Today ends the Early Signing Period and we’ll have more photos tomorrow… but first check out our profile of a 16U team in Texas led by a former star (villain?) in a famous reality TV show!  We profile a Big Ten bound player, have some more recruiting news and even learn about a new team that will take the field in the NPF next year…

 

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CLUB PROFILE: TEXAS GLORY-NAUDIN 16U

We’ve profile many a club coach, but none who’ve been under the white hot spotlight of being on national TV and on a reality show at that!

In the fall of October 2007, Ed Naudin was cruising along enjoying coaching his daughter Chanin (pronounced like “Shannon”) after their American Athletics team based in Orange County, Calif. had just won its second ASA National title in four years (2004 10U, 2007 14U).

His youngest daughter, Chele (like “Shelly”), was 10 at the time and signed the family up online to be on the show “Trading Spouses.”

A few days later, Ed’s wife Cheri received a notice in the mail saying the family had been pre-selected and pre-screened for consideration.

“I was like, whatever,” laughs Ed, “as I was thinking, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, they send out hundreds of those things.’”

The next hurdle was the completion of a questionnaire and then a video in which the women took it, let’s say, a bit more seriously than the father of the family.

“Cheri had a friend help out with the video and made it look all good and professional and then came in and said to me, ‘You did terrible.’”

Not bad enough, however, to schedule a meeting with producers in Hollywood who gave the Naudin family a thumbs up.

“They picked us and by then you couldn’t stop the train,” Ed continues.

The reason the Naudin family was chosen was directly because of softball.

“They saw all of our kids hanging out at a friendly and made a big deal about it, that we’re at the fields all the time from 7 am to 7 pm.  It didn’t bother me, I know why we do it, it’s because we’re a family, it keeps us close and our kids have dreams.”

Paired with a “wife” that was not so gung-ho on sports, the resulting focus of the show, which didn’t air until the following spring (2008) weren’t surprising.

“They made me look like a terrible dad,” Ed laughs, “like I was making my kids do something they didn’t want to do.  I was portrayed as a task-master but the truth of it is, if the kids didn’t want to be so competitive in sports, you couldn’t drag them there. I didn’t mind, really, because for me, the people who know me thought it was funny and those who don’t know me, it doesn’t matter because what they think doesn’t impact me.”

If time is the indicator of what type of parents and Ed and Cheri were and are today, the results look favorable:  oldest son, Nick, is a junior at Texas A&M and will graduate with an Electrical Engineering degree next year.  Chanin is studying Sports Management at Kansas where she plays softball and Chele is at Central Arkansas taking pre-law and broadcasting and is a scholarship soccer player.

Today, Ed is the head coach of the Texas Glory-Naudin team and continues to put winning teams on the field.  He and his family live in Princeton, Texas as Ed works as an Account Executive at Coca Cola.

His team draws players mostly from Dallas and Ft. Worth although his current team has girls from Kansas and Nebraska.

Those two ASA championships were two of six top five finishes Naudin’s teams have taken in Nationals (both of those were when he was in California).

This past year alone, his Glory team was a finalist at the ASA 16U Hall of Fame tournament and Triple Crown Nationals and placed 17^th at the PGF 16U Nationals.  In 2011 his 16U Glory team was a finalist at the PGF Nationals.

Originally from El Paso, Texas, his family moved to Southern California when he was four.

“I was dragged into a car and the family headed west looking for a better life,” he remembers. “It was about my dad feeding and taking care of the family.”

With the oldest, Nick, playing baseball, the family got a taste of youth sports and “dove in with both feet” when Chanin had unmistakable signs early on of being an elite softball player.

Cheri had attended and played softball at one of the premier high schools in the country, Pacifica High in Garden Grove, Calif., so she was in her element.  Before long she was the President of the Rancho Trabucco Softball league and her involvement continues to this day as she helps run the Softball Academy of Texas, a training and private lesson company.

“It’s been a husband and wife thing from the beginning,” he says proudly.

As Chanin began to develop in her softball skills, Ed noticed something interesting.

“She had high potential, you could tell,” he says.  “Lots of players wanted to play with her and so I ended up coaching the team for four years.  We had quite the core group of players.”

That would be an understatement.

The team not only had a future Jayhawk in Chanin, it included future Oklahoma great Lauren Chamberlain,  Notre Dame outfielder Emilee Koerner, Washington infielder Kylee Lahners and San Jose State pitcher Allison Lang.

“My advantage was I had coached baseball with Nick playing travel ball and we had the ability to attract high-profile kids and build a program around them.  We were good at that.  It rolled over into softball: let’s attract the best kids and see what they can accomplish.  That was our philosophy.”

In California, as he and Cheri were learning the ropes, they had good mentors and support from key figures like Jim Bollinger, who today is probably best known for running the prestigious Champion’s Cup.

“Jim taught me to play everybody on the team, move them around and use most of the time—the 51 weeks when you’re not playing for a title—to develop the players.  There are those small windows when we’re supposed to win, to qualify and get the best finish we can at Nationals, but it’s not winning at all costs.

Others who were influential at the time and are still key figures in softball today include Bret Denio, who oversees the Explosion teams and Marty Tyson, who runs the Corona Angels.

“Katie Denio was on one of our first teams and I’ve played against Marty a lot and respect how he coaches—he carries a lot of players and needs another dugout!  But I’ve learned from him and other great coaches to ensure that everyone gets their opportunities.  I’ll tell them they’ll get their 50 at-bats during the year but then at Nationals we put out the best team to win and it will be obvious what the batting order should be.

What perspective that Ed can speak to with expertise is the difference in play in Texas versus in Calfornia.

He says there are two main differences:

“It’s the depth in California, for one,” he begins.  “The girls there, at ages five, six and seven all the way up to 18 are well trained and it’s because you have the depth of great coaching.  Look at the 18U level: you have depth in SoCal with (Gary) Haning, (Tony) Rico and (Bruce) Richardson to name only three and you can get into the hundreds.”

“In Texas we don’t identify the girls that early, it’s when they’re at 12U and 14U that you start to develop and build softball skills.  They haven’t played in that competitive environment and it’s up to us to make sure we get them that correct level of competition.”

“In California, we were going to face challenging weekends every week because the teams are all good. On this side, we have to develop training curriculums to help them learn to compete.”

Ed says his team will be young this year, but should be good again.  At the very least, after finishing as runners-up at Triple Crown and Premier, he’s shown that you don’t mess with Texas.

“When I got here, people said, ‘You can’t do it here, you’re in Texas, you can’t win.’  We didn’t listen and maintained the formula that worked in California and we saw that kids here know how to win and how to fight.  They’re going to succeed and have shown that.”

Best of all, he’s gained the respect of the place he called home for over 45 years.

“We have the respect in the marketplace, including the coaches and teams from California.  They may beat us more often than not, but they know if they don’t play their best game, we’ll win.”

 

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the Texas Glory-Naudin team with comments by Head Coach Ed Naudin:

— IF/UT Amanda Lowell (2016, uncommitted)
“Amanda is a gifted athlete with instinctive offensive talent and the ability to influence the final outcome.”

— P/UT Elizabeth Schiele (2016, uncommitted)
“Elizabeth is a versatile talent with the desire to compete in all phases of the game.  She has strong offensive potential with gap power and physical toughness.”

— IF/UT Jade Fields (2017, uncommitted)
“Jade has the physical presence and the ability to compete at the plate.  She’s strong with plus speed. ”

— OF/UT Brittany Jackson (2017, uncommitted)
“Brittany is an absolute force on the field.  She’s a true competitor with a huge ceiling and is a quality teammate with the desire to become the best. She’s getting close!”

— P Jessica Patak (2017, uncommitted)
“Jessica never ceases to amaze.  She’s a quality pitcher who produces her best results versus top competition.  It’s all about location with her.  Jessica is able to pitch at a high level and continues to grow in capability.”

— P Mariah Nichols (2017, uncommitted)
“Mariah has a big arm with a high ceiling.  She has plus speed and the ability to overmatch hitters.  Mariah has the physical size and desire to reach her future potential and right now she has the ability to win the biggest games.”

— C/IF Zoe Goodman (2017, North Carolina)
“Zoe is our most recent verbal commitment and the first to UNC.  She was born to be a Tar Heel.   Zoe is an offensive threat and a solid defender.  She makes her biggest contributions on the biggest stage.”

— P Lexi Lesperance (2017, uncommitted)
“Lexi is a tough competitor on the mound.  She’s a quality athlete with the ability to play multiple positions.”

— IF/UT Mollie McNelis (2016, uncommitted)
“Mollie is a pure middle infielder with tremendous footwork and skill.  She has significant offensive talent and is a clutch performer.”

— IF/UT Madison Miller (2017, uncommitted)
“Madison has the ideal physical stature and presence for corner infielder.  She has significant power to all fields and is destined to be an impact player at the next level.”

— IF/UT Bailee Carter (2016, uncommitted)
“Bailee is a pure athlete with significant upside.  She’s gaining leadership skills and quiet confidence and is energetic with a winning approach.”

— C/UT Abby Smith (2017, uncommitted)
“Abby is fierce, tough and physical.  She’s a must see talent and is an ideal teammate.  Her growing leadership will soon match her offensive talent.  She’s a big time athlete with a big time future.

— P Maddie MacGrandle (2017, uncommitted)
“Maddie is a highly-regarded lefty pitching prospect who is gifted with the physical tools and mental approach to compete and win at the next level.   She will contribute on the mound and at the plate.”

— C/UT Ali Saldivar (2016, uncommitted)
“Ali is strong, tough and athletic.  She’s an impact Player with blue collar work ethic.  Ali will provide leadership behind the plate and in the middle of the batting order.    She’s a totally pure hitter.”

— C/UT Payton Sabolski (2017, uncommitted)
“Payton has plus size and plus heart with a fierce willingness to compete.  She’s a solid defensive catcher with frame and upside.”

— OF/UT Kailey Anderson (2017, uncommitted)
“Kailey gives relentless effort and desire and is a willing defender with the ability to get airborne.  She has significant offensive tools and speed.”

— OF Jade Miller (2016, Arkansas)
“We call Jade ‘The Captain,” she has a relentless offensive presence with game-changing speed.  Jade’s developing power potential to all fields and has unrivaled short game skills.  She’s a difference maker, both on and off the field.”

 

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RECRUIT PROFILE: MADDIE SHAFFER

Grad Year: 2015
Pos: pitcher
High School: Neshannock High (New Castle, Pa.)
GPA: 3.78
Club: Illinois Chill
Stats: 23-3, 0.49 ERA, 11 shutouts, four no-hitters, 199 K’s in 115 innings; on offense hit .470 with 32 RBI
Honors: 2013: 1st Team All-State Pitcher, “A” State Runner-up, WPIAL District Champions, Pittsburgh Post Gazette All-Section (pitcher), All-Area
College: Penn State

 

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: So you’re a Pennsylvania girls but playing on the Illinois Chill… how did they come to be?
Maddie Shaffer: We had a guest player from the Chill on my Laser’s Orange 14U team.  I had an opportunity to sub for the Chill 18U Gold team during a showcase that same summer.  Coach (Gerry) Quinn invited me to tryout with the team after the January OnDeck camp in Chicago.  I was impressed with the organization and was offered a spot on their 16U team that winter.

 

SSS.com: When did you commit to Penn State and how did you tell them?
MS: I was invited for an unofficial visit this past weekend and was very impressed with the campus and the coaches.  I verbally committed to (Head) Coach (Amanda) Lehotak in her office that Saturday.

 

SSS.com: How did they first find out about you?
MS: I introduced myself in an e-mail to the new coaching staff in July and attended their September 2013 camp.   Coach Gibson came to one of our team practices earlier that month. I continued to keep in touch with them over the past several months, leading up to my unofficial visit.

 

SSS.com: What were the factors in making your decision?
MS: I played a high school playoff game and we won the Pennsylvania AA State Championship game for Neshannock High School my freshman year at Beard Field  (Penn State campus) and was amazed at how nice the facility was.

The experience had a huge impact on me and our team returned this year to play in the Pennsylvania A State Championship. I wanted to play for a big Division I Program and Penn State’s academics are highly regarded. I’m excited to take part in Coach Lehotak’s new program at PSU.  The PSU coaching staff is well respected from previous collegiate accomplishments. Also, most of my family are PSU alumni, including both my parents.

 

SSS.com: How far do you live from the Nittany Lion campus?  Was staying in-state a factor?
MS: PSU is just two and half hours from my house, which allows my family the opportunity to see me play in college.  Playing in-state is an added benefit, along with the fact it has a great reputation athletically and academically. 

 

SSS.com: Is it a big relief to have the decision finalized?
MS: Definitely yes! Penn State has always been my dream school and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity play there.

 

SSS.com: Will you pitch and hit or just do one or the other?
MS: The coaches recruited me as a pitcher but I hope to have the opportunity to bat.

SSS.com:  You had a dominant 2013 season, walk us through your pitches and repertoire that allowed you to do so well…
MS: During high school season, my best pitch was my curveball and fastball. Once travel season started, my go-to pitch was still the curve, but I also worked on improving the velocity of my fastball.  I was challenged this fall to develop my off speed pitch, which has since become my best pitch.

SSS.com: What’s your favorite part of being a softball player?
MS: I just really love playing the game. I also enjoy the competitive atmosphere that comes with playing tough teams.   

