We head to Phoenix to look at one of the oldest continuously running club teams in the country, profile a Florida catcher who’s headed to New England, learn about a SoCal player who has to drop her catcher’s gear due to injury and introduce you to a cause we all are huge believers in: NEGU (“Never Ever Give Up!”)…

 

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TEAM PROFILE: ARIZONA LIL SAINTS

The Arizona Lil Saints organization out of Phoenix is one of the oldest continuously playing club teams in the country.

The program began 30 years ago and four years after it began Dick Dickson took over.  Just this year he stepped back as the Head Coach to work as the General Manager and turned the keys to the car over to his son, Lance.

“We’re probably one of the oldest three in the nation that have played continuously,” says the elder Dickson.

The Gold team never won a national championship, but came very close in the ‘90’s win the Lil Saints finished second to the OC Batbusters in an ASA Gold championship.  Overall, the program has had eight Top 10 finishes with four coming in the Top 4.

In the three decades since Dickson has been at the helm, the Arizona team has produced some notable alums including:

• UCLA All-American pitcher B’Ann Burns
• Stanford All-American pitcher Becky Blevins
• Oklahoma All-Big 12 infielder Casey Dickson (yes, she’s the coach’s daughter and the player who set a dozen Big 12 records and has gone on to have a long coaching career)
• Notre Dame All-Big East infielder Andrea Bledsoe

This year, Dickson says “we had a good first part of the summer, but hit a low spot with our offense.”

Still, the Lil Saints Gold team finished in the top 10 at the TCS Nationals in Reno, Nev. and made it to PGF Nationals where the team went undefeated in pool play but lost the two elimination games.

Still, the future looks bright in Phoenix (and hot: it was 101 degrees on Monday, according to Coach Dickson!) as the Saints only lost two players to graduation but gained some new talent including a form Lil Saint in Morgan Nelson, who Dickson calls “one of the top middle infielders in the nation” and returns a core group that knows how to win.

 

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the 2013-14 Arizona Lil Saints with comments by Coach Dickson:

— P Paysen Arballo (2014, uncommitted)
“Payson’s a very strong, very fast pitcher.  She’s looking at two schools and probably next week will have a decision.”

— 2B Bailey “Bay” Gaffin (2015, uncommitted)
“Bailey’s been a Lil Saint for four years, she’s an outstanding middle infielder and a very good baserunner.  She’s also an outstanding hitter.”

— SS Jasmine Ramirez (2014, uncommitted)
“Jasmine is a senior and has been with us two years.  She also has two college choices she’s looking at and will decide soon.  Jasmine played second and short this year and some outfield as well.”

— OF Tegan Wambold (2014, uncommitted)
“Tegan’s been with the Lil Saints for three years, she’s a great outfielder—she plays right field— and is looking at Ivy League schools.  She’s an excellent slapper and can hit too.”

— SS Jenna Beeso (2015, uncommitted)
“Jenna’s a new player for us, she played half a year for the Lil Saints before joining us full-time.  She’s a promising, tall, rangy player.”

— 3B Jessica Hallett (2014, Temple)
“Jessica just committed to Temple last week.  She plays third for us and is a very strong power hitter—she led the  team in home runs with about 15.”

— OF Willow Seward (2014, Embry-Riddle)
“Wilow has only played softball three years, but she’s a good student and is extremely fast.  She’s going to Embry-Riddle, an aeronautical school, as she wants to be a pilot.”

— UT Emily Jordan (2015, uncommitted)
“Emily’s another new player, she’s more of a utility player for us and can play the corners, outfield or second base equally well.”

— 2B Tory Bigelow (2015, Cal-Berkeley)
“Tory plays in the outfield and is a strong power hitter with very good speed. She’s headed to Cal and for us also plays second very well.”

— UT Emily Zembik (2016, uncommitted)
“Emily is also an UT player can play MIF or outfield equally well, can hit for power and has success at camps, notably the Univ. of Texas camp.”

— C Whitney Chamberlain (2015, uncommitted)
“Whitney is a catcher and is another new player.  She’s going to improve our catching overall and is a powerful hitter who’s dangerous at any point in the game.”

— P Tamara “T” Statman (2015, Arizona)
“Tamara is an outstanding player, she usually hits No. 3 in our lineup and committed to Arizona last fall.  She had Tennessee, ASU, Missouri also after her.  Tamara’s a pitcher who also plays second and she’s a major part of our hitting in the lineup.  A great all-around athlete, she’s also a blackbelt in the martial arts and plays on the varsity golf team.”

— C Chelsea Havill (2014, uncommitted)
“Chelseas’s been our starting catcher since last year.  She’s a strong, steady defensive catcher who can go on a rampage when gets on a hot streak at the plate. We like how she’s very coachable, too.”

— 3B McKenzy Gutierrez (2014, uncommitted)
“McKenzy’s another new player, she’s a strong infielder who’s a very consistent hitter.  She has great grades and should be recruited highly.”

— SS/2B Morgan “Mo” Nelson (2015, Stanford)
“Morgan played for us one year, then went away and now has back.  She’s a top middle infielder and without question is one of the top hitters in the state.  She picked Stanford in her sophomore year and it’s great to have her back.  She plays shortstop but can play any position as she’s a great athlete.”

— 1B Kori Gahn (2016, uncommitted)
“Kori’s been a Lil Saints for a couple of years and is a strong, power-hitting first baseman.  She just came back from an elite camp and the coaches were very impressed.”

