: 12U Thurston

The Wolves end their fall season falling in the semi-finals of the ASA Toys for Tots Tournament held 11/21-11/22.  The team opened pool play with a 14-5 win over the Outlaws and then fell 6-5 to the Wildfire and 7-1 to our sister Desert Wolves team. 

The pack go extra innings to beat the Outlaws 7-6 to open the tournament and then fall 12-0 to the eventual champion Wildfire team in the semi-final. 

It’s been a great fall season for the Wolves as they qualify for the TCS National Tournament in Salt Lake City next July.  The girls played in 5 fall tournaments – 1^st place once, 2^nd place once, 3^rd place twice, and one early exit.

The 12U Desert Wolves -Thurston open strong and play for the championship in their very first tournament, the TCS Fun in the Sun. The Wolves run out of gas and into a buzz saw in AZ Dynasty dropping the championship game 14-5. The Wolves play 6 games going 4-2 in a marathon softball Saturday.  The  team relies on strong and deep pitching staff, solid defense and clutch hitting to reach the championship game in a well represented tournament. 

The Wolves open the tournament by giving one away to the Shockwave losing 5-4 in pool play game #1. The Wolves rebound in pool play game #2 nicely to beat the Krazy Kats 13-3. The Wolves come back in the afternoon as a #3 seed and beat a scrappy Scottsdale Sting team 12-3. The Wolves follow with great pitching and all around solid play to come from behind to beat a strong Anthem en Fuego team 4-2 in the last inning. The Wolves ride another great pitching performance into the championship game by beating the Shockwave 5-0. 

The teams season goal of qualifying for the TCS national championship tournament in Salt Lake City in July 2010 is met right out of the gate.  We are expecting to see some great things from this young and hungry Desert Wolves team.

 Team Philosophy:

We will strive to provide a positive, fun and competitive softball experience that takes care to balance softball with school and other activities.  We are looking for committed players and families to join our team and organization.  We are interested in players (and families) with good attitudes, work ethics, and character looking for a competitive softball experience.  We will stress and work on solid fundamentals and strive for improvements in every aspect of each player’s abilities and skills.  We will hold active practices with multiple stations (requiring additional parental/sibling help as available) to optimize our players growth and softball experience.  We will be a competitive team and we will focus on winning each and every game we play but we do not believe in a “win at all cost” mentality or behavior. 

2009/2010 Team Schedule and Goal:

We will hold tryouts in early August and begin practices as soon as our team is formed.  We will plan on playing in 3-4 fall tournaments and taking an extended break in November and December.  We plan on starting back up in January with a national championship tournament in July as our main goal.  We plan on playing approximately 2 tournaments/month which will be mostly local Phoenix tournaments.  We will look to play 2-3 tournaments throughout Arizona and possibly a southern California tournament during the season, particularly when it gets hot.  We will also plan on taking a break over the PVUSD and SUSD school spring breaks. 

Coaches: 

Head Coach Brian Thurston: Has over 15 years of coaching experience in youth and high school basketball, youth baseball and most recently youth softball.  He has been a head coach for 6 years with Scottsdale Miss Softball and the past two summers in competitive softball as the head coach of the 10U/12U Scottsdale Sting.  His contact information is brian.thurston@honeywell.com and his cell is 602-363-9972.

Mike Thorell: Coach Thorell has over 10 years coaching experience in both youth baseball and softball, most recently as a head coach with Scottsdale Miss Softball - Majors Division. Mike played collegiate baseball at The University of Arizona from 1984 - 1988, was a member of the 1986 National Championship Team, and Co-Captain of the 1988 squad. He specializes in the fundamentals of both hitting and catching. His contact information is mike@thorellaz.com and his cell phone is 602-762-0494.

Dwaine Hasenmiller: Coach Hasenmiller has been a head coach in Scottsdale Miss Softball for 6 years and was an assistant coach for 5 years, which included 2 years with the Scottsdale Sting (10U and 12U). His contact information is apshas@aol.com and his cell is 602-448-9399.

Wes Mierau:  Coach Mierau has been a head coach for 6 years with Scottsdale Miss Softball.  His competitive softball experience has been with the Scottsdale Sting (Thurston 97) for the past 2 summers.  His contact information is wamierau@trane.com and his cell is 602-725-8861.

Stephanie Clark:  Stephanie played for the University of Oklahoma from 1995-1999 where she played under Patty Gasso as Gasso’s first recruit.  The Sooners won two Big 12 Conference Championships in 1996 and 1999.  All four years the Sooners qualified for Regional berths.

Although recruited as a catcher, Stephanie played the majority of her career in the outfield where she earned her starting position both junior and senior years.  She was called upon many times as the designated hitter in crucial situations her first two years.

Stephanie now uses her training to help young girls and boys achieve their athletic goals.  Stephanie’s main focus is in the individual and team training for softball.  She has worked with Scottsdale Miss Softball in running clinics, specifically catching clinics.  Stephanie runs youth programs for 3 to 5 year olds in the Fall and Spring.  Stephanie also emphasizes the importance of speed and agility training in any sport and implements this specific training in many camps and clinics.  Visit her website for more information on training options or upcoming clinics for you.  www.improvedperfomancellc.com