Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween to all you softballers out there! Hope everyone is having a great Monday. Fall is really starting set in especially here in Tallahassee. I don't think it got to 70 degrees this past Saturday. So what is on the menu for today? Well, candy obviously and softball of course. With that being said what are you doing to get better? I can remember being back home in Oklahoma when the cooler temperatures were starting to set in, good times with friends, football games, basketball season right around the corner, and oh boy, Thanksgiving and Christmas are almost here! But this was also the time when I got better. Softball season was done, well in Oklahoma it was, and it was time to hit the weight room. The older you get,  more distractions might come your way. Now, hold on a second before you might think wow don't I need some time off? Yes, of course you or your daughter needs time off to enjoy all those things I mentioned above. But you also need to keep priorities ahead of yourself. For example, Family, Grades, Softball, Social Time. And to be more clear about this I am talking to you young lady who wants to attend a division one school or play college softball at any level. If you do not have these dreams or aspirations then by all means these priorities are not for you. But for those who want to play at the next level you might want to start getting you priorities in line. I read a book awhile back that said in order to be a professional at something you must at put AT LEAST 10,000 hours of practice in it. Thats a lot of practice time... So...if you are between the ages 13-16... what are your priorities? You may not know if you want to play college or not at the age, but if you love the game with everything inside of you, chances are you gotta a good shot at playing after high school. With all that being said, I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween! I am looking forward to working with of you in the off season and getting better at the game. Have a good time with friends tonight and keep up with the homework!

Fundamentals

The fundamentals of softball are so important to have in order to play the game and really enjoy the game of softball. It stings me sometimes to watch a team practice and none of the fundamentals of the game are being taught or at least implemented with a team.  This weekend we (Gamespeed softball)  and some of the FSU softball girls went to run a camp in Bainbridge, GA with the 10U Merchants team. The clinic lasted 3 hours and all we worked on was the fundamentals of the game. Yes, of course we had some fun because who wants to do drills all day? During the clinic we worked on the fundamentals of fielding, throwing, hitting, base running, catching and pitching. It turned out to be great a clinic and the girls loved it! It was awesome to see the parents into the game as well. What pains me the most is seeing kids playing the game of softball and not having ever been taught the fundamentals of the game. Don't get me wrong I think this game is about having fun however, I believe kids have more fun when they play the game with the right fundamentals. This past weekend I was talking with a 14U team and I was explaining that the game is all about having fun and enjoying time however, nobody likes to lose or fail, it is a crappy feeling. So, why not learn the fundamentals and win a couple games? If you should lose the game, at least lose the game playing it to the best of your ability. It drives me a little crazy when I watch a practice and coach who yells at a kid to catch a ball or field the ball and clearly the kid has no fundamentals to whatever skill(s) she is trying accomplish. I just want to walk out to the practice field and be like "HEY! Maybe we should break down fielding or catching a pop fly and that might give the kid a better chance at performing the skill."Now, I am not totally blaming the coaches but that's where it starts in my opinion. I could go on about this but I will stop for now. I am sure you hear me talk about this later on down the road. Check this video out by the UCLA head coach and I think you will understand where I am coming from.

http://www.coachesdirectory.com/new/coachesinsider/softballv.php?videoID=1173409700001

TFPSA and GSS are teaming up!

TFPSA and GSS are teaming up for an All Skills Clinic!

We are happy to announce that we will be hosting an all skills clinic this fall! We would like to invite you out to come and learn from former FSU softball players Robin Ahrberg and Terese Gober. We will focus on the fundamentals and development of softball skills in a fun filled environment. The all skills clinic is designed to improve your daughters knowledge about the game of softball. Primarily we will work on throwing, fielding, defensive situations, hitting, and some pitching and catching.

When is the clinic?
The clinic will be an 8 week session starting Saturday September 24th! The dates for the clinics are on Saturdays September 24th, October  8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, and November 5th and 12th. The time for the clinics is 9-11am. Juniors will participate 9-10am and seniors will participate 10am-11am.

