Texas ASA Insider. The Newsletter of the Texas Amateur Softball Assoc. Vol. 4/No. 1 February 2011

Texas ASA Insider The Newsletter of the Texas Amateur Softball Assoc. Vol. 4/No. 1 February 2011 Texas ASA holds preparation meeting Jan. 14-16 in Killeen Workshop attendees ready for 2011 season WHILE THE WEATHER outside the Shilo Inn and Suites in Killeen wasn t conducive to playing softball rainy and cold about 110 people from throughout Texas were preparing themselves for the start of the 2011 softball season. The people were all members of the Texas Amateur Softball Association (ASA). They came to Killeen the weekend of Jan. 14-16 for the association s annual workshop to get the information and tools needed to prepare them for the upcoming season. If the 2011 season is anything like the 2010 season, then the Texas ASA will have another outstanding year. Despite the economy, the Texas ASA again led the national ASA in total registrations in 2010, totaling more than 12,000, with more than 2,000 umpires. The start of a new year marked the debut of Rodney Cobb as the new Texas ASA commissioner, succeeding Glenn Morrison. Cobb, who has been involved with the Texas ASA 25 years, had served as the deputy state commissioner for two years before being confirmed as the new state commissioner at the ASA annual meeting last November. Cobb, who is stressing a Back to the Basics theme throughout the Texas ASA in 2011, appreciates the hard work and time Cliff Warrick, second from left, receives his 40-year-service award from Texas ASA commissioner Rodney Cobb. Looking on are Warrick s wife, Ethel, and Jack Aaron, Texas ASA executive director. The award was given to Warrick at the workshop in Killeen after he was unable to attend ASA s national meeting last fall. the district commissioners and their staffs put forth in promoting and developing Texas ASA executive committee explores inter-association series, conducts survey THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the Texas ASA met for three hours prior to the start of the Texas ASA 2011 workshop and covered a variety of topics, with 11 of the 13 members in attendance. Also attending were three representatives of the ASA National Office, John Miller, Chris Sebren and Steve Walker. The meeting was held inside the Dallas Room of the Shilo Inn in Killeen. Jack Aaron, Texas ASA executive director, gave an update on the ASA insurance program while new state commissioner Rodney Cobb discussed the adult slow pitch program. Cobb has appointed a committee to explore the possibility of holding a Texas Shootout Series within the state involving the other ASA associations in Texas. Mike Cappa, District 31 commissioner, is chairman of the committee. (story on pg. 2) Cappa also distributed a survey during the weekend meeting to staff members of the 36 Texas ASA districts. The survey will help the ASA know what the players want and help the Texas ASA do a better job, said Cobb, who replaced Glenn Morrison as state (Please see COMMITTEE pg. 6) Texas ASA softball, as well as registering teams and umpires and conducting hundreds of tournaments. The new commissioner realizes the rich history and tradition of the Texas ASA and is (Please see WORKSHOP pg. 5) Inside * Comments From the Commish...2 Texas Shootout explored... 2 District 4 In Focus...3 The Umpires Scorecard...4 W. Texas Tourney set for July...4 Texas umpires picked for nationals.4 2011 TX ASA Tournament UICs...7

Comments From the Commish RODNEY COBB Texas ASA Commissioner Truly honored to follow in steps of past great commissioners IT IS TRULY AN HONOR to be the new Texas State Commissioner. I am following in the footsteps of some people who have done an outstanding job in leading this association. They include W.W. (Bill) Kethan, Jack Aaron, Ronnie Isham and Glenn Morrison. Each has served as a role model for their successor, as Glenn certainly has for me. My focus will be to stay the course with the Texas ASA. I would hope that I can add some of my own touches to the organization, My focus will be to stay the course with the Texas ASA. I would hope that I can add some of my own touches to the organization, but Texas has a great tradition. It is really not broken, so there is not a lot to fix. but Texas has a great tradition. It is really not broken, so there is not a lot to fix. What makes the Texas ASA the best among the 76 ASA associations is our people out in the field. We have 36 districts, and more than 100 of people representing those districts attended our January workshop in Killeen. They are interested and dedicated. They understand what our bottom line is: providing service to the thousands of teams and umpires that are involved in the Texas ASA. Texas is a big state (second in total area and population in the entire country) and includes associations in Houston, Fort Worth, Dallas, and San Antonio. These are metro (local) associations. Texas is a state association, and administering softball throughout the 36 districts is not an easy task. But year in and year out, our people rise to the occasion and continue to excel. We had an excellent year in 2010 and are optimistic that 2011 will be another great year for the Texas ASA. I look forward to working with our district commissioners and their staffs in the year ahead. Working together and continuing to provide the service that our teams and umpires have become used to will ensure that the Texas ASA remains the best in the nation. o Cappa to explore interest in TX associations SP event RODNEY COBB, Texas ASA commissioner, has appointed District 21 commissioner Mike Cappa chairman of a committee to explore the involvement of the other ASA associations in Texas in the establishment of a Texas Shootout Slow Pitch event. Besides Cappa, others on the committee are: Richard Merritt (District 19), Shane Simon (District 20), Jerry Duron (District 24), Jan Cato (District 27), Ed Guillen (District 27), Alfred Macias (District 30) and Mike Akridge (District 38). The Shootout will be held in Houston with the teams coming from qualifiers held throughout Texas. Cappa met with Barry Horvitz of the Houston Sportsplex following the Texas workshop to formulate plans for starting the Shootout. The other associations in Texas include San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth and Houston. Cappa said the group is looking at developing a website where teams could register and promote the event to other associations and districts within the Texas ASA. I am in the process of putting a distribution list together of all my adult slow pitch teams, said Cappa. I will then pass the information on to the teams in my district as well as all of our state commissioners. Cappa said the Houston Metro is working on a website for the Shootout, which should be up and running soon. Teams will be able to log on to get the information they need. Page 2 Pitch, Hit and Run events planned TEXAS ASA DISTRICT COMMISSIONERS interested in holding a local Pitch, Hit and Run event should contact District 13 Commissioner Sherry Foutch. Foutch can be contacted either by phone (940) 300-0618 or email: texasasa_district13@yahoo.com The Pitch, Hit and Run competition is sponsored by Aquafina and is open to participants seven to 14 with separate divisions for boys and girls. The local competition will be held for one day in March, April or early May. All local winners will advance to a sectional with the national finals at the 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In 2010, McKenzie Winkler of Moody, Texas, was one of the national champions crowned in Anaheim, Calif. The Texas ASA Facebook page can be found at www.facebook. com/texasasa and can be used by fans to browse for events and announcements, and participate in discussions on all subjects related to softball in the state of Texas.

TEXAS ASA DISTRICT IN FOCUS District 4 El Paso: West Texas district hits 1,000-team mark for first time [Each issue of Texas ASA Insider will feature one of the Texas ASA districts. This issue, District 4 (El Paso) is profiled.] DISTRICT 4 COUNTIES: El Paso, Culberson and Hudspeth 2010 TOTALS: Teams: 1,013 Umpires: 53 Individual registrations: 373 COMMISSIONER: Paula Powell 911 South Ochoa El Paso, TX 79901 Work phone: (915) 351-1320 Cell (915) 240-3315 Fax (915) 534-0257 Email: powellpj@elpasotexas.gov District 4 Commissioner Paula Powell IN SOFTBALL CIRCLES, El Paso is now known as a city on the move. In the past, El Paso never attained the prestigious 1,000- team total. It had come close during district commissioner Paula Powell s three previous years, but in 2010 El Paso finally succeeding in registering 1,000 or more teams, ending with 1,013, plus 53 umpires and 373 individual registrations. Now with that goal attained, Powell has set another goal. We re shooting for 1,800 teams, said Powell, who has been involved in softball 20 years and has lived in El Paso the past 15 years. She has worked at the El Paso Parks and Recreation Department since 1995. Besides the goal of 1,800 teams, Powell would like to have 60 teams in the Girls Cinco De Mayo Fast Pitch Tournament, 80 teams in the 4th of July Play for Your Heroes Tournament, and 100 teams each in the state slow pitch and state Hispanic tourneys. She would also like to register 100 church teams and 200 teams from local colleges, plus increase registrations overall by 25 percent. In addition, Powell will also work with New Mexico ASA commissioner Alice Cox to enhance ASA events in the area, and continue to recruit and train ASA umpires. She is a graduate of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., and served in the Army and National Guard from 1994 to 2004. Besides her B.S. degree in math from West Point, she also has a B.A. degree and is finishing a master s degree in public administration from the University of Texas at El Paso. She aspires to enter the Ph.D program at UTEP in the fall semester. Powell started the youth program in El Paso while working for the parks and recreation department. She started as a recreation leader and worked her way up to where today she is the sports manager, a position she has held since October 1999. Like most people involved in softball, Paula played and even umpired. But today, when she has time in her 75-to-90 hour workweek, she stays involved with the activities of her two daughters, Jessica and Shannon, and a son, Phillip. Powell s older daughter, Jessica, played softball growing up while Shannon still plays and is an aspiring left-handed pitcher. All softball seasons are busy, but in addition to two state tourneys, Powell s district will host the Texas ASA fall meeting, October 6-8. If there is a will, Powell and her staff will find a way to improve softball in the city of El Paso. You can count on it. o JO COMMISSIONER: Gregory Edmunds 8531 Railroad Drive El Paso, TX 79924 Work: (915) 757-2743 Cell (915) 478-2563 Fax (915) 534-0257 Email: edmundsgx@elpasotexas.gov EDMUNDS, 29, is a 2004 graduate of Texas State University (kinesiology major) and attends University of Texas at El Paso working on an M.B.A. in public administration. Since 2008, he has been the program supervisor for the girls fast pitch, volleyball and hockey programs for the city of El Paso. He plans and organizes leagues and tournaments for these sports. In 2007-2008, Greg served as a recreation specialist. He is fluent in reading, writing and speaking Spanish. District Commissioner Paula Powell is pleased with Greg s work as the Junior (Please see DISTRICT 4 pg. 6) Dist. 4 JO Commissioner Greg Edmunds Page 3

Umpire schools still available to keep your on-field calls sharp AS WE START A NEW YEAR, let s take a moment and reflect back on what we accomplished last year and see how we can improve in the upcoming year. In 2010 registrations were up a little more than 2009, and I congratulate all of The Umpires Scorecard Richard Crocker Texas ASA Umpire-in-Chief you on that. But we can do better! Texas is still No. 2 in the nation in umpire registrations not No. 1! So if we all do our part and every district registers 10 more umpires than in 2010, we would be more than 300 umpires up for the year. Let s do it! In 2010, our Texas ASA Umpires once Once again in 2010 our Texas ASA Umpires rose to the top in major events. We had umpires work the Gold (Carroll Abbey and Dustin Douglas) the Hooters Championship (David Martin) the Armed Forces (Darryl Brunson and Joe Brown) and the Japan Cup (Keith Kearney). again rose to the top in officiating at major events. We had umpires work the Gold (Carroll Abbey and Dustin Douglas) the Hooters Championship (David Martin) the Armed Forces (Darryl Brunson and Joe Brown) and the Japan Cup (Keith Kearney). I had the honor to present David Cook his indicator award for working three nationals at the Killeen workshop and Danny Bowman his elite in slow pitch at the National UIC Clinic in OKC. (This makes Danny s elite in both fast and slow pitch no easy task!!) Keith Kearney received the Region 7 Award of Excellence for 2011 also at the National UIC Clinic in OKC. So as you can see, our Texas ASA umpires are always at the top. That s where we want to stay. As for the 2011 Texas ASA state umpire schools, the bar has been set high. Our District 31 and League City have 110 umpires attending one of the largest state umpire schools ever. Congratulation to Mike Cappa and his staff. So, if we all do our part in 2011, we can make this another year to remember! See you at the Ball Park! Richard Crocker 102 Texas umpires selected to work ASA national championships DURING THE TEXAS ASA Workshop January 14-16 in Killeen, 102 umpires were selected to work ASA National Championships in 2011, according to Texas state umpire-in-chief Richard Crocker. And the interest is there. We had 169 umpires nominated, said Crocker. To be nominated, umpires must have completed a Texas state umpire school, be in good standing in their local district, and have the approval of the district commissioner. In 2010, the Texas ASA registered more than 2,000 umpires and was among the nation s leaders in umpire registrations. Crocker and Alfred Macias conducted a state umpire rules clinic from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 15, at the Shilo Inn and Suites Hotel. Page 4 West Texas All-Star Tournament scheduled for July in Odessa TEXAS HAS ITS SHARE of travel ball girls softball teams. But Texas hasn t forgotten the girls who play on recreation teams during the summer in various cities throughout the state. Since 1992, the West Texas All-Star Tourney has been held and annually draws 100 or more teams. Midland hosted this event in 2010 and drew 100 teams with seven in the 18-and-under, 19 in the 14-and-under, 22 in the 12-and-under, 28 in the 10-and-under and 24 in the eight-and-under. The year before in Lubbock, 120 teams played in this event. This year s event is scheduled July 13-17 in Odessa. The event is usually held the middle of July and in five age groups: 8-under, 10-under, 12-under, 14-under and 16-18 under. The teams play in two pools, then double-elimination and a consolation bracket. The event is rotated with Midland, San Angelo, Lubbock and Odessa the host cities and the economic impact around $6 million, according to Midland district commissioner Freddie Ezell, who is in his 41st year of service to the Texas ASA. Ezell speaks with authority on the West Texas All-Star Tourney, as he founded the tournament some 19 years ago. Guest speaker at last year s event was ASA Hall of Famer and Olympian Leah O Brien Amico. Each team is comprised of 12 girls and each gets to bat with 27 different leagues represented.

WORKSHOP (from pg. 1) following in the footsteps of some outstanding state commissioners: W.W. (Bill) Kethan, Jack Aaron, Ronnie Isham and now Glenn Morrison. I am going to try to stay the course with Texas, said Cobb. I would hope that I can add some of my own touches to the organization, but Texas has a great tradition. It is really not broken so there is not a lot to fix. The workshop started Friday with a meeting of the executive board followed by informative training sessions delivered by members of the ASA national staff (John Miller, Chris Sebren and Steve Walker); Richard Crocker, state UIC; and Jack Aaron, executive director of the association. Texas ASA is No. 1, Aaron told the group, and we re certainly proud of that. We fell back one year, but we just kept going. Except for one year when Texas finished second behind Pennsylvania, the Texas ASA has led the ASA in total registrations every year since 1990. Aaron and John Miller updated the group on the changes to the Bollinger Insurance program for 2011, with the national office representative giving a PowerPoint presentation. Located in Short Hills, N.J., Bollinger has been involved with the ASA for 48 years and was founded in 1933. There are seven changes to the ASA insurance program for 2011. Crocker briefed the group on the procedures for selecting umpires for state tourneys and national tourneys. He also distributed umpire exams and various information, including the Texas ASA umpire schools and the umpires assigned for the state youth and adult tourneys in 2011. Sherry Foutch, new District 13 commissioner, asked the people to hold local events for Pinch, Hit and Run and to contact her with the dates. In last year s finals, Texas had a national winner. Sebren went over rosters, adding pickup players, eligibility and filling out national forms before the group broke for lunch, served courtesy of the C.W. Bollinger Company. After lunch, the Texas ASA took time to honor one of its own, Cliff Warrick of Georgetown, Texas, who has a distinguished career in amateur softball. Unable to attend the ASA national council meeting last November, where he was scheduled to receive his 40-year service award, the Texas ASA presented the award to Warrick with his wife, Ethel, in attendance. During Warrick s career, he served as the Austin ASA commissioner, the executive director of the Texas Amateur (Please see WORKSHOP pg. 6) Sheltered from the rainy, cold weather outside, some 110 members of the Texas Amateur Softball Association gather Jan. 14-16 in Killeen, Texas, for the annual workshop. The meeting is to better prepare the administrators and officials for the upcoming season. This year s meeting was headed by new state commissioner Rodney Cobb, who has been handed the baton from outgoing commissioner Glenn Morrison. David Cook, left, deputy umpire-in-chief for District 9 in Wichita Falls, receives his ASA National Indicator Award from Texas ASA umpire-in-chief Richard Crocker on Jan. 15 at the Texas ASA workshop in Killeen. The National Indicator Award is given for excellence in umpiring. Page 5

WORKSHOP (from pg. 5) Athletic Federation and assistant executive director of the national Amateur Softball Association. He is a member of the TAF and the ASA Hall of Fame. The afternoon sessions touched on background checks, updates on the MVP website, ACE registration, the ASA slow pitch program, and the list of slow pitch players that ASA maintains. Texas has more 4,000 men s and players in different classes. The workshop resumed Sunday morning with a question-and-answer session plus information on Register ASA and the Texas ASA registration program. Bill Plummer of Anaconda Trump gave an update on the Texas ASA-Anaconda Trump sponsorship package for 2011, which will include balls for all state slow pitch tournaments and back packs for all members of state championship teams. Cobb closed the program by thanking those who attended and pledged his support to work with each of them to make 2011 another great season for the Texas ASA. If 2011 is anything like 2010, you can be assured the Texas ASA DISTRICT 4 (from pg. 3) Olympic commissioner for the District. Greg is an up and coming young superstar in El Paso Sports, said Powell. He is young and learning the ropes of ASA as well as the City of El Paso. Powell likes the job he did last year with the district s youth fast pitch season, when he was broken in with a long tournament on Cinco de Mayo weekend. He now knows how to dodge foul balls and handle angry parents, she says. He is our go to person in first aid and has helped many girls throughout the past year. His energy and enthusiasm is refreshing, and his new ideas and innovation will help ASA District 4 softball through some difficult times this year as our city is growing and the dynamics change. Edmunds, a former high school baseball player, has been the District 4 JO commissioner about a year. He has also played softball, participating in a charity tournament against local media teams. He calls himself a sports enthusiast. His goals this year as JO commissioner are to consolidate teams to make the best league possible and to prepare teams in the district to compete at the highest level UMPIRE-IN-CHIEF Jorge Mijares 8446 Whitewater Page 6 Former Texas ASA state commissioner Glenn Morrison addresses the workship attendees. Although no longer as the group s head, Morrison will stay active in the organization. will again be the nation s leader in total team registrations. o El Paso, TX 79924 Work (915) 858-3334 Cell (915) 276-7132 Fax (915) 858-7082 Email: jmijares1@hotmail.com Mijares has been umpiring 15 years and has served as the district UIC since 2003. He started his umpiring career doing slow pitch before progressing to fast pitch. He has umpired in three ASA National Championships: 2003, 16-under Class A in Midland; 2004, 14-under Class A in Midland, and 2007, 18-under Class A in Bryan- College Station. For the past four years, he has been an NCAA Division I official and has worked the C-USA, Mountain West, and WAC conferences. In 2007, he was selected to work the WAC Championships in Fresno, Calif. Jorge has four goals this season, including: continue to recruit and train the next generation of officials, help officials (umpires) develop their knowledge skills and abilities through year-around training, help officials obtain state and national tournament invitations, and assist the district commissioner to increase team, player and umpire registrations by promoting the ASA program. Mijares, who is a graduate of UTEP with a B.A. in management, has been married for COMMITTEE (from pg. 1) commissioner. The questions range from: Would you like to see the bases move to 70 feet? to Do you think the ASA is doing a good job on bat safety? Cobb and Aaron also told the committee about fee increases for the 2012 season. How much the fees will increase will hinge on how much the ASA insurance is increased, but Cobb wanted to let the committee and Texas ASA know a year advance that the Texas fees will increase. He also mentioned that a registration fee will be charged for the Texas ASA October meeting. Cobb also told the group that District 29 will be absorbed into District 21 in 2011, and District 31 into District 36 in 2012. Richard Crocker, Texas ASA umpire-inchief, briefed the committee on the umpire program and indicated that 169 umpires had been nominated for ASA National Championships in 2011, with 102 umpires selected. Morrison gave a Region 7 report with Miller and Sebren briefing the group on Register ASA and Tournament MVP. Committee members attending were: Aaron, Cobb, Morrison, Crocker, Freddie Ezell, Cappa, Drew Wells, Alfred Macias, James Villarreal, Linda George and Van Jordan. o 25 years and he and his wife, Lily, have two children, Daniel and Alyssa. Daniel is an electrical engineer and works for Raytheon in Boston, while Alyssa is a junior studying art and technology at the University of Texas at El Paso. Mijares, 49, played baseball until he was in high school and started playing slow pitch in his early 20s. He stopping playing, however, when his son, Daniel, started playing Little League baseball and was coached by his dad. A friend of Jorge s helped him coach the team and also helped as an umpire. One day Jorge accepted an invitation to umpire and began with slow pitch. About a year later, he attended a meeting of high school fast pitch umpires, and before he knew it, he was calling fast pitch softball. And the rest, as they say, is softball history. Daniel first umpired at 16, and by the time he was 18, he was umpiring junior college and Division III softball with his father. To Jorge, that was an awesome experience and something that he will always treasure. Throughout the years, Jorge has become friends with so many people and considers them his extended family. And, of course, he thinks back about the consequences if he hadn t accepted his friend s invitation to umpire: He wouldn t have had the opportunity to travel and meet some of the finest people in the world softball people. o

2011 Texas ASA Tournament Umpires-in-Chief Richard Crocker, Texas ASA UIC, has announced the following umpires-in-chief for the youth fast pitch state tourneys and regionals, and state adult tournaments: Youth Fast Pitch State Tournaments Tournament Date Host City UIC Pixie 6-under South May 27-29 Galveston Kenneth Gordon Pixie 8-under South June 4-6 Beaumont Danny Webb Pixie 6-8 under North June 4-6 Lufkin Ed Guillen Pixie 6-8 under West June 10-12 Abilene David Merryman Girls 10-under Class A June 17-19 Woodlands James Brau Girls 10-under Class B June 17-19 College Station Danny Bowman Girls 12-under Class A June 17-19 Waxahachie Joe Windham Girls 12-under Class B June 17-19 Baytown Richard Crocker Girls 10-12-14 C North June 17-19 McKinney James Allen Girls 10-12-14 C South June 17-19 Angleton Kenneth Gordon Girls 10-12-14 C West June 17-19 Wichita Falls Gayle Goodman Girls 14-under Class A June 24-26 Longview Danny Bowman Girls 14-under Class B June 24-26 Missouri City Trevor McDonald Girls 16-under Class A June 24-26 Tyler Richard Crocker Girls 16-under Class B June 24-26 College Station Domingo Fonseca Girls 18-under Class A June 24-26 Stephenville Carroll Abbey Girls 18-under Class B June 24-26 Texas City James Brau Youth Fast Pitch Regionals Tournament Date Host City UIC Girls 12-under A Regional June 3-5 Wichita Falls Gayle Goodman Girls 18-under A Regional June 3-5 Harker Heights Darryl Brunson Girls 12-under A Qualifier June 10-12 Lufkin Rusty Germany Girls 18-under A Qualifier June 10-12 Victoria Darryl Brunson Girls 18 Gold Qualifier June 3-5 College Station James Brau Girls 16-18 HO Fame Qual. May 27-29 Wichita Falls Gayle Goodman Adult State Tournaments Tournament Date Host City UIC Women s SP July 8-10 San Marcos Joe Brown Men s Church SP July 8-10 Killeen Johnny McCoy Men s B SP ----------- ----------- ---------------- Men s C West SP July 15-17 El Paso Jorge Mijares Men s D West SP July 15-17 El Paso Jorge Mijares Men s E West SP July 15-17 El Paso Jorge Mijares Men s C South SP July 15-17 Laredo Joe Brown Men s D South SP July 15-17 Laredo Joe Brown Men s E South SP July 15-17 Laredo Joe Brown Men s C North SP July 15-17 Longview Mike Grandford Men s D North SP July 15-17 Longview Mike Grandford Men s E North SP July 15-17 Longview Mike Grandford Co-ed SP July 22-24 San Marcos Darryl Brunson Men s Industrial SP July 22-24 Longview Mike Crandford Men s 35-over SP July 29-31 Frisco David Martin Men s Hispanic SP July 29-30 El Paso Jorge Mijares Men s FP ----------- Bryan James Brau Men s African American SP ----------- Longview Rozie Johnson Page 7