SRVGAL: San Ramon Valley Girls' Athletic League Softball

SRVGAL is an organization run by volunteers; not just an enthusiatic few but dozens of kind hearted individuals who give countless hours to make the San Ramon Valley Girls Athletic league one of the best youth sport organizations in our area. The SRVGAL Board of Directors would like to sincerely thank every team mom, scorekeeper, field prep, assitant coach, coach, manager, uniform organizer, PCA representative, practice helper and cheerleader for making our 2010 season successsful.

If you and your family enjoyed the season and would like to be part of the planning and organizing our 2011 season there are several opportunities to join the SRVGAL board of directors. Please check out the Board of Directors page on the SRVGAL website for additonal information, or contact the new SRVGAL president, Jim Parlanti, expressing your interest. There will be additonal open positions as current board members move from one position to another so if you have an interest in a particular area or a talent that lends itself to a specific position please let us know.

On Wednesday June 2, the San Francisco Giants are having their first Girl’s Softball night at AT&T Park featuring Jennie Finch. She will be holding a special Q&A session with all softball players in the scoreboard plaza and throwing out the first pitch in effort to raise softball awareness and bring softball back to the Olympics where it rightfully belongs.

Included with each ticket is a special edition Jennie Finch Bobble head, a seat in the special Girl’s softball section of the ballpark, with all ticket proceeds benefiting Jennie Finch’s ‘nPLAY foundation.

The Stompers summer rosters are posted at the link below. Thank you to all of the talented athletes that attended the tryouts. Congratulations to the girls that earned a roster spot on one of the teams.

Our 1st Annual Spirit Day on April 20th was a great success with reports of 100's of girls wearing their jersey to school!

The league has received it's first photos (see below) from the players at Bollinger Canyon Elementary School and Neil Armstrong Elementary School.

The league would like to extend a "Thank You" to each and every girl playing this season and for showing off their team colors. Also, let's not forget the great coaches (and board members) for wearing their polos to work and donating their time this season. With out them, none of this would be possible.

If any other player or parent has pictures from Spirit Day, please submit them to srenfro@srvgal.org so they can be added to the website.

It is time to nominate coaches for our PCA Double Goal Coach of the Year Awards.

SRVGAL has many outstanding volunteers who accept the challenge of coaching our daughters. On June 6th, All Star Day we recognize these individuals by awarding them our PCA Double Goal Coach of the Year Awards. Coaches, parents, and players are encouraged to nominate SRVGAL coaches who they believe are outstanding examples of coaches who not only strive for excellence in the sport of softball, but who have a second, more important goal of using sports to teach life lessons. Please let SRVGAL know of coaches who

• Emphasize effort, learning and bouncing back from mistakes
• Fill their players emotional tanks with encouragement and praise
• Honor all aspects of the game, treating players, umpires and fellow coaches with respect.

Nominations are easy, just clink on the link below and complete a short online application. This is a great way to show appreciation and recognition to the men and women who give their time to our daughters.

The deadline for submission is May 8th, 2010

04.21.10
Stompers Summer Team Tryouts
Sunday, May 2nd (San Ramon Valley High School)

If you love to play softball, like to hang out with other girls that love softball, and want an opportunity to improve your game, come tryout to play on Stompers!

Stompers is the summer SRVGAL travel program and playing on a Stompers team can be a great experience and a fun way to continue playing softball during the summer.

Go to the Stompers page (www.srvgal.org/stompers.html) for tryout times and more information. Please complete an online Player Availability Form before attending the tryouts.

SRVGAL Picture Day is on Sunday, April 25th at Sycamore Park in Danville. Click here for the most current schedule. SRVGAL Spirit Wear will be available for purchase, so don't forget to bring your checkbook or cash.

Coaches should already have picture packets available. You can also prepay your pictures by clicking the 'SRVGAL Softball' link from the link below.

It's time to kick off the official SRVGAL season by showing your team colors at school. Show your SRVGAL pride by wearing your team jersey on Tuesday, April 20th and tell all your friends how much fun it is to play softball. Maybe they'll want to play next year!

Be sure to get all of the SRVGAL players from your school to take a group photo in front of your school sign. Send your photo to srenfro@srvgal.org and the school with the most players will have their picture posted on the SRVGAL website!

Coaches and Board Members, we'd like you to show your SRVGAL spirit too by wearing your SRVGAL shirt to work! Perhaps there is a prospective coach or sponsor among your co-workers.