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NEVER EVER GIVE UP (NEGU): PLEASE WATCH THESE VIDEOS!

As a parent, your worst fear is that something will happen to your child, including health problems beyond the normal skinned knees and runny noses.  As a young athlete, a serious health problem is never even considered as you use your physical abilities to compete in a sport you love.

This summer, we at Student Sports became familiar with one of the greatest stories we’ve ever encountered—the story of a 12-year-old athlete named Jessie Rees and her battle with brain cancer when she created the concept of Joy Jars to give to fellow young cancer victims as part of her motto to Never Ever Give Up (“NEGU”).

When I was up at Nike headquarters this summer during a football event Student Sports produces called the “Elite 11,” I was fortunate enough to meet Jessie’s father, Erik, and learn about the family’s incredible foundation.  Here’s the story I wrote June 30 called JoyJars message touches Elite 11.

We’ve become big fans of Team NEGU and hope you will too.  Help out as you can and, at the very least, hug your parent or child a little stronger tonight in appreciation of each other and in memory of Jessie Rees.

And not matter what life hands you, remember Jessie’s story and great question, “How can we help them?”

 

 

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If you want to learn more about how to help support kids fighting pediatric cancer, got to NEGU.org

 

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PLAYER PROFILE:  SAVANNAH YOUNG

*** Last Wednesday in our Daily Update 09.11.13, we profiled the Central Florida Stingrays and one of the top players that Head Coach Mark Tamanini raved about was Savannah Young, who he said “is the heart and soul of our team.”

We thought it interesting that a Florida girls is headed to the cold of New England and wanted to find out how that all played out…

StudentSportsSoftball.com: How did the Crusaders first see you?
Savannah Young: Holy Cross found me at the 2012 Atlanta Legacy Showcase. Prior to the showcase there was an NFCA camp where I must’ve caught their eye since they came to a few of my games after that

SSS.com: So how did you make the decision to go to the Massachusetts school?
SY: I had planned to visit a few Northeastern schools that fall, Holy Cross being one of them. I toured the campus and met the coaches and knew at that point Holy Cross was where I wanted to be. After visiting,I called Coach Claypool often and it was during one of those calls that he let me know he wanted me to play for him. I committed soon after in the winter

SSS.com: Are you concerned about going from one weather extreme to another?
SY: Being born and raised in Florida I love the beach and the sun. I look at being somewhere colder as an opportunity for something different and I’ve never had the chance to see the change in seasons so I’m excited about that!

SSS.com: Coach Tamanini said you were the first Stingray girls he met when he moved to Florida… tell us about your history with the club team.
SY: I remember watching the older Stingrays play when I was in Little League and I was in awe of their talent. Coach Mark always made sure that my eight-year-old self had a Stingray tee shirt to wear. It was through Coach Mark that I had the opportunity to play in Europe at the International Cup, which is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. Having played with some of the best players around on the Stingrays, I know I’ve made lifelong friendships that’ll last forever. All of the hard work and dedication that Coach Mark taught us has now given me the opportunity to play in college, which has always been my dream.

SSS.com:  What is it about catching that makes you enjoy it so much?
SY: The best part about catching is building a relationship with my pitchers and knowing what they like to throw and when. Coach Mark has pretty much always let me call my own game and there’s no better feeling than getting in a batter’s head and getting the out.

 

 

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MORE RECRUITING INFORMATION:

*** Thanks to Julie Bjostad who writes to tell us that daughter Sierra Bjostad, a 2015 grad who plays for the So Cal Athletics – Sota team, will no longer be catching, but instead focusing on playing 3B/1B instead.  The junior has committed to UC Santa Barbera.

“ Unfortunately, after two concussions this last year and a half, she’s hung up the gear for good,” writes Sierra’s mother.  “Although an incredibly tough decision, she understood the importance of her health above all else.”

“She feels incredibly blessed to be able to play and contribute at 3B, always her second position that she loves as well.

Sierra attended Mater Dei her first two years of high school, but was sidelined last season with a nasty concussion after just a couple of games. When she returned to play in May, she hit .625 as a frequent pinch-hitter.

This year, the family has relocated to Mission Viejo where she just started her Junior year at Mission Viejo High.

“Sierra committed to UCSB in October of her sophomore year after careful consideration of other opportunities. She loved the campus and academics, and is really looking forward to playing for the Gauchos and the great coaches there.”

 

*** Steve Svekis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel is reporting a verbal from Florida:

Rachel Collins, whose sixth-inning double drove in the only run of the Class 7A state championship game between Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas and Tampa Freedom in May, has committed to attend and play softball at Rollins College in Winter Park.

Collins, a first-team All-County shortstop, plays for the Gold Coast Hurricanes 18U Gold team coached by Jeff Norman.

Rollins plays in the Division II Sunshine State Conference.

 

*** Finally, here are some more verbal odds and ends:

— Last week, we had Makayla Martin’s info incorrect: the 2015 pitcher who has committed to Auburn is playing for So Cal Athletics – Myers/McNee

— OF/MIF Lauren Shoemaker of the Something Special Gold has committed to Lafayette.  She’s from Beaverton, Ore. and attends Valley Catholic High School. Check out her skills video here.

— Dana De La Torre, the C/3B/OF for So Cal Explosion, will not be attending Weber State according to a family member.  She has verballed to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.

 

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