Remembering Six Years Ago

October 12, 2011

 

Tomorrow, the 13th of October, we will launch our seventh National Elite Futures Camp at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA.  For those of you who have never been to Mt. SAC, you are missing one of the finest softball venues in California.  It is a superb facility that is home to one of the premier Community College programs in the country.  And Coach Kelly Ford is certainly recognized as one of the finest coaches.

However, six years ago, we were preparing to launch our very first National Camp at the beautiful Eller Media Stadium on the campus of UNLV.  Whoa, what a scary time.  Never before had such a camp been held.  The idea was actually the end product of a casual conversation at the Salem Gold Nationals with  Sue Enquist, the great UCLA head coach.  After being chided by Derek for softball’s lack of such marquee recruiting events, Coach Enquist challenged the two of us to run a major Elite recruiting camp.  She stated unequivocally that people had tried but no one had ever been able to make it work.  We laughed and said no, but the seed was planted.

We knew that to get the players there, people had to believe that a significant number of coaches would show up.  Yet, for those coaches to come, we realized that we had to get some of the very best players to commit to the idea.  Obviously, that was going to be a tough sell.  Many in the ASA softball world expressed major skepticism.  Many nay-sayers were convinced that such an event could never succeed.  Others questioned the motive behind the endeavor.  Many also immediately embraced the concept.  The keys obviously were the players and their parents.  We were looking for forty-four courageous souls who shared our vision.  Some who were invited rejected the invitation; however, forty-four hand-picked players finally said yes and set their sights on Las Vegas.  However, we really had no idea if anyone would even show up.

We started feeling better as the players began to arrive at our host hotel, the Alexis Park.  CAL star, Jace Williams, we think was the first friendly and reassuring face we saw that afternoon.  We went through our walk-through at UNLV, and the format we still employ today looked good.  Virtually every player was there that night.  A few were arriving late.  Derek had to run to the airport to pick up Lindsey Shutzler, the future Arizona Wildcat star who flew in by herself with her parents’ blessing.  But still we didn’t know if any major coach would be there.   Through the grapevine, we had heard some maybes, but no one was definitive.   So, we crossed our fingers and went to bed and tried to get some sleep.

The next morning as the sun was just starting to light the sky, the two of us made our way to Eller Media Stadium and began to set up.  The players arrived on time and began to warm-up.  No coaches were in sight.  Scott Centala and Mike White arrived.  Mike at the time was the greatest pitcher on the planet, and Scott was one of the best with a bat. They were going to help us.  Still no coaches.  Nerves were getting frayed.  Mike and Scott got ready.  The pitchers and catchers finished their warm-up.  8 AM was fast approaching.  What would happen?  And then  as if on cue, Sue Enquist walked through the gate.

The rest is history.  Thirty-three major college coaches showed up that morning including the entire Pac-10, many from the SEC, the Big 10, and the Big 12. USA Softball actually came by to watch some of the greatest young players in the country.  Stars were born that day, and dreams – both ours and many players - were finally realized.