1. Why did you decide to sign with Southern Wesleyan University?

It’s so family-like! Everyone there is so welcoming, from the teachers to the students!

2. Describe the excitement you feel about becoming a college student-athlete?

I can’t wait! I’ve always wanted to be a collegiate athlete and I’m finally getting the opportunity to play for not just a great school, but for great people. I don’t think I could have chosen a better school for my sport and education.

3. What advice would you give to other athletes looking to get recruited?

Get started early. Annoy the college coaches with emails and the earlier you start the better. Most importantly, pick somewhere you can be successful, not as just as an athlete, but as a student as well.

4. Who has been the biggest influence in your sports career and why?

Get started early. Annoy the college coaches with emails and the earlier you start the better. Most importantly, pick somewhere you can be successful, not as just as an athlete, but as a student as well.

5. What would you like to accomplish during your college sports career?

To be apart of the family and the rebuilding of a great program and build myself, not just as an athlete, but as a better Christian and show people my faith.

Over the last five years SportsForce Recruiting has helped over 1,000 student-athletes and families successfully navigate the college recruiting and athletic scholarship process while saving families on average $50,000 in college expenses.

Learn How We Help Families

SportsForce got news this week that Oceanside Softball catcher and SportsForce alum, Tianalia Faasua has accepted a full ride to the University of Northern Colorado. Tialania is part of Division I UNC’s first recruiting class under new coach, Mark Montgomery. Tianalia’s mother, Suluoo Faasua shared the exciting new us:

“ Tianalia’s hard work in the classroom and athletic gifts on the field wards her a full ride DI softball scholarship to University of Northern Colorado. She is a left handed catcher that has a riffle as an arm, throwing at 1.43 seconds to 1st base and 1.83 down to 2^nd”

Tianalia’s mother also shared with us the University of Northern Colorado Softball program’s press release on the new softball recruits:

Montgomery’s first recruiting class includes eight NLIs

Montgomery’s bio | NC softball roster

GREELEY, Colo. – University of Northern Colorado head softball coach Mark Montgomery announced today, the signing of eight players to National Letters of Intent for the 2011-12 season.

Kelci Cheney, Mikayla Duffy, Melissa Marcovecchio, Tianalia Faasua, Nicole Hudson, Kaitlin Flynn, Ashleigh Waterland, and Janelle Lopez have committed to the play for the Bears in the spring of 2012.

Tianalia Faasua, 5-10, Catcher, Oceanside, Calif. (Oceanside High School)
Faasua has lettered in all for her first three years while playing softball for the Pirates … She is also a one-year letter winner in basketball, where she plays center… During her junior years, she batted .365 with 18 RBI and six homeruns … She has also been named to the honor roll the last three years … She plays club softball for the San Diego Breakers … She is set to being her final season as a Pirate in the spring.

“Tianalia is unique because she’s a left-handed catcher,” Montgomery said. “A lot of people don’t think that catcher is a left-handed position, but she will prove any doubter wrong because she has such a strong arm and is so quick behind the plate. She is also a power lefty-hitter and we expect big things from her during her career as a Bear.”

Congratulations to Tianalia and her family! Take a look at Tianalia in action in her SportsForce highlight video below:

Article courtesy: http://www.uncbears.com/sports/sball/2010-11/releases/111610_sballnlirelease

Sport: Softball Position: Pitcher Height: 5’11” Class: 2011 School: University City High School San Diego, CA

The Centurion pitcher, junior Amanda Hansen, led her team to their second straight CIF San Diego Section Division III Title this past month. Hansen pitched a two hit shutout against Santana High School narrowly beating them 1-0 to take the championship game. Hansen was also named to the first team for the All San Diego Section team for softball and was named Pitcher of the Year for the Western League.
To view Amanda’s complete SportsForce profile click here – http://www.sportsforceonline.com/athletes/amanda-hansen-softball-2011

Scouting report courtesy of SportsForce – Home for college Sports Recruiting Videos, Tips, Tools and Premium Services – www.sportsforceonline.com

The 8th Annual America’s Finest City Showcase took place last month and was an all around success. This years tounament featured top softball talent from from California and beyond including Texas, Florida, Oklahoma, New Jersey Virgina as well as every western state. The Showcase is now a musst attend for college recruiters. SportsForce was at all of the games for the AFC and got to witness some great games.

Pumas, Ventura, CA vs Case Batbusters, San Clemente, CA

Fire Crackers, Huntington Beach, CA vs. Victory Gold USA, Newbury Park, CA

Minor’s Gold, San Jacinto, CA vs. OC Elite Gold, Santa Magarita, CA

Corona Angels, Corona, CA vs. So Cal Athletics , Upland, CA

Nolan Mera is a center fielder for the University City High School baseball team. Nolan also plays for the SoCal Blast. Visit Nolan’s full profile and see his video below.

Nick Sloan is kicker/ punter for Scripps Ranch High School. The 5’11 185lb junior has been a member of the varsity squad since his sophomore year and was named the Special Teams MVP in 2008. Visit his full profile and see him in action below.

Mar Vista High Softball pitcher, Angelica Iacovetti has received much recognition for her talents, named 1st Team All-Southbay League Led league in HRs(6) 2nd Team CIF San Diego Section Div III Union Tribune Athlete of the Week(5-12-09) and San Diego Section III CIF Finalist. Angelica has her sights set on a few schools: St.John’s University; Academy of Art University; Stanford; University of California; Berkeley; Wagner College; San Francisco State; Savannah College of the Arts. Visit her full profile.

