2010 AN UP AND COMING YEAR FOR THE NPF!

Welcome! Wow, there’s a lot of welcoming going on in the League these days – which is a really good thing, since new, equals growth. Growth for the League, as you will see, in many different directions.

First of all, we welcome a new coach to the pro ranks. Now, this isn’t just any person grabbing a line-up card, creating some tricky signals, and hitting ground balls…In fact, ground balls is something she has never been particularly good at. The new Head Coach of the Akron Racers is much more familiar with hitting balls that preferred the air to the dirt and often chose to fall beyond the confines of the 250 marks. Crystl Bustos, the most prolific power hitter the game has ever seen has crossed from between the lines to just outside them to lead the Akron Racers this season. Field Coaching will be a new bullet point on her resume, and if the already popular clinician can transfer her ability to teach skills from young amateurs to seasoned pros, and be a team motivator along the way, then Akron will continue to reap the rewards from the presence of the legendary Bustos.

Next, we welcome a new Team! The Tennessee Diamonds have started business as the latest NPF franchise. The Team will be located in Maryville, Tennessee and will be led by former NCAA standout and NPF player, Sarah Fekete. This is exciting stuff! The Diamonds received first right of refusal to a Rockford Thunder championship roster from 2009, (that unfortunately ended up without a home). Tennessee has chosen to keep most of the rostered players together and make a run at bringing an NPF title to Smoky Mountain country. I am particularly excited about landing a team in the heart of SEC country, where interest in the sport of fastpitch softball has simply exploded in the last ten years. It is time to expose the fan following and enthusiasm to fastpitch softball at the professional level.

While we are welcoming new faces, we have a few new sponsors on board early on. Tyja Sports is an apparel and equipment company attempting to make a dent in the youth sports market. Tyja is committed to providing top quality apparel and equipment to the recreation sport, youth, and school athletes. They are a Long Island based company with established ties in USSSA and we are happy to have them on board with NPF.
Another sponsor that we welcome back to the League is Louisville Slugger. Louisville Slugger has a deep tradition in the diamond sports of baseball and softball and is a company that has been in the business for 120 years. Louisville will enter back into the League this season as a manufacturer sponsor and we look forward to seeing their participation throughout competition as well as Battle of the Bats.

Last but not least, we have recently announced some fabulous player additions to the NPF ranks. Several are returning after a brief hiatus and one enters with rookie status. USSSA has managed to stock their roster full of veteran player superstars who were not participating in NPF action in 2009. Welcome Natasha Watley, Jessica Mendoza, Katie Burkhart, and Lauren Lappin! These players are people who make a difference on the dirt and off. They bring with them a feverish passion for the sport of fastpitch softball. You need only to watch each of them compete to feel the intensity in which they play the game. You need only to watch them sign autographs, speak to young athletes, or teach a clinic to feel the inner passion translate to motivation and inspiration.

The NPF has improved in the last 3 months and these improvements will be far reaching. We welcome all of our new additions along with those to come in the near future. In the next month, we will see more veteran players re-enter the League along with a promising group of new rookies from the 2010 NPF College Senior Draft, who will attempt to bring their game to the next level in professional competition. We will see new sponsors and make in-roads with new franchisees. I look forward to the light that all of our new additions will shine positively on professional fastpitch in the NPF.