NJ Divas Fastpitch: DIVAS News/Events

ASA Women's MAJOR Nationals will be in Amherst, NY,  Aug. 8-10, 2008. Very limited roster spots. Talented & interested participants should contact Mgr. Linda Lensch at njdivas@verizon.net.

As per the ASA Code, if you are rostered with an ASA-registered 23U team, you can also play for us as a fully rostered Major player. There is NO conflict, you can legally do both.

 If you are rostered with an ASA 18U/Gold or Women's Class "A"team, you can only join us as a "Pick-Up" player... those spots are limited and must be approved by the Commissioner. So, if you're interested in playing for the Divas Major team and have any questions regarding eligibility, please contact us for clarification prior to signing any roster.

This will be a short, late season...show up ready to play/win. We are seeking only the BEST.

To the Kid on the End of the Bench

Champions once sat
where you're sitting,
kid.
The Football Hall of Fame
(and every other Hall of Fame)
is filled with names of people
who sat, week after week,
without getting a spot of
mud on their well-laundered
uniforms.
Generals,
senators,
surgeons,
prize-winning novelists,
professors,
business executives
started on the end of
the bench, too.
Don't sit and study
your shoe tops.
Keep your eye on
the game.
Watch for defensive
lapses.
Look for offensive
opportunities.
If you don't think you're
in a great spot,
wait until you see how many
would like to take it away
from you at next spring
practice.
What you do from the bench
this season
could put you on the field
next season,
as a player,
or back in the grandstand
as a spectator.

Published in the Wall Street Journal
 (Author unknown)

The Richard Stockton College Pitching Clinic will examine the proper mechanics of the windmill motion with a special emphasis on drive and explosiveness. The "lock & load" technique, which maximizes the potential of BOTH legs and core as a pre-cursor to the power phase, will be highlighted. We will target various aspects of the motion, including the importance of proper blocking, hip angle, relaxation, and arm movement. We will also explain and demonstrate why some long-held practices are in fact detrimental to speed, control, ball movement, your body's health, and what you can do to change your training patterns. Stockton's off-, pre- and in-season pitching, strength and flexibility workouts will be discussed. Five accomplished NCAA and ASA coaches plus members of the Stockton staff will share their experiences and expertise. Attendees will then receive personalized instruction on their basic form and advice on any pitches or other aspects of their pitching.

The Lineup:

VAL JULIEN has been at the helm of Stockton softball since 1987, making her THE veteran coach in the NJAC. After completing her stellar career at Montclair State, Val pitched the powerful Montclair 81s to the ASA Class-A national championship in 1981 and was named a first team All-American. She coached various women's Class-A teams including the South Jersey Rebels for almost two decades, and later coached the NJ Divas for several years, winning the 2003 ASA 23U National Champtionship and garnering other prestigious finishes at Class A, Major and invitational tournaments. Val was a guest instructor at Michele Smith's Gold Camp in Delaware this summer. She was inducted into the NJ ASA State Hall of Fame in 2007. 

LINDA LENSCH is Stockton's pitching coach and assists with recruiting in central and northern NJ and NYC. A former pitching coach at Seton Hall and Kean, she began playing for women's Major and Class-A travel teams in the late 1970's. She learned pitching from Betty Zwingraf on the Linden Majors, and finished her career as a two-time ASA All-American in 1999 while playing for teams from NYC. Linda assumed management of the famed Linden Arians (est. 1934) for several years, coaching them as a Class-A team and leading them into their 6th decade, thereby representing the oldest softball team in the world. She later founded the NJ Divas, who she managed to their 23U national championship and numerous other titles. The Divas organization has produced 10 ASA All-Americans. Linda was a guest instructor at Michele Smith's Gold Camp in Delaware this summer, and has run past clinics featuring Michele in the NJ-metro NYC area. She is a member of the Union County and NJ State ASA Halls of Fame, and is Director of the new Elizabeth, NJ P.A.L. "Bullets" 14U team.

LAUREN ANDERSON is one of the most dominant pitchers to ever come from NJ. Her devastating rise curve has been clocked at 71 mph against some of the nation's best hitters. She is a three-time ASA All-American, twice with the NJ Divas who she helped lead to the 2003 23U National Championship and a 3rd place national finish at the Women's Class-A tournament, and once with Storm USA of Southern California at the Women's Major Nationals. When Lauren graduated from Toms River North HS she held the state record for strikeouts. She later gained NAIA All-American selections while playing for her dad, Gary, at Georgian Court College. Lauren coaches softball at Msgr. Donovan HS and is a private pitching instructor at the Ballpark. She was recently named head coach of the 16U Intensity and assists with their 18Us.

MANDY SCHENCK began pitching at the age of 12 under the guidance of Linda Lensch. She also worked under noted pitching coach Betty Zwingraf. At the College of New Jersey, the southpaw was a four-year starter who pitched two perfect games and holds the all-time strike out record. In 2000, the year she pitched at the NCAA DIII National Championships, she was All-American, the New Jersey Athletic Conference Softball Pitcher of the Year and the National Division III Player of the Week (March 20-26, 2000). Mandy continues to work with teenage girls at TCNJ, Princeton University, NJ Wildcats and Nike Summer Softball Camps and is a private pitching coach in Central New Jersey. 

BETTY ZWINGRAF has been involved with fastpitch softball since the 1960s. This NYC native played with and against and coached some of the world's top players (Dr. Dot Richardson was once her team's batgirl!!). Betty was a member of teams in NJ, NY and FL that were among the best in the USA, primarily traveling the east coast and Canada. She later founded and managed the Linden Majors where she developed many superb ballplayers, most notably a young lefty pitcher, Michele Smith, who became a two-time Olympian and professional player in Japan. Many of Betty's former players became prominent college and travel coaches. Betty's influence on NJ Divas pitchers was a factor in the team's success. A retired professor of Health & Phys. Ed. at the College of Staten Island, Betty currently serves as the pitching coach there. Last season, CSI captured the CUNY title and pitcher/utility Chris D'Arpa,  also originally a student of Linda's, was named a 1st team DIII All-American. Betty has studied pitching and its mechanics for most of her adult life. She was a guest of the Dominican Republic men's and women's national teams where she helped improve their mound corps. She attended the first Olympic Softball event in Georgia, and the second in Sydney, Australia, where she studied pitchers from around the world. She is a member of the NJ ASA State HAll of Fame. Betty has been a guest instructor at Michele Smith's Holiday Gold Camps in St. Petersburg, FL, where she coached alongside Michele, Cat Osterman, Alicia Hollowell and other world-class athletes. She will return to the camp this winter (for details, click on the photo below). We are extremely fortunate because Betty will share some of the insights and new techniques from those Florida sessions.

* * *  REGISTRATIONS for the Nov. 18th pitching and catching clinics are presently CLOSED as we have reached capacity. To ensure a quality experience for participants, we must limit the number of campers in order to provide an effective instructor-to-student ratio. For information on future fastpitch events, such as our hitting, pitch-specific and outfield-specific clinics (TBA), click on the Osprey logo above or call head coach Val Julien at (609) 748-6012. Call ahead to reserve your spot today!