HOMEPAGE ● coaches ● Wesley West ● DuPont softball field ● visitor’s guide ● admissions ► news: ►roster ► schedule ► stats ► winter camp. To contact the team, please write Head Coach Juli Greep at Juli.Greep@wesley.edu; to contact this blog, please write WesleySoftball@gmail.com. Other than being a parent of a player, this blog has no association with Wesley College.
Monday, October 31, 2016
FASTPITCH DELIVERS
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| Wesley Wolverine freshman #16 C/INF Autumn Walinski (Fallston, MD) and Assistant Coach Brooke Donovan. |
Sunday, October 30, 2016
HALLOWEEN FITNESS FUN
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From left, Wesley Wolverines senior #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE), freshman #11 C Alyssa Zimmerman (Hagerstown, MD), senior #12 P Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE), junior #99 OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE), sophomore #8 OF
Megan DiRubbio (Smyrna, DE), junior #4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia, DE), sophomore #13 Utility Ashley Royer (Lititz, PA), freshman #23 UT Brooke Retkowski (Baltimore, MD), senior #42 INF Devin Mackay (Bangor, PA), freshman #16 C/INF Autumn Walinski (Fallston, MD), senior #18 C Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE), senior #17 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD) and
freshman #2 3B/SS Karina Cardona (Cooper City, FL).
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN
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| From left, Wesley Wolverines senior #17 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD), sophomore #8 OF Megan DiRubbio (Smyrna, DE) and junior #4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia, DE). |
4 A's OF SUCCESS
1965 World Softball Championships
Highlights 50th Anniversary
It's now 51 years since the International Softball Federation held the inaugural World Softball Championships in Melbourne Australia.
In the short highlights video package below
you can watch the home team defeat the USA 1 run to nil to win the first gold medal in international softball.
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| CLICK HERE FOR THE HIGHLIGHTS VIDEO
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| Wesley Wolverine senior #12 P Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE). |
Saturday, October 29, 2016
LAS VEGAS TOURNEY
"City of Lights"
Coach Greep seeks recruits
@ famed desert tournament
It is 2,500 miles distant, three time zones away, and still sweating weather in the hot high desert of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Wesley Wolverines Head Coach Juli Greep and Assistant Coach Brooke Donovan are there on the softball fields of Majestic Park for this weekend's renown Triple Crown Sports "Showcase in the City of Lights" tournament and Showcase Camp.
Coach Greep seeks recruits
@ famed desert tournament
It is 2,500 miles distant, three time zones away, and still sweating weather in the hot high desert of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Wesley Wolverines Head Coach Juli Greep and Assistant Coach Brooke Donovan are there on the softball fields of Majestic Park for this weekend's renown Triple Crown Sports "Showcase in the City of Lights" tournament and Showcase Camp.
The recruiting mission is to scout players interested in joining Wesley softball where a future Wolverine can play in one of the toughest DIII fastpitch leagues in the nation, the CAC (Capital Athletic Conference).
Coach Greep sent the photo below of what appears the entrance to the spectacular 12 softball fields complex.
Coach Greep sent the photo below of what appears the entrance to the spectacular 12 softball fields complex.
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| From left, Wesley Wolverines Head Coach Juli Greep and Assistant Coach Brooke Donovan. |
50-50 FUND RAISING
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| NO REST FOR FASTPITCH FUND RAISING. Attend a Wesley College football home game and the Wolverine softball players will greet you a few steps from the door. That's where they hawk 50-50 tickets for Wesley softball with an eye especially on travel expenses for next March's (2017) Fastpitch Dreams Classic, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Pictured from left, Wesley Wolverines 2016 softball graduate Breanna Hartman (Red Bank, NJ), freshman #11 C Alyssa Zimmerman (Hagerstown, MD), freshman #2 3B/SS Karina Cardona (Cooper City, FL), senior #18 C Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) and senior #17 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD). |
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| NO -- THAT IS NOT WALLY WOLVERINE WITH THE SOFTBALL PLAYERS. It's his distant cousin, the Buffalo Wild Wings Bison at the football game today to cheer on our Wolverines! |
Friday, October 28, 2016
BE FEARLESS
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Wesley Wolverine senior #18 C Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE)
--GRAPHIC: NCSA (Next College Student Athlete Instagram page)--
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Thursday, October 27, 2016
ATHLETES READ TO STUDENTS
Athletes read to students at
Fairview Elementary School
This morning, members of the Wesley College football team, softball team, and women's lacrosse teams volunteered their time to read to the students of Fairview Elementary School, Dover, DE.