Shelby Isley is a midfielder for the Girls Soccer team at Archbishop O’Leary High School in Alberta, Canada. She is also a member of the track and field team. See her video below and visit her full profile.

A senior at Amador Valley High School in Pleasanton, CA, Thomas Pluschkell plays third base and first base. Thomas received the All Academic Team AZ Fall Classic HS Coaches Award and is looking at MT, UCLA, Stanford, USC, UCSD and Notre Dame to continue his baseball career. See his video below and visit his full profile.

Chelsea Maestas is a junior at Murrieta Valley High School and plays second base and center field for the Nighthawks softball team. She also plays for the San Diego Legacy and was a member of the the 2009 League Champions and recieved the 2009 Golden Glove Award. Check out her full profile.

SportsForce athlete, Alysha Isaacson recently committed to the University of Dayton to play softball for the Flyers. Alysha went on an official visit to the school in September and decided to commit after “falling in love with it” according to her mother. The signing period for softball starts November 11th and Alysha will officially sign with Dayton then. Alysha currently plays club ball for Case Batbusters and High School for Hilltop High School. Visit Alysha’s profile on the SportsForce site to see what helped to propel the recruiting process.

The fall session of the Surf City Softball Showcase was held in Huntington Beach over the weekend of October 9-11th, 2009. It featured 128 teams from the Southern California area and showcased the very best that fastpitch softball has to offer. Check out SportsForce’s coverage of the Showcase below.

Nick Melka is a defensive end and tight end out of Lisle, IL. At 6’2” and 242lbs Nick is a force on the field. He is captain of the football team as well as a captain of the boys volleyball team. In his 2008 season, Nick has 51 Tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, 5 ½ sacks and one blocked punt. So far in his 2009 season, Nick has 11 ½ sacks over six games and one blocked extra point.

For Nick’s complete profile, click here.

Sean Callahan is a midfielder for the boys soccer team at the San Diego Jewish Academy. Sean is the leading all-time scorer for San Diego Jewish Academy as well as a varsity letter man as a freshman and named to All-Citrus League Team, scoring 8 goals. Sean was named team captain as a sophomore and Citrus League Player of the Year, scoring 28 goals in 19 games.

For Sean’s complete profile, click here.

Bernadette Butkiewicz plays outfield and 1B/2B for Patrick Henry High School in San Diego, CA. She was named the offensive MVP last season and also plays for the San Diego Chaos. Bernadette defines herself by saying, “I work hard not only in practice and in games, but I do my own personal training at Velocity in Poway and work with hitting Coach Darren Johnson.”

For Bernadette’s complete profile, click here.

SportsForce is constantly adding new athlete profiles to our site across all sports. We would like to take the opportunity to showcase our newest athletes each week to help them get the visibility they deserve.

Trevor McKinley is a right handed pitcher out of Steele Canyon High School. He is a member of the class of 2010 and plays club baseball for the San Diego Gamers.

Marie Bradvica is an outfielder, catcher and plays first base for the Carlsbad High School Softball Team. She plays for The Next Level Club team and is class of 2011.

If you’ve visited the Girls Lacrosse page recently you have noticed quite a few new faces. Many of the athletes attended the SportsForce 7v7 Tournament on September 12th in San Diego at Cathedral Catholic High School. Girls from over 20 different high schools enjoyed play and great competition. The tournament grew past it’s original capacity of 45 girls and fielded 8 teams and 5 goalies for a total of 61 girls! The tournament included top tier Varsity level athletes participating from San Diego, Orange County, and Los Angeles High Schools including La Costa Canyon, Torrey Pines, Coronado, La Jolla, Westview, Scripps Ranch, Carlsbad, Foothill, Los Alamitos, Great Oaks and Redondo Union to just name a few. Check back with the SportsForce blog for a full recap of the event. In the meantime, visit our Girls Lacrosse section to see some profiles.

High School Softball Pitching Distance to Increase to 43 Feet in 2010-11

The 2010-11 Softball season will be marked by new rule revisions, among these, one that will have the most impact on high school varsity softball will be the increase in pitching distance from 40 to 43 feet. Although the new pitching distance will be mandatory with the 2010-11 school year, state high school associations may adopt the 43 feet distance in 2009-10 if desired. After 10 years of debate and experimentation in two state associations, rule 1-1-2b was finally revised by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Softball Rules Committee and subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors. The rule revision is said to create a better balance between offense and defense because more balls will be batted into play. “When more balls are batted into play, the defense is more involved in the game, thus enhancing skill development,” said Mary Struckhoff, NFHS assistant director and liaison to the Softball Rules Committee. The rule is also said to create a smoother transition for high school players with hopes to play in college. This change eliminates one of the few major rule differences between high school and collegiate sports.

High School Softball Rule Revisions

There have been four high school softball rule revisions made for the upcoming season including the pitching distance increase from 40 to 43 feet. The second rule revision concerns bat specifications, which is primarily an editorial change from the existing rule in order to give manufacturers, coaches, players and umpires more guidance on what is and is not permissible. The third rule revision deals with hair devices worn by players. It provides an exception to the original rule that permits “hard, unadorned devices, such as bobby pins, barrettes and clips, no longer than 2 inches, to be worn to control a player’s hair.” Lastly the final rule revision concerns how a winning pitcher is determined and was changed in order to better reflect the culture of the sport. The altered rule changes the required number of innings pitched for a starting pitcher to be credited with a win to “half of the total number of innings played in the game.” The new language gives the starting pitcher the ability to earn a win even if she leaves the pitching position for another defensive position and returns to the pitching position later in the game.