News and Announcements
USSSA PINK PANTHER WEEKEND
Vacaville, Ca...The Pink Panther event this weekend brought the fight out in our girls, playing shorthanded and out of position, battling Homecoming weekend. We put up with two 5 am wake up calls and went all the way to the last inning tied in the Championship game, before falling behind by one run.
Congratulation girls for never giving up and showing you have what it takes to compete at any level. Thank you to the coach's for coming together for the first time to lead the girls to victory.
College coaches' biggest pet peeves
By Fred Bastie,
I’m sure you have a few pet peeves and based on our conversations and interviews with college coaches, they certainly have pet peeves when it comes to dealing with student-athletes. Here are the 5 pet peeves we’ve heard most often from college coaches. Since you don’t get a second chance at a first impression, don’t be that recruit who annoys a coach right out of the chute.
Pet Peeve No. 1: Athletes who don’t take care of business in the classroom The last thing college coaches want to do is to waste their time recruiting athletes who don’t take education seriously. If you don’t study in high school, you probably won’t study in college. College coaches don’t want to bother recruiting athletes who might struggle to stay eligible for academic reasons, or worse yet don’t even qualify for admission to their school. Student-athletes and their parents often don’t understand how important good grades and test scores are to college coaches. When trying to decide between two players of similar abilities, coaches will go with the better student every time. A good academic record is an indication of an athlete’s ability to succeed on campus in every facet, not just on the field. Additionally, good students often qualify for academic scholarships and in-state tuition, potentially saving the athletic department scholarship money. This allows coaches in the equivalency sports to potentially spread the athletic scholarship money out over more players by filling in the financial gaps with academic scholarships. Finally, grades and test scores are an indication of a student’s work ethic and achievement standards, for all areas of their lives.
Pet Peeve No. 2: Athletes who send impersonal emails or post inappropriate tweets I don’t know about you, but when I receive a form letter in the mail, it immediately goes to “File 13.” If you think a general email with no personal touch will be well received by a college coach, think again. If you want college coaches to be interested in you, you have to be interested in them. I’m not telling you to research the head coach’s family tree, but it should be obvious that you know a little bit about their program. The more personal the email, the better chance you will get a response. Much like an impersonal email, an inappropriate tweet or a direct message that reads “Hey Coach, check out my highlights!” isn’t anything a college coach wants to see. Neither one is going to get a response or even get considered. Thoughtful, polite and respectful comes across much better than lazy, cocky and arrogant.
Pet Peeve No. 3: Recruits who ask about scholarship money in the first conversation Timing is everything and just so you know, college coaches generally don’t want to talk scholarship dollars in the first conversation. Remember, college recruiting is a process and you probably aren’t going to land a scholarship in your first contact with a college coach. They want to get to know you as an athlete and a person. When you go on a job interview, you don’t walk in and ask “How much money am I going to make here?” You wait for the appropriate time for that discussion. Every college coach knows you want to maximize your scholarship dollars and if they are truly interested in you they will help you reach your goals. If you can, let the coach start the scholarship conversation. It might happen during the first conversation, but the more likely scenario is that it will happen after you’ve established a relationship with the coach.
Pet Peeve No. 4: Over-involved, overbearing parents Helicopter Parents: College coaches don’t want to deal with them. That’s really all that needs to be said, but just in case you don’t know, a Helicopter Parent is defined by Google as “a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children.” Really there isn’t a coach in the country (at any level) that wants to deal with a full-fledged Helicopter Parent. To some extent, all parents have been Helicopter Parents at one time or another, but the problematic Helicopter Parent is easy to spot when their child is competing. When it comes to athletics, Helicopter Parents try to justify why they are so involved in their child’s career. They think they know more than the coach, they make excuses when their athlete doesn’t succeed and they constantly scrutinize their athlete’s performance. If you think your parents might meet the definition of Helicopter Parents then you better be a lot better than your competition, or college coaches will pick the other athlete every time.
Pet Peeve No. 5: Emails/correspondence from third parties Adam Dorrell, the head football coach at Northwest Missouri State University may have said it best when he told us: “The biggest thing with us is we would like to be contacted by the athlete. It is a major turnoff getting emails from a parent or even a recruiting service, so to speak. Quite honestly, we don’t even look at those emails because we know they are going to be slanted or biased. We would really rather have the initial contact come from the athlete or even the high school coach of the athlete.” College coaches want to communicate with YOU, not your parents, your friends and certainly not a recruiting service. Take ownership of your recruiting journey and it will pay big dividends. In fact, we recently conducted a nationwide survey and 100 percent of college coaches said they prefer to hear from the student-athlete, no one else. 100 percent!! I think that means everyone… Here’s the deal Treat the college recruiting process as one long job interview. Take ownership of your recruiting journey. Be yourself, but be on your best behavior and think about anything you say, do or post.
