB) All Star weekend Another Successful Junior Olympic Season in the Books Executive Director 28 A total of 1,653 teams participated in the 2011 JO National Championships Ron Radigonda What Makes a National Championship? 29 A Q&A Chattanooga ASA’s Junior Olympic Commissioner Kim Swafford Editors USA Softball Maintains Legacy with World Cup of Softball Win Jamie Blanchard 30 Women’s National Team defeats Japan to take home fifth straight title Holly Krivokapich USA Run-Rules Team Canada 25-3 in Border Battle III 31 USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National Team recaptures Border Battle crown Contributors News and Notes Joe Alfonse 34 Check out what’s going on with ASA and USA Softball Dennis Anderson An "Official View Of Greece" Julie Bartel 38 Umpire Sean Silver travels to Athens for Special Olympics World Games Andy Dooley Second Look Keith Graham 41 See if you can find six differences in these photos Florida Sports Coaching Colors Information 43 A fixture in the green and gold, Mike White now wears Red, White and Blue Murray Johnson Member Spotlight LEJ Sports 46 Meet four athletes who Play ASA across the country Bill Plummer III Sean Silver Design Old Hat Creative www.oldhatcreative.com The Official Publication of The Amateur Softball Association / USA Softball Balls and Strikes Softball Magazine is published annually by the Amateur Softball Association 2801 N.E. 50th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73111, (405) 424-5266. Balls and Strikes Softball® is a federally registered trademark of the Amateur Softball Association of America © Amateur Softball Association 2011 Visit us on the Internet: www.asasoftball.com & www.usasoftball.com OWN THE SPLIT-SECOND YOU SPEND HOURS IN THE CAGE. YOU PRACTICE EVERYDAY. YOU TRAIN YEAR ‘ROUND. AND WHEN THE GAME IS ON THE LINE, YOU HAVE A SPLIT-SECOND TO MAKE ALL THAT TIME WORTH IT. WE OWN THAT SPLIT-SECOND. EASTONSOFTBALL.COM GREETINGS FROM THE PRESIDENT! Congratulations to all of the teams that can now call themselves Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America National Champions. We are proud to have such talented athletes participating in our organization at all levels. Thank you to everyone who participated in the Junior Olympic (JO) Championship that wrapped up earlier last month, from athletes to volunteers. A total of 1,653 JO teams participated in National Championship play with the highest attended tournament being the ASA/USA Softball Girls’ Class A 16-Under Fast Pitch in Chattanooga, Tenn., with 172 teams. While the numbers of our JO program are solid, I encourage everyone to think of how we can get more teams involved with ASA next year. While the JO portion of the season is complete, a number of our adult teams are still waiting for their chance to be called a “National Champion”. Good luck to all of the athletes competing and best wishes to all the other people who make these tournaments happen, like our tournament directors, scorekeepers and umpires. I recently had the opportunity to attend the World Cup of Softball VI and Border Battle III in Oklahoma City, where I watched our 2011 USA Softball Women’s National Team and 2011 USA Softball Men’s Slow Pitch National Team compete for our country. While it was exciting to watch the Red, White and Blue claim victories on national television, it was most exciting to see the five other countries in the event. Australia, Canada and Japan have always been strong competitors but in Oklahoma City earlier this month, I witnessed the greatest teams from Czech Republic and Great Britain that I have ever seen. The growth in their programs is really inspiring, especially as we look toward our sport being included in the 2020 Olympic Games. Thank you to everyone who made the World Cup possible from the athletes to the N ational Office staff to the field crew, umpires and volunteers. It is an event that provides great exposure to the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and our National Team programs. A special thank you to the fans who traveled from across the world to watch the event in person. The crowds were great! The 80th Council Meeting is quickly approaching, Nov. 5-11 at the Hilton Myrtle Beach Resort in South Carolina. If you have not made your travel plans, please contact Journey House soon. Also don’t forget to bring your clubs for our annual golf tournament. More information on that can be found on page seven of this publication. As we begin to wrap up another great season, I want to thank all of you for your loyalty to ASA and for your dedication in playing, promoting, organizing and OWN THE SPLIT-SECOND supporting the sport of softball. Andy Dooley, President YOU SPEND HOURS IN THE CAGE. YOU PRACTICE EVERYDAY. Amateur Softball Association of America YOU TRAIN YEAR ‘ROUND. AND WHEN THE GAME IS ON THE LINE, YOU HAVE A SPLIT-SECOND TO MAKE ALL THAT TIME WORTH IT. WE OWN THAT SPLIT-SECOND. Balls & Strikes Softball EASTONSOFTBALL.COM Magazine Check out the new TOURNAMENTS tab! swing with the legends golf series Kickoff the 80th Amateur softball Association (AsA) of America national Council Meeting at Azalea sands golf Club 2100 HigHway 17 • NortH Myrtle BeacH, S.c. 29582 NoveMBer 4, 2011 $350 per-teaM $125 for aN iNDiviDual Shotgun start at 11:30 a.m. $35 for DiNNer oNly Dinner and auction at 5:30 p.m. $100 to SpoNSor a Hole or a DiNNer taBle Each group will be paired with a Major League Baseball (MLB) Alumni player for the golf tournament, which is a benefit for ASA Special Programs, MLB Alumni and Special Olympics National Games. Non-golfers are welcome to join for the dinner and auction, which includes items signed by the MLB alumni players as well as current and former USA Softball athletes. Registration is due to Andy Dooley by October 16, 2011 7 TEAMS REGISTERED ($350 PER-TEAM) NAME OF GOLFER NO. 1 INDIVIDUALS REGISTERED ($125 PER-PERSON) ADDRESS DINNER GUESTS ($35 PER-PERSON) CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE PHONE NUMBER HOLES SPONSORED ($100 PER-HOLE) DOES GOLFER NEED TRANSPORTATION? £ YES £ NO TABLES SPONSORED ($100 PER-TABLE) NAME OF GOLFER NO. 2 TOTAL DUE $ ADDRESS RETURN COMPLETED REGISTRATION FORM AND CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE PHONE NUMBER CHECk MADE PAYABLE TO PIEDMONT ASA TO DOES GOLFER NEED TRANSPORTATION? £ YES £ NO PIEDMONT ASA ATTN: ANDY DOOLEY 7938 W. LYNCHBURG SALEM TURNPIkE NAME OF GOLFER NO. 3 THAxTON, VA 24174 ADDRESS Questions? Please contact Andy Dooley at (540) 587-6844 or [email protected]. CITY, STATE AND ZIP CODE PHONE NUMBER DOES GOLFER NEED TRANSPORTATION? £ YES £ NO Balls & Strikes SoftballMagazine get gear. Help beat 8 CANCER. Over the past three years, ASA/USA Softball has donated $50,500 to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Central and Western Oklahoma affiliate through its pink ebay auctions. Help us this year increase that amount by bidding on jerseys and other items signed by the 2011 USA Softball Women’s National Team. Pink uniforms were worn during the World Cup of Softball where the National Team clinched the pro- gram’s fifth World Cup title. eBay auction will run Fri., Sept. 16 at 10 a.m./CT through Mon., Sept. 26 at 10 a.m./CT! Log on and bid on some great items and help the Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Central and Western Oklahoma affiliate. authentic game-worn geaR! Balls & Strikes SoftballMagazine Sponsor Spotlight: Hello, Fastpitch World.