Puzzle is complete, Team USA set for Sydney
By Bob Otto/Yucaipa, CA

After a three-day whirlwind tryout the puzzle is complete, the pieces fit together nicely and the USA Junior Men's fastpitch softball national team is set for Sydney.

Seventeen of the USA's top softball players were chosen from a pool of 27 prospects in a selection camp held at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. December 28-31. They will represent Team USA at the 2001 World Championship in Sydney, Australia, April 19-29.

Sydney will feature the planets' best age 19 and under fastpitch teams, including traditional powers New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Japan.

Head Coach Tim Lyon declared the camp a success, but he says now the real work begins if Team USA is to be a serious contender for a World title.

"We got an awful lot done in three days," said Lyon. "But they will need to work extra hard over the next few months."

And to prevent winter idleness, players must follow a mandatory work out that incorporates weight training, hitting and defense drills. "I expect the players to work hard until we meet again in March," said Lyon. "If they don't we will consider replacing them."

On hand was top-flite coaching: some of the sport's very best in Wayne Hohenstein, Steve Padilla, Dick Mason, Avon Meachem, Mike White and Pete Turner. And they kept their young charges hopping. With but three days to teach, judge and select, every minute was precious.

 "Rotate! Move it! Move it!" was a frequent command as players hurried from one training station to another. Like a Marine Corp boot camp, players hustled about. Not a moment was wasted. 

"This was a strenuous workout for them," said Hohenstein. "You find out who wants it and who doesn't. This is a new level for them and there is no room for error."

Bunting; infielders scurrying after ground balls; double plays done over and over until performed right; outfielders chasing down alley shots and hitting the cutoff; batters attacking a suspended tension ball until beads of sweat formed on their foreheads and their wrists ached from the constant snap; and live batting off legendary pitchers, Mike White and Steve Padilla...

"Keep that back foot still," barked Pete Turner. "Don't try to pull every pitch, stay back in the box and hit it the other way. Throw him some outside pitches," Turner demanded of Padilla. "Make him take it the other way."

And if the pressure of facing two world-class pitchers wasn't enough, there was the ever present "selection committee." Six men armed with pencils and notebooks passing judgement. Pressure? There was some of that too.

But the players responded well and viewed the selection camp as an opportunity to learn. "I was asked to (learn) slap and drag bunt from the left side," said right-side batter Tom Roth.

All part of a scheme to develop a "short game" said Dick Mason.
"They need to learn to move the ball, to sacrifice and advance the runner."

The coaches and selection committee said they liked the size, speed and pitching of the 27 prospects. "I've seen decent hitting and power," said Doug Lindaman of the selection committee. "We must develop the short game, the bunting and slapping. The pitching is a pleasant surprise, good potential, good control, and a couple of them throw hard."

With New Zealand, Canada, Japan and Australia viewed as fierce competitors, the USA pitching staff will face a stiff challenge. Mike White was in camp schooling the pitchers. White doesn't see a one-man show in Sydney.

"The kids have good size and decent movement on the ball," said White. "But I don't see world-class dominance. I don't see one guy shutting out a country like New Zealand. They must work as a staff back each other up  and be ready (for a relief role) at any time."

White and Assistant Coach Steve Padilla, were busy teaching body mechanics, ball grip, release point and keeping both feet on the rubber. "Can I step back," asked one pitcher. "No," said Padilla, commanding the youngster to keep both feet in contact with the pitching rubber.

But the biggest challenge? "The rise ball," said White. "It's the most difficult pitch to master. It's not so much the grip as the release point, technique and mechanics."

White and Padilla also schooled the catchers. Setting targets, calling pitches, throwing from in and out of the crouch was stressed over and over. They talked about confidence. To earn a pitcher's trust they must show leadership and call a smart game.

And the ASA's top brass was on hand as well.

Newly elected ASA President Pat Fleming observed players and coaches, talked with the selection committee and conferred often with Lyon. Nothing escaped his watchful eye.

Fleming wants to revitalize the Junior Men's and Men's national team programs. He said a four-year plan is required if the U.S. is to become a serious contender for a world championship.

"We need to plan four years out," said Fleming. "We need to identify kids early and work them over that four year period before the next tournament. As president I want a four-year plan for our Junior Men and Men's teams.
For men's and boy's fastpitch softball to regain its prominence, he says it will take the cooperation of the ASA, ISC and NAFA. "We've had our differences in the past," he said. "But for the good of the sport, we must set those differences aside and work together to revive this sport."

To underscore his commitment to the USA national teams program, Fleming says that 12 pitchers and five catchers (a mix of men and junior men) will be training at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in March. "We've got to prepare now for (pitchers) Mike White and Doug Middleton not being around in four years," said Fleming.

A good camp. A solid team. A good word from the president. The road to Sydney, just 102 days a way, appears paved with promise.

Team USA will return to the Arco Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista March 8-11 for a final training session.

(I have not received a response from the Amateur Softball Association verifying the roster of Team USA, so I am unable to release those names with this article. But, I am certain the ASA will issue a press release soon  certainly by April 19.)