New England Diamond Gems Softball Signal December 2012

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1 Message From Coach Jim Rines and the Board of Trustees: Greetings Players and Parents, Jim Rines, Director of Operations New England Diamond Gems New England Diamond Gems Board of Trustees Jim Rines-Director of Operations Dave Johnson-Treasurer Michael P. Wallace- Marketing, Legal, Secretary Ron Jackson-Sponsorship, Website Steve Kraytenberg-College Recruiting, Sales, Business Development Our fall pitcher, catcher and positional player Saturday workouts are in full swing. All of our teams are well represented at the workouts. The amazing fact is that during our third session with positional player workouts we average over 100 players participating each week. The first two sessions are designed to allow our pitchers and catchers work individually and as a group to develop the proper skills to effectively perform at their chosen positions. The pitcher/catcher sessions are broken down into two distinct sessions. The first part is when the pitchers and catchers work individually with our elite softball instructors on individual skills. The pitchers work on pitching mechanics (leg drive, hand grip, etc.). The catchers work on proper mechanics of receiving the pitch, blocking, throwing, pass balls, etc. The last session of the pitcher/catcher workouts is when both the pitchers and catchers are brought together to work on their skills together as a team. The importance of these sessions is that the pitchers can get there work in, fine tune their mechanics and throw at least over 100 pitches and the catchers get their work in and catch over at least 100 balls. Together it is all about proper player development. The third session is designed for all positional players which include the pitchers and catchers for their personal skill development. Again, we are pleased to announce that we have over at least 100 players in our organization attend each positional player session. The players who attend work on core body and conditioning work, catching and proper glove position work, sliding drills, bunting, running bases and throwing. These skills and development can directly lead to positive outcomes in preparing our teams to compete at the elite level of softball.

2 This fall program is focused on player development and developing the appropriate skills to be successful both on and off the softball fields. 12 U New England Diamond Gems coach and recent Sieanna University player and graduate Nastasha Polowosky will running a 10 week Catching clinic beginning Sunday January 6th from 11:00-12:00 p.m. Cost per visit is $25.00 or sign up for all ten weeks for $ Registration form can be found at under clinics. Group hitting and individual lessons are filling fast, if you have interest in getting extra work in please contact coach Rines for availability and program cost. All player medical release, photo release, FERPA/information release forms and birth certificates need to be handed into your head coaches no later than December 15 th, All player uniforms have been ordered, winter work out gear (shorts and tee-shirts) are being screened printed. Our Easton player back pack bat bags and catchers bags were ordered in October along with the batting helmets. Catchers bags are in, the other items will arrive shortly. Once all the bags are in they will be embroidered with our logo. And they will be handed out to each coach to distribute to players. Our ASA registration forms and individual player insurance forms for all New England Diamond Gems players has been submitted to our State Commissioner. Apparel orders are almost completed by our vendors, an will go out for date, time and pick up next week. No December Payment is Due There is no payment due in the month of December unless you have made prior arrangements with the Director of Operations for a payment to be made. The checks can be made out to the New England Diamond Gems. Please send payment to: Dave Johnson c/o New England Diamond Gems 19 Adam Drive Hudson, NH 03051

3 New England Diamond Gems Donations to New Horizons Soup Kitchen/Food Pantry/Shelters The New England Diamond Gems Fast Pitch Softball organization would like to collect nonperishable goods to the New Horizons Soup Kitchen/Food Pantry/Shelters in Manchester New Hampshire. Players and their families may drop of your donations at the NH Sports Plex during Saturday December 8th and December 15th, 2012 from 9:00-1:00 during our New England Diamond Gems work outs. Their current needs are: Soup Kitchen: Coffee, cereal, sugar, creamer, salt Food Pantry: Peanut Butter, jelly, cereal, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, canned vegetables, canned tomatoes, canned fruit, sauce, tuna fish, pasta. Shelter: Personal size toiletries, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, underwear, plastic shower curtin liners, laundry detergent, disposable razors, shoes, sneakers, bath towels, gas gift cards, deodorant. Thank you for all your help to make a difference in someone else s life.

4 New England Diamond Gems Player Signings and Commitments The New England Diamond Gems are pleased to announce the following players who have signed letters of intent to play softball in college. All of these student athletes played on the 18 U Gold team last year. The following players are as follows: Kelsey Smith Bentley University and currently plays for Dave Johnson s 18 U Orange Team Ashley Abad Assumption University and currently plays for Dave Johnson s 18 U Orange Team

5 Tori Alcorn UMASS Lowell University and currently plays for Dave Johnson s 18 U Orange Team Just as a reminder as our player/athletes sign or commit to colleges and universities please let us know so we can feature them on our newsletter and website. The New England Diamond Gems take distinct pride in assisting our athletes in getting into their choice of colleges and universities. Our mission and philosophy is to prepare our athletes and students to compete not only on the softball fields but in life too..

6 New England Diamond Gems Player Referral Program The New England Diamond Gems are looking for your help. Some of our teams are currently looking for players to help fill out their rosters. The following teams have openings: 18 U White Catcher 18 U Orange General Player 14 U Silver General Players If one of our current players our families can help refer a player to our organization they are eligible for a free New England Diamond Gems sweatshirt. No one can better market our program then our current members. We thank you for your assistance! Enjoy your summer softball experience with daughter: As we prepare our student/athletes to play the game of softball at the highest level of competition available we must keep in mind the reason why our youth play the game. Articles document the fact that the reason why our youth play sports is to have fun. The more the focus is placed on winning the less fun our student/athletes have and eventually leave the sport. We all want our daughter s to play and succeed at the highest level possible. But when that philosophy conflicts with the fact that they play for fun and unpleasant team experience can happen. The New England Diamond Gems pride themselves in the philosophy of player development and having fun. If the right coaching takes place that fosters this type of team atmosphere then most summer experiences the team embarks on are positive and produce life long memories. What players remember most about playing competitive softball is not the overall wins and losses but the experiences they had over the summer. Most players do want to win, but not at all costs. Every one of our players has shelves full of trophies, they love to win the tournament and receive the awards after completing the tournament in a successful fashion. But once all the pictures are taken on the field and the trophy goes on the shelf, they forget about the wins and losses that weekend they will only remember the team experience that had taken place. Like when the team went out for ice cream, had fun hanging out under the oak tree between games, or other non-game memories. These memories are the ones that will influence their farther participation in future competitive sports.

7 Studies have shown that our own softball coaches can have major life influences on our players more than the student/athletes own parents. It is important to make sure that your selected coaches are great teachers of the game, but they also have the capability to give positive lifelong learning lessons as well. If we choose the wrong coach then the athlete may choose to leave the game they love so much and also be given the wrong life lessons. The New England Diamond Gems pride themselves on selecting and promoting the right coaches and life lessons. We want all our players to have a positive life long experience while participating in our program. Another factor that can play on either a student/athlete has a positive or negative sport experience is the parents. When parents focus on winning and not player development and the experience this philosophy can destroy the players love to play the game or also a team. The most dangerous parents we can have on any given team is a parent that yells or degrades his/her own student/athlete in front of others or when a parent compares their son/daughter against another team mate. These situations should never be allowed to take place. It destroys the team and the players love to play the game. The thing we must keep in perspective as both parents and coaches is about the player and their development as a person and athlete. We are not taking about recognizing and rewarding everyone for just being on a team or competing we are talking about foster growth of the student athlete that will give the player a lifelong positive memory. Here are some import facts to remember about our players. 1. There are about 4,000 softball players a year going for about 2,000 college softball scholarships. 2. Only 0.7% of girls playing high school softball earn a college scholarship. So, one needs to enter this world of youth competitive athletics with realistic expectations that include fun, character building, learning the meaning of teamwork and sacrifice, etc., not with the purpose of getting a scholarship or playing professionally. 3. Statistics show that team MVP players do not succeed in life as well as coaches award players do. 4. It is more important to earn academic college scholarship money than for college softball scholarship money. The difference between the two is that the academic scholarship is usually guaranteed for the 4 years you attend the college or university as long as you maintain their certain GPA requirements. The sport scholarship is not guaranteed and can change year to year. The important point here is to focus on academics to succeed in life.

