












For
further info
or for a
Brochure
call:
(732) 528-5392
email:
bethebest
@bytheshore.com
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Softball Coaching Participants
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Kate and Caryl Drohan
Northwestern
This pair of sisters are teaching everyone new tricks since
taking over at Northwestern. In 2007 the Wildcats became the first private
school ever to make back-to-back Women’s College World Series appearances.
They finished third last season.
Kate, the head coach, and her twin sister, Caryl Drohan, who serves
as her associate head coach, have Northwestern rated among the best programs
in the country. In 2006, Northwestern won its first Big Ten title since 1987
and qualified for the Women’s College World Series for the first time in 20
years. In Oklahoma City this year they won a pair of games. They completed
the season with a 52-13 record, making Kate 238-103-1 through six seasons.
It was the second straight season the Wildcats won 50 or more
games, a mark they had never reached before the Drohan sisters arrived on
the scene.
Kate has cemented her status as one of the best coaches in Big Ten
history, joining former Northwestern coach Sharon Drysdale, Carol Hutchins
(Michigan) and Gayle Blevins (Indiana/Iowa) as the only coaches to ever take
Big Ten schools to the WCWS. Drohan and Hutchins are the only two to make
the final pairing. After spending her first three years at NU as an
assistant, Caryl was promoted to Associate Head Coach prior to the 2005
season. She came from Hofstra University after spending five years on the
coaching staff there—four as an assistant coach and the 2001 season as the
Associate Head Coach.
So, how do you go about building a program on the National level?
What kind of drills do you use to reinforce the things you teach? The
sisters give their secrets of building mental preparation in a full session.
Kate tells how to build a contender in a Thursday Night Thunder session
while Caryl explains how to teach fundamentals the same night. During the
Ultimate Rap sessions they will teach you how to teach everything from the
cutoff plays to defending the first-and-third.
Obviously their methods work. In the last three years (2005-07),
seven different Wildcats have earned All-America honors — including a pair
of freshmen. Kate coached NU to its third straight NCAA appearance in 2005,
advancing to Super Regional play after winning the Ninth Region
championship. The Wildcats won 42 games, one shy of the school record, and
rose to a ranking of 15th in both national polls - the highest rankings NU
had reached at the time. After the record-setting season, Drohan and her
staff were named the NFCA’s Mideast Region Co-Coaching Staff of the Year.
Drohan guided the `Cats to an at-large bid in the 2003 NCAA
Tournament and a No. 2 seed in the Regional hosted in Austin, Texas.
Northwestern won its first game of the tournament against Tennessee Tech,
but bowed out of the tourney following its initial victory. NU finished the
season with the 14th-ranked RPI in the country.
The 2004 season saw even more impressive play from Northwestern.
For the second consecutive season, Drohan led the ‘Cats into the NCAA
Tournament with a 34-20 record and a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten.
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 Patty
Gasso
University Of Oklahoma
As she begins her 14th season at the University
of Oklahoma, head coach Patty Gasso has molded the OU softball program into
a national power and permanently placed herself among the elite college
softball coaches in the country.
The Sooners have reached the Women’s College World Series in five
of the last seven years and in the process have advanced to the postseason
all 13 years under Gasso. The series run began in 2000 when
her team won the NCAA National Championship in OU’s first appearance.
Gasso holds an overall record of 639-208-2 (.753) at the University
of Oklahoma and continues to distance herself from her counterparts in the
Big 12 and her predecessors at OU. She has won more Big 12 games (156-55)
than any coach in the league’s history and has nearly doubled up every other
coach who ever led the Sooners.
The Sooners had one of their best seasons ever in 2007, advancing
to their second Super Regional and finished with a 55-8 record, the second
best in school history, including its third Big-12 post season championship
title. In 2006, Gasso led the Sooners to their 13th straight 40-win season.
The young Sooner squad made a strong postseason run, winning 12 of its final
15 contests while finishing second in the Big 12 Championship and advancing
to the NCAA Regional Finals for the seventh consecutive year.
Is she the best coach in the history of Oklahoma softball?
Undoubtedly. Is she the greatest coach in Big 12 history? The stats say she
is. Could she be one of the best coaches to ever coach college softball?
Each season she continues to build what is a very strong argument.
All that background will make you want to attend her main session
where she will explain how to coach the female athlete. She will explain
everything from building team confidence to how to teach defensive drills.
Currently in her 17th season as a head coach, Gasso has a career collegiate
coaching record of 801-268-2 (.748). Gasso’s Sooner teams have finished
second or higher nine different times since the inception of the Big 12 in
1996.
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Ralph Weekly
University of Tennessee
Karen Weekly
University of Tennessee
Ralph and Karen Weekly, a married couple, are
currently employed as co-head coaches for Tennessee— an unconventional
coaching situation in the world of sports. Luckily, softball games aren’t
decided by conventional standards.
In just six seasons as co-head coaches, the Weeklys have completely
transformed the program, taking it from just 24 wins in the season prior
to their arrival, to a school record 63 wins during the 2006-07 season.
Indeed, the Weeklys have enjoyed a fair amount of success in their
tenure at Tennessee, and they attribute a lot of that success to the
family atmosphere that their marriage creates for their players.
The Lady Vols continue to improve on a year-to-year basis under the
Weekly’s tutelage.
Last season’s runner-up finish at the NCAA Championships followed a
third-place finish the year before and a sixth-place finish in 2004.
According to Karen, the duo forms a great coaching tandem due to
their respective strengths and weaknesses as coaches.
“Our strengths and weaknesses are kind of opposite,” she said. “The
things that he does well are the things that I’m not necessarily fond of,
and vice versa. And I think that’s what makes this work.”
Ralph started his coaching career in 1986 at Pacific Lutheran
University. Karen had been a top assistant for Ralph there since she
graduated from the university in 1987. The two had been coaching together
since then at Chattanooga (1995-2001) and Tennessee (2002-present).
With so much experience together as coaches, the Weeklys have
learned what it takes to balance their work life with their marriage.
The Weeklys, as is the case with all good coaches, have a method to
their success, and it is a method that has been developed through years of
experience together. That method is working quite well at the moment, as
the Weeklys and their team pursue the national championship, which has
barely eluded their grasp in recent years.
How they teach hitting mechanics, and how they go about correcting
hitting problems are just part of the subject matter they will take on
during two main sessions Saturday. Karen will also explain teaching the
speed game during Thursday Thunder and offers a number of offensive
teaching hints at the Ultimate Rap Sessions.
Ralph, who is nationally and internationally recognized for his
skills as a hitting clinician, was responsible for a variety of national
team duties, including the general management of USA Softball’s elite
level international programs. He also served as a liaison to the ASA
National Team Selection Committee that is responsible for the elite level
selection process for Olympic and other USA Softball National Teams.
He worked closely with the U.S. Olympic Committee to ensure that
USA Softball received adequate funding for its programs and was fully
equipped with the technical assistance it needed. He was also instrumental
in securing the funding for the development of a state-of-the-art practice
facility at the ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA. This
facility has been used by all of the USA Softball National Teams and will
continue to be an integral part of USA Softball’s success .
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Eugene Lenti
DePaul University
Head coach Eugene Lenti has built the DePaul
softball program from its infancy into a national powerhouse. Lenti has been
at the helm of the program for 25 years; over that time he has amassed three
Women’s College World Series berths, 11 NCAA Regional appearances, eight
years of ending the season in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll (six times in
the top 10), 19 All-Americans, 17 Academic All-Americans, eight first place
conference finishes, four Conference USA Tournament titles and has propelled
the Blue Demon softball program to one of the nation’s elite.
Lenti and his coaching staff led DePaul to its fourth Women’s
College World Series appearance, where it finished the season with a 47-13
mark. The Blue Demons also finished the year with a perfect 20-0 mark in the
Big East Conference to clinch the program’s first regular season conference
crown. DePaul became just the second school in the league’s history to win
20 games and the third to finish conference play undefeated. With 932 wins
under his belt, Lenti continues his legacy as one of the winningest coaches
in NCAA softball. His record gives Lenti the title of DePaul’s all-time
winningest coach in any sport. He is currently listed as the 12th winningest
active softball coach, and the 16th winningest all-time softball coach in
NCAA history.
Lenti describes his style of play as “aggressive” with a love for
hit and runs, steals and taking the extra base when appropriate. His 2006
team finished 21st in the nation, averaging 2.04 steals per game. He’ll
teach how to teach that aggressive style with a session of getting players
to dive at the Ultimate Rap as well as providing a series of pre-game drills
for outfielders.
Lenti is a master of not only teaching women the game of softball
but also the “game of life.” He challenges his players to become better
people while in his program. He teaches them responsibility and
accountability; he demands that both on the field and in the classroom.
During his 25 year coaching stint at DePaul he has mentored 17 Academic
All-Americans, the second most behind Nebraska, for any Division I team. |

Cheri Kempf
National Fast-Pitch League
Cheri Kempf is owner and Pitching Instructor at Worth Club K. She has taught
and trained thousands of athletes at Club K since 1991. Best known for her
pitching expertise, she has consulted with the Amateur Softball Association
and the United States Olympic Committee to develop universal standards by
which to teach fast pitch pitching.