The City of San Ramon has eliminated their field hotline number. All information regarding San Ramon field closures are communicated through email and text messages. You can sign up to receive both at http://www.ci.san-ramon.ca.us/. Click here for instructions on setting up the email and text message notifications.

The town of Danville is still using the dial in number 925-314-3484. Danville's hotline is updated on weekdays at 2pm. On weekends, the hotline is updated at 8am, and if needed again at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm.

Our annual SRVGAL Scorekeepers training class is this Thursday, March 25th at 7pm. The class will be held at Charlotte Wood Middle School in room 100.

All are welcome. Please bring a pencil and notepad. In you have any questions, please contact Jan Tomsic at JTomsic@srvgal.org.

To give each manager, coach, and parent a foundation in the fundamentals and skills required to play fastpitch softball, SRVGAL has created a new Training page on the website where you can download instructional PDFs as well as view instructional videos! Click 'Training' in the navigation menu to the left to go to the Training page.

Every SRVGAL team is required to have at least one parent attend the PCA parent training. To fulfill this requirement, the parent must attend one of the six 30 minute training workshops that will be held in March 2010. Pre-registration is required. Click the PCA link below to register for one of the sessions. Your registration will be confirmed by SRVGAL.

PCA Parent Workshops
Thursday, March 11, 7:00 - 7:30pm
Thursday, March 11, 7:45 - 8:15pm
Thursday, March 11, 8:30 - 9:00pm

Saturday, March 13, 10:00 - 10:30am
Saturday, March 13, 10:45 - 11:15am
Saturday, March 13, 11:30 - 12:00pm

To register as a new umpire, please click the link below. Existing umpires should click the link to update their info. New umpires will need to attend one rules clinic and one mechanics clinic. Returning umpires need to attend one rules clinic.

Remaining Umpire Clinics:
Umpire Mechanics – Saturday, March 13, 1–5pm (Charlotte Wood Multipurpose)
Umpire Rules – Sunday, March 14, 12–4pm (Charlotte Wood, Rm. 400)

01.22.10
Coaches Training Rescheduled to Jan. 30

Due to the soggy conditions at SRVHS, the Red/Blue ACE coaches training scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23 has been rescheduled to Saturday, Jan. 30, 10:30am – 1:30pm, at SRVHS.

Red/Blue bag pickup is still scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 23; however, the times are now from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

Coaching clinics don't get much better than this! Fortunately for a few die-hard SRVGAL coaches they were treated to a 3-Day, technical and strategic feast of fastpitch softball knowledge from the best coaches in the business—Mike Candrea (former head coach of Team USA and current head coach at University of Arizona), Ken Erikson (University of South Florida), and Jay Miller (current head coach of Team USA and Mississippi State). The sponsored ASA coaching school was held in Livermore for coaches looking to sharpen their technical fastpitch coaching skills while getting some great training tools to take into the next season.

The coaches lectured on training fastpitch players, organizing a practice, video analysis of hitting, and responsible coaching. Attending this event were coaches from as far away as N. Carolina. SRVGAL coaches showed up in full force with ten coaches representing the largest fastpitch organization west of the Mississippi.

Front Row: Chris Phillips, Laura McMahon, Mike Candrea, Jay Miller, Cataline Harkleroad, Lori Smith. Back Row: Steve Renfro, Bill Miller, Mark Tomsic, Joe Williams. Not pictured Anne Phillips.

01.11.10
2010 Red/Blue Rosters

The Red and Blue drafts are held in early January. Once the rosters are available, they are posted on the Teams page.

There is an exception for players that registered in the High School Division and are playing on a high school JV or Varsity team. They will be refunded their registration fees if they do not wish to play in the few remaining games of the SRVGAL High School League season.

SRVGAL will retain a $25 administrative fee for all refunds and returned checks.

Several Valley Stompers teams are holding tryouts for their 2010 Spring & Summer teams. For more information, click the links below to go to each team's website.

11.03.09
Players Registered for the Pre-Tryout Skills Clinic

Click the link below to view the players currently registered for the Pre-Tryout Skills Clinic on November 7. The roster will be updated daily until November 7.

Players Registered for Pre-Tryout Skills Clinic

10.24.09
2009�10 Pre-Tryout Skills Clinic � Register Today!

