Tournament Champions!

Super Job Girls! A not to be defeated performance! You played  competitively and conducted yourselves admirably! A very Special kudos to our game MVPs (chosen by opposing coaches) and weekend contributors.
Game MVPs
Myatt- 2 for 3, RBI, flawless defense vs Wateree.
Taylor- No Hitter, 9 strikeouts, triple and 2 runs scored vs Shockers.
Mackenzie- A near no hit, One Hitter, double, 2 RBI, 3 runs scored vs Regulators.
Madison- 2 for 3, double with 2 key RBIs and one run scored vs Lightning.
Team Effort contributors
Kayla- .727 tournament batting avg., solid and reliable defense.
Makala- 5 for 11, Home run, great defensive consistency and leadership.
Taylor G.- .500 batting, steady defense and execution.
Sam- .300 avg, triple and steady defense, base running and valuable versatility in the field.
Morgan- Steady mistake-free defense.

and thanks to Emily for her spirit, hard work and important contributions on the field.

Rain got us in the end, but here is how it finished.

All America City Shoot Out
10U:
 1. Palmetto Fury
 2. Carolina Hotstyx
 3. Hart Attacks
14U:
1. Aftershock
2. Carolina Hotstix
3. Sandhills Slammers
4. Palmetto Force
16U / 18U:
1. Coastal Cyclones
2. Wateree Wildcats
3. Palmetto Force
4. Carolina Lightning

Saturday Games

USSSA’s State Championships   http://scutrip.com/smffp/index.php?board=4.0

16U Teams Playing at PINE GROVE
1 Friday Night Game


1) Carolina Shockers                     6) Darlington Ice 
2) Dynasty                                   7) South Carolina Sharks   
3) Carolina Heat                           8 ) Regulators 
4) Carolina Angels                         9) Coastal Cyclones   
5) Wateree Wildcats 


1 vs. 2    7:00PM     Fld.2        

PINE GROVE/Friday night

Pine Grove Sports Complex

701 Old Barnwell Rd.

West Columbia

SC

29170

   
PINE GROVE - SATURDAY

3 vs. 4    8:00     Fld.4                      5 vs. 6     8:00     Fld.5       
             
7 vs. 8     9:30     Fld.4 

9 vs. 1    11:00    Fld.4                   2 vs. 3     11:00    Fld.5

4 vs. 5    12:30    Fld.4

6 vs. 7      2:00    Fld.4                     8 vs. 9      2:00     Fld.5

CYCLONES TO MEET AT FIELD AT 9:15 on Saturday Morning
 
Pool Play will be 1 hour 15 minutes Drop Dead.  Pool Play will not seed the brackets.  Teams will draw for their spot in the bracket.  A team representative needs to check in and draw for their spot in the bracket.  Pool games can end in a tie.  In all games except the championship game, teams will flip for home team except for the last game. The undefeated team will be the home team in the final game.  Brackets will be posted as soon as possible.  Bracket play should start at @4:00 or sooner.  Team coolers welcome. Games can be delayed due to weather issues or things beyond USSSA’s control. 

State Championship Tournament

Blessed with talent, chemistry and some early success, we find ourselves challenged once again. There are no tournaments in Myrtle Beach. Georgetown and N. Charleston have been cancelled. Below is the event in Lexington (Columbia) held this weekend. I saw many of these teams and this level of competition last weekend at the Dynamite Classic.  I came away feeling that we match up well and that these are the caliber teams we need to be playing. There is room for 1 more team at the 16u. We have 11 players planning to play this weekend. This venue would require us to be at the field by 8:00 Saturday morning and a one night stay that night. We would need to pull together and arrange carpooling and overnight arrangements to make this work. I need to know by 6:00pm today if everybody can make this happen. Otherwise our next tnmt is scheduled for July 13.  16u

22-23  State Championship Tournament Pre-Pay Event Lexington 4GG   Darlington Ice*

Carolina Shockers

Regulators '97

Carolina Heat

Dynasty

Carolina Angels

South Carolina Sharks

Wateree Wildcats http://www.southcarolinausssa.com/fastpitch/tournaments.php

REVISED Tournament Schedule, Hartsville Byerly Park, 700 Russell Rd

USSSA All America City Shoot Out
16U/18U Teams Playing

6GG no elimination

1) Regulators                             5) Williamsburg Softball
2) Carolina Shockers                   6) James Island Riptide
3) Coastal Cyclones                    7) Carolina Lightning
4) Wateree Wildcats                   8 ) Palmetto Force

