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High School All-Star Softball Game

This years Kern County ASA Senior High School All-Star High School Softball Game will be played on Wednesday, June 11th @ 6:30pm at Dave Fry Field. Each High School team in Kern County was contacted and asked to nominate at least two (2) deserving players. Postal Letters and e-mails were sent to all 30 High schools in Kern County this year. Last year the players from the desert took home most of the awards. This game is a chance for all our local players to show what they can do one last time for the Bakersfield and Kern County fans. Each player and coach will recieve the All-Star T-shirt and a framed Certificate from the game.

The purpose of the game is to allow the players to show off their skills one last time and to raise funds to give out a scholarship to a deserving young lady in Kern County playing in this game. Help turn this event into one of Kern County's premier sports events. We have invited one of Kern Counties outstanding women to throw out the first pitch. College coaches, local State and Federal Representatives and the local media are also invited to attend.

Here are the teams as nominated by their high school coaches:

PLAYERS

Melissa Cope Jessica Johnson
MacKenzie Oakes Yvette Salazar,

Amanda Roberts                Kaiyla Stoddard
Jessica Newton-Smith                  Brittany Hunt
Hannah Grisham                    Heather Shull
Vanessa Medina                    Lonnie Carrera
Joni Lagerstrom                      Ellen Krausse
BreAnna Brown                           Shelby Alsup
Amanda Flores                           Megan Grace
Danielle Scroggs                        Celina Morales
Sami Lindsey                                Danyel Fein
Ashley Young                             Kelsey Nichols
Brittany Barlow                          Myranda Sawyer
      Brittney Morrison                         Courtney Hockett                            Jamie Dumatrait                             Joya Cervera
Kristian Moore

COACHES
   Jayna Chapman                          Henry Arias
    Corrie Gunnawa                          Mike D'Amato

The Kern County ASA will honor as it's

"Kern County Woman of Softball"

Barbara SantaCruz

Here is a list of her accomlishments:
Played High School Softball at East High School in Bakersfield
Played ASA Travel Ball with the BLITZ, BLAZE and RUNNERS (15 years).
Coached U14, U16 and U18 BAKERSFIELD DIRT DEVILS (6 years).
Coached/Assisted at East,South,Ridgeview and Golden Valley High Schools.
Played at CSUB from '86-90 where she was a 2 time All-American

Lher CSUB to 3 National Championships and was assistant coach from 1990-98
Selected to the NCAA 25th Anniversary Hall of Fame Team.

"Barb" is now Teacher/Interim Assistant Principal and Athletic Director in the Greenfield Union School District.

We need everyone involved in girls softball to get behind this effort so it can become an annual event! All profits will be used to award scholarships and insure next years game. Please give us your help by getting involved and taking part.

This is a once in a lifetime event for YOUR senior players. Never again will this years seniors be able to play in a High School Senior All-Star Softball Game!

Give me a call if you can help out, Joe Cox 565-1808 or send e-mail to: KernCountyASAJO@aol.com Thank you.

AMATEUR SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION

ASA Celebrates 75th Anniversary

The Amateur Softball Association, the national governing body for softball in the U.S., is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2008. Founded in 1933, the ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 230,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than four million.

For more information on the ASA, visit www.asasoftball.com.

About USA Softball

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of the only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit www.usasoftball.com.

Central California Amateur Softball Association

The association was founded in 1962 and was originally called Fresno Metro covering Madera and Fresno counties. Since that time the association has grown to cover 9 counties, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Kern, Mono, Inyo, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo. In 1985 the association name was changed to Central California. ASA has recognized Central California as one of the top ten associations in team and umpire registrations for the past 10 years. We thank you for your support.

Central Cal ASA is bringing the United States Womens Olympic Team to the new Miracle League complex in Visalia to play an exhibition game against a local Central Cal All-star team before they head off to China. The game will be played on May 16th. Plan on attending and watch our US Olympic Team. We expect 4,000 spectators at this event.

Kern County Amateur Softball Association

The staff of the Kern County ASA is an all volunteer group, comprised of the following people: Bob McCormick, Kern County ASA Commissioner; Joe Cox, Kern County ASA Junior Olympic Commissioner/HS All-star Game; Isaac Salcido, Kern County UIC; Candice Swan, District Coordinator/HS League; Brian Teeters, Slo-Pitch Coordinator; Linda Lam, At Large CCASA Council Member; Jack Shafer, At Large CCASA Council Member.

We will be putting on the Kern County Senior High School All-Star Game in June along with the High School Summer League this year. We are here to help local ASA leagues whereever and whenever possible and to advance the great sport of softball!

World's Junior Champion

Scottsdale, AZ---This past Sunday, November 4th. local Big Air Dog, Prince Andy Flores, owned and trained by Tasha & Octavio Flores, won the Splash Dogs Dock Diving Junior Division World Championship of the USAA (United States Agility Association) in cooperation with the Cynosports World Games. The Cynosports World Games characterizes canine sports in the Olympic spirit, featuring leading dog sports from around the world in a single venue. Olympic Gold Medalist Bruce Jenner was the host of this years event. The events, covering over 100 acres, brought competitors from fourteen countries, including Japan, China, Spain, Germany, Canada, Mexico, Russia and of course the United States, in dog sports together to name a World Champion in the following sports: Dog Agility, Flyball, Dock Diving, Flying Disc, Extreme Vertical, Herding and many more. These animals are real athletes, doing real sports, and the World Game competitors have risen to the top of their game.

Local Labador, 9 month old Prince Andy Flores, qualified for these world games last July and came through Sunday's World Championships with flying colors, winning the Junior Division World Title with a jump of 18' 9". Andy also set a new Cynosports World Record for the Junior Division by jumping 19' 3" in the Simi-finals. