The Fastpitch Chronicle

First of all I need to set the context for tonight’s bulletin.

Here is the context. This bulletin is strictly factual.

Tonight’s bulletin is not a commentary! Not what-so-ever!

I wrote the same factual bulletin last year and I received some reports back that some people were not happy about the fact that I published such a bulletin. That’s also a fact.

With those four points covered, here is tonight’s bulletin.

The bulletin is simply a breakdown of the All State Fastpitch Softball Teams published this week.

Here are the facts.

There are 96 Wisconsin High School Players on the various teams and they are listed by positions and a Utility Player. The positions are: Catcher, Outfielder, Infielder, Utility and Pitcher.

There are 20 catchers named as All State at that position. It includes five on first team, five on second team, five on third team and five honorable mention.

There are 20 outfielders named as All State at that position. It includes five on first team, five on second team, five on third team and five honorable mention.

There are 28 infielders named as All State at that position. It includes seven on first team, seven on second team, seven on third team and seven honorable mention.

There are 24 pitchers named as All State at that position. It includes six on first team, six on second team, six third team and six honorable mention.

There are 4 players named as All State Utility players. It includes one on first team, one on second team, one on third team and one honorable mention. To be nominated as a utility player, a player, according to association guidelines/rules/by-laws or whatever, must play at least one other position from their usual position in at least 25% of the innings her team played throughout the season. That’s what we on the southwest district selection committee have been told and that’s the guideline/rule/by-law we follow.

Of the 96 players named to the various All State levels, half or 48, are from Division 1 schools.  Those 48 players come from a list of 27 high schools in the state.

Of the 96 players named to the various All State levels, 23.958% or 23 are from Division 2 schools. Those 23 players come from a list of 17 high schools in the state.

Of the 96 players named to the various All State levels, 16.66% or 16 are from Division 3 schools. Those 15 players come from a list of eight high schools in the state.

Of the 96 players named to the various All State levels, .083% or 8 are from Division 4 schools. Those 8 players are from a list of seven high schools in the state.

Of the 48 Division 1 All State Players who hail from 27 different schools, five are from Chippewa Falls, five are from Stevens Point, three are from Westosha Central, three are from LaCrosse Central, three are from D.C. Everest, two are from Sun Prairie, two are from Ocononowoc, two are from Kenosha Bradford, two are from Menonomie Falls, two are from Appleton East, two are from Oshkosh West, while the following schools have one All State player each: Hudson, Union Grove, Brookfield Central, Neenah, Menomonie, Milton, Whitefish Bay, Appleton North, Kenosha Tremper, Watertown, Merrill, Kimberly, Madison LaFollette, Germantown, Green Bay Preble and Racine Case. Nineteen of the 48 played in the state tournament.

Of the 23 Division 2 All State players who hail from 17 different schools, three are from Baldwin-Woodville, two are from Mayville, two are from Beloit Turner, two are from River Valley, two are from New Berlin Eisenhower while the following list of schools all have one All State player: Luxemburg-Casco, Mosinee, Columbus, Little Chute, Southern Door, New London, Rice Lake, Lakeside Lutheran, New Berlin West, Shawano, Altoona, and Monroe. Five of the 23 played in the state tournament.

Of the 16 Division 3 All State players who hail from eight different schools, four are from Grantsburg, two are from Mineral Point, two are from Luther (Onalaska), two are from Lancaster, two are from Athens, two are from Horicon while the other two are from Waterloo and Iola-Scandinavia. Six of the 16 played in the state tournament.

Of the 8 Division 4 All State players who hail from seven different schools, two are from New Lisbon while one each hail from: Markesan, Shell Lake, Pepin, Algoma, Oakfield and Racine Lutheran. Four of the eight played in the state tournament.

There are a lot of head coaches in the state that for whatever reason or reasons don’t join or refuse to join the coaches association.

Fact: If they don’t belong, chances are pretty good that excellent players aren’t eligible for all district or all state awards.

Fact: Picking an all district team is a tough job for the conference reps who agree to be on that committee. It’s not like comparing apples to oranges. It’s more often like comparing two kinds of apples such as Delicious and Honey Crisp. They are both excellent but if you an only have one apple, the one apple is all you can have.

Fact: I’ve never been on an all state selection committee. The Executive Board selects the all state teams from the lists of all district teams that the district reps forward.

Fact: 96 players on an all state list is a lot of players. Compare it to the baseball coaches association all state list s where 66 players on the lists.

Fact: Picking even a list of 96 fastpitch players from the all district lists is a tough job.

So there you are; some facts and nothing about facts with no commentary. Well, perhaps there is just a little in the last fact I mentioned. Since I have never been involved in the all state selection process I can only surmise how tough it is.

Enjoy the Reading!
Keep it Rising!
Perhaps I’ll see you in Poynette or Arlington this weekend.

Bob