Today, we head to the Sunshine State to profile one of the nation’s top teams over the last decade and see what their player status is, we look at 17 new recruit updates and profile a 2015 SEC-bound power hitter who gets to stay instate…

 

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TEAM SPOTLIGHT: THE GOLD COAST HURRICANES   

When you think Florida club softball over the last decade, three words come to mind—Gold Coast Hurricanes.

Led by Marty Cooper, the Hurricanes had a six year run in the late 2000’s where they won the 2008 ASA National Championship and finished in the top 10 six times with first, second and third-place finishes.

And remember this was when all the great teams were just competing in ASA Nationals.

The Hurricanes today are still one of the best programs in the nation and certainly the pre-eminent one in Florida, perhaps the entire East.

Coach Cooper was in California today enjoying being a first-time grandfather as baby girl Mila was born just six days ago.

He’s retired now from the job he had for 31 years as a professional firefighter.  The coach stepped down from his position as Battalion Chief in 2008 and is busy these days overseeing the nine Hurricane teams that are ages 14 and up.

“Our expertise is in the high school age group so all our teams are age 14 and up,” he explains.  “We don’t do 10’s and 12’s.”

Cooper also keeps busy leading the softball program at American Heritage, a 5A school in Plantation, Fla., that’s one of the best programs in the Sunshine State.  In the last 10 years, the school has won five state championships and earlier this spring lost in the state finals or it would’ve been six.

 

TEAM FINALIZED IN JANUARY

While most club teams are setting up their rosters now after tryouts, Cooper has a different philosophy, one that is more competitive and in line with what he thinks the athletes will face when in college.

“We use the fall tryouts to invite kids to play in tournaments with us in the fall.  We want to see if they have what it takes in the tournaments to play at this level.”

“We won’t lock in our roster until January and we tell our kids, even the returning ones, that every position is up for grabs.  We’re really trying to get them to excel at an elite level and prepare them for college, where they’ll have to compete every day.”

“Even if you’re a starter in college as a junior, there’s going to be a freshman coming in trying to take your job and that’s why we want our players to earn their position and not think it’s just going to be handed to them.  All on our team are invited back, but they know you’re not guaranteed a spot—you have to earn it.

Cooper says he has a good idea of who the core group will be and after the January Rising Stars tournament will lock in his team that will play throughout the spring and summer of 2014.

This fall, those who do participate with the team will be playing in four tournaments with the Hurricanes:  the Triple Crown-Firecracker Tournament in West Covina, Calif. (Oct. 4-6), the TCS Rising Stars in Plantation, Fla. (Oct. 25-27), the Ronald McDonald Tournament in Spring-Klein, Texas (Nov. 2-3) and the USF showcase in Tampa, Fla. (Nov. 9-10).

 

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Here’s the group of underclass players who were part of the 2013 Hurricanes team with comments from Coach Cooper:

— P Sydney Matzko (2014, North Carolina)
“This will be the third year Sydney’s coming up with us, she’s a 6-foot-1 lefty who’s earned her way to being one of the top pitchers on the team.

— 1B/3B Kayli Kvistad (2014, Florida)
“Kayli’s a tremendous hitter, she’s a great team player who has impressive power.”

— P Allison Davis (2014, Virginia)
“Allison’s a very good pitcher who can also hit.  She plays left for us too and hits in the four spot, somewhere in the 4-5-6 place in the order.”

— C Gwen Svekis (2014, Oregon)
“Gwen’s a tremendous leader on the field and also is one of the leading power hitters on the team. She controls the feel of the game very well and has a great arm.”

— 2B Gianna Arrizurieta (2014, uncommitted)
“Gianna plays for my high school team; for the Hurricanes she was the starting second baseman for us all year, but she’s versatile and can play third do.  She does a great job.”

— UT Jessie Brown (2014, uncommitted)
“Jessie’s a good kid who plays multiple positions, we can put her in the outfield or infield.  She also plays for my high school team.”

— 3B Jessica Mohl (2014, Indian River State College)
“Jessica is really a great defensive player, she’s a power slapper who hit a lot of extra base hits in the gaps in part because she’s very fast.”