Where is the clinic?
Messer Park, Field 5

Cost $
The cost for the clinic is $20 per session! If you like to sign up for all 8 sessions the cost will be $160

Registration
http://www.gamespeedsoftball.com/locations/tallahassee/registration or sign up at TFPSA concessions stand

If you sign up before Sept 19th then we will give you a discount! If you would like to come to the first session and you sign up before Sept 19th you will recive $5 off! If you would like to attend all 8 sessions and you sign up before Sept19th then take $20 off!

Athlete of the Month

Hey guys check out our Athlete of the Month!

 

GameSpeed Softball » September Athlete of the Month

www.gamespeedsoftball.com

Conferences changes are a big deal to D1 Softball

I been wanting to write about this topic for some time now, mostly because its currently a major topic in the news and many people may not realize how big of deal this really might be for softball. Being a former D1 softball player and playing in the ACC it mattered what conference you were a apart of. The ACC has not been the strongest softball conference the last couple of years compared to the Pac 12, SEC, BIG 10 and BIG 12, however, the ACC overall is still a pretty good conference. ACC softball is rising and continuing to get better but its got some catching up to do with the other conferences.

On a personal note I loved being apart of the ACC and what it had to offer. I grew up being around the BIG 12 my whole life and was offered by many BIG 12 schools to play. However, when it came down to the crunch time in recruiting I chose the school that best fit me and it was not a BIG 12 school but an ACC school.  At the time I knew the conference was not as strong in softball but the school I attended was one of best in softball in the ACC conference (that's not even opinionated that just fact).

It has been interesting the last couple of years to see teams switch conferences and hear this talk about "power or super conferences." As much as I wish college athletics was all about athletes its not its money. That's why I believe we are heading to these super conferences. So you might say softball is just a small figure in this, and your right it is because realistically its football driven. Which, is funny because football is not the major money maker for the NCAA. That would be basketball and March Madness. But for schools and conferences its mostly football. Although you can fight that argument too because most schools do not make money off football however, some do and the ones that do make money are the front runners for these super conferences. Are u with me?

I will not ramble on too long about this but really the NCAA is bringing some changes and schools like getting money so its about to get messy. My point is that it affects softball. If we move to these big conferences than the smaller softball schools have a lesser chance of making the NCAA. Not only that but I think we will no long have super regionals and we will go back to the regional format. Why? not as many teams and only major conferences will end up competing against each other think about it? Yes, this is all opinion based I know. You may think different but it does bring up a good argument. Also recruiting will change. Super conferences will have the upper hand and smaller schools will not be able to go after blue chip players. Although, that's happening now so that would not be much of a change.

I don't know. Its something to think about and if you are or you have a daughter upcoming in the softball world and you or she wants to go play D1. I could go on and on about this and it will be interesting to see what happens in the next 5 years but I believe a lot of changes are going to happen.  I've added some links for you look at and think about. These links are also on the FB page. Thanks for your time!


http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6851512/presidential-summit-spark-major-ncaa-change
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6859792/texas-aggies-expected-departure-brings-us-back-brink
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6912807/texas-aggies-tell-big-12-seek-new-conference
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/6886165/acc-commish-john-swofford-disappointed-ncaa-probes
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6923495/oklahoma-sooners-president-david-boren-says-school-interest-multiple-conferences

New Pitching Coach Terese Gober

GameSpeed would like to welcome our new Head Pitching Coach Terese Gober! She brings national and international playing experience to the academy. She worked in the starting pitching rotation for the Florida State University softball team for four years, 2006-2010. After graduating from Florida State and finishing her stellar career with the FSU softball team in 2010, She took her talents over to Germany where she played for the Mannheim Tornados.

While playing for the Tornados, Terese led the team to a 4th place finish in the 2010 European Cup for Softball, which was the highest finish in the history of the program.  In the spring of 2011 Terese  became an assistant softball coach for the Wildcats at Booker T. Washington High School in Pensacola. Terese completed her Bachelor of Science degree at FSU in Sport Management in May 2010 and has a minor in Communications.

She has worked numerous FSU camps and clinics throughout her fours years in school and after her softball career at FSU was complete. Terese is excited to be back in Tallahassee and looking forward to working with players who are passionate about softball!



