Sadness marks today’s Daily Update… as many have probably heard, Michigan State assistant coach Charles Fobbs died last night in a car accident and we think of him and wish the best for his family and the MSU program.  Elsewhere, we head to South Carolina to learn about a fast-rising program there, cover some recruiting notes and look in the vaults for a now-famous USA Team member who was a Stat Star back in high school…

 

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TRAGIC LOSS: MICHIGAN STATE ASSISTANT KILLED

As often happens, we get news from our friends in the community and earlier today we got a heart-breaking note from Coach Australia Hoover of the Georgia Elite program saying:

“Michigan State University lost its assistant coach, Charles Fobbs, to a tragic car accident last night.

Coach Fobbs was quite fond of Georgia Elite players, and had recruited at least one girl from Georgia (Ebonee Echols with the 97 Atlanta Vipers).  Coach Fobbs was in the process of recruiting a couple of Georgia Elite players before his tragic passing.”

Gerry Quinn, the Head Coach of the Illinois Chill, adds: “He was a magnetic personality on the recruiting trail and was doing great work on behalf of the Spartans. It really saddens me to see us lose him when he was really in the early stages of his work at Michigan St. having signed on just this past season.”

• Here is the story in the Detroit News if you’d like to read it: MSU assistant coach killed in car crash
• Also one on the Michigan State softball web page:  Softball Assistant Coach Charles Fobbs Passes Away At Age 47

Coach Fobbs was a great leader and role-model in Detroit high school sports and served as a high school football coach.

Our heart goes out to his family, the young people he worked with and the Michigan State athletic community, including softball Head Coach Jacquie Joseph, who we were fortunate enough to interview a couple weeks ago.

 

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TEAM PROFILE: CAROLINA ELITE

Unlike some of the programs we’ve profiled recently which go back, 15, 20, even 30 years, the Carolina Elite out of Greenville, S.C. are fairly new to the club softball scene.

But the experience behind it isn’t.

Tony Genovese moved from Corona, Calif. five years ago to the Greenville area after coaching in the successful Corona Angels program with Marty Tyson.  Genovese also was a coach at Norco (Calif.), which was a top program in Southern California at the time.

Genovese’s daughter, Adrienne Genovese (now Adrienne Nix), played for the Univ. of South Carolina softball program from 1998 to 2001 and after Tony retired as an electrician from Northrop Grumman in ’98, he moved to South Carolina.

That first year he continued to help coach the Corona Angels, even flying to tournaments, but says, “after that year I wasn’t planning on continuing.  However, I worked at Frozen Ropes, a training facility and someone asked me to help out with some pick-up tournaments.”

“That fall we set up three or four tournaments and then in January the girls wanted to continue playing and asked me if I’d start up a team.  That’s how it began.”

Also crucial to the growth of the Carolina Elite program was Dana Fusetti, a Florida native whose experience in softball included playing overseas for almost 15 years and coaching at South Carolina-Upstate for a year.  Fusetti played with the Dutch National Selection team and even teamed with Jocelyn Forest to win the Dutch National title. She is a Co-Chairman and Head Coach within the organization.

Coach Fusetti joined Genovese a year after he started his first team and helped grow the organization to the seven currently playing: two each at the 18U, 16U and 12U levels and one at 14U.

Genovese and Fusetti coach the 18U team together and she manages the 16U team.

“Tony and I train all the teams together when available and I oversee all the younger teams,” Fusetti explains.  “There would not be a successful organization like ours if it wasn’t for what we each bring into it and the level and commitment of players that we’re now attracting.”

Growing the program wasn’t easy, though.  The co-head coaches had to change the mindset of not only players, but parents.

“When I first moved out here,” Genovese remembers, “girls weren’t used to practicing as hard.  They were used to play summer ball, but not going on into the fall. I had college coaches telling me, ‘You’re in for a rude awakening,’ when I came in saying the girls weren’t dedicated enough, won’t put work in and they didn’t recruit in the state because of it.

“When I came in I tried to make it like how it is in California, but it was tough going at first—we went through some players (who quit).  The talent is here, it’s just getting them to play every weekend and that’s more for the parents than it is the girls to do practice games and friendlies on weekends.”

“A lot of our players come from out of state, especially Georgia and North Carolina, as it was tough early on to get enough dedicated players instate.  A lot of that was because they weren’t used to going out of state to play club ball, let alone to go to college.

“The initial mindset of players was they all wanted to go to (the Univ. of) South Carolina or stay close to home and it’s taken four years to change that thinking where now they can go almost anywhere to play ball and get a college education.”

It didn’t take long for Genovese and Fusetti to start seeing results.  The 2011 was the first group to go off to college and all 17 players went to D-I programs except one, who chose to go to a nursing school.

The schools they went to showed that South Carolina talent is good enough to go anywhere:  two from that class went to Kentucky and started this past season while another started at South Carolina.