— C/1B Lauren Newmark (2014, Bowling Green)
“Lauren is one of our catchers and she catches for me in high school too.  She’s a contact hitter and has the power to hit home runs too.”

— 1B/LF Megan Reed (2014, Florida)
“Megan’s a power hitter and Florida will want her to be hitting big time shots.  She has the ability to hit the ball really hard.”

— OF Kelsee Cullop (2015, uncommitted)
“Kelsea’s an upcoming young player, she’s a power slapper who has good speed. We expect her to do a lot for us this year—last year was her first with us.”

— SS/OF Toni Polk (2015, uncommitted)
“Toni played shortstop and at the top of our lineup as our No. 1 or 2 hitter in the lineup.  She’s a slapper also.”

— SS Astin Donovan (2015, USF)
“Astin was predominantly our starting shortstop for most of the year, she’s very fast and is a converted lefty who has the ability to hit home runs.”

— CF Lexi DiEmmanuele (2015, uncommitted)
“Lexi is our starting centerfielder, depending on the lineup was leading off towards the end of the year and switching with Astin at the top of the order.  She’s very fast on the bases—has an uncanny, instinctive ability to steal bases—and is an excellent outfielder.

 

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VERBAL NEWS:

*** MICHIGAN STATE’S IMPRESSIVE QUARTET

On Friday, we reported a pair of Michigan State commits we didn’t have on our list… over the weekend we connected with a Midwest scout who follows Big Ten recruiting and he told us that the Spartans are quietly putting together a strong class.

Here’s a closer look at the incoming recruits:

— LHP Bridgette Rainey (Acworth GA/Atlanta Vipers)
Bridgette pitched the National Championship game and won this past August for ASA 16U in Sunnyvale.  She’s 5-foot-11 and strong, has a 4.0 GPA.

— OF Sydney Heath (Troy, Mich./Michigan Batbusters)
Sydney’s a long, lanky 6-foot player who plays outfield only. She’s a three tool hitter from the left side who runs track in high school too and is 2.8-2.9 home to first.

— OF Lea Forester (Portage, Mich./Beverly Bandits)
Lea will also play outfield only, she swings left and is quick (not fast) but strong and athletic.  Also a 4.0 GPA.

— SS/2B/OF McKenzie Long (Alta Loma CA/ Minors Gold)
McKenzie has two tools, mostly from the left side and is just learning to swing it.  Solid infielder/outfielder who has a 4.33 GPA.

 

*** QUICK HITTERS:

— Outfielder Mackenzie Babbitt (2015) from the All American Sports Academy 18U-Heinz team has committed to Cal State Northridge
— Pitcher Makayla Martin (2015) of So Cal Athletics – Myers/McNee has verballed to Auburn
— 3B/2B Hope Moreno (2014) of Team Mizuno-Gonzales has decommitted from Portland State and committed to UTEP
— C/3B Miranda Grotenhuis (2014) from Texas Impact Gold decommited from Alabama and is now committed to Louisiana-Lafayette

*** Finally, here are nine verbals just reported by Kevin at GoldFastpitch.com:

— P/1B Natalie Calderas, Firecrackers-Pasco (2014, Cal St. Fullerton)
— C/SS Callie Horn, Charlotte Starz (2015, Elon)
— OF Maya Thomas, Texas Kaos (2015, Houston)
— IF/OF Alex Martens, Illinois Chill (2016, Kentucky)
— P Ashton Edwards, Tennessee Illusions (2014, North Alabama)
— SS/UT Molly Bourne, Firecrackers-Pasco (2014, Pacific)
— C/3B Hannah Trombley, Atlanta Vipers-Loveless (2015, Samford)
— C/1B Destini Peck, Firecrackers-Pasco (2015, Seton Hall)
— P/1B Danni Ryan, So Cal 3D (2015, Wisconsin)

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Let us know who we’re missing, who, perhaps, has changed teams and who has a good story to tell!  Brentt — brentt@studentsports.com

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RECRUIT PROFILE: CAROLINE HARDY

