Category Archives: speaker

13Nov

Rachel Lawson

• Entering her 13th season as UK's head coach, Lawson has developed the Wildcat softball program into one of the nation’s best. The winningest head coach in program history, Lawson has lead UK to its first-ever Women's College World Series (2014), seven NCAA Super Regionals in the last nine seasons, and a program-best 50 wins in 2014.
• Six of the last seven seasons, Lawson has led the Wildcats to a national seed in the NCAA Tournament. The school's first-ever national seed was in 2013. Kentucky, which has made the NCAA Tournament each of the last 11 seasons, is one of just 18 schools nationally to claim that honor.
• The 2016 team finished with some of the best pitching numbers in program history, setting school records for lowest team ERA (1.71), lowest opponent batting average (.191), fewest runs allowed (130), fewest earned runs allowed (98), fewest hits allowed (280) and fewest doubles allowed (44).
• Lawson has helped UK players earn 3 NFCA All American Honors, 37 All-SEC honors and 25 SEC Player of the Week honors.
• As the pitching coach for the Wildcats, Lawson has had three different pitchers throw no-hitters against top-25 teams. In all, UK has 17 career no-hitters - all of which have come under Lawson's tenure - including two perfect games.
• Lawson
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13Nov

Perry Husband

• Perry Husband is a pioneer in the world of Baseball/Softball Science, introducing many modern metrics including Effective Velocity - an incredible tool pitchers can use to gain a critical advantage over hitters.
• Effective Velocity is a proven training method using patented metrics for pitcher deception and timing. EV training for pitchers in both baseball and softball is one of the single biggest advancements in the game.
• Timing is everything in hitting and Effective Velocity Pitcher Deception is the absolute key to upsetting that timing. Husband’s training helps your pitcher take her “stuff” and use it more effectively.
• Through the groundbreaking discovery of Effective Velocity, Husband made countless pitching breakthroughs, including Ev Pitch Tunnels, Location Adjusted Speed (True Reactionary Speed), and many other Deception Metrics.
• Husband is the author of the Downright Filthy Pitching Series, including 4 books, Downright Filthy Pitching Books 1, 2, 3 & Getting Filthy – Implementing Effective Velocity. This cutting edge series uncovers the Patented science of Effective Velocity, which has been used by MLB coaches, pitchers and hitters.

"Perry Husband is one of the most innovative thinkers in the game having introduced the concept of Effe

13Nov

Cindy Bristow

• Cindy Bristow, Assistant Coach at UC Riverside and owner of Softball Excellence, is one of the most renowned and experienced pitching instructors and clinicians in the world and an NFCA Hall of Famer.
• Bristow’s skills and experience range far and wide. She has been involved in virtually every facet of softball throughout her 30-plus year career in the sport, including:
  • College Coach: Current Assistant Coach (Pitching) UC Riverside. Also coached collegiately at Arizona State, New Mexico State and Wichita State.
  • Professional Coach: Georgia Pride of the National Pro Fastpitch League
  • Pitched collegiately (Cal Poly Pomona) and Pitched professionally (Santa Ana Lionettes).
  • Past-President of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA)
  • National Director of Junior Olympic Softball and National Teams Director for USA Softball (formerly the ASA)
  • Director of Development for the International Softball Federation (ISF)
• She has authored numerous instructional books and videos on pitching, and has given thousands of pitching clinics and lessons to players of all ages and skill levels around the world, including NCAA Division I & II pitchers.
• As an avid stu
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12Nov

Lonni Alameda

• Head Coach of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women’s College World Series National Champions!
• Heading into her 12th season at Florida State, Alameda has built the FSU softball program into one of the nation’s elite:
  • 2018 National Champs!
  • A berth to the WCWS 3 times in the last 5 seasons (2014, 2016, 2018), including a semifinals appearance in 2016.
  • 7 consecutive trips to the NCAA Super Regionals.
  • 6 straight ACC regular season championships and 6 straight conference tournament championships.
• In 2018, Alameda and her staff were named the 2018 NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. FSU had a 52-18 record in 2018, the most wins in a single season under Alameda. Three Seminoles were named NFCA All-American, and Jessie Warren and Kylee Hanson were named ACC Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
• In 2017, Florida State made program history with their first No. 1 national ranking, and their 5th straight appearance in the NCAA Super Regionals. They also had 4 All-American selections, with 2 players named 1st-team, and 1 each 2nd and 3rd team.
• Alameda also earned ACC Coach of the Year for the 5th straight season in 2017, while Jessica Warren was named ACC Player of the Year and Jessica Burroughs earned ACC Pitcher of the Year. FSU
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18Jul

Dr. Tom Hanson – 2018

• Replacing his co-author and mental game icon Dr. Ken Ravizza who passed away unexpectedly, Dr. Tom Hanson is the founder of the Play Big Academy and author of the book Play Big: Mental Toughness Secrets that Take Baseball Players to the next Level. Big Play won the American Baseball Coaches Association Best in Show award in 2012, and introduces players and coaches to energy psychology.
• Tom is known throughout softball and baseball for his ground-breaking books Heads Up Baseball and Heads Up Softball and he’s just released, along with his co-author Dr. Ken Ravizza, Heads Up Baseball 2.0.
• Tom has worked with the New York Yankees, Texas Rangers, Minnesota Twins as well as Microsoft, American Express and Fannie Mae. He specializes in eliminating the “yips” that afflicts the high-level athlete.
• He earned his Ph.D. specializing in sport psychology, from the University of Virginia, where he also served as the Cavaliers’ hitting coach for 3 seasons. He then became a tenured professor and head baseball coach at Skidmore College (NY), before starting a coaching and consulting company (HeadsUpPerformance.com).
• A leading authority of mental game assessments which are used for both player development and selection in softball, baseball and other sports, we are thrilled to have Mental Game
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30Nov

Piper Ritter – 2018

• Former Minnesota pitcher Piper Ritter is in her 11th season with theGophers as pitching coach,having developed 3 of the top hurlers in Minnesota softball history in Brianna Hassett, Sara Moulton and Sara Groenewegen.
• In 2017, Ritter helped coach the Gophers to a historic season:
  • Third lowest ERA in the NCAA in 2017 with a staff 1.19 ERA
  • Program best 56-5 record
  • Longest win streak to start a season with 19 and longest win streak ever with 26 straight
  • Prior to the 2017 season the Gophers were never ranked in the top-10 in either major polls. They reached No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches poll and No. 3 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll
  • They won their first regular season Big Ten title since 1991 and their third Big Ten tournament championship in 4 years. Ritter was part of the 2017 NFCA Great Lakes Regional Coaching Staff of the Year.
• Ritter guided Groenewegen to numerous honors during her Gopher career: Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and NFCA All-American. In 2017, Groenewegen finished her Gopher career impressively, posting a 31-4 record with a 0.63 ERA and 307 strikeouts. The ERA was the 2nd lowest in the NCAA and 2nd lowest ever recorded in Gophers history. Groenewegen graduated as the all-time Gophers s
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