TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Olympian To Host Softball Camp

ADVERTISEMENT

By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2008

Olympic gold medalist Michele Smith will return to Little League's Southern Region headquarters in St. Petersburg in early March to host a softball coaching clinic.

The March 2 clinic, which is part of a series presented by Musco Sports Lighting, is aimed at improving the levels of coaching for all Little League teams, and since its inception four years ago, Smith says she has seen its impact.

"Since we started doing these clinics four years ago, I've seen the quality of Little League softball coaching improve greatly," Smith said. "I try to touch on everything, which is tough in five hours, but the most important aspect of the clinic is to remind coaches that elite level softball is built on fundamentals. I try to impress on them that softball is a complex game and that even though something is 'fundamental' it is not basic."

Smith's tour, which begins Feb. 9 in Belleview, Wash., covers a large range of areas coaches have to deal with on and off the field, from teaching techniques, skills and how to improve a program on the field to promoting Little League softball within a league's local community.

"I teach proper fundamentals, so a coach can be confident they are teaching the correct way to play the sport," Smith said. "As people get more confident on field, they feel better about what they are teaching. If the players feel their coach is participating and involved, then the player will give a lot more. My message is simple: Stand up, try it, and pass it on."

Since her playing career, when Smith won gold medals in 1996 and 2000 representing the U.S., Smith has remained active in the softball community, recently working as an analyst for ESPN at the Little League Softball World Series last year.

Coaches interested in attending the camp can contact the Southern Region Headquarters at (727) 344-2661, or southregion@LittleLeague.org.

HOCKEY: Brett Galley made 27 saves, Billy Augensen and Stephen Guerre scored and Riverview/Durant scored an upset for the second straight week with a 2-0 win against Newsome Blue in the Hillsborough High School Hockey League.

The combined team beat Freedom a week earlier, and took the lead when Augensen scored off a rebound in the first period. From there, Riverview/Durant was able to withstand strong pressure from the Wolves as Newsome outshot the combined team 27-9.

Newsome had defeated Riverview/Durant 7-0 earlier this season, but had its hopes ended late in the third period when Guerre scored on a breakaway.

Newsome's loss allowed Freedom to move back into a tie for first place with a 3-1 win against Plant.

The Patriots got a pair of goals from Shaun Dickinson in the first period, but the Panthers countered with a goal by Michael Gerrity to make the score 2-1 after two periods, but Ed Kuba scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season to pad the Patriots lead in the third.

Freedom's win sets up its game this afternoon against Newsome Blue for the regular-season league title, which opens the final week's round of games at 2:15 p.m.

The Tigers stayed in third place with a 5-4 shootout win against Wesley Chapel. Ryan McCaughtery scored the only goal in the shootout, as Tigers goaltender Greg Lemrow stopped all five shots he faced.

Wesley Chapel appeared to have taken control of the game early in the third period after taking a 4-2 lead on a goal by Nate Gotschall, his sixth of the season. The Tigers fought back, however, as first Shane Hurley cut the lead to one, and then McCaughtery scored his second goal of the game to tie the game with less than a minute to play.

Wesley Chapel also fell to Wharton in a game being made up from the previous week. Matt Cazes had a hat trick for Wharton, while George Prieto scored his team-leading 21st goal of the season to go with a pair of assists.

Cazes opened the scoring in the second period on a short-handed goal, but Matt Sarginger tied the game later in the period. Wharton quickly took control of the game in the final period, however, as Cazes completed his hat trick, and Prieto added a late insurance goal.

Wharton took a point from its first game of the weekend, as it tied Newsome White 3-3. Cazes scored the Wildcats' shootout goal, while Jim Wheatley found the net for the Wolves.

Wharton's three points allowed the Wildcats to jump George Jenkins in the standings, but the Eagles stayed only one point back with a 14-2 win against Bloomingdale.

Shane Reger had a hat trick for the Eagles, while Jason Jensen, Zach Harvard, James Krause and Kevin Wagner each scored twice. Jensen's two goals gave him 21 for the season.

RUGBY: The Tampa Pelicans cruised to a 56-5 victory against Winter Park on Saturday, setting up a critical game against Jupiter today.

The Pelicans got four tries from Tony Chalk against Winter Park with Charles Messal adding two, while Joe Cribb scored a try and added three conversions. They will get a much sterner test from Jupiter, which played in the state final last season and is also 3-0 on the season.

The winner of the match would appear to have the inside track on the North Division title, and a place in the state title game. The game is scheduled to start at 2 p.m. at Northdale soccer fields in Tampa.

The Tampa Barbarians will also return to the field, as they look to build on their victory against Winter Park two weeks ago against Brevard.

Information from Tribune wires was used in this report. Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or

nmurray@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Youth Sports, for more news and notes.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT