ASA awards 7,000th ACE Coaches with a Pocket Radar™ and custom Powerchalk™ account

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today Randy Eacret (Castle Rock, Colo.) is the 7,000th certified ACE (Achieve, Certify, Educate) Coach and Richie Wood (Soddy Daisy, Tenn.) is the 7,001st certified ACE Coach of the 2012 season. In an effort to thank and award those coaches who achieve an ACE Certification, the ASA has teamed up with sponsors Pocket Radar™ and Powerchalk™ to provide Eacret and Wood and future ACE coaches with a prize pack. Every time the ACE Program reaches a 1,000th milestone, ASA will award that coach with a Pocket Radar ($200 value) and the next coach with a custom Powerchalk account ($100 value).

Eacret, a coach with the Colorado ASA, journeyed into the world of softball after his daughter started playing. Initially, he volunteered his time whenever it was needed, which developed into a desire to influence young athletes while learning more about the game.

“ASA Softball provides an amazing amount of resources for coach development,” said Eacret. “The ACE program provides so much for coaches, but the insurance coverage is what comforts me the most. While I have never had to use it, the knowledge that we have that safety net should something go wrong is reassuring. This year, our goal is to qualify for a national tournament because it would be such a great reward for our players.”

Wood, a participant in the Tennessee ASA, started coaching ASA Softball after a successful run as the Soddy Daisy High School coach. Once his daughters took an interest in softball, he ventured into the world of competitive travel ball.

“ASA Softball provides a higher level of competition for young athletes, and college coaches realize this,” said Wood. “The tournaments have better organization and high caliber teams participating, which gives our girls a chance to compete in high pressure situations. The ACE program offers great training videos and helpful tips on player safety. I especially like the background checks because it weeds out the wrong type of coaches. This year, we are working hard to place in the top 10 at the ASA/USA Girls’ 12-Under National tournament. I also want to teach the girls that hard work pays off and how to play with confidence and sportsmanship.”

The ACE Certification program is online and you can access the tests by login at www.registerasa.com. More detailed instructions are located on the homepage.

Eacret and Wood bring the number of awarded ACE coaches to 14. Previous recipients of the complimentary Pocket Radar and custom Powerchalk account are Rodney Holder (Magnolia, Texas), Kimberly Moore (Oxford, Ga.), Amye Scrivener (Prince Frederick, Md.), Dan Proffer (Grand Blanc, Mich.), Brian Gorniak (Glen Carbon, Ill.), Katherine Egbert (Hillsborough, Calif.), John McCauley (Malone, N.Y.), Karen Hughes (Henderson, Nev.), Chalise Brown (Conroe, Texas), Julie Cox (Albany, Ore.), Jason Epps (Cypress, Texas), and Maria Conn (Flat Rock, Mich.).

About Pocket Radar Pocket Radar, Inc. designs and manufactures the world’s only pocket-sized speed radar gun which allows users to access real-time pitching, hitting and running speeds with the touch of a button. Using award-winning, patented new technology, the Pocket Radar™ provides industry leading accuracy and speed measurement in an affordable and convenient device that can discreetly measure performance without changing behavior. The Pocket Radar™ has changed the way top teams like Arizona State University, University of Florida, and University of Arizona coach and scout. Featured on the Today Show, Good Morning America, ABC News, and CNBC, the Pocket Radar™ has more capabilities than a traditional radar gun wrapped up into an easy-to-use pocket-sized package. Learn more at www.PocketRadar.com.

About Powerchalk PowerChalk, LLC is a North Carolina based company offering the world's first and only cloud based video analysis system, and is currently being licensed by USA Baseball, USA Diving, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Southwest Section of the PGA. The PowerChalk™ system is being used by coaches and athletes in over fifteen sports across the globe. For more information about PowerChalk™ visit www.Powerchalk.com.

About ASA Softball The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 200,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

Codi Warren

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

On the Web ASASoftball.com 

Hello softball enthusiasts. I am both proud and humbled to be the new CT ASA Commissioner. I was appointed to this position January 23, 2012. I want to thank former Commissioner Ed Austin, who now has Emeritus status with the ASA, for all he has done for me, and I am sure done for many others. Ed has also agreed to “stay on” and provide guidance to me and some new leaders that have plans to move CT ASA forward.

We want all of you to know that we are proud to be associated with ASA, the governing body of softball in the USA. ASA has been the benchmark that other associations attempt to achieve and the new CT ASA leadership intends to make ASA in CT the best option for all softball programs.

Our leadership is presently working on the transition to electronic communications and registrations. We are seeking the best ways to communicate with all softball players, teams and programs in CT. We do plan to offer more opportunities to play softball than we have in the past. This includes Junior Olympic Fast Pitch and Adult Slow Pitch programs. We have heard that ASA runs the best tournaments, but that we do not provide enough of them. We intend to correct that perception. We do want to thank all of the programs that have stayed loyal to ASA and want those of you who might be playing elsewhere back. We also want our ASA trained umpires back from officiating games for other associations. We do believe that all the best softball umpires in CT have been trained and improved their skills through the CT ASA umpire program.

We are working on being more user friendly. We will work hard to improve all communication methods. We will be updating our websites. We also want to get information onto the websites you all frequent. Please let us know what they are. We will get your tournaments on our websites and attempt to spread the word throughout New England and across the USA. We want to be easily assessable. We also want to hear from you. We are considering ways to make our tournaments better. We want to change our tournament structure. Would you like to host a tournament? We would like you to do so and we will assist you in any way possible so that your tournament can be successful.

We are also seeking people who have an interest in leadership positions in the CT ASA program. We want new ideas that might help us all improve. We would love to hear from you. Please feel free to contact me and I will get right to work to make good things happen. The best way to reach me now is via email at hank.donnak@comcast.net.

You all need to know that costs of dues and registrations in 2012 are going up with ASA. There was legislation passed at the 2011 ASA council meeting that raised registration fees and there has been an increase for insurance protection. These fee increases are a sign of our times and I am sure other organization fees will increase as well. CT ASA will not increase any fees this year as we transition into new leadership and structure.

We also plan to move toward “registerasa” and want to make registration procedures more streamlined, but also offer your program the best softball program opportunities and protection possible. We can do this through our excellent insurance and background check procedures. We know that your field owners will be requiring this type of protection and ASA simply offers the best protection and opportunities to your programs possible. However in the meantime, we will register your players, teams and programs as simply as possible and still get you the protection you want.

I look forward to moving CT ASA forward. I also look forward to hearing from you.

Respectfully,

Henry “Hank” Koritkoski