High School: Vestavia Hills High School (Birmingham, Ala.)
Club Team: Birmingham Thunderbolts
Position: 1B/3B
Grad Year: 2015
Key Stats:  19 homeruns sophomore year

Top Honors: 2012 Max Preps Freshman All-American Team (1B), 2013 Max Preps Underclassmen All American Team (3B), Birmingham News 2013 Metro South Hitter of the Year

You’re headed to Alabama and being a Birmingham girl, that must be exciting.  Tell us how they found out about you and how you committed… 
It is VERY exciting, literally a dream come true. I’ve been to ‘Bama softball games and camps since I was very young; they have literally known me almost half my life. I took every opportunity I could get to learn from the staff and team over the years. I was invited for a visit last fall (Homecoming weekend) and after a meeting with the coaches they made me an offer.

I was a little stunned and I didn’t say ‘yes’ on the spot. I wanted to but had other visits planned during the fall/winter and I thought I should go ahead with them but that only lasted about a week. Coach (Patrick) Murphy came to my tournament the next weekend and on the way home on Sunday I called him and told him what I’d really known my whole life, there is no where I would rather play than Alabama. It was my 16th birthday so I will never forget that. Roll Tide!

Has it been difficult to get the attention in the Southeast that, say, California girls get when it comes to recruiting?
I would say yes, there is not routinely as much attention paid to girls from my area, but I think that is changing somewhat. I feel fortunate to have had some great opportunities to play in key national tournaments against teams from Cali and in front of many coaches in my last two years of travel ball. Teams from the Southeast have become increasingly competitive in recent years and now have coaches following them like the SoCal teams do.

You played on a pickup team (Batbusters-Catalano)… Was that a tough adjustment to make, being on a new team for a short amount of time?
No, the adjustment was quite easy. My regular team (Tennessee Fury) was playing ASA Nationals and I got an offer to play PGF so I took it. I met Coach Ted (Castalano) at PGF in 2012 and talked hitting with him over the past year. The girls were great, we became instant friends. On a competitive team like the Batbusters, if you prove you can help the team most players are accepting of you. It was a great experience.

When did you first realize that you had the softball ability to play at the collegiate level?
I don’t really know exactly. I remember wanting to play in college when I watched the 2006 WCWS on TV. I went to a camp after that when I was 11 or 12 and they measured some things, like bat speed, and my scores were as high as some girls much older than me. I think that confirmed that I should go for my dream.

If you weren’t playing softball, what would you be doing otherwise?
I would still be doing some type of athletic competition. I can’t imagine not playing softball, really, having done it since I was five, but I also throw shotput for my high school track team and played basketball in middle school.

What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you on the field?
Last fall, I was playing with a group of girls from different teams in the Tennessee Fury organization who were not committed. One inning I was the leadoff batter and when I was on deck, one of the coaches pointed to a spot in between the left field light pole and one of the flag poles and told me to hit the ball right there. I kind of laughed it off and said, ‘Yes sir,’ but sure enough I ended up hitting it in that exact spot. We laugh about every time I see Coach Tad (Andrus, Fury 95).

Imagine you’re a scout grading you… what would you rank as your best softball strength and area you most need to improve?
That’s tough, but I’d definitely say power is my biggest strength (no pun intended) and I’m working hard right now to improve my flexibility and discipline in pitch selection.

Your team is having a talent contest and it’s time for you to step on stage… what will you do?
I actually was in choir in middle school and freshman year and enjoy singing, but some people think I am kinda funny, so maybe crack a few jokes.

 

Short answer time!

Favorite color: Red
One item you’d want to have on a deserted island: My Bible
Favorite ice cream flavor: cookie dough
Choose one—steak & potatoes or spaghetti with meatballs? spaghetti and meatballs
What’s the clothing item you have more of than anything else?  Tee shirts.
Thing you’re most afraid of:  Spiders and snakes
Thing you’re most proud of: probably my car – Nissan Xterra.
Other than family members, who do you look up to most? I have always admired Coach Aly Habetz. She is consistently friendly, positive and encouraging and actively lives out her faith in softball. I can’t wait to play for her at ‘Bama.

 

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