Not too long ago, one of the top club coaches in fastpitch, four-time PGF National Champion Bruce Richardson of the So Cal A’s, told me he’s really impressed with what the Birmingham Thunderbolts are doing as an organization.

The Premier team finished tied for 5^th at PGF Nationals and Jeff Horton’s 16U team also had a strong run, tying for 9^th in a loaded field. The younger team’s two loses were to the Beverly Bandits, which finished 2^nd and Lady Magic-Havey which tied for 5^th.

This year, the Bolts 97 team coached by Horton will be taking it up an age group and will compete in the 18U division with the goal to make it to the PGF 18U Premier Nationals.

The team certainly has the talent to make some waves over the next year and you’ll see several of the players, which include six going to the SEC, in the soon-to-be-released 2016 Hot 100 list.

The only two not committed on the Bolts 97-Horton team are getting heavily recruited by SEC-type programs as well and will probably commit this fall.

One of those is Coach Horton’s daughter, Kaylee, and she and current teammate Ashlee Swindle were the genesis of the team going back about a decade.

Kaylee and Ashlee began playing t-ball at age five for a team called the Curry Ladyjackets. Jeff Horton soon got involved as a coach and before too long the team became so good it won the NSA World Series 6-Under title (coach pitch).

Coach Horton continued to coach his daughter and Ashlee with other talented players being added and, in time, the team became associated with the Birmingham Vipers until Richard Shea asked Horton to take over a Bolt team.

“We brought over some of my ’98 players,” the coach remembers. “It was my second year 12’s and I’ve been with him ever since.”

This year will be the fifth for Horton in the Bolts organization and he couldn’t be happier.

“I can’t say enough about Richard, his wife, Beth, Coach Rocky (Thompson) and all the other coaches. These people are literally changing young girls lives.”

Horton had a strong athletic background to draw upon—he was a pitcher at the junior college level until arm injuries forced him to hang up his playing glove. He began coaching baseball, but says, “I had a little girl and then got into softball and I’ve been with it ever since.”

His playing background has served him well in knowing how to build a team to the specifications he’s looking for.

“I like playing the game fast,” he explains. “I combine a mixture of small ball with pop and we have several slappers to help us play a fast-paced game. It’s obviously important to have a solid combination of hitting and great pitching and we want to be athletic, run the bases well, hit the long ball when we want to and bunt when needed. Another thing that serves us well is our kids can play many positions.”

During the day, Horton is an engineering manager for Blue Stream Professional Services, a subcontractor for AT&T that handles and installs equipment for phones.

Living in Jasper, Ala., about an hour and a 10 minutes northwest of Birmingham and the Shea Brothers Softball Complex in Irondale, Ala., Horton and his wife, Lauren, are busy not just with Kaylee and the Bolts’ softball life, but also following the baseball, basketball and football career of son Weston (12 years old) and the softball and basketball seasons of daughter Kensley (9).

“We keep busy,” Coach Horton laughs about his family, while also referring to his 18U team. “This summer, for example, every day we’d drive in and go from 8 am in the morning and not get home until 9 pm at night during two-a-day practices in June. We work our team hard, but that’s what it takes to compete at the highest levels.”

This fall, the Bolts 97 team will be playing in two major tournaments: the Diamond9 Fall Classic October 30-November 2 in Orlando, Fla. and the Scenic City Tournament run by the Tennessee Fury organization November 7-9 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

“We’ll also be playing some Juco and DII schools at the facility this fall,” concludes Horton. “It should be a fun year as we gear up to play at Nationals.”

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the Birmingham Thunderbolts 97 team with comments by Head Coach Jeff Horton:

— C Emily Aaron (2016, North Alabama)
Emily is a good kid with a lot of upside. She has good power from the right side and on defense has good blocking skills with a great throw down to second. Emily has a good frame and is a hard worker. We’re looking forward to seeing her grow through the organization.”

— 2B/UT Kaitlyn “KK” Crocker (2016, Auburn)
“KK is a triple threat with equally good defensive skills. She has good bat control and speed on the bases and can play multiple positions very well. She’s the type of player a coach likes to have on your team because of her versatility and skills.”

— 2B Maddie Dorsett (2016, Mississippi State)
Maddie has great defensive skills including a really good arm. She’s a slapper and controls the bat well. Maddie is also one of the hardest working players on the team.”

— OF Kailyn Dunn (2015, Mississippi Valley State)
“Kailyn’s a great athlete with speed. She’s a slapper/hitter and is a triple threat. Kailyn closes on the ball and tracks well too.”

— IF/OF Jenna Ergle (2017, uncommitted)
“Jenna is the No. 3 hitter on the team and has some of the fastest hands through the hitting zone I’ve ever seen. She’s a power hitter who moves well on defense and is a corner player: left and right, third base and first. She’s the only 2017 on the team and has ACC, SEC and just about every conference after her. She’ll be making her decision this fall.”

— P Claire Graves (2015, Troy)
Claire is a great pitcher with a really good fastball and upside. She has a plus riseball and is working on a change. She adds a lot to our deep pitching rotation.”

— OF Carmyn Greenwood (2016, Auburn)
“Carmyn is a good kid who is very athletic and has great speed and pop to go with a strong arm. She tracks the ball well and is a lefty who controls the bat very well.”

— SS/2B Kaylee Horton (2016, uncommitted)
“Kaylee is a triple threat/slapper hitter who is very good defensively; she has the strongest arm in infield. She also has quick feet and great bat control—she can go soft, deep and mid-range, wherever she wants to put it. Kaylee is getting SEC and Big Ten recruiting interest.”

— P Bailey Murphy (2016, South Alabama)
“Bailey is a lefty and is a lot like (pitcher Ashlee) Swindle in that she has great command and keeps hitters off balance. She has a plus rise and a really good fastball. Bailey also can change speeds with all her pitches.”

— 1B/3B Justus Perry (2016, Auburn)
“Justus is a great kid, she is a leader on the ballclub and I can’t say enough about her. She stayed with us this summer and we saw what a great person she is. On the field, she has outstanding power and hit a mammoth shot against one of the Corona Angel’s top pitchers. Justus is the total package and Auburn’s getting a good one.”

— P Ashlee Swindle (2016, Auburn)
“Ashlee is a pitcher only and has great command. She locates very well and the main thing with her is location. She can change speeds with any pitch and has a plus change and drop. Ashlee also has pinpoint control on all her pitches. She’s working on a rise and should have it under control by the fall.

— C Sarah Van Schalk (2015, Ole Miss)
“Sarah is a catcher who’s a great kid—she’s hard working and has strong blocking skills and a strong arm. She’s the power catcher you dream about offensively who, on defense, is excellent at blocking and throwing. Sarah has that perfect combination you look for. She’s also a quiet leader who leads by example.”