Today’s Daily Update takes us to Surf City USA… that’s right, Huntington Beach, Calif. as we spotlight a club team loaded with talent. We also get a front row seat to a player going to an SEC school and do a “Where Are They Now?” on a grad assistant at this university, but kick things off today with a contest!

 

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DO YOU KNOW YOUR HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL?

Today we’re going to do something new: a contest!

… and there will be a prize so pay attention! We will take all the correct answers to the following question and select a randomly picked winner to receive a prize which will be revealed later…

Here’s the question:

Seven states play high school softball in the Fall… name the seven!

E-mail responses can be sent to brentt@studentsports.com; the deadline to submit is Sunday at midnight EST. The correct answers will be posted here on Monday in the Daily Update as well as the prize winner!

 

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TEAM PROFILE: FIRECRACKERS – BLANCO

Jeff Blanco’s story is similar to many in the softball world—he got into the sport when his two daughters, Kayla and Tera, decided they wanted to play—but unlike most he was able to leave a day job, the mortgage business in his case, and immerse himself full-time in softball.

Born and raised in Southern California, Blanco played baseball at Saddleback High School and when his girls started playing, he became a coach and trainer.

In the evenings he would do private lessons and ultimately they grew into a four day a week job and became so successful he was able to leave the mortgage industry and focus on softball as a full-time private instructor.

“I always had a passion and eagerness to teach and work with kids, so this was perfect for me,” he remembers.

Eventually, the private tutoring grew into his Advanced Fastpitch Training (AFT) business which he started in 2011 “when I had made a lot of contacts with college coaches and credibility was high after our team won a 16U National Championship.”

The AFT works mostly with high school aged kids with “some younger now that I have a 12U team under my umbrella.”

Blanco explains that the growth of his business came because of the learning he had with Kayla, who’s now a junior at Cal State Fullerton.

“When she went through recruiting process, as her dad and coach I saw some of the pitfalls and traps you can fall into. I tried to get educated in the recruiting game and with Tera was able to rectify some of the mistakes I made with my older daughter such as how to streamline, expedite and maximize exposure.”

Other players and parents beginning asking for Blanco’s help and he saw the opportunity to tie events, coaching and recruiting expertise together where he could help train athletes and work with college coaches to find players who’d be a good fit for them.

“Our program I unique in that we have a website with each player and the college coaches can go to the website with criteria they’re looking for –for example they can search by year or position. They can get video and through the profile learn as much as possible. My role is I train each one of the players on the site so I can speak on behalf of all the players to the colleges and give evaluations as to what would be a good fit.”

Blanco says he also holds prospect camps that are free to college coaches that are open to players who train with him through Advanced Fastpitch Training. It was at one of those events that his 2015 shortstop, Taylor Becerra, was seen by Arizona State who would soon offer her. Becerra committed to ASU last week.

“It’s not just the website or the events, though,” Blanco continues. “It’s everything tied together so I can help them. Say there’s a college looking for a sophomore… where I can come into play is call up the coach, give the information the school is looking for and see if it makes sense for the player to consider that school or attend a camp they might be having.”

“We also provide a third-party point of view,” he continues. “I’m that party which the kid trains with and I can give a good perspective on where I see that kid ranking in her age group and where I project she’ll be when she gets to be a college freshman.”

In the last two years, Blanco says AFT has helped about 75 kids verbal or sign with college programs.

“Our niche is with that player who’s not the blue-chip player, it’s those kids who may be just under that level, but are still valuable to a lot of major college programs.”

While that may be his “day job,” he’s also very heavily involved in coaching. When daughter Kayla was 10 years old, Blanco started the Bomb Squad organization which he ran for six years until he met Tony Rico and, liking the mission and organization of the Firecrackers brand, turned the Bomb Squad into a Firecracker team.

The next year, the summer of 2011, Blanco’s newly christened Firecrackers-Blanco 16U team won the PGF National Championship after taking third at the Colorado Fireworks tournament.

This summer, the 16U tied for third at PGF after winning the Colorado Fireworks tourney. The Firecrackers-Blanco 18 Gold team tied for 17th at PGF.

“We have four teams I oversee,” he explains, “two 18U teams, one at 16U and one at 12U. For two of the four to have top 20 national finishes is something we’re proud of.”

With all that he has on his plate, he still manages to find time to coach all four teams.

“I attend each of their practices and they all train with me every other Wednesday,” he laughs, “although with playing conflicts I can’t obviously be with every team at every game.”

One of his greatest “successes,” you could say, is his daughter, Tera, a senior pitcher and infielder. She plays for the Firecrackers-Rico team and is headed to Michigan. Some feel she’s one of the top 10 players in the 2014 class.

Not only is she a softball talent, when asked “Who or what inspires you to be your best?” she replies, “My Dad.”

With both girls playing at a high level of softball and in, or soon will be in, college, Blanco is excited to help other girls live the dream at playing at the next level.