 

Quick Hitters (short answers)

 

Favorite thing about being from Pennsylvania:
I love having all four seasons, especially fall.

Fill in the blank… right now playing in my iPod/headphones is _________________
Justin Timberlake

My motto is: 
“Winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I’m terrified of clowns.

If you could spend a month anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?
I’d spend it traveling Europe because I think it’d be interesting to see the cultures and lifestyles of different countries.

What are your Thanksgiving plans?
My entire family gets together to eat Thanksgiving dinner at my grandma’s house. I get to see all my cousins and we have a really good time.

What’s your favorite childhood memory?
Going to Disneyworld.

With Christmas and the holidays fast upon us, what’s on top of your gift list?
Shoes, shoes, and more shoes!

Are you easy or hard to shop for (and why)?
I’d say I’m a little hard to shop for…I’m pretty picky about what I wear.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS

*** Kaitlyn Crocker, a 2016 second baseman/utility player for the Birmingham Thunderbolts 97 team, has committed to Auburn joining teammate Justus Perry as being a commit to the Tigers.

Richard Shea, who heads the Bolts organization, says about Crocker: “KK is a very athletic player with great hands and quickness.   She is very versatile and can play almost anywhere on the field.”

 

*** Curstin Taylor, a 2015 pitcher for the Wagner’s-Van Atta 16U team out of Tallahassee, Fla., committed to Stetson on Monday.

 

*** Thanks to an Arkansas reader who sent a trio of commits from the state:

— P Mallory Kirkemier (2015, Central Baptist College)… plays for Arkansas Xtreme
— CF Skye Miller (2014, Williams Baptist College)… plays for Arkansas Blast
— 3B Courtney Shepard (2015, Williams Baptist College)… plays for Arkansas Stealth

*** Devan Brown, 2014 3B with the Tennessee Fury who had committed to Tennessee, is now headed to Kennesaw State.

 

*** More verbals:

— C Alyssa Avila (2015, San Jose State)… plays for Central Cal Dirt Dogs
— P Alexis Devers (2016, Southern Miss)… plays for Arizona Hotshots
— P/1B Alysen Febrey (2016, Georgia Tech)… plays for Georgia Impact Pauly
— SS Melanie Menor (2015, Utah State)… plays for Runnin’ Rebels Gold
— OF Grace Pope (2014, Drexel U.)… plays for Homer Hawks
— 1B/C Tori Togashi (2014, Cornell)… plays for California Thunder

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NEW NPF TEAM: PENNSYLVANIA REBELLION REPLACES NY/NY COMETS

The National Pro Fastpitch announced a brand new market and team for the 2014 season. CONSOL Energy Park located in Washington, Pa., will be the new home and venue for the latest addition to professional softball, the Pennsylvania Rebellion.

The Rebellion will begin competitive NPF action in the 2014 season.

“Western Pennsylvania is known worldwide as a sports powerhouse, and there is a thriving community of fastpitch players and fans at the youth, high school and college levels, who can now experience the game at its highest level of play,” said Francine W. Williams, team owner and managing partner.

“We’ve seen Pittsburgh and Washington fans support professional sports teams time and again, so we are looking forward to seeing local fans ‘Join the Rebellion.'”

The Rebellion will inherit the roster of the NY/NJ Comets, a team that was unable to secure a consistent venue inside the radius of the NY/NJ market. Along with the roster, the Pennsylvania Rebellion will be inserted into the draft positions held by the Comets, yielding the new squad the coveted #1 selection in the 2014 NPF College Draft.

“This is the first time an NPF team will be placed full time into an established and thriving minor league baseball market,” commented NPF Commissioner Cheri Kempf.

“Putting an NPF team into the hands of people who understand the business of professional sports and who are already successful at it is an exciting possibility for this league.”

The Rebellion will join the Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, and USSSA Pride for the 2014 season. The four-team regular season schedule is expected to be released by year’s end. This will be the second team in NPF’s eleven-year history to be located in Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Force played in Allentown from 2006 through 2009.

“We’re honored the NPF chose Pittsburgh, and are excited about the prospect of bringing area sports fans another professional team to support,” Williams added.

“We couldn’t do it without the enthusiasm of our partners who are quickly coming on board to be a part of this endeavor.  We’re overwhelmed with the response we’ve gotten already and we’re looking forward to taking the field in 2014.”

 

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Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

 

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If you’d like to submit information, forward to brentt@studentsports.com.  Also, follow us on twitter at @SS_Softball.