Dear Softball Families,

Registration for Issaquah Fast Pitch is open and ready!

We had a group of girls that just finished playing Softball Fall Ball, and before that we played Summer Softball! This was the first year that our league participated in softball beyond the regular Spring Season! They had a great experience and the girls made tremendous strides on their softball skills (and had lots of laughs too)!

My name is Connie Bellas and this will be my second year as Commissioner of Softball for Issaquah Little League. Last year we made many changes to the program and increased registration by 120%. We are on the right track to growing Issaquah Fast Pitch. These are some of the changes we made last year along with some new goals for this upcoming season...
  1. Our uniforms and team names reflect the Pac 12 College Softball teams instead of MLB Baseball. The teams are: Huskies, Cougars, Ducks, Wildcats, Sun Devils, and Golden Bears.
  2. We have our own softball skills development clinics separate from ILL Baseball's Extra Base's training program. This year we are giving it an official name…"Softball Skills & Diamond Drills".
  3. Indoor winter skills training schedule will start in January 2013. We will focus on the most current softball methods of throwing, catching, hitting, and running bases. For those interested in learning or improving pitching and catching skills we will offer that as well. Some of our skill clinics will have the head coach and players from Bellevue College Softball team as instructors. The head coach and assistant coaches at Bellevue College are Husky Fast Pitch alumni!
  4. All softball players are invited to attend UW Huskies Little League Day game. Game day is usually mid-March.
  5. Last season Issaquah hosted 1 All Star team for the 9/10 year olds. Issaquah had 8 players and Sammamish added 4 to make one team. For the first time in many years, the Issaquah 9/10 year old's placed 2nd in the District! Played 6 games in 8 days! The goal this year is to have one complete Issaquah team in at least one age category. Maybe 1st in District?
Softball Skills & Diamond Drills will be FREE for registered players! Plus this year we plan to do Skills Evaluations for girls going into AAA, Coast & Majors to determine the skill levels are compatible for playing safe and balanced teams. The evaluation will be at the end of January so it will be necessary to register before then.

Note to Coaches - mark your calendars for Jan. 19th 2:00-6:00pm. UW Huskies Head Coach Heather Tarr is hosting their annual Coach's Clinic. Coaches will learn important techniques to bring to practice and game time.

Girls are social, and love to play sports with their friends! If your daughter has friends who might be interested in playing, pass this information along to their parents so they can register together! Any special team requests can be made in the comments area when registering, or email me at softball@issaquahlittleleague.org.

Connie Bellas
Issaquah Fastpitch Softball Commissioner