“I believe whole-heartedly that if a player is on a travel ball team and she works hard and wants it bad enough, that there’s a home for her and everybody like her. Maybe during the process they’ll come to a realization that they want to just focus on their studies or go to a school where it’s not as high level and that’s fine.”

“But if you’re a travel ball player and willing to invest the time to train at a high level, then there should be a college softball program out there for you.”

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the Firecrackers-Blanco 18 Gold team with comments by Coach Blanco:

— 2B/C/OF Jaya Alaan (2014, Mercer)
“Jaya is a very fiery competitor, she’s a hard-working catcher/second baseman and definitely the leader on our team.”

— OF/2B Natalie Alas (2015, uncommitted)
“Natalie is a very athletic lefty slapper who has great pop in her bat. She’s fast and covers a lot of ground in the outfield and can also play middle infield for us as well.”

— P Hannah Bandimere (2015, uncommitted)
“Hannah is a pitcher with great control, very good movement and location on her pitches and was one of our leaders in the circle last year on my 16U team that took third at PGF. This is a kid who knows how to pitch and get batters out.”

— SS/2B Taylor Becerra (2015, Arizona State)
“Taylor is a very fast and athletic middle infielder, she is a table-setter in the true sense of the word with power to drive in runs. Defensively, she has soft hands, quick feet and a strong arm.”

— C/SS/3B Brianna Cassidy (2015, Nebraska)
“Brianna is an overall great player and a great kid. She’s a 4.8 (GPA) student and one of my all-time favorite players because she always has a great attitude and a passion to play this game. She’s the one kid I could leave in charge of the team if I wasn’t there and the team would not skip a beat.”

— OF Dani Garcielita (2014, North Carolina)
“I’ve coached Dani since she was 12, she is a player with a huge heart and is extremely strong and fast and a great leader on our team.”

— 1B/3B Krystal Gutierrez (2014, St. John’s)
“Krystal is a big-hitting first baseman who I’ve coached since she was 14. She’s one of my all-time favorite players—she’s never complained once, would run through a brick wall for me and when you match that with her talent level, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better kid for your team.”

— OF Desiree Hagberg (2014, uncommitted)
“Desiree is a very mature, hard-working player… she’s like an additional coach on the field. She’s coming off a broken arm, but we still expect a big season from her.”

— OF Maddy Kaplan (2014, uncommitted)
“Maddy is a very athletic lefty slapper/outfielder who has great speed and home run power which is a great combination to have in one lineup.”

— SS/2B Sydney McCollum (2015, uncommitted)
“Sydney is a great athlete with a strong arm and great presence on the field. She has a powerful bat and excellent speed—definitely an asset on our team.”

— 3B/OF Hannah McCorkhill (2014, Colorado State)
“Hannah is a very good power-hitting third baseman and because she can play first, outfield and catcher she’s a very valuable commodity on our team.”

— 3B Christina Melendez (2015, uncommitted)
“Christina is a great hitter with tremendous power and has very quick feet and plays a very good third base. She was the heart and soul of our 16U team last year.”

— 1B Emili Olague (2015, New Mexico State)
“Emili probably has the most power of any player in the whole Firecracker organization. She’s a great kid with a tremendous attitude and I love having her on my team. She’s from New Mexico and chose New Mexico State because of the great coaching staff and because she wants to go back home.”

— P/1B Olivia Sanchez (2015, Brigham Young)
“Olivia is a great pitcher and power hitter, she was one of our team leaders especially in the circle for our 16U team. She pitched four and a half of our six games on the last day of PGF Nationals this year.

— P/1B Haley Snyder (2014, Stanford)
“Haley is brand new to our program, she lives in Sacramento and commutes for our practices. She throws in the mid 60’s and has tremendous power at the plate. We’re expecting her to be one of the kids that leads us to where we want to go.”

— SS/UT Amanda Vargas (2014, Michigan)
“Amanda is a power-hitting middle infielder/outfielder and because she can play multiple positions she’s a very valuable member on our team. She’s one of the best clutch hitters I’ve ever coached.”

— P/OF Jamie Wren (2015, uncommitted)
“Jamie is a lefty pitcher with amazing movement and, for her size, she hits for great power. She has one of the best, natural swings on our team.”

— P/OF Marissa Young (2014, Pacific)
“Marissa is a fiery competitor with great presence in the circle. She has great stuff and very good command of her pitches. She always puts us in a great position to win the game.”

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** Two other Firecrackers-Blanco notes:

— infielder Jaya Alaan had been committed to Purdue; she’s now headed to Mercer.

— outfielder Maddy Kaplan was committed to Stanford, but due to admissions problems she’ll no longer be headed there. Instead, she’s looking at Harvard (would try to enroll early) and Michigan.

 

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PLAYER SPOTLIGHT:

Morgan Felts, a 2015 OF/UT player for the Oklahoma Gametime Stars-Fisher team, has committed to Arkansas.

Morgan is from Conway, Ark. and spent the last three years playing with the Arkansas Heat, which finished 9th last year at the ASA 14U  Nationals in South Dakota.

