Sioux Falls Diamonds Softball

The first Blackshirts of the 2012 season were awarded to a pair of sisters from Ann Sterrett’s Team, the 9u X-plosion. Courtney and Jessica Mongar are the hard working ladies who received their Blackshirts Tuesday January 17th 2012. Congratulations to Courtney and Jessica and keep working hard ladies! Congratulations to Shayla Running for getting her second Blackshirt in as many years! Awesome job ladies!

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Congratulations to all these young ladies for their hard work and dedication to becoming the best softball they can be.

The “Diamond Blackshirts“ is an exclusive club of Sioux Falls Diamond’s players who’ve taken over 5,000 swings in the hitting cage from October 15th to May 31st. This is the only time period a player can earn a “Diamond Blackshirts“ signifying a player who has dedicated herself to becoming the best hitter she can be.

A player wearing a “Diamond Blackshirts“ will be easily recognized for her accomplishment! Our players will wear their shirts with pride and help motivate her teammates and other players in the club to strive for the same honor!

New Rules for 2011

Rules for tracking swings in the cage:

1. The person feeding the machine should be the one who marks the poster for the player. The poster is on the wall in the CORE and is organized by team.  This will allow the head coach to track the progress of their players.
2. Each bucket holds 50 balls.  A player can track how many swings she has taken by the number of buckets she hits. 2 buckets = 100 hits, etc
3. No player may record more than 200 swings per day. A minimum 50 of those must be on a Hitting Tee.
4. You can record any variation of hits in the cage or on a tee, ie. 100 cage/100 tee or 100 cage/50 tee day.
5. Hits in the cage should be written as the date and 50 hits on a tee should be noted as “T’ on the board.  Dennis Werner will be checking this on a periodic basis.
6. October 15th – May 31st each year is the only time hits are tracked for earning a “Diamond Blackshirts“.
7. After a player achieves her Blackshirt she must take 1500 swings every three months to retain her shirt! 500 of those swings must be on a hitting tee.

If you have any questions regarding the “Diamond Blackshirt”, please contact the following:

• Steve Thompson, aiathompson@live.com, Phone: 359-3911

The “Diamonds Blackshirts Club“ ended it’s first successful year with 44 total members. The “Diamonds Blackshirts Club“ is for those Diamond players who reach 5,000 swings in the CORE batting cages before March 31st.  Congratulations to all the players who have worked hard to reach their goal.   After receiving their Blackshirts, members of the club are required to take at least 1,500 swings in the cages every three months in order to keep their Blackshirts and stay a part of the club.

BLACKSHIRT CLUB MEMBERS as of April 22nd, 2011. Congratulations girls! Kaylie Letcher, Sierra Haage, Maycee Trujillo, Jade Thompson, Macy Schroedermeier, Sara Erickson, Dani Fucs, Katie Strande, Kendra Strande , Emma Osmundson, Kylie Madrid, Shayla Running, Amirah Michaeli, Alex Roth, Kylie Werner, Alexis Koltz, Grace Glanzer, Taylor Cordell, Katie Thompson, Page Wise, Ali Lindner, MacKenzie Larson, Izzy Marketon, Jenna Helgeson, Jill Nelsen, Tannah Goens, Abby & Caitlyn Lint, Steph Gabel, Sara Genz, Alise Wagner, Jordan Harmalink, Maddy Hackett, Ariel Buckley, Hailey, Kaitlyn Sterett, Ashley Brower, Abby Schultz, Tahia Mitzel, Ryelee Neeman, Morgan Werner, Sophie Hunter, Anne Rickert, Amber Weber

The Diamonds’ Challenge Trophy Current Champions are the Diamonds 13u White team coached by Evan Hackett. This is their 3rd month in a row. Time to put an end to their rein!

Here are the rules: The Throwing Challenge will be a winter indoor challenge only. November-March.

1. Have your players stand in the corners of the core workout area.
2. There is no time limit.
3. Have the players receive the ball then start running to their target and throw as if in a run-down situation.
4. The player must throw right away as they are taking their first few steps towards their target.
5. Have the players run to the corner they just threw to.
6. If the ball is dropped the team must start back at zero.
7. Count the number of completed rotations through the four corners. One completed time through is 1 rotation.
8. To get the most out of this drill make sure the players are throwing the ball as if in a live game situation. No lobbing the ball just to make it easy.
9. Coaches must report their teams best score to Ed or Steve on or before the last Sunday of each month to qualify for the Diamonds’ Challenge Trophy.
10. Reminders will be sent out on Sunday.
11. The trophy will be displayed in the core for bragging rights each month.
12. Attempts can only be made during a teams’ scheduled practice time slot.
13. You can make as many attempts in your practice as you wish.
14. Each new month the challenge starts over from zero.
15. If you are doing the challenge outdoors you must do it from the four bases.

This is a great drill for throwing accuracy and catching under pressure. Have fun with it girls and let’s see which Diamonds’ team wins each month.

The trophy is a traveling trophy and will stay in the core with the current top team’s name on the trophy. Good luck all!

The Diamond’s Pitchers MPH (Miles Per Hour) Club is an exclusive club for Diamond pitchers who have reached milestone pitching speeds. These pitchers also have to meet control and command guidelines before they can become a part of our exclusive club.

Coaches please email me here if you would like your pitchers recognized in this club!

70 MPH

65 MPH

60 MPH- Kaylie Letcher, Sierra Haage

55 MPH- Alexis Koltz

50 MPH- Grace Glanzer, Lexi Konda, Jenna Helgeson, Izzy Marketon, Macy Schroedermeier, Kylie Madrid

45 MPH- Jasmine Schneider,  Maddy Hacket, Ali Lindner, Katelyn Sterrett

Perfect Games:

No Hitters: Kaylie Letcher, Sierra Haage, Lexi Koltz

Control and Command Guidelines for the MPH Club:

Pitchers must be able to throw 70% strikes and have command of at least two pitches. This can be any two pitches such as a fastball and a change.