She will use that experience when she works with Mike White in a
full session on how to teach pitching drills and progression in and out of
season. She’ll also be part of Thursday Night Thunder and will be specific
in Ultimate Rap sessions on the changeup and curveball.
Kempf has more than 30 years of experience playing and coaching
softball at all levels. In college, Kempf was a three-time All American and
an NAIA National Champion. In amateur softball, Kempf was an ASA National
Champion in youth ball before moving onto the staff of the world-renowned
Raybestos Brakettes in the ASA Women’s Major Division. While on the
Brakettes, the team captured two ASA National Championships. In 1992, Kempf
was a member of the United States National Team that went on to win a gold
medal in the World Cup competition in Beijing, China.
Kempf has been inducted into the NAIA Collegiate Hall of Fame, the
Missouri State ASA Hall of Fame and the Missouri Western State College Hall
of Fame. A member of the Women’s Sports Foundation and the National Fast
Pitch Coaches Association, she has done extensive motion analysis research
at the premier biomechanics lab in the United States, the American Sports
Medicine Institute in Birmingham, Alabama. Along with coaching NCAA Division
I softball for four seasons, Kempf currently is a member of the USA Softball
Coaching Pool and Pitching Coach for the USA Junior National Team. In 2007
Kempf was a member of the coaching staff that led the USA Softball Junior
Women’s National Team to its first gold medal at the ISF Junior Women’s
World Championships since 1995.
She has written a book and produced a DVD of the same title, The
Softball Pitching Edge. Along with Dartfish, the world-renowned software
company in sports, Cheri has created the most extensive and intensive
breakdown of the pitching motions involved in the fastball, drop, rise,
screw, and curve. She is also the inventor of the Spin Right Spinner, a
training device used to teach the correct mechanics of the pitching movement
to softball and baseball pitchers, and the Powerline Mat which provides
distinctive marking specifically for pitching, along with a consistent and
safe surface on which to practice pitching.
Cheri is also recognized as a popular television analyst for
college and professional softball. She has been seen and heard on ESPN,
ESPN2, ESPNU, Fox Sports, the YES Network, Cox Sports Television, and
Comcast Cable Network.
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Ken Eriksen
University Of South Florida
Ken Eriksen has built a reputation with his
success on the softball field because of his all around knowledge of the
game and his ability to teach all aspects. He will use that versatility at
the “Be the Best You Are” clinic where he will teach how to develop
catchers at Thursday Night Thunder, work on pitch recognition for both the
offense and defense in a Friday main session and mix in “How To’’ sessions
on throwing mechanics, defending the speed game and tie-breaking
strategies during the Ultimate Rap sessions.
Now entering his 12th season as USF head coach and his 23rd overall
with the softball program, Eriksen has shown an uncanny ability to build
winners.
Since Eriksen has been head coach at USF, only one of his teams has
ever ended a season with a losing record. He has led five teams to the
NCAA Tournament and has won two conference titles. In all, Eriksen has
amassed a record of 509-261-1, the winningest coach in the history of the
program and the most among any active coach at USF.
Eriksen has guided USF to 10 winning seasons. He has coached four
All Americans, five 50- plus-win seasons and four 40-plus-win seasons.
Last year, The Bulls pitching staff was dominant and ended the 2007
campaign ranked fifth in the country with an ERA of 1.33.
Allowing only 86 earned runs in 452.2 innings pitched, USF led the
Big East in pitching as well. The Bulls had the 43rd-best winning
percentage in Division I of .667, compiling a record of 44-22.
He has served as assistant coach for the USA softball team and
helped them win their third straight Olympic Gold Medal. Since joining the
staff in 2001 the squad has gone 28-0 in international competition.
Eriksen served as head coach for Team USA in the 2001 Pan American
qualifiers and led the team to a gold medal. As a softball player, he was
named to the All-World team as a catcher in 1992.
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Scott Whitlock
Kennesaw State
Scott Whitlock is the winningest coach in NCAA softball. He has two
national titles, 13 regional crowns and more personal accolades than you
can mention. He is the driving force that has made Kennesaw State softball
one of the most admired and respected programs in the country.
And for his lifetime of hard work, dedication and success, Whitlock
was granted the highest honor of his profession. In December of 2004, he
received the highest accolade of his career when he was voted into the
National Fast Pitch Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame. He was inducted in
December of 2005 in Orlando, Florida.
After successful runs at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels,
Whitlock has carried his success into Division I. Last season, in the
Owls’ second year in college softball’s premier level of competition, he
led Kennesaw State to its first Atlantic Sun Conference regular season
title with a 44-20, 15-5 record. In just two seasons, Whitlock has
compiled an 82-37 overall record within D-I, is a two-time A-Sun Coach of
the Year and has produced a conference Player of the Year in Keri McKee
(2007), a Pitcher of the Year in Brittany Matthews (2007) and has had 10
all-conference performers.
He will share the wisdom of his years at a main session Saturday
where building a team and developing the interaction dynamics that spell
success will be explained in detail. Friday, during the Ultimate Rap
sessions, Whitlock explains how to deal with problem players … and
parents; how to keep practice fun, and how to plan and implement a
two-hour practice.
Whitlock began the softball program at Kennesaw State when he
coached the slow pitch team in 1989 and 1990. Beginning in 1991, when the
Owls played in the NAIA, he initiated the fast pitch program. After moving
Kennesaw State to NCAA Division II status in 1995, Whitlock and his Owls
won back-to- back national championships and he now stands as the NCAA’s
winningest coach. In his first 1,000 games, fast pitch and slow pitch
included, Whitlock has compiled an 873-127 record for a .873 winning
percentage.
USA Softball selected Whitlock as one of 16 coaches for the Women’s
National Team during 2005 season. He worked in 2006 helping select the
National team. It wasn’t an uncommon experience for the Owls coach. He
also served on the support staff of the 2004 Olympic Gold Medal squad.
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 Mike White
USA National Team
Born in New Zealand, Mike White’s softball
career has provided him with the opportunity to travel the world, meet many
friends, and start a career in coaching at Oregon. But it also left hitters
hapless against his rise ball or his drop. His playing credentials are
impeccable. In 2006, he finished fourth with the USA Softball Men’s National
Team at the Pan American Championships in Hermosillo, Mexico and he led the
USA Softball Men’s National Team to the AAU International Fast pitch
Championship in Orlando.
In 2004 he led the USA Softball Men’s National Team to a fourth
place finish at the ISF World Championship in New Zealand and in 2003 to the
silver medal at the Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo as well as to the National
Men’s Masters 40-over championships in which he tossed back-to-back shutouts
in the finals. He was a gold medal winner for the USA at the Pan Am
Qualifier in 2002 and won a silver medal in the Pan Am games in 1999 when he
had an ERA of 0.86.
White began building his reputation as a member of the New Zealand
national team in 1996 when he led his home-country’s National Team to a gold
medal at the World Championships. He threw a perfect game against Canada in
the title game and had a 4-0 record, with a 0.00 ERA and 58 strikeouts. He
won his first gold medal with New Zealand in 1984.
White brings his unique perspective to pitching in two different
ways.
He will share a main session with Cheri Kempf, another pitching
guru, where they will share their thoughts on how to teach pitching drills
and progressions both in season and out of season.
White will be part of Thursday Night Thunder where he will show how
to teach basic mechanics to young pitchers.
Then, during the Ultimate Rap sessions, he will give his views on
how to best teach the drop, the change-up and the rise.
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Mark Lumley
Baylor University
Mike Lumley has
been a top-notch teacher at Baylor University where he serves as the team’s
hitting instructor. In Lumley’s six years at Baylor, the Lady Bears have
tallied five of the six highest single-season home run totals in the
program’s history as Baylor has continually established new and individual
single-season hitting records under his guidance.
Last year the Baylor coaching staff was recognized as a regional
coaching staff of the year by the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association.
The coaching staff, comprised of head coach Glenn Moore, associate head
coach Lumley, assistant coach Britni Newman, assistant coach Jimmy Hubble
and speed and conditioning coach Brandon Marcello were selected for the
honor after leading the Lady Bears to the Women’s College World Series and
the Big 12 Conference regular season title for the first time in school
history.
Baylor finished the season with a record of 51-16, tying the 2005
squad for the most wins in school history as the Lady Bears claimed the Big
12 Conference title with a 14-13 league mark.
In 2005 USA Softball recognized Lumley as he was one of 16 coaches,
and the only collegiate assistant coach, chosen for coaching consideration
for events during the 2005 Women’s National Team season.
Hitting has always been his area of expertise and the quick
improvements to the offense at Baylor began from the time he joined the
staff in 2002.
He will begin his first visit to the “Be the Best You Are Clinic”
with a Thursday Night Thunder session on how to implement Physical
Conditioning and Weight Training into your program, In three Ultimate Rap
sessions Lumley explains how to teach hitting to the opposite field, hit the
inside pitch and hit the outside pitch. Lumley, a native of Tucson, Ariz.,
first joined Moore at LSU after a 12-year stint at Flowing Wells High School
in Tucson where he led the team to a No. 5 final national ranking by USA
Today.
A 1985 graduate of the University of Arizona, Lumley is a member of
the National Fast pitch Coaches Association and the American Baseball
Coaches Association. |
For further information or for a brochure
call: (732)528-5392 email: bethebest@bytheshore.com
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