"It was a great time interacting with the Fairview students," said Wesley Wolverine softball senior #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE) . "They are great listeners and were engaged. And it's always fun being with other Wesley student-athletes."
Pictured in inset below: Wesley Wolverines junior #4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia, DE), sophomore #8 OF
Megan DiRubbio (Smyrna, DE), senior #17 OF Casey Beall (Severn, MD), senior #9 P/OF Lily and senior #42 INF Devin Mackay (Bangor, PA).
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
COACH MARK
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FREE MOTIVATIONAL BOOK: CLICK
HERE for a free PDF copy of Coach Mark's book, "Repeat After
Me", which is illustrated above. In his book, Coach Mark
shares 30 powerful techniques he promises "can & will
absolutely change your life!" Coach Mark is a successful motivator, author,
athletic coach and public speaker.
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GO FOR IT!
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| From top, Wesley Wolverine senior #18 C Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE) and junior #4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia, DE). |
PITCHING SEQUENCE
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| From top, Wesley Wolverine senior #12 P Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) and senior #9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE). |
WHAT DEFINES YOU
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| Wesley Wolverine sophomore #8 OF Megan DiRubbio (Smyrna, DE). |
“What defines you is how you treat your teammates, how you decide to tackle the role you are given and the attitude / work ethic you choose every day.” -- Amanda Scarborough
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| Pictured middle of the graphic above, Wesley Wolverine senior #12 P Lindsay Siok (Milford, DE) |
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| Wesley Wolverine junior #99 OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE). |
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
CHARITY DRIVES
FOOD DRIVE FOR CANNED PUMPKIN & EVAPORATED MILK for Delaware Food Bank at Wesley College Center Lobby, 12 noon - 2:00 PM today and tomorrow, Wednesday, October 26.
DONATE CHILDREN'S ACTIVITIES, TOYS, AND BOOKS
to the A.I. DuPont Hospital for Children at Wesley College Field Hockey team's final home game, 5;00 PM, Wednesday, October 26.
PERFORMANCE ENHANCERS
A half dozen factors
Fastpitch softball's key
performance enhancers
Greatly summarized and condensed from a much longer,
► ENERGY SYSTEMS:
The action in a single play averages less than 7 seconds in length and most plays last 5 seconds or less.
Every single action in softball -- hitting, throwing, quick lateral movements, jumps off the bases, etc. -- is an explosive action. The need is for muscular power. Power is a function of speed and strength, i.e. acceleration and throwing power.
Because of the variety of skills and movements in the sport of softball, most body parts need to be trained. Shoulder and back strength as well as the rotator cuff muscle group are important to throwing but the legs and the core (hips and abdominals) also contribute to the throwing motion. The legs and the core are even more important for hitting since the power comes from the middle and lower body.
Softball players also require strong stabilizers to stay injury free -- the need to work on shoulder, core and knee stability.
Lots of time should be spent on core training, which will enable the athlete to achieve better performance, increase torso power and joint stability, improve posture and neuromuscular coordination, reduce injuries and enhance movement efficiency.
► FLEXIBILITY:
Flexibility is defined as the range of motion around a joint. Softball players require dynamic flexibility, which is the ability to move through a full range of motion.
It is especially important to increase flexibility in the tight areas. Some of the common tight muscles are hamstrings, hip flexors, calves and chest area (pectoralis minor more specifically).
Flexibility needs to be developed prior to the beginning of the season with a good stretching program that focuses on the major muscle groups and thigh muscles. Stretching should be done after every workout as part of the cool-down when your muscles are warm and most receptive to stretching.
► SPEED, QUICKNESS, AND AGILITY:
Softball is a quick game. Everything needs to be done as fast as possible. To be successful, softball players need multi-directional quickness, first step quickness, lateral movement, acceleration and linear speed through footwork training, running form drills, agility drills, lateral movements, sprints and lots of quick explosive actions.
► COORDINATION:
Specific movements that require coordination are hitting and fielding a moving ball, throwing to a specific target and executing plays while in motion. Hand-eye coordination is especially important.
To successfully develop coordination, it is important to develop and acquire a high variety of skills. The practice of a variety of sports helps. Coordination can be achieved in sport-specific training by employing exercises with progressively increased complexity.
► BALANCE:
Many softball plays are executed off-balance.
Balance should be trained using stability balls and balance boards. To improve balance, the body needs to be put in unstable environments so the muscles will react and produce the appropriate action to maintain stability. Not only is balance training important, but it is also fun and challenging.
Fastpitch softball's key
performance enhancers
Greatly summarized and condensed from a much longer,
comprehensive article titled "What is specific to softball" by
► ENERGY SYSTEMS:
The action in a single play averages less than 7 seconds in length and most plays last 5 seconds or less.
 |
From top, Wesley Wolverines junior
#4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia,
Ashley Royer (Lititz, PA), senior
#9 P/OF Lily Engel (Dover, DE)
and senior #42 INF Devin Mackay
(Bangor, PA).
|
Softball players should spend some time developing a base of aerobic endurance in the off-season but the most important thing to training should focus on many brief all-out actions, full-out short-duration speed activities and other drills exercising the ATP-CP ("anaerobic alactic system") system.
► STRENGTH:
► STRENGTH:
Every single action in softball -- hitting, throwing, quick lateral movements, jumps off the bases, etc. -- is an explosive action. The need is for muscular power. Power is a function of speed and strength, i.e. acceleration and throwing power.
Because of the variety of skills and movements in the sport of softball, most body parts need to be trained. Shoulder and back strength as well as the rotator cuff muscle group are important to throwing but the legs and the core (hips and abdominals) also contribute to the throwing motion. The legs and the core are even more important for hitting since the power comes from the middle and lower body.
Softball players also require strong stabilizers to stay injury free -- the need to work on shoulder, core and knee stability.
Lots of time should be spent on core training, which will enable the athlete to achieve better performance, increase torso power and joint stability, improve posture and neuromuscular coordination, reduce injuries and enhance movement efficiency.
► FLEXIBILITY:
Flexibility is defined as the range of motion around a joint. Softball players require dynamic flexibility, which is the ability to move through a full range of motion.
It is especially important to increase flexibility in the tight areas. Some of the common tight muscles are hamstrings, hip flexors, calves and chest area (pectoralis minor more specifically).
Flexibility needs to be developed prior to the beginning of the season with a good stretching program that focuses on the major muscle groups and thigh muscles. Stretching should be done after every workout as part of the cool-down when your muscles are warm and most receptive to stretching.
► SPEED, QUICKNESS, AND AGILITY:
Softball is a quick game. Everything needs to be done as fast as possible. To be successful, softball players need multi-directional quickness, first step quickness, lateral movement, acceleration and linear speed through footwork training, running form drills, agility drills, lateral movements, sprints and lots of quick explosive actions.
► COORDINATION:
 |
| Wesley Wolverine senior #18 C Nina Marcano (Middletown, DE). |
► BALANCE:
Many softball plays are executed off-balance.
Balance should be trained using stability balls and balance boards. To improve balance, the body needs to be put in unstable environments so the muscles will react and produce the appropriate action to maintain stability. Not only is balance training important, but it is also fun and challenging.
Monday, October 24, 2016
SOFTBALL PUMPKIN
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| Draw softball stitches on the pumpkin using a dry-erase marker, permanent marker or chalk. A dry-erase marker and chalk can be wiped away easily if you need to redraw your lines. Instead of carving all the way through to the inside of the pumpkin, carve the stitches or markings only partway through the pumpkin, leaving at least 1/8 inch of pumpkin flesh on the inside. When lit from within, the pumpkin "ball" will glow through its distinctive markings. -- from eHow by By Laura Jerpi. Pictured, Wesley Wolverine freshman #2 3B/SS Karina Cardona (Cooper City, FL). |
Sunday, October 23, 2016
HIT 84% OF THE TIME
Advice from Coach Marc,
Softball Performance, Pompano Beach, Florida
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| Wesley Wolverine freshman #16 C/INF Autumn Walinski (Fallston, MD). |
NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE
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Wesley Wolverine sophomore #13 Utility Ashley Royer (Lititz, PA).
INSET: junior #99 OF Lauren Hoffman (Middletown, DE).
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SLAP, HIT, BUNT!
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| From top, Wesley Wolverines junior #4 MI/OF Samantha Burns (Magnolia, DE) and sophomore #8 OF Megan DiRubbio (Smyrna, DE). |
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