The 2012 group, though smaller at five, also saw everyone go D-I and sign with programs like South Carolina and North Carolina State.

Coach Genovese knows the program is getting there but not all the way to where it needs to be.

“Are we competitive?  Not yet, but we have two outstanding pitchers in Cayla Drotar and Matty Moss, one’s a sophomore and the other a junior, who will help put us over the edge.  Basically went out with a 16U team at PGF and won a couple but went 0-2 in the elimination games.  We’re looking for a lot better year in 2014 as virtually our entire team comes back.”

It won’t be easy—there are elite teams in the area ranging from the Atlanta Vipers, Georgia Impact and East Cobb Bullets based in the Peach State as well as the NC Lady Lightening Team Miken and Carolina Cardinals programs in the state to the north.

It’s also a bit of work to play good teams or in quality tournaments; Genovese says they usually have to go two to three hours to go to Georgia to practice or play tournaments.

But the future is bright, he believes.

“Our biggest accomplishment is that kids are now coming to the program because they know they’ll get seen on the national stage in the top tournaments like ones we play in Orlando, Boulder (Col.) and in California.”

 

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the Carolina Elite 18U Gold team with comments by Coach Genovese:

— 3B/SS/C Megan Anderson (2015, uncommitted)
“We just picked up Megan after summer ball, she’s a big power hitter who plays third and first.  She’s also one of the top high school hitters in the state.”

— 2B/SS/P Katie Chappell (2015, uncommitted)
“Another player up from the 16Us, Katie’s a middle infielder who has a good arm and range, can hit and she will start or back-up at second or shortstop.”

— 3B/OF Abbey Cheek (2015, Kentucky)
“Abbey is probably the best hitter on the team, she’ll hit for high average and a lot of home runs. She plays third and first and can play the outfield.  Abbey was recruited by all the big SEC schools.”

— OF Caitlyn Cheek (2014, Coastal Carolina)
“Caitlyn is our starting centerfielder, she’s very fast and hits from both sides of the plate.  She’s our leadoff hitter and has been learning to slap.  We go when she goes at the leadoff spot, meaning when she’s hot, our team gets hot.  She steals a lot of bases too.”

— P/IF Cayla Drotar (2016, South Carolina)
“Cayla is probably the best all-round kid on the team for as young as she is.  She just started her sophomore year and pitches at 64-65 mph. On offensive, she’s a threat as she home runs.  Cayla was recruited by Alabama and Georgia type of schools.  She lives within 30 minutes from South Carolina and always planned to go there.  One of the top pitchers in the state along with Matty Moss.”

— 1B/3B Ansley Gilreath (2016, uncommitted)
“Ansley’s another one coming up, a big power hitter who players first and third.  She’s young and is one of the top home run hitters in the state at the high school level.”

— OF Ashlea Hunter (2014, Lincoln Memorial Univ.)
“Ashlea’s an outfielder who runs about a 2.78 home to first.  She hits for power and is a big-time player.”

— OF/2B Carli Hurtado (2014, Anderson)
“Carli’s an outstanding outfielder, slapper and steals a lot of bases for me.  A great kid who works really hard.”

— 2B/OF Haley Lawton (2014, Presbyterian)
“Haley has been my starting second baseman for the last two years, she is great defensively and with Krystan turns a lot of double plays.”

— P/1B Matty Moss (2015, Tennessee)
“Matty throws at 64-66 mph and is also a big hitter when she plays a little of first.  She’s a great kid who’s a team player and cheers everyone up.”

— C/IF Jacie Pittman (2015, uncommitted)
“Jacie is one of my two catchers, she is a little fireplug.  She’s about 5-foot-1, 5-foot-2, hits well and is very quick, a good blocker behind the plate.  She’s also a very hard worker—she lives in the cages.”

— OF/1B Emily Robertson (2014, uncommitted)
“Emily just moved up with from 16U team last year, she is a good outfielder and power hitter and will be counted on to contribute a lot this year.”

— C/IF Kaitlyn Wagers (2015, College of Charleston)
“Kaitlyn is my other catcher, she’s a big strong player who’s been hitting more home runs as the power came on.  She’s good defensively and is a leader on the field.”

— SS Krystan White (2014, South Carolina)
“Krystan is my starting shortstop and is a big-time player.  She’s one of the top shortstops in the Southeast.  Krystan has great range and hits really well, she’s one of our top players.”

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** We recently reported that Alex Martens, a 2016 infielder for the Illinois Chill, committed to Kentucky.

Her Chill Head Coach Gerry Quinn told us this about Alex today:

“”We are excited that Alex has chosen to play softball at the University of Kentucky.  The major factors in Alex’s decision were the challenge of competing in the SEC day-in day-out, and to a lesser degree, escaping the spring softball weather prevalent in the upper Midwest.”