Reprinted from USA TODAY High School Sports which has a weekly column on the recruiting process. This isn’t about where just the top five-star athletes are headed but rather a guide to the process and the pitfalls for student-athletes nationwide from Fred Bastie, the owner and founder of Playced.com. Playced.com identifies appropriate colleges for potential recruits and delivers an online college planning experience for student athletes of all talent levels and ages.
BETHANY SOFTBALL HIRES MARI CERENIO-JORDAN
Lindsborg, KAN. – The Swedes softball team announced the hiring of Mari Cerenio-Jordan '16 as an assistant coach. The California native came to Kansas five years ago to play for current Head Coach Laura Moreno at Brown Mackie College in Salina, Kan. She then played for the Swedes for two seasons and was a student assistant last year before graduating in the spring. "I'm excited to be a part of the softball staff here at Bethany College," Cerenio-Jordan said. "This sport and team are things I've had a lot of passion for in my career as an athlete, and it continues now as a coach. Getting an opportunity to work for your alma mater is an honor." Cereni-Jordan was a successful player for the Swedes in the 2014 and 2015 seasons. As a junior, she was a 2nd Team All-KCAC selection. She hit .381 with 74 hits, six doubles, and four home runs. She also had 54 runs, 36 RBIs, and 35 stolen bases. Her senior year, Cerenio-Jordan earned Honorable Mention All-KCAC honors. She had a .339 batting average as well as 37 hits, six doubles, 23 runs, 16 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. Prior to her time at Bethany, Cerenio-Jordan played at Brown Mackie College-Salina for two years under Coach Moreno. As a sophomore for the Lions, Cerenio-Jordan recorded a .355 batting average with 75 hits, 12 doubles, and 10 home runs. She tallied 60 runs, 40 RBIs, and 25 stolen bases. Her freshman year, Cerenio-Jordan hit .446 and tied for a team-high 41 RBIs with former teammate and former Swedes Student Assistant Lauren Iverson. She also had 22 steals in 26 attempts, and was named 1st Team All-KJCCC. Going into her fifth year under Coach Moreno in different capacities, Cerenio-Jordan is excited about what this new opportunity brings. "Coach Moreno gave me my collegiate start here in Kansas five years ago and I am eager to get to work alongside of her," she said. Coach Moreno is equally excited to have Cerenio-Jordan formally join the Swedes softball coaching staff. "We are very excited to officially welcome Mari to our coaching staff. I've known Mari for over five years and had the pleasure of coaching her at both the junior college level, and here at Bethany. Mari did a tremendous job as a student assistant for us last year, so we are honored to have her now join us in an official capacity on our staff. Her technical ability knowledge, teaching expertise, and passion will be a huge asset to the development of our team. Her love for Bethany College and our softball program, as well as her communication skills, will largely benefit our recruiting as a whole. Mari is a quality person with a good heart; I am honored to have her on our staff." Coach Cerenio-Jordan and the entire team are in full swing of their fall season, they begin play in Concordia, Kan. at the Cloud County Community College Tournament on Saturday, September 17, and Sunday September 18.
College coaches' biggest pet peeves
By Fred Bastie, Here’s the dictionary definition of a pet peeve: Something that you find especially irritating or annoying and have no control over. We all have Pet Peeves. My top two pet peeves are: (1) people in the express lane at the grocery store with a basket full of merchandise, and (2) drivers who don’t care about taking up two parking spaces. I’m sure you have a few pet peeves and based on our conversations and interviews with college coaches, they certainly have pet peeves when it comes to dealing with student-athletes. Here are the 5 pet peeves we’ve heard most often from college coaches.
Since you don’t get a second chance at a first impression, don’t be that recruit who annoys a coach right out of the chute.
Pet Peeve No. 1: Athletes who don’t take care of business in the classroom The last thing college coaches want to do is to waste their time recruiting athletes who don’t take education seriously. If you don’t study in high school, you probably won’t study in college. College coaches don’t want to bother recruiting athletes who might struggle to stay eligible for academic reasons, or worse yet don’t even qualify for admission to their school. Student-athletes and their parents often don’t understand how important good grades and test scores are to college coaches. When trying to decide between two players of similar abilities, coaches will go with the better student every time. A good academic record is an indication of an athlete’s ability to succeed on campus in every facet, not just on the field. Additionally, good students often qualify for academic scholarships and in-state tuition, potentially saving the athletic department scholarship money. This allows coaches in the equivalency sports to potentially spread the athletic scholarship money out over more players by filling in the financial gaps with academic scholarships. Finally, grades and test scores are an indication of a student’s work ethic and achievement standards, for all areas of their lives.
