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The Fastpitch Bulletin, Volume 15, Number 3 - 2/17-15

02/17/2015, 4:30pm CST
By Bob Tomlinson

Step Right Up!

Hello Again Fastpitch folks,

Here is Bulletin #3 for 2015.

The WFSCA coaches clinic is this weekend and in a phone conversation with WFSCA President Jeff Hodgson I learned some things that would be good for all clinic attendees to be aware of before you get to the event. The information is also important for head coaches who can’t attend the clinic.

There will be a survey/ballot for all head coaches in attendance at the clinic. Here is an idea of what issues you will be asked to comment on or vote on and some background on each.

  1. Five Divisions at the state tournament instead of four and all five divisions would have four teams at the state tournament. There would be 86 or 87 schools in each division. This topic first came up in a survey in 2012 at the final coaches clinic held in Stevens Point.  Just over 300 coaches submitted the survey that day. The response was overwhelming with approximately 80% of the survey takers in favor of five divisions with four representatives at the state tournament in softball.  In the fall of 2012 the topic was discussed and voted on by the six-member WIAA Softball Coaches Advisory Committee. The vote was 3-3. It requires at least a 4-2 vote for the issue to be passed on to the Sports Advisory Committee, thus the issue failed. The six-member Coaches Advisory Committee at that time consisted of 2 Division 1 head coaches, one Division 2 head coach, 1 Diivision 3 head coach and 2 Division 4 head coaches. In the fall of 2014 (this school year) the issue was again brought to the table for discussion and a vote. The make-up of the committee had changed in personalities since 2012 but the numbers from each division remained at 2 from Division 1, 1 from Division 2, 1 from Division 3 and 2 from Division 4. The vote was 4-2 to pass the issue along to the Sports Advisory Committee. At that level the committee voted in favor of passing the issue up to the WIAA Advisory Council. At the Advisory Committee level the issue failed to move along to the Board of Control with one Council member saying that with the upcoming release of the ad-hoc committee formulating a response to which division of play any certain school will compete in, moving the softball coaches request for five divisions of play would be bad timing (keep in mind that basketball already has five divisions of play with 4-4-4-4-4 at the state tournament).  This issue will be one head coaches can voice their feelings on and vote on. The explanation will take place right after the second session of the clinic, allowing coaches time during the lunch break to converse. If a head coach does not attend the clinic on the day the ballot is handed out he/she will be given the opportunity to vote later in the weekend. As for the head coaches who are not in attendance at the clinic on either day, at the time of this posting, it is not known whether they will be allowed to address the issue (vote).
  2. The WFSCA will also schedule a 15-minute district meeting where district reps will be available to meet with, listen to and converse with coaches from their respective district. Ideas from that 15-minute session could be passed along to the executive board and perhaps be taken up by the WIAA Softball Coaches Advisory Committee in September.
  3. Where do you want to see the on deck batter’s circle? Feelings on this issue are split between using the Wisconsin adaptation whereby the on –deck batter must occupy the on-deck circ le behind the batter vs using the on-deck circle in front of or on the same side of the infield as her team’s dugout/bench area. Coaches will be given a chance, at the clinic to chime in on this issue as well. The exact history of just how the Wisconsin adaptation on this issue came about are sketchy at best so again, coaches who will not be at the clinic ought to contact their district rep so as to have their opinions/vote known. You can easily contact your district rep prior to the clinic by going to the wfsca.org website and locating the email address for your district rep.
  4. Two feet touching the pitcher’s plate at the start of and throughout the motion prior to the non-pivot foot leaving the pitcher’s plate? What are your thoughts on that? Word has it that Wisconsin may experiment with a three-year study whereby pitchers in the state will be required to follow the ASA and ISF pitching rule in regards to where her feet are to begin with and where they can go and where they can’t. After two years into the experiment/adaptation the WIAA would be able to petition the National Federation to change the NFHS pitching rule nationwide. Coaches will be given a chance to weigh in on this issue as well. Again, if a coach won’t attend the clinic it is highly recommended that she/he contact their district rep and vote on the issue.

Comparing the number of teams in a division of play across WIAA regulated sports.
Softball has four divisions of play with the number of teams in each division determined by a formula that results in numbers close to – 113 Teams in Division 1; 110 teams in Division 2, 104 in Division 3 and 106 in Division 6. The Softball Coaches Associatiion proposal for five divisions with 4-4-4-4-4 would put 86-87 in each division and give every school in the state the same chance of making it to the state tournament. Throughout the past number of years the totals at the lower levels has dwindled due most likely to the number of cooperative teams in those divisions.

I just took a look at the 2015 list of Division 4 teams by sectional assignment. There are 28 teams in the Gilman sectional, 28 teams in the Athens sectional, 29 teams in the Riverdale sectional but just 20 teams (with only four teams in regional A) in the Germantown sectional. It’s also noted that Regional D of the Germantown sectional is composed of80%  private schools (Catholic Central, Faith Christian, Heritage Christian, Racine Lutheran). The lone public school is Williams Bay. In Regional C five public schools (Cambria-Friesland, Fall River, Johnson Creek, Randolph, Rio) will vie for a sectional final berth along with one private school, that being Wayland Academy.

A look at Division 3 shows that in the Chilton Sectional, Regional D is entirely private schools (Dominican, Kenosha Christian Life, Kenosha St. Joseph Catholic Academy, Lake Country Lutheran, Martin Luther, Racine St. Catherine’s, Shoreland Lutheran). In Regional C Winnebago Lutheran Academy  and  Saint Mary’s Springs join Cedar Grove/Belgium, Dodgeland, Horicon, Lomira and Random Lake. In Regional A Manitowoc Lutheran and Roncalli are joined by Algoma (moved up from Division 4 the past two years), Brillion, Gibraltar/Washington Island and Kewaunee.  In Regional B Sheboyan Lutheran joins six public schools.  Elsewhere in Division 4, private schools are listed in the Gilman sectional (McDonell Central and Eau Claire Immanuel); the Athens Sectional (Northland Lutheran/Wisconsin Valley Lutheran, Assumption, Newman Catholic).

How many private schools find themselves in Division 2? That answer is 11 (Fox Valley Lutheran, Notre Dame, Watertown Luther Prep,Edgewood,  Kettle Moraine Lutheran, Milwaukee Lutheran, Saint Francis, Saint Thomas More, Catholic Memorial, Wisconsin Lutheran,Xavier). Four of the eleven appear in the Whtinall sectional in Regional C and Regional D.

How many private schools are listed in Division 1? Only Divine Savior Holy Angels and Pius XI, both in the Kenosha Bradford sectional.

All in all, I count 30 private schools in all of  WIAA softball.

I just finished compiling a list of all the head softball coaches in the state in alphabetical order. Even as fast as I type it was a long process. Here is a fact that I arrived at while I was compiling and some final facts after I finished doing what I could. I say doing what I could because there are so many schools who either don’t have softball listed as a sport they offer when one looks at the online WIAA Directory of Schools or if they are listed with softball they don’t have a head coach listed. Some of the head coaches who are listed don’t have email addresses at all (I think its about 4 in all) and I know the email addresses for quite a few of the head coaches are emails from previous head coaches. All in all there were 24 schools in the directory who either don’t have softball listed as a sport they offer or who do not have a head coach listed. If there are any ADs reading this they ought to check the directory and get things added. 

The next step for me is to get every assistant coach, paid or volunteering in a high school program on my master email list so they get the pertinent information that often goes out to the readers. Head coaches who read this are asked to forward that information to me or if you are an assistant just send me your email address and if you have email addresses for other known assistants send me those too including what school they assist at.

Any other fastpitch followers who would like to be on a direct email list can do that as well.

So there you have some information that you perhaps can use. It’s just information, facts as far as I can tell. No opinions included.

I was planning on attending both days of the WFSCA clinic. That may have changed however when word arrived on Saturday that one of most trusted friends and supporters over the years suddenly passed away that day. Arrangements are ongoing so I may miss part of the clinic. I will be there for some refreshments and great fastpitch conversation however. Maybe I’ll even cruise up there late Friday night to see and hear what is shaking in the world of the WFSCA and Badger State Softball.

Have a great day!’
Keep it Rising!
Bob

Fastpitch Bulletin

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