Lot of good stuff today including a profile of a NorCal team that shined at the 16U level last year and is looking to do some damage at 18U this year.  We also look at an Alabama star who’s headed to the Lone Star State and cover a great story of a commitment tied to the Alabama and Auburn football game last weekend!  

 

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CLUB PROFILE: KG HITTERS GOLD

We’ve profiled teams where the founder or head coach had a baseball background, but it’s going to be hard to match that of the namesake of the KG Hitters, Kiko Garcia.

Garcia played 15 years in the Major Leagues and was with two World Series teams—the Orioles in 1979 and the Phillies in 1983.

After retiring as a player, he became a youth baseball and softball coach and in 2001 led College Park High School (Calif.) to a 3A North Coast Section baseball title and in 2002 and ’03 was a co-coach for the Sorcerers club softball team that won back-to-back ASA 18 Gold National Championships.

In 2010, the former pro baseball player led the 14U Sorcerers team to a third place finish at Nationals and decided to create his own organization, the KG (for Kiko Garcia) Hitters which is based in Concord, Calif.

Today, Kiko coaches the 14U team.  The 18U Gold squad is led by another Garcia, Martin Garcia, although the two are not related.

“Kiko wanted to create his own environment and define the organization under his own umbrella,” explains Martin.  “I’ve known him for a long time and my daughter, Kiara (a junior infielder at Oregon State who goes by “Ya”), took hitting lessons from him.”

Martin was interested in coaching and approached Kiko about heading a 16U team.

“He said I’d love for you to be involved and coach the 16 year old team.”

Martin knew what his first move would be: bringing in La Shawn Wells to help coach.

“La Shawn’s daughter, Tylyn (who’s now on the Stanford softball team), was with the Sorcerers and Kiara was with the Lady Magic so we saw each other a lot at showcases and our kids competed against each other throughout their youth so we knew each other pretty well,” Martin remembers.

He asked Wells if he’d help run the 16U team and it took him about eight hours before he called back and said he was in.

“He had to check with his wife,” Martin laughs, “but seriously, we couldn’t do this if not for the great support our wives provide because we’ll be gone sometimes five or six days at events.”

It didn’t take long for the 16U KG Hitters team to make themselves known on the national stage.

In 2013, the Hitters won several key events including the Surf City Showcase, the Champions Cup and the Best of the West tournament.  The team reeled off an impressive 38 game win streak that would see them finish tournaments with 7-0 and 8-0 records.

More impressively, the Hitters 16U team competed in both ASA and PGF Nationals, finishing fifth and thirteenth respectively.

“It was a great, competitive year,” Garcia recounts, “and, although we may have peaked a bit early, we were overall very happy with how we did.”

The key to the success, Garcia feels, is that the girls had input into the direction of the program.

“We set the stage for them,” he explains, “and let them make decisions down to choosing what they’ll wear for a game. Our philosophy is a ‘we’ thing, it’s shared so we go out and push ourselves to play at the highest level possible whether it’s Nationals, a showcase or even just a practice.”

“It’s also stressed that this high level of effort and work ethic goes from Monday to Friday so when we do compete it’s already patterned into how we’ll play.”

Garcia, who is a network engineer at a chip producing company in Silicon Valley, no longer has a daughter playing club ball but he and Coach Wells stress they love being able to instill into the next generation of players what it takes to succeed on and off the field.

“When La Shawn and I got together we decided that as we just went through it with our daughters we’d continue to give back and compete at the highest level to show these girls that they can achieve their goals with the right work ethic.”

Garcia has also been an assistant high school coach and led Angelo Rodriguez High in Fairfield, Calif. to San Joaquin Section titles in 2009 and 20011 (at the Div. III level).  He says he’ll watch Kiara now, “but may get back to high school coaching later as it’s right down the street. The college and high school seasons overlap, but when she’s done I’ll strongly consider going back to coaching high school.”

For the next year or two, though, he’ll definitely be focused on taking what was a 16U team to the 18U level and seeing if they can build on the great year they had in 2013.

“It’s exciting to watch these girls play and compete at the highest level,” he concludes. “Some of these girls on our team now will be on TV in a few years and it’s an awesome thought that soon we’ll be watching many of them compete at the NCAA level and possibly in the College World Series.”

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Here’s a player-by-player look at the KG Hitters team with comments by Coach Martin Garcia:

— OF/1B Dominique Jackson (2015, Fresno State)
“Dominique is an awesome hitter and a great kid. She was one of the original four that played with us in 2011 and been part of the program the last five years.  She is very dedicated to the sport and will be a great hitter in college.”

— P/3B/OF Lena Mayer (2014, UC Santa Barbara)
“Lena came to us late and worked her butt off to compete for a starting spot.  She will contribute at UC Santa Barbara her freshman year.  She’s a great student-athlete in that her grades are just as good as her work ethic.”

— OF/IF Zaria Meshack (2014, uncommitted)
“Zaria will play college softball and compete, she came to us late in the recruiting game and has offers and will decide in the next month, month and a half. She has tremendous speed in the outfielder and her attitude is very positive.”