“What made Alex a high level recruit was the fact she competed so well as a 2016 at the highest level of club softball this past summer. She was our everyday second basemen and was one of our top batting average players. She was just incredibly mature in the way she carried herself on and off the field and that definitely showed her in a very favorable light during the recruiting process.”

The Illinois Chill is known for producing talented players who typically have the academics to go to schools like Northwestern and the Ivy League, but Coach Quinn reminds us that this SEC verbal isn’t the first time one of his players has headed South from the Midwest.

“One of my former players (Paige Wilson) was the first team all-SEC shortstop this past season so one of our players going to the SEC is not uncharted territory for us!”

 

***  The Cal A’s 99 team is part of the same organization that produces the Cal A’s International Team led by Kathy Miller that plays at the Canada Cup every year.

Based in Fullerton, Calif., the Cal A’s club team expansion is being run by Coach Marian “Speedy” Mendoza who is also the Co-Head Coach at Fullerton College.

Here are some of the committed players on the Cal A’s 99 team with comments from Coach Mendoza:

— C/OF Heather Cameron (2015, Hawaii)
“She is a hard worker and continues to push her limits. She will have success because she wants it that bad and will accept any challenge.”

— P Jennifer Iseri (2015, Hawaii)
“She is the complete package. Excels offensively/defensively and makes those around her better.”

— 1B/OF Jacqui Pasqual (2014, Seton Hall)
“She is the type of player that comes in with her game face on. She is prepared and sets the tone with her intensity.”

— 3B/1B Mishael Poti (2015, Biola)
“She is ready for the challenges that lie ahead of her. Competition brings out the beast in her, but knows how to play poised.”

 

*** Yesterday we told you about Dominque “Niko” Walker, the 2015 C/OF with the American Pastime-SGV team who’s headed to Hawai’I Pacific (I need to get over to scout them, ahem!).

Her father, Mark Walker, wrote to give us some more background on Niko, who has a 3.8 GPA:

She actually made her verbal to Hawai’I Pacific in January 2013 halfway through her sophomore year. She’s currently a junior at St.Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs (Calif.) where she has been named 1st All-Del Rey League her first two seasons.

This past summer travel season with American Pastime – SGV, Niko’s batting average and on-base percentage were over. 400 and she had 35 RBI hitting third in the batting order.

There’s so much that goes into making this life changing decision. As a family, we did extensive research on colleges between her 8th and 9th grade years. With some input from my wife and I, she developed a list of criteria for schools and came up with her list of schools she would consider attending.

Her criteria included:

1. Offered a Degree in her academic field of choice (Elementary Education) and able to play softball while majoring in this field
2. Campus Size
3. Class Size
4. Location (Outside of California)
5. Academic Advising
6. Competitive Softball Program
7. Experienced Coaching Staff
8. Facilities
9. Opportunity to play on the West Coast
10. Opportunity to Play for NCAA Championship

The allure to Hawai’i Pacific University was that it offered everything she was looking for in a school academically and athletically. Collectively, we felt that HPU was the perfect school for her.

We visited the campus in August and our entire family came away knowing that the right choice had been made. The school has a respected education program, a beautiful campus and wonderful people. Besides being experienced and knowledgeable, the coaching staff truly takes an interest and cares about their players. They make it no secret that academics come first.

Prior to her making a verbal to HPU in January, we did visit a Big East School and one Conference-USA school that were showing interest

 

 

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: LINDSEY ZIEGENHIRT

Lindsey Ziegenhirt is a current member of the USA Softball team after having a great career that ended at Cal-Berkeley this year. The right-handed catcher won every possible award including 1^st Team All-American honors.

Back before she made it to international play, we knew her as quite the talented hitter as well as backstop for one of the top high school teams in the country, Sheldon High in Sacramento, Calif… here’s a write-up we did on Lindsey six and a half years ago!

 

STAT STAR of the DAY (May 7, 2007)

*** Last week, we told you about Lindsey Ziegenhirt who’s been a key cog in Sacramento (Calif.) Sheldon being 20-1 so far this year, good enough to be rated No. 14 in the nation in the FAB 50 rankings which came out last Friday.

We got a nice e-mail from Sheldon’s head coach, Mary Jo Truesdale, who wrote:

“Lindsey has just been outstanding! So often the catcher behind great pitchers goes unnoticed.  We, as coaches, know that successful pitchers must have outstanding catchers or they are not as effective. This is what we have to say about her… and she is only a sophomore.”

Last week, Lindsey went an impressive .750 at the plate with 11 RBI and five runs scored. Last Tuesday, she helped the Huskies beat Pleasant Grove 6-0 when she hit a towering three-run homer over the scoreboard and added an RBI single.  On Thursday, in a 17-0 win over Monterey Trail, she added two more “over the fence” home runs to go with a double and single to account for seven RBI.

Lindsey first caught our eye last November when she hit .417 and had 6 RBI for the Lady Magic 18-U Gold team at the Batbuster Pre-Thanksgiving Tournament.

 

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