NPF

Pro Swings' Friday Night Lights Praised As Huge Success

Pro Swings' Friday Night Lights Praised As Huge Success

Pro Swings hosts Friday Night Lights with an all-star list of NPF players.

Nov 15, 2017 by Chez Sievers
Pro Swings' Friday Night Lights Praised As Huge Success

The lights were on. The stands were full. A lineup of pro players stood on the field. Music blasted through the speakers and fans cheered from the stands as swag was tossed out to the crowds. Ball after ball after ball catapulted into the Florida sky. 

It was the Friday Night Lights Home Run Derby that was the kickoff event for the ProSwings Power event in Florida last Friday at the beautiful Boombah Solider’s Creek Complex in Seminole County. 

Over 50 college coaches and 44 teams from 14U to 18U participated in ProSwing’s first foray into the showcase world. 


Stephanie Best, who initially made her mark on the softball world as UCF’s first committed player, began the ProSwings organization after her National Pro Fastpitch (NPF) career. 

“It began as a way to connect pros with players,” Best said. “At the time, there wasn’t a forum for that in our sport. We live in these cities and build relationships with the kids. Then we are traded and we leave and it’s done. I wanted a way to continue that connection.”

Typically, ProSwings runs high-quality college exposure camps. FloSoftball’s Chez Sievers wrote this review of the ProSwings camp in an article published in October of 2016: 

“Pro Swings College Exposure Softball Camp WHY: Pro Swings is more than just an exposure camp. It's a collaborative softball experience between the coaches and the players. College coaches have the ability to teach and give ample instruction to prospective athletes. Pro Swings is led by Stephanie Best, one of the greatest players in UCF history. Her passion to grow the sport and put out a meaningful camp experience is the reason why players and coaches alike keep coming back. This is a great opportunity for parents to get their daughters an adequate amount of exposure in a two-day period. For athletes, they get to work one-on-one with coaches and ask questions.”

The camps, Best says, started with a photo shoot. When just kicking off the ProSwings concept, Best asked Amber Jackson and Kelly Kretschman to join her to put on a camp that would be a photo shoot for her ProSwings. Then, Kretschman asked if she could bring a friend who was in town. 

“It grew by accident,” Best recalled. “It started with three pros and 30 kids and ended up 30 college coaches and 200 kids. It became one of the first pure college exposure camps and helped me understand the demand for the connection. I continue to put on those camps and bring people who will impact and influence kids the most.”

This event was also something Best hadn’t initially foreseen. 

“I never had a vision to host tournaments,” she said. “My focus was on building relationships.” 

Tonya Waters, a site director in Central Florida who hails from the same town as Best, encouraged Best to stage the event. Both Waters and Best have the same focus: the players. 

“We both love the kids and seeing them go on to play collegiately,” Waters said. “I have been on her for years to do an invitational event and she finally said ‘Yes!’ Steph genuinely cares for the growth of the sport and the players. I love working with her. Two Oviedo girls with the same vision.”

That vision and passion united and brought teams from the Firecrackers, Tampa Mustangs, Florida Impact, Lady Gators, Florida Storm, Gold Coast Hurricanes, Midwest Speed, Team North Florida, Vienna Stars, and Intensity organizations together to take a chance on a new event. Almost every Division I school in Florida and many more DII and junior college programs showed up to support Best.

The recruiting calendar alterations and the hurricanes that smashed Florida earlier in the fall were the biggest challenges. Due to the NCAA’s tighter restrictions, many programs who wanted to come couldn’t make the event but have promised to attend in the future. The hurricanes manipulated the fall college softball schedules and knocked a couple other schools off the attendance roster. 

But it didn’t stop the check-ins. Best’s phone blew up all weekend with support from college coaches who monitored the event. The initial success will grow as the event finds a solid date and continues to gain traction. 

“One thing we did was have the college coaches identify the teams they wanted to see,” Best said. “They know who they are recruiting and which players they want to watch. We went after the ones the coaches identified.”

Best’s concept is a unique one juxtaposed against the landscape of high-volume showcases. 

“I wanted to build a unique experience for teams,” she said. “I want to keep the kids first. We had great success within the state of Florida and will build for the future, hopefully.”

She picked the brains of college coaches like University of Florida’s Tim Walton, Florida State’s Craig Snyder, and Florida Atlantic’s Troy Whitt, while incorporating her own experience as a University of Central Florida coach for five years. She wanted to know what would help them, how they recruited players, and how to help showcase the players in a unique and open environment that was different from what other event offered. It led her to several differentiating ideas to separate this event from all the others.

The Home Run Derby is just one. Every team nominated two players of their choice. Each player hit as many out as they could and the top 12 moved onto the main stadium-style field with Lauren Chamberlain acting as emcee, preparing to take on hitters Bianka Bell, Jenn Sailing, Kelly Kretschman, Alex Powers, and Kirstie Merritt, alumni of LSU, Washington, Alabama, FSU, and Florida. Bell won for the players, while Ashley Montoya from the Panthers fastpitch organization won the swag that included a custom bag from Mizuno, a Gee Tee, Easton bat, gloves and more. 


Saturday night saw almost 100 uncommitted players take the field in a unique event Best names the Power Hour. It was a college-style workout that let uncommitted players take reps in front of college coaches — at no extra charge. Not only was it well attended by players, but the coaches packed the stands.

“We want to offer a product that guarantees coach attendance,” Best said. “Friday night was so rewarding. The ability to make those pros feel like the big leaguers they are. To see the smiles on all of the girls’ faces. It was so rewarding.”

Best credits the leadership of Kretschman and Sailing and the lively and entertaining personality of Chamberlain with helping to make the Friday Night Lights portion of the event the success it was. Chamberlain was at home behind the mike and had the entire crowd involved and engaged. 

A strong core of staff helped make the event run smoothly. Dozens of visits were set up of the players, and one player even committed her future school, Daytona State College, during the event.

“It was the most rewarding three days,” Best said. “We’re already planning for next year. There are obviously things we want to make better. I am driven to make this a great event for the kids, driven by what the coaches want to see. The next one will be even better.”