SATURDAY  

1 vs. 2    12:00    Fld.8                        3 vs. 4    12:00    Fld.6            
5 vs. 6     1:30     Fld.5    

7 vs. 8     3:00     Fld.8                        4 vs. 1    3:00      Fld.6

2 vs. 3     4:30     Fld.5
8 vs. 5     6:00     Fld.8                        6 vs. 7    3:00      Fld.6

3 vs. 1     7:30     Fld.5                        4 vs. 2    7:30      Fld.8

SUNDAY

6 vs. 8     8:00     Fld.6                         7 vs. 5    8:00      Fld.8

1 vs. 5     9:30     Fld.5     

2 vs. 8     11:00   Fld.6                         3 vs. 7    11:00     Fld.8

6 vs. 4     12:30   Fld.5

3 vs. 5      2:00    Fld.7                         7 vs. 2     2:00      Fld.8

1 vs. 6      2:00    Fld.5     

4 vs. 8      3:30    Fld.5                         2 vs. 5     3:30      Fld.7              

7 vs. 4      5:00    Fld. 5                          3 vs. 6     5:00     Fld. 6  

1 vs. 8      5:00     Fld.8

Games will be 1 hour 15 minutes Drop Dead.  A team representative needs to check in after you enter the park at the site director’s table near the concession stand. Be sure to pick up your medallions and player info sheets. Games can be delayed due to weather issues or things beyond USSSA’s control.  Coaches are asked to encourage their players to attend our collegiate clinic Saturday morning from 9:00 to 11:00.

Hartsville Area Hotels

Quality Inn- Hartsville. $89.99 rate
Fairfield Inn- Hartsville $99.99 rate
Ramada Inn- Florence $61.00 rate. 1/2hr from Hartsville.

Hartsville Tournament

Cyclones Family,
All local tournaments are lacking teams to play a full tournament.
USSSA has a nice tournament with six or seven teams in Hartsville. A pre-set six, maybe seven game schedule starts on Saturday around noon and continues on Sunday morning till mid to late afternoon. (an optional clinic is available from 9 to 11 on Saturday morning. Hartsville is 2.5hrs from Pawleys and 2 hours from MB. Game schedule and format for the entire weekend will be pre-set starting at noon on Saturday. if needed, I can transport some players on Saturday morning and back on Sunday after tournament. The Ramada Inn Florence is $68 total for Saturday night incl. breakfast. (1/2hr to Hartsville). Book through Hotels.com 1800 246-8357
 Players wishing to stay together, need to secure a room with one female parent/guardian. Rooms can handle 4 people. We will need some adults staying if players are to spend the night. Let's work it out. Dads can be in charge of the drinks and hydration dept. Of course, players are free to commute but will be required for team warmup early sunday morning. Lets coordinate this and make it work! I need to know today so director can include us in scheduling of games.
text or call 318 2338, coach Paul.

Look'n Good!

An athletic and competitive group of girls make up this year's Cyclones travel softball team. Top talent pitching, ball trackers with strong arms in the outfield, a solid infield, and a strong catcher round off the defense. A nice balance of hitting power and very fast team speed! With some time, patience and hard work, we will have fun playing some competitive softball.  

Make-up practice and Extra Hitting

Makeup and Hitting Workout on Wednesday, June 5  WHS 4:30. All are encouraged and welcome.
NMB girls working out twice on their own with Ms. Carolyn this week. Thanks Ms. Carolyn!

Summer Schedule!

I have updated and revised the schedule tab for preparation and tournaments. This will help us to plan, prioritize and time manage our summer season. 

Summer 2013

Dear Players and Cyclones Family,

I am quite pleased about the opportunity we have together as a team. We have a well rounded group of strong athletes with the desire to improve and be more competitive. I am also confident that we have the plan to help you become more fundamentally sound and versatile players. We will come together and experience the thrill of intensity in the spirit of competition. Be prepared to train hard and have fun. Let us be gracious that each of our families is making sacrifices so that you can play. And naturally we will always have the utmost respect for each other and every aspect of the game itself.

Please review the proposed tournament dates. If you have not done so already, let me know of any conflicts you may have. Looks like a June 8th opener in Myrtle Beach. First workout and meeting on Friday May 24th. Be ready to go at 5:00 to 7:45 at WHS. The Calendar tab above lists the dates and proposed tournaments. $300 is the cost for the summer.   

With Kind Regards,
Coach Paul

Team Meeting and First Practice

We will be having our team meeting and workout on Friday, May 24 at 5:00pm! Please be prompt. A short meeting will be followed by a college style practice. Be sure to hydrate in the days prior and everybody should have a mouth guard. We will also collect any fees due at this time. Practice will conclude at 7:45.