Pet Peeve No. 2: Athletes who send impersonal emails or post inappropriate tweets I don’t know about you, but when I receive a form letter in the mail, it immediately goes to “File 13.” If you think a general email with no personal touch will be well received by a college coach, think again. If you want college coaches to be interested in you, you have to be interested in them. I’m not telling you to research the head coach’s family tree, but it should be obvious that you know a little bit about their program. The more personal the email, the better chance you will get a response. Much like an impersonal email, an inappropriate tweet or a direct message that reads “Hey Coach, check out my highlights!” isn’t anything a college coach wants to see. Neither one is going to get a response or even get considered. Thoughtful, polite and respectful comes across much better than lazy, cocky and arrogant.
Pet Peeve No. 3: Recruits who ask about scholarship money in the first conversation Timing is everything and just so you know, college coaches generally don’t want to talk scholarship dollars in the first conversation. Remember, college recruiting is a process and you probably aren’t going to land a scholarship in your first contact with a college coach. They want to get to know you as an athlete and a person. When you go on a job interview, you don’t walk in and ask “How much money am I going to make here?” You wait for the appropriate time for that discussion. Every college coach knows you want to maximize your scholarship dollars and if they are truly interested in you they will help you reach your goals. If you can, let the coach start the scholarship conversation. It might happen during the first conversation, but the more likely scenario is that it will happen after you’ve established a relationship with the coach.
Pet Peeve No. 4: Over-involved, overbearing parents Helicopter Parents: College coaches don’t want to deal with them. That’s really all that needs to be said, but just in case you don’t know, a Helicopter Parent is defined by Google as “a parent who takes an overprotective or excessive interest in the life of their child or children.” Really there isn’t a coach in the country (at any level) that wants to deal with a full-fledged Helicopter Parent. To some extent, all parents have been Helicopter Parents at one time or another, but the problematic Helicopter Parent is easy to spot when their child is competing. When it comes to athletics, Helicopter Parents try to justify why they are so involved in their child’s career. They think they know more than the coach, they make excuses when their athlete doesn’t succeed and they constantly scrutinize their athlete’s performance. If you think your parents might meet the definition of Helicopter Parents then you better be a lot better than your competition, or college coaches will pick the other athlete every time.
Pet Peeve No. 5: Emails/correspondence from third parties Adam Dorrell, the head football coach at Northwest Missouri State University may have said it best when he told us: “The biggest thing with us is we would like to be contacted by the athlete. It is a major turnoff getting emails from a parent or even a recruiting service, so to speak. Quite honestly, we don’t even look at those emails because we know they are going to be slanted or biased. We would really rather have the initial contact come from the athlete or even the high school coach of the athlete.” College coaches want to communicate with YOU, not your parents, your friends and certainly not a recruiting service. Take ownership of your recruiting journey and it will pay big dividends. In fact, we recently conducted a nationwide survey and 100 percent of college coaches said they prefer to hear from the student-athlete, no one else. 100 percent!! I think that means everyone… Here’s the deal Treat the college recruiting process as one long job interview. Take ownership of your recruiting journey. Be yourself, but be on your best behavior and think about anything you say, do or post.
Reprinted from USA TODAY High School Sports which has a weekly column on the recruiting process. This isn’t about where just the top five-star athletes are headed but rather a guide to the process and the pitfalls for student-athletes nationwide from Fred Bastie, the owner and founder of Playced.com. Playced.com identifies appropriate colleges for potential recruits and delivers an online college planning experience for student athletes of all talent levels and ages.
DOUBLE CHAMPIONS AT "THE LAST STOP" EVENT IN RENO ! !
July 31, 2016...The Renegades invaded Nevada with a purpose this weekend; both teams competing in the same event and wondering if they would get to play each other. After pool play, they landed in different brackets, the Blue team to the Gold and the Black team to the Silver. After a very long day and five games at Bishop Manogue HS on Sunday, they both emerged victorious !!
The Blue team earned their win by defeating the Galt Elite (15-1), the Carmichael Pride (11-8) and the Nor Cal Impact (12-9). The Black team defeated the Cal Rapids (11-1) and the PV Tremblers (12-0). That means the Renegades crossed home plate a total of 61 times on Sunday. What an exciting weekend for their fans !!