8 These facts demonstrate the need to focus on the player development and the player having fun instead of the destructive philosophy built on wining at all cost. It is the family memories you make by sharing time with your daughter and watching her grow as an athlete and person. The key fact to remember is that if we as parents and coaches developed the player the right way and teach the appropriate mechanics and skills the wins will come. It is not the other way! Here is my personal experience on this subject our Salem softball program has over 200 players that play recreation softball from the tee-ball age up to 18 years old. From this pool of 200 players the Woodbury Middle school has over 70 players each year tryout for only 15 spots. From the 15 players that will play at least one year at the middle school only about 4 or 5 will go on to play a number of years on the Salem High school team. From that 4 or 5 only about 2 or three will go on and play in college. But the most important fact is that at the age of around 21 or their senior year has completed all of our college softball players will be done playing softball at that competitive level. To put this into a real life example, this last year Salem High school softball team had four seniors that played for them. This same core group of players started out with the other 200 softball recreation players. When they were in the Woodbury middle school there was a core 11 players that played in their 8 th grade year. From that core or 11 players only 4 was left playing their senior year and from those 4 players only 2 went on to go play in college. In closing, the important thing to remember is that we as coaches and parents may think when they are 12 or 14 that they are great softball players (and they maybe) but in reality the odds of them playing in college and beyond is really less than 1%. The important things we should be focusing on are there development and having fun. We as parents should allow our great coaches do their job and we sit in our lawn chairs and cherish the memories we have created! Remember it is the value of time spent as a family and not the concept of winning that means the most to everyone involved. Cherish these memories because statistics show you may never know when it will end!! Enjoy your summer experience.

9 NEW ENGLAND DIAMOND GEMS ANNOUNCE FALL/WINTER WORKOUT AND INDOOR GAMES SCHEDULE (6 Weeks) DATE AGE GROUP EVENT TIME Saturday 11/10/12-12/15/12 16 U & 18 U Pitchers/catchers 9:00-10:20 a.m. Saturday 11/10/12-12/15/12 10U,12,14U Pitchers/catchers 10:20-11:40 A.M. Saturday 11/10/12-12/15/12 ALL Positional skills/drills 11:40-1:00 p.m. (10 Weeks) DATE AGE GROUP EVENT TIME Wednesday 1/9/13-3/13/13 18U Orange Hitting 6:00-7:00 p.m. Wednesday 1/9/13-3/13/13 18U Gold & Elite Hitting 7:00-8:00 p.m. Wednesday 1/9/13-3/13/13 18 U White Hitting 8:00-9:00 p.m. (10 Weeks) DATE AGE GROUP EVENT TIME Thursdays 1/10/13-3/14/13 12U O,W &14 U Silver Fielding/Pitching/Hit 6:00-7:00 p.m. Thursdays 1/10/13-3/14/13 14 U, O,W,Blk Fielding/Pitching/Hit 7:00-8:00 p.m. Thursdays 1/10/13-3/14/13 16 U W & 16 U O Fielding/Pitching/Hit 8:00-9:00 p.m. (10 Weeks) DATE AGE GROUP EVENT TIME Saturdays 1/12/13-3/16/13 ALL Teams Organizational work out 12:00-2:00 p.m. Saturdays 1/12/13-3/16/13 12 U & 14 U teams Pitching/Hitting 2:00-3:00 p.m. Friday Indoor games (24 Weeks) AGE GROUP EVENT TIME 14U,16U(not limited) 6:00-7:00/7:00- Session 1. 11/2/12-12/21/12 Indoor games 8:00 Session 2. 12/28/12-2/15/13 High School /18 U Indoor games Session 3. 2/22/13-4/12/13 10U,12U,14U Indoor games 6:00-7:00/7:00-8:00 6:00-7:00/7:00-8:00

10 Athletes = Success on and off the Field!