Fastpitch Dreams HS Point Champions

I write this with the very best wishes for healthy and successful new year! This time last year we began a faithful journey together. We embarked on the challenging path of getting together and creating a softball team, never an easy task. Together, as players and coaches we learned alot and got progressively better. Along the way we faced many hurdles and as a team we had our share of ups, downs, wins and losses. Our overall team batting avg. was .341. Over the last four tournaments played, it was .379! We welcomed new teammates, and successfully came together as a team. Overall, our first year was successful on many fronts. As athletes and players you most certainly earned the respect of your competition, peers, coaches and parents.  I am very proud of you! In your first year as a team, you participated, played hard, and won enough games to be the

2012 Fastpitch Dreams HS Point Champions.

Congratulations!      

Summer Season Review

I would like to take this opportunity to say a few words about our first summer season as a team. There were several goals and expectations I had for this program. Providing  a positive and motivating environment and giving you the opportunity to play softball competitively was a major goal which was achieved. As people, players, and teammates, you developed an admirable team unity and respect for each other and the game. It has been very gratifying to see how each of you has sacrificed and worked hard to noticably improve your game. Just as players are expected to work hard and step-up their game, you can be assured that your coaching staff is constantly striving to improve our effectiveness as well. All of this has helped us to raise our team batting average, play better defensively and mature as a team. We finished our last two outings with a 7-3-1 record! We did this with Mackenzie throwing three games a day for three out of the last four days which we played! Very impressive indeed.
As we look ahead, the coaching staff will be assessing our player and positional needs. Player recruitment has been, and will always be very important to the growth of this program. We will certainly explore playing opportunities in the fall based on all these factors. I will keep you advised about practice workouts and upcoming tournament possibilities.
Thank you players, parents, coaches and trusted advisors for making this a rewarding experience for all of us to enjoy. This has been a great start to bigger and better things ahead!
In the meantime, enjoy the remainder of the summer and gear up for a productive academic year.
Coach Paul

Amazing Performance

After one month off, and playing against fundamentally sound and talented girls, we won four out of the six games we played . We did this with only nine players on day one and ten on sunday. One tough and talented pitcher, Mckenzie and one amazing catcher, Sam, for the entire weekend. Each of you stepped up as we continue to mature as a team and play the sport that we love!

Weekend Tournament

July 28th and 29th in Surfside Beach!

Week Ahead

This week: Practice Tuesday and Thursday 6:00 to 7:30. Tournament Saturday and Sunday in Surfside

Keep it Going!

Next week practice on Tuesday and Thursday 6 till 8. We will emphasize hitting during these sessions. A reminder. All players should be conditioning and catching and throwing 3 to 5 times a week. All players who want to become more effective hitters are expected to work on hitting drills on their own. Pitchers need to work on their mechanics, full speed and distance work, and speed drills 4 or 5 times a week to stay sharp and get better. Work hard and have fun!

Coaches Report

Dear Players,
Just a few thoughts about our softball team. I confidently speak on behalf of the entire coaching staff. I start by expressing my sincere appreciation of having this opportunity to coach and manage our softball team. I appreciate your trust and confidence and it is gratifying for all of us to help you to progress and move towards your competitive goals. It's nice to see that you enjoy doing it together, selfless and accepting of each other. I am grateful for our competent staff, trusted advisors and each and every fabulous family involved. As players, teammates and students of the game, your enthusiasm and respect is awesome. Our growth, maturity and competitiveness over our first ever, 3 tournaments is quite notable.  You have shown on many occasions, your ability to "put it all together." We've also made some mistakes and learned and progress from them.  Looking ahead towards the next level, competition will get stiffer and the next hill to climb will get steeper.
Our continued focus and belief is that consistent and effective hitting is the key to our future success as players, and as a team. You win games by scoring runs, and you score runs by hitting the ball, getting on base and moving runners across the plate. Hitting also allows us to overcome defensive shortcomings which are bound to occur, although less frequently over time. As coaches we will continue to focus on assessing and addressing your hitting strengths and weaknesses. As players you are expected to reinforce and work on your hitting game on your own. Consistent daily practice on you own, is the only way you will get better, improve, and make greater contributions to our team effort.       

Pumped up!

Here we go!, Onward in our journey of growth and progress. Fortunate to be able to play ball, compete, and have fun doing it together.

First Tournament!

Here's some pics from our first team tournament!