The Heat played in six tournaments this summer winning four of those including the ASA 16 and Under A Southern Nationals in Lawton, Okla. and the Nashville Elite Invitational.

Morgan was the leadoff batter for the Heat and hit .536 over the summer. A versatile player over her three years with the Heat she played every position except pitcher and catcher.

This summer she mainly played second, first and centerfield. She is mainly a slapper but has also started hitting for power. Her home to 1st time is 2.69 seconds.

Coaches Mike Larabee and Coy Adkins were very familiar with the Arkansas Heat program and first recruited Chase Nelson, the Heat’s shortstop. Chase was the first to commit.

Two other Heat players, Peyton Carter and Morgan, committed over the summer.

“The Arkansas staff watched the team play when they could work it into their schedule and Morgan began attending Arkansas camps three years ago,” says Scott Felts, Morgan’s father.

“She attended every single camp they had except for the time she missed with an avulsion fracture in her elbow. So, Arkansas had the opportunity to see her at the camps as well as watch her play with Arkansas Heat.”

Morgan’s father says the family knew through Coach Rex Nelson, the Heat coach, that Arkansas was interested, but “the offer didn’t come for a while and she was really starting to think that it wasn’t mean to be. “

The recruiting interest continued to increase from colleges over the summer. She attended the Jerrad Hardin’s Next Level Elite Showcase Camp in Omaha, Neb. on July 28, which is a showcase run by her hitting instructor, Jerrad Hardin).

There were numerous colleges in attendance and Coach Larabee and Coach Adkins assisted with the camp.

“She had a great showcase camp,” says Scott Felts, “and after the camp was given Coach Larabee’s number and asked to give him a call the following week.”

The family then went to the Southern Nationals in Lawton, Okla. where Morgan joined her teammates. That’s where she made a fateful phone call.

“Morgan made the entire family leave the hotel room,” continues the athlete’s father, “and she called Coach Larabee the day before Nationals started. It was during that phone call that Coach Larabee made the offer. He asked her to talk it over with her parents and to take her time.”

“I tried to be the Dad and said, ‘Let’s think about this and not make a rushed decision.’” However, being a Razorback was her lifelong dream so she called Coach Larabee within 10 minutes to accept the offer. Arkansas Heat then won Southern Nationals a few days later so it was a week she won’t soon forget.”

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This fall, Morgan is playing with Oklahoma Gametime Stars-Fisher, along with Heat teammates Chase Nelson, Peyton Carter and Claire Brown.

There are six Arkansas commits, one Kansas commit and one Florida State commit on the Gametime Stars team.

Following is a list of the Oklahoma Gametime Stars-Fisher roster and their commits:

2015 Morgan Felts– Arkansas
2015 Chase Nelson– Arkansas
2015 Peyton Carter– Arkansas
2015 Raegan Rogers – Arkansas
2016 Sydney Parr – Arkansas
2017 Sydney Sherrill – Arkansas
2015 Jennifer Marwitz – Kansas
2016 Macy Fisher – Florida State
2016 Claire Brown – uncommitted
2015 Kristen Prieto – uncommitted
2016 Madison Perrigan – uncommitted
2017 Caitlin Bingham – uncommitted

 

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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? MEGAN LANGENFELD

*** One of our favorite players to cover in the “first version of StudentSportsSoftball.com” was Megan Langenfeld, who was an all-state dominating pitcher/hitter when she came out of Bakersfield. She was a bulldog of a competitor in the circle for the Firecrackers-Rico team and led them to the 2007 ASA 18U Gold National Championship.

Here’s a recap of that game and video with Coach Rico talking about that team

Throughout all Megan’s successes, I loved talking to her parents, Steve and Tracy Langenfeld who were as nice as it gets. We recently connected and they updated me on what’s going on with Megan, who’s now a Grad Assistant at Arkansas … with their permission, here’s some of what they told me:

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“As you probably know she finished on a huge high with UCLA and then a couple of years with USA National team. Megan played pro in Japan one year, though not her cup of fish (she doesn’t like fish but enjoyed the experience!).

She met Mike Larabee with the National team and he invited her to be his Grad Assistant at Arkansas. Megan is currently getting her Master’s in Sports Management and has three classes left. She’s really enjoying herself working with the team and the SEC.

She has also turned down many opportunities to be an assistant coach because she really wants her Master’s degree.

Megan has had some amazing things happen to her since the 2010 Women’s College World Series: she was up for an ESPY and got to meet Mike Piazza (that’s why she wore No. 31), was the L.A. Sports Woman of the Year and this past February was inducted into the Kern County Hall of Fame.

The best place to get all her updates is her website: www.meganlangenfeld.com. Her mom and I surprised her with the site for her UCLA graduation!

She has her final classes this fall, then her thesis in the spring to complete her Masters.

And ,hopefully, this time next year she will be a D-I Women’s Softball Assistant Coach to continue with the sport she LOVES!!

— Steve Langenfeld

 

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