Are you a SRVGAL softball player planning on trying out for either a red or blue division? Do you want to work on your skills and get a feel for the tryout process? Register today for the pre-tryout clinic!

All clinics will be at the San Ramon Valley High School softball complex Saturday, November 7th. Two sessions will be offered, 9:00am to 12:00pm & 1:00pm to 4:00pm. The clinics will include instruction on the basic skills that each player will be asked to demonstrate at the tryouts as well as a familiarization of the tryout process.

These clinics are very popular and fill up fast, so submit your application as soon as possible.

To sign-up, click here to download the form. Mail the completed form along with your check for $35 to SRVGAL before space runs out.

Be sure to register early because these clinics are very popular and always sell out!

10.20.09
Players Registered for Red/Blue Tryouts

Click the link below to view the players currently registered for the Red/Blue tryouts scheduled for November 14 & 15, and December 5 & 6. The list will be updated regularly. Click the link at the top of this page if you want to sign up for one of the Red/Blue tryout sessions.

Players Registered for Red/Blue Tryouts

09.12.09
Registration Is Now Open/Coaches Needed!

Registration is now open for the 2010 Spring SRVGAL season! Please click on a link above to register your daughter, sponsor a team, or apply to coach a team. The deadline to apply to coach a Red or Blue team is October 15th. The early bird discount ends October 31st.

In SRVGAL each grade level grouping between the 3rd and 8th grades are divided into three divisions based upon skill level. Divisions include RED, BLUE and WHITE. Players are not allowed to play outside their grade level except as noted below.

RED is the most competitive level of play. BLUE is competitive but also considered developmental. The RED and BLUE teams are determined by tryouts and a draft, with no consideration given to where the player lives.

WHITE teams are recreational level play. The WHITE teams are determined by skill level, home address, school attended, and parent volunteer participation. If you are not sure of your daughter's skill level, she should tryout. The draft process will place her on a team that is most appropriate for her skills and where she will get the most enjoyment out of her SRVGAL experience.

Notice on Tryouts
Players wanting to play in the RED or BLUE division MUST register by November 2nd and sign up for tryouts online and attend one tryout session. Tryouts are being held November 14th, 15th and December 5th, 6th. A player who signs up for tryouts but does not attend or does not get drafted, will be automatically placed on a WHITE level team.

Notice on 2nd Graders trying out up
2nd graders who were born in 2002 have the option to try out for 3rd/4th Red or Blue division teams. Players must attend tryouts to be eligible for the draft. 2nd grade players who were born in 2002 that tryout and do not get drafted to a Red or Blue team will be placed on a team in the 1st/2nd grade division. A parent who wishes to coach their daughter who is playing up may only coach in 3rd/4th Blue division. No play-up coaches are allowed in the Red division.

Notice on 4th Graders trying out up
Players who are in 4th grade that played in the Red division last year are eligible to tryout to be drafted onto a 5th/6th grade Red team. In order to be eligible for the 5th/6th draft, 4th grade players MUST have played in the Red division last year and attend BOTH the 3rd/4th grade AND the 5th/6th grade tryouts.

Notice on 6th Graders trying out up
Players who are in 6th grade that played in the Red division last year are eligible to tryout to be drafted onto a 7th/8th grade Red team. In order to be eligible for the 7th/8th draft, 6th grade players MUST have played Red division last year and attend BOTH the 5th/6th grade AND the 7th/8th grade tryouts.

08.26.09
Valley Stompers Fall Ball Tryouts

The 'A' Valley Stompers will soon be holding tryouts for their Fall teams. Contact the head coach for each team, or visit their respective websites for more information.

www.valleystompers.org
Valley Stompers 10U-Callaway
Valley Stompers 14U-Chase
Valley Stompers 18U-Duffy

07.20.09
Open SRVGAL Board Positions

Are you interested in volunteering your time to one of the best athletic leagues in our area? SRVGAL is looking for volunteers for the positions listed below. If you are interested please contact Bill Burchard at srvgalprez@comcast.net.

� Red / Blue Division Coordinators
� White Division Coordinators
� Tournament (Devil Mountain) Director
� Umpire Coordinator
� PCA (Positive Coaching Alliance) Coordinator

Additionally, we are looking for someone with a finance background as we plan for the departure of our VP of Finance. It is our goal to identify an individual this year who can learn from our current VP of Finance and then take the position next year.