— IF/OF Lindsay Rood (2015, Cal)
“Lindsay is one of the best athletes, pound for pound, in her class.  Offensively and defensively, she’s well rounded and also was one of the original four.  In her recruiting showcases she rose to the occasion and played so well during pressure moments, it was unbelievable.”

— 3B/IF Autumn Miller (2015, Oregon)
“Autumn is a hard-working player not afraid to get into the dirt.  She’s a coach on the field and directs the infield with her great communication skills.  Autumn is also a consistent, clutch hitter, she hit a three-run home run at PGF Nationals that kept us in the winner’s bracket.”

— P/1B Brenna Mitchell (2014, Academy of Art)
“Brenna spins the ball so well, she doesn’t have blazing speed but her control and spin elevates our team’s pitching staff.  She’s a tremendous hitter too with home run power and at the Bay Area Showcase won the home run hitting contest.”

— P/IF Zoe Conley (2014, Cal State Northridge)
“Zoe came to us this fall and wanted to play Gold her final year.  She has a tremendous work ethic and though small in stature she has the biggest heart I’ve ever seen.  She went to college camps and would strike out 20 of the 23 hitters she faced and showcased her skills against some of the best hitters around.  Zoe tops out at 66-68 mph.”

— IF/3B Kaily “Kiwi” McDaniel (2016, Boise State)
“Nicknamed ‘Kiwi,’ she just committed to Boise State three days ago.  She is always working, doing soft toss with her dad, doing homework, working on the field or something. She is an all-around great player.”

— OF Macauley Prickett (2014, North Carolina State)
“Macauley came to our program from the Sorcerers and has flourished.  She’s a true leader and our No. 1 batter.  She might be 5-foot-2 or 5-foot-3 but she plays like she’s 6-foot-2.”

— C/UT Jordan Davis (2015, uncommitted)
“Jordan is a catcher and utility player for us and does whatever it takes to help the team.  She has the talent to play at the next level and is a great kid who comes from a good family.”

— C/IF Sierra Blair (2016, Arizona State)
“Sierra and her sister Taylor are the other two of the original four and have been with us since 2011.  Sierra is one of the top-rated catchers in her class, she wasn’t even in high school when she had Pac-12 schools looking at her.  She can hit with the best of them.”

— P/1B Taylor Blair (2015, Arizona State)
“Taylor is the team leader and the third coach on the field.  She’s one of the biggest hitters on the team and hits fourth.  Her communication, on and off the field, are out of this world.  She will do great things in college and beyond.”

— 3B/IF Zoe Marrott (2016, Cal)
“Zoe is a tremendous athlete and one of the fastest in her class. She can run the bases with the best of them and will be a strong contributor this year.”

— OF Devi Coglio (2016, uncommitted)
“Devi has great speed and is an awesome overall athlete.  She has a quick release and a very strong arm and at the plate is a well-rounded hitter.”

 

 

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RECRUIT PROFILE: MARY KATHERINE TEDDER

Grad Year: 2017
Pos: 2B/SS/OF
High School: Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.)
Club: Birmingham Thunderbolts-Roberson
Honors (club softball): 2013 PGF Nationals “Top 20 Batting Average” (Thunderbolts); 2013 Scenic City 16’s Super Pool Champions;  2012 PGF Nationals top 10 finish; 2012 Hall Of Fame Tournament (Thunderbolts); 2010 ASA Nationals “Top 5” finish; 2010 ASA Alabama State Champions; 2010 USFA Alabama State Champions (Thunderbolts)
Other accomplishments: qualified for varsity cross-country state meet in 2011, finished 40^th overall with a time of 20:52; named to All-Metro team for basketball-2013;
College: Texas

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StudentSportsSoftball.com: So how does an Alabama girl get noticed and recruited by the Texas Longhorn coaches? 
Mary Katherine Tedder: I have to give all the credit to my (club) coaches. They contacted Coach Clark and she came to several of the tournaments that we played in and I attended a camp there this fall. The first tournament Coach (Connie) Clark and Coach (Jennifer) McFalls saw me play was PGF in July. Coach Clark offered me during a phone conversation in November.

 

SSS.com: Being from Alabama, did you have any interest in the in-state schools?
MKT: During the recruiting process I wanted to visit as many places as possible. I kept an open mind during the visits and truly wanted to find the best fit.  I visited Alabama and Auburn and they are great programs. The Bolts have several awesome players going to those schools but in the end Texas was the place for me.

 

SSS.com: When did you decide to commit and what led into the decision?
MKT: I committed on November 19th. My mom and I laid out a chart with all different categories about the school, the education and the softball program. As we went through each category with my family, the picture became clearer and clearer that Texas was the right place for me.

 

SSS.com: How did you tell the coaches, in person, on the phone, on an unofficial visit?
MKT: I told them over the phone.

 

SSS.com: Describe your emotions around telling them, were you more nervous or more excited?
MKT: I was definitely more excited!

