Archive for the ‘2008’ Category

I just received word that Winning Softball Online will be sponsoring our 2008 Fastpitch Festival event. They are contributing 2 6-month subscriptions valued at $50 each!

Winning Softball Online is full online softball coaching tutorials, video clips, and information on offense, defense, pitching, coaching, conditioning, and more.

Thanks to Dan Sawyer at WinningSoftballOnline.com for hooking us up!

Softball Today has agreed to donate free subscriptions to their softball magazine to this year’s Fastpitch Festival event!

Thank you Rob!  If you’re not familiar with Softball Today Magazine, they are known as the Nation’s Leading Fastpitch and Slowpitch publication.

They also offer a fundraising opportunity for softball teams and organizations.  You can learn more about raising funds with Softball Today at their website www.SoftballToday.com.

The Softball Today website also contains fastpitch tips along with their articles, columns, and spotlights.

As for the dates of the 2008 Fastpitch Festival, we are looking at August 18-24 OR August 25-31.  If you have any comments or feedback on those dates, please feel free to post them here.

Remember, during the week of the event, fastpitch softball enthusiasts will all meet here to share their thoughts on the different Fastpitch Festival categories.  It’s a chance for all of us to take a break from the “serious” side of softball and enjoy and fun, “lighter” side of the game by chit-chat-ing about our favorite softball stuff.  A preview of some of the different categories this year’s event will feature are shown HERE.

As, we’ve said before, we want to run this Inaugural Fastpitch Festival event in the fall some time. I know everyone is BUSY in the summer and I think late summer/early fall would be the perfect time for us to take a little breather from all the hustle and bustle of the summer and enjoy this week long event.

But BEFORE we nail down a date…
We want to hear from you!
What week(s) would work for you?
When will you be done with your big summer tournaments?

Post a comment below with your input to help us nail down the perfect date for this event!

Before I get to the good stuff, I just have to clarify one thing: actual Fastpitch Festival event will take place this fall.  We’ll spend ONE week dedicated to hearing all about what fastpitch players, coaches, parents, and fans love about each category in the Festival.  At at that time is when we’re really looking for you to leave your input because that’s when all fastpitch people will be invited here to interact with one another.  Not only that, each person who leaves their own opinion/thoughts/tips in a category DURING THE EVENT will be entered to win the sponsor donated prize for that particular category.

So far, we have the following organizations on board to contribute prizes for the event:

Fastpitch Supply

AllStar Greetings

Softball Confidence

Softball Fever

Slow the Game Down

AND….we’re still working on getting even more great prizes for you to win.  We’re also working on setting a definite date so that you can mark your calendar.  Check back with us regularly or click on the “RSS” link above to sign up for our feed.

This is just a sneak peak at a few of the categories that will be featured in this year’s Fastpitch Festival.

We want to know all about your:
Favorite Coaching Gadget: what is it that you can’t live without? Magnet board? Cushioned bucket cover? Tell us about your favorite coaching “accessory.”

Favorite Footwear: players OR coaches, let us know what shoe you like best for practice, for training/running, for games, or all of the above.

Favorite Headwear: Are you a visor person, hat person, none of the above, or something completely different? What’s your preference?

Of course, we have some other fun categories in mind, but if you have any suggestions or have any fun discussions in mind, leave us a comment here and maybe you’re category suggestion will make it into this year’s festival.

2008 is the very first year Fastpitch Festival will be held. This event will last ONE full week and give coaches, players, and parents a chance to kick back relax, and still network and socialize with other fastpitch enthusiats about the game.

It’s very easy to get too serious about this GAME. I strongly believe in the idea that Softball should be FUN! With the game continuing to grow in popularity and get increasingly competitive, it’s very easy to forget to take a break, give yourself a breather, and let yourself unwind. Often times, we’re constantly going 240 trying to push ourselves over and above the rest of the competition. But that can be very dangerous and lead to unnecessary stress, burn out, and can actually hold you back from reaching your full potential.

So, Fastpitch Festival gives coaches, players, and parents around the world a “reason” to take a break for a bit and remember to ENJOY the game. This event and this website is NOT about the best defensive strategy for the bunt or about how to become an elite player or coach. We’re not going to talk about goal setting or hitting mechanics here. For once, we’re going to just focus on the less “serious,” fun to talk about aspects of the game. Just because these aspects are less “serious” doesn’t mean they can’t help you in some manner. You may find a cool idea or product here that makes your fastpitch life easier. Or you may just get that much needed, refreshing, re-energizing, deep cleansing breathe of fresh air.

Whatever the case, I hope to see you at this year’s inaugural event. I’m still coordinating dates, sponsors, and prizes for this event, so I can’t give you all those details yet, I will post new information as I get it. So sign up for our feed or simply keep checking back with us here at FastpitchFestival.com.