January Events & Top Performances

Happy Birthday Anne Marie R.

New High Pitch Speeds-Catherine H. 46mph, Hannah W. 45mph, Sam T. 48mph

No Look Pitches-Kate B.-7 out of 10

Plate Game-Sam T.-150

Two-Ball Drill-Katherine P.-58.8 sec.

One Minute Snap Drill-
Heather F.-40
Jamie J.-30
Sam T.-40
Kate B.40
Vicky L.-40

8 Keys to the Right Pitching Stride Length

By Cindy Bristow, Renowned Softball Coach
What do you tell your pitchers about how far they should stride? Do you know which one is better – a short stride or a long one? Read on to discover the truth about a pitcher’s stride.
CLICK HERE to read the rest of the article.

The Best Pitching Students Ever!

Girls Fastpitch Coach - Success Stories

I've been coaching girls fastpitch for 10 years and during that time I've had the privilege of working with lots of dedicated kids. Their successes are my successes. Here are just a few of my students who went on to pitch in college:

Rachel Cleavland from Mundelein High School went on to pitch for Ball State University

Kristin Madoch, Glenbrook South - Rutgers

Kristina Long, New Trier - Rochester

Randi Kreiter, Deerfield H.S. - Northern Illinois

Brooke Buzard, Glenbrook South - Univ.of Illinois

Lauren Ott, Mundelein - Butler

Alex Vikartofsky, Stevenson - Miami of Ohio

Pam Nicholson, Glenbrook South - South Dakota State

Samantha Roth, Glenbrook North - Cornell

December Events

Welcome New Pitchers
Michele P.
Allison E.
Tricia P.

Happy December Birthdays
Lisa W.
Anna H.
Katy Q.
Sam G.

Top Performers New Personal Highs
Speed
Julia W.-58 mph
Lauren S.-46
Jenna E.-52

Wall Drill
Jamie J.-61
Katharine P.-70 1 Min.

Snap
Heather F.-37
Sarah J.-41

New Pitches
Sam T.-2 seam

Top November Performances

Welcome new students:
Isabella M.
MaryFaith S.
Laura V.

New speed highs:
Ashley G.-52 mph
Anne Marie R.-45 mph
Tara N.- 41mph
New Plate Game High:
Natalie K.-85
Top Wall Drill Increase:
Sam T.-21%
Rachel B.-14%
Anna H.-12%
New personal bests:
1 min. snap-Katharine P. 47
Blue Wall --Heather F.-6 misses
Lisa W. --0 misses
Warm Up Drills:
Top Monthly Average:
Katharine P. 76.3%
New Personal Bests:
Rachel B. 83%
Hannah W. 83%
Melanie N. 100%
Jen Z. 100%
New Pitches:
Zoey F. Drop-change
Rachel E. Drop-change
Hannah O. Drop
Congratulations to the November top performers!

Exerpted from an Article by Niksports

Lane Tech's Young Guns
The softball scene in the Chicagoland area is generally dominated by the suburban teams. Lane Tech is getting ready to make some noise. They have quietly built up a team of young guns to give those suburban teams a challenge and recapture the City Championship. The Pioneer Press called them the "three-headed monster." They aren't very tall, they may not put the fear into a hitter...until they see the first pitch. Whoever said that dynamite comes in small packages may have been talking about Lane Tech's Trio of Young Guns.
This young pitching staff is led by Jazzy Camacho, Jackie Manrique and Samantha Nikolich.
All three of these young ladies have a couple things in common. Their fathers have all coached softball/baseball. They all played travel softball on the Outburst with Xavier Manrique as head coach. They also at one time or another took pitching lessons from Bill Wozney of North Shore Sports.
Sam still trains with Bill Wozney, he had this to say about her, "I realized at a fall league game how fearless Sam was when I challenged her to throw three consecutive change-ups in a row. She did and struck out the batter on three pitches. Sam just wants to win."
Bill's dedication to teaching pitching shows. He went on to say, "Northshore sports has been teaching girls fastpitch for ten years. I believe the girls realize that I really care about their success and that seems to motivate them to work harder. All my gratification comes from the girls pitching well at a competitive level. For the last four years we have sent girls to pitch at division 1 in college."
CLICK HERE to read the entire article.
Ed. note: Jazzy is now pitching in college; Jackie and Sam are completing their senior year and are looking forward to their college softball careers.