The Fastpitch Chronicle

I have to hand it to Jenn Parchem, Head Softball Coach at Columbus.

She's a Baraboo native and actually played in the first-ever Baraboo Big Top Blowout tournament.

Now she runs it!

That's right. She lives, teaches and coaches volleyball and softball in Columbus but her roots run deep so she is the tournament director for the Big Top Blowout.

I first bumped into Jenn when she was a high school catcher and a good one. It was easy to see that she was pretty passionate about fastpitch softball then. She wrapped up her high school career and took her skills "way up north" to my friend, Roger Plachata and the University of Wisconsin-Superior. While there she compiled a great career file and stayed passionate about the sport. She coached the Baraboo Thunder traveling teams at various age levels and then moved right into coaching at Columbus where she led her charges to a Capitol Conference North Division title, edging out the team I coach by a game.

Our Poynette Fastpitch Organization had two teams playing in Baraboo on the weekend. One of our 14-U teams was there as was our 16-U team. That took me there to watch, chat and do a little teaching while there to our young kids.

I couldn't make the tourney on Friday (I was in Milwaukee at the IndyFest at the Milwaukee Mile). I was there on Saturday and got to see Jenn at work under the "Big Top" shelter near the concession stand. She worked and she even studied for a summer research class she is taking. She's a multi-tasker for sure.

It was great to see her at work.

While there I ran into lots of other longtime fastpitch friends.

I saw Tim Sonnentag of Marathon. Tim's family owns County Materials which was previously known as County Concrete. Tim and I go back a long ways in our men's fastpitch playing and managing days. He was a great player and promoter of men's fastpitch softball. Their County Materials men's team won several International Softball Congress World Championships and the Sonnentag family is enshrined in the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame in Kimberly, Wisconsin for their support of the game. Tim was in Baraboo because his daughter, a Marathon High School pitcher is part of the Mosinee summer program. She was on the 14-Under team that our Poynette team played early, very early on Saturday morning. It was great to see Tim and chat about days gone by and days in the future. Tim's younger brother Bill actually wore a Fastpitch Chronicle Men's softball uniform when he played for a team we sponsored at the ISC Men's 23-Under age division. He was an excellent player as well.

When I took a between-games trip from the elementary school field we were playing on to the main fields at Pierce Park, I bumped into SPASH Head Coach Tom Drohner. He was there watching his daughter play on the Plover 14-Under team. There's another guy who just can't seem to get enough fastpitch softball to suit him. Later in the day I saw him stretched out in a lawn chair with his feet resting on the backstop just watching the action. He had his sleeves rolled up but had plenty of sunscreen on. It was good to see him and chat about the sport.

Dick Buskov and I go back a long ways too. Dick was umpiring men's games back in the days when I was playing fastpitch all over the place. Now, Dick heads up the umpires for the ASA and was on hand for the Big Top Blowout. We had a nice chat. He's getting inducted into the Wisconsin ASA Hall of Fame in August. He's deserves it! Congratulations Dick!

It's always fun to watch kids I've worked with over the years move up in the age divisions and play well. There were many on hand in Baraboo on the weekend. One that especially caught my eye was Courtney Peterson whose mother played for me at Poynette and now is the Head Coach at Pardeeville. Courtney is the real deal! The DeForest Sting teams feature a lot of kids I've worked with over the years. There were some X-plozion players who've been to the training center over the years too as well as some Baraboo kids.

I enjoyed the conversation with the folks from the Westby, Coon Valley, Chaseburg area. They were great people who really did a nice job of keeping things in perspetive.

My longtime fastpitch friend Pat of the New Berlin Area was on hand for a while on Saturday. It's always a great conversation with him. He was bouncing back and forth on Highway 12 between Middleton's Bowling Green Complex (NSA State Tourney) and Baraboo. He is a New Berlin Magic Man through and through.

I didn't make it back to Baraboo today but was in touch with our Poynette 16-U team throughout the day. It's a team made up of strictly of girls who attend Poynette High School. We like to get out and play good competition and the Big Top Blowout certainly is that. Our kids did pretty darn well, playing eight games and going 6-2 en route to a third place finish in the 16-Under Division. It's always a treat playing against teams with names such as: Twisters, X-plozion, Thunder; Magic, Sparkz, Renegades, etc. which are usually teams composed of players from a mulitude of schools. They'are always filled with excellent talent. It's a hoot going to battle with them head-to-head.

I've sectioned off a separate area of travel ball teams to send me results of the tournaments you play in. Have somebody in your group write up game and event reports and submit them via e-mail to me and even include a picture or two. I'll publish your stuff. There are people out there who thirst for such information.

Tournament Directors would do themselves a great service by reporting the results of their events. As tired as people are when an event is done, there is always one more important thing that should be done -- report the results to a place like The Fastpitch Chronicle where the teams that entered your event will get some notoriety and so will your event. It's free publicity. That doesn't happen too often.

It was a great weekend!

Keep it Rising!
Bob