 

SSS.com:  You’re from Hoover, which is known for great football… What’s it like growing up in that community?  Is there support for softball as well?
MKT: Well, Hoover is located in the South and in this part of the country football is huge! In the fall many Friday nights and Saturdays are spent watching football. Our community is intense about all of its sports programs and they are great supporters of the softball family.

 

SSS.com:Your area was very impacted by tornadoes a couple years ago… what was that like to live through and how are you, your family, friends and community doing today?
MKT: It was a very scary and devastating day. Following the tornadoes, I had the opportunity to work at a church with my grandmother that provided supplies to the victims of the storms. It was truly amazing to see the families that had lost everything but yet they still had so much hope. They were very inspiring to me.

Quick Hitters

 

Fill in the blank… Humility aside, I feel I’m the best of anyone I know at:____________
…. always believing our team can accomplish anything!

If someone put a microphone in your hand, would you be more likely to sing, tell a story or joke, hand it to the next girl or run screaming?
Tell a joke.

What’s something unusual or different about you that few know?
I like to write songs.

How would your friends describe you in one word?
Faithful.

If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take one thing with you, what would it be?
My team.

What do you want most for the holidays?
Spending time with family and friends.

What’s the gift or service you’ve shared with others that you’re most proud of?
Helping people in need.

What’s your No. 1 goal for 2014?
To tell others about God’s Word.

 

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RECRUITING NEWS:

*** A very funny story out of San Diego is behind Livy Schiele, a 2017 centerfielder for the Batbusters-Fox 16U team, committing to Auburn this past weekend.

It had to do with the Alabama/Auburn “Iron Bowl” rivalry game last weekend when Auburn stunned the then No. 1 Tide with a 109 yard touchdown return of a missed field goal with no time left on the clock.

We’ll let Livy’s father, Art Schiele, pick it up from here:

“Livy attended the Arizona State softball camp in June of 2013,” he begins. “It’s a four day camp and had over 100 girls where they really evaluate the players.”

“During the camp we heard a twist, that Coach (Clint) Myers had taken the job at Auburn.  Livy played very well showing her speed and power and hitting balls off the wall. By the end of the camp Coach Myers told Livy he wanted her to play for him at Auburn.”

“Livy also had a conversation with Coach (Scott) Woodard and he said that she would hear from him by the end of the summer.  Coach Woodard did, in fact, come to watch her play in Colorado and both Myers and Woodard watched her at Premier.

“She was in Auburn for an unofficial visit in October where she received the offer.  She was convinced that she would accept the offer, but her mom (Corine) made her wait, skeptical about how far Auburn is.  Corine wanted Livy to wait through the fall and go on additional visits.  There were other options but playing for Coach Myers and Coach Woodard was a dream for her.”

“Livy’s mom promised her that if the Auburn football team beat Alabama last weekend that she’d allow her to go all the way to Auburn.  So when they did, Livy called Coach Woodard and accepted the offer.”

Ouch, guess the moral of the story is don’t make promises you don’t want to keep no matter what the odds seem to be in your favor!

 

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PLAYER SUBMISSION FORM

Players: fill out our Player Submission Form, whether committed or not, and you may see your info used on our site! 

Name: Kaylee Carlson
High school: Pacifica
City: Garden Grove
State: 
CA
Grad year: 2014
Club: OC Batbusters-Haning
Position(s): pitcher
Honors: No. 17 rated player in the StudentSportsSoftball.com Hot 100 seniors
College: North Carolina
Other Offers: Cal
Why North Carolina: “The academics, athletics programs and historic beauty of the school. I always knew I wanted a career in the medical field in either Pediatrics or PharmD, which means I need to major in Biology/Chemistry. I was searching for a school where academics are first, but also have a solid, competitive softball program. I fell in love with UNC, the campus, the people, the softball program and the academics, they are the total package and are a perfect fit for me..”

 

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Name: Shannon Rhodes
High school: C.F. Brewer
City: Fort Worth
State: 
Texas
Grad year: 2016
Club: Team Mizuno Impulse Gold (Texas)
Position(s):  3B/SS
College: Oregon
Other Offers: Oklahoma State, Indiana, Arizona State, Kansas, Texas A&M, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Michigan
Why Oregon: “The coaches at Oregon, the facilities, the current players on the team, and the recruiting classes of 2014, ‘15, and ‘16!”

 

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PIC OF THE DAY:

Third baseman Cara Beatty of the Lil Rebels 99 team goes up the ladder to make an amazing catch in action last weekend.

The 2017 infielder/outfielder helped the Rebels take the 14A ASA Nevada State Championship last spring as she hit a blistering .714 (10-for-14) with three home runs and three triples to show she has a bat to match her stellar glove.

 

 

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Players, parents and coaches:  want to know the best way to get us info on your favorite player?  Fill out our Recruit Form link and complete.  It comes directly to me (Brentt) and you very likely could see the info used somewhere on our site!

 

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