slot canyon

UAB has now announced Joe Guthrie as new Head Coach. He was hired as assistant 2 years ago and promoted to Associate HC last January. I was expecting them to hire from current staff.

It is interesting to watch how some of these players maintain their head position and stay locked in on the ball when they hit and keep their feet in contact with the ground in order to transfer their power. Especially Carosone and Cooper. Loved to watch T. Howard hit.

During this “lull in the action” since termination of softball I have found myself looking at old AU softball games on You Tube. I have especially enjoyed the 2015 and 2016 team replays. There were so many players with so much talent and so much effort that were fun to watch. My wife and I got interested in softball after attending a game in 2014 I had watched some of the sport on TV but seeing how talented and athletic the gals were in live action nearly choked me up. Following that introduction we even drove down from B’ham to watch some practices which were almost as fun as the games. Here are some of the players who come to mind from 2015 and 2016. . My list of favorites is long and I know I am leaving out some good ones C. Wallace, T. Howard, M. Estell, E. Carosone, J. Rhodes, Cooper, Melero, M. Harper, Lexie Davis, V. Draper, Whitney Jordan, Abbott, Boggards, Walters, Carlson and Martin. This back and forth high scoring game vs BAMA in 2015 is a good sample:

I believe her marriage was fairly recent, maybe last few years and she has frequently put praises about her family on her twitter account. I was wondering how she might hold up being so far from home. Sorry to see her go.

ASU has now confirmed the CJK hire.

I did not want to start any rumors but noticed about 3 weeks ago on her twitter account she no longer listed herself as assistant coach Auburn University so I wondered if something was brewing. She has not indicated a new position at this point. Don't know if financial restraints played any role in all this. Too bad we could not have hired CJK when he departed UAB but I wonder if CMD would have wanted him on the staff.

Are you able to share what lies ahead in terms of follow-up? Antibody test? Glad to hear you're doing well.

If they are financially strained, as many are, I expect UAB will promote from within the current staff. No announcement on UAB or ASU site but Kolaitis twitter site shows him as assistant softball coach at ASU. Generally no announcement until paper work is completed. Of course, UAB has a couple of AU transfers on the team. I think this will be a big blow to UAB softball as it will be difficult to replace CJK experience as recruiting coordinator, hitting coach and even pitching coach when he coached in professional league.

Coach KoIaitis is leaving UAB. I had heard that UAB was reducing SB budget and placing travel restrictions on program. Must be bad for CJK to take assistant position and move across country. https://justinsworldsb.com/2020/06/24/jimmy-kolaitis-to-be-named-arizona-state-assistant-coach/

As part of a 6/19/2020 "article" by Jason Caldwell, he was asked to comment about next years potential lineup. Some of his projections surprised me which I have in quotes "I think you’re correct about Denver Bryant. I think Makenna Dowell did a solid job there this year, but I believe Bryant’s upside is going to be extremely high. I would probably put Abby Tissier behind the plate with Justus Perry at first. Maybe Dowell at second, Bryant at short and Tannon Snow at third. In the outfield I could see Paige Geraghty being another true freshman who plays along with classmate Kelsey Schmidt. Both could get into the lineup with Alyssa Rivera in the outfield. If they’re not in the lineup one could be the designated player for this team." My main question has to do with the two freshmen in the outfield especially since we now have two well experienced upperclassman with Tyler King and recent transfer Kaylee Horton. I know these freshmen have very good credentials but that would be a bold projection not having seen them on the college diamond. I may be overreading since he says "both could into the lineup", but I believe King and Horton are quality players with lots of college experience.

Recent article by Phillip Marshall. There has been some buzz about the pitchers but as mentioned at the end of the article, Denver Bryant is an interesting player. I hope we will be able to play some form of fall ball and get an early read on the team. https://247sports.com/college/auburn/Article/Dean-Auburn-softball-ready-to-compete-at-the-highest-level-148230750/

It's too easy to create alternate outcomes when you have the advantage of reflection and are not involved in the actual emotional rapidly progressing situation itself. Maybe I'm not up to speed but not clear to me why the Police Chief resigned and officer not placed on paid leave until investigation completed. Seems like a concession to try to defuse the anticipated response. Sorry Mr Brooks died but he bears some of the responsibility.

Per a request, I reviewed the 30 min Zoom call and give my interpretation of what was said. What has CMD been doing. A lot of Zoom calls and regional motor cycle riding. Regarding seniors returning. After they got word that seniors would be allowed to play another season, they realized it may cause some roster issues. A 29 player roster can cause some “headaches” However, they could not call themselves “family” if they did not welcome back any seniors who wished to play another season. Maturity of the returning seniors should have a positive impact. ‘We always tell players to practice, compete and play as though it could be your last game.” The seniors experienced this and for over a month did not know if they had played their last game. Seniors had all gone out and gotten trainers to in effect turn a negative into a positive. Recruiting has been mainly phone calls and Zoom calls to include the player and their family. Felt the 2020 team would have a slow start but be playing their best ball toward the end. When they went to California he felt the team made strides on becoming closer and they realized they could become more versatile than they originally thought. Implied that some players who maybe did not shine in practice stepped up in the game situation. Specifically mentioned that was when S. Yarbrough really began to hit her groove after a shaky fall. 70% of the games they won, they came from behind. Some discussion about Rivera have early season problems at the plate and sitting her out for a game and then she came back strong. Related that again to maturity saying a younger player may have folded after having to sit down. Commented on hitting by McCondichie and Dowell. Dowell had struggled prior season but now seeing ball well. Also mentioned her great coordination and good hands. Commented about the bloop hit Garcia had against Georgia State and alertly took second base on the play. He referred to her hit as a “duck fart”. Next batter up was Rivera who hit HR. Pitching: Felt the work ethic displayed by Ashley and Lexie “rubbed off” on the rest of the staff, Had basically been almost a year since KK Dismukes had thrown against a batter. From what they saw, she had her velocity back and her movement but not her control. We may have 4 or 5 kids who could be anybody’s number 1 or number 2 in the country. “You’ve got your top righty and top lefty in the country coming in next year. Both will get the opportunity to play for USA softball. You have a righty (Yarbrough) and a lefty (Shelby Lowe) who have a lot of movement while Lexie and Penta can throw 70+ from the left and right sides. Then KK and Yarbrough through a lot of movement. Feels there is some power arriving as regards to hitting. Kaylee Horton transfer: She was the kind of player that played big in big situations. “She reached out to me a said she wanted to come to Auburn which was important to me and in a matter of one day she became an Auburn Tiger.”

Don't have a layout but did see a recent Zoom Call with Coach Dean in which the facilities were discussed. He stated 6 or 7 drop down cages, each TV/internet hook up so players can get instant feed back. Cages can go up to provide infield with base lines, bases and dirt pitching area. Apparently if pitch on turf pitchers have better control and velocity and takes some time to adjust when go on dirt field. Also a small team area with video to watch game video and a storage area. Interestingly, moving the home dugout to first base side so can transition from dugout to bull pen to indoor facility. Will mention that he was not bashful about his excitement over the pitching staff next season. Also mentioned KK Dismukes had surgery prior to last years arrival and had not pitched in quite a while. I thought she was held back because of some sort of "over use injury" but was not aware of the surgery. Maybe I missed something.