MORE INFORMATION
If you would like to schedule a pitching lesson or BP please email Terese at tgober8@gmail.com.  Terese will also be joining GameSpeed Camps and Clinics If you would like to read more about Terese please go to http://www.gamespeedsoftball.com/locations/tallahassee/instructors.

Anna Martin

Anna Martin is a Tallahassee native you recently competed in the ESPN Premiere Championship in California a couple of weeks ago. Anna played with the East Cobb Bullets from Atlanta, Ga. She wrote a blip about her time there in Cali and her experience playing in one of the top tournaments for softball.


"I was lucky enough to go to California for the week to play some good softball. California was amazing, it had awesome weather to play in, no humidity :) You don't realize how much different softball is on the West Coast, there is a lot of talent there. We got to play some of the best talent in Gold ball. Premier is a huge tournament in Gold softball, you see some of the biggest college coaches walking around recruiting players! It definitely was a week I'll never forget!"

Its important to take a break.

With everyone coming back from nationals and school starting up just around the corner, its important to take a break. So many times I have talked with parents and players who think they or their daughters do not need a break from training because they think they will get out of "softball shape." Our bodies need a break sometimes from training. Its unhealthy to go 24/7 365 days a year training for softball.  I sacrificed a lot of dances, sleep overs, lake time, and just general hang out time to go play softball. It paid off for me in the end but I look back now and their were times when I did not have to sacrifice that time to be a great ball player.

I did take some time off though. Since I am from Oklahoma our school ball runs through the fall so, as soon as I stepped off the plane from nationals I went straight to the ball park to go put on my high school team's jersey and play some more ball. A little nuts I know but I love softball :). However, when November would come around I shut my body down. I usually didn't pick up a ball or bat between November to January. I would swing and throw a little, but it was only once a week. I gave my body a good break. I always always continued to run and work out in the weight room. That was one thing I never stopped doing. But there were times I just laid the game down. I enjoyed time with high school friends, worked VERY hard on my grades, which I encourage all of you to do and went to a couple of dances and just acted normal for a bit. But when spring time came around again I was gone.

My training fired up again and my high school friends didn't see much of me. So, for many of you coming back from nationals take at least 2 weeks off from ball. Although, If you can keep it up in the weight room and take a jog around the neighborhood do so. Go hang out with high school friends and start prepping yourself for grades and your ACTs and SATs. You have to have that to go play so better get on it. I know you probably have tryout right around the corner but trust me you will be okay if you took some time off. It might just make you a little more sharper. Keep up the grades and have some fun these next couple of weeks :)

Getting better one swing at a time

Every Monday I teach hitting at the FSU batting cages. It has been a great experience to work with the young ladies that come out to the camp. I have seen the girls become better hitters and enjoy the game of softball so much more. As much as I am teaching these ladies about softball and hitting, they are actually teaching me and allowing me to work on my coaching. They bring back great memories of when I was their age playing softball and how I was so eager to learn more about the game. I remember how hard I had to work and that nothing was easy when it came to learning about hitting. We have one more session of our hitting boot camp and I am excited to see these girls play in the fall and use their new abilities in games.  I love seeing them smile when their swing finally comes together and they get one solid hit after the other. I am so proud of these girls and the 2 hours of work they put in every Monday and throughout the week. This is why I love coaching because these girls teach me more about life and what its like to love the game all over again. I love to see them get better one swing at a time.

GameSpeed Instructor Kaleigh Rafter had a great showing at the 2011 World Cup in OKC. Congrats! Check out the links!
Rafter in USATODAY

Rafter in SI


Rafter in FSUNEWS

WHO WE ARE?

GameSpeed Softball is a division of GameSpeed Skills (GSS) LLC a skill development company based out Tallahassee, Florida. The mission of GameSpeed is to put fundamentally sound athletes back into sports.  We set the standard for skills training with a superior training program, a staff of experienced coaches, and a commitment to developing the total athlete.  Our athletes demonstrate not only the highest levels of skill and ability, but also stand out in character, leadership, and personal responsibility.  We provide custom training experiences that allow young athletes the opportunity to reach their full potential.We also aspire to create a community where all who are involved from players, parents, and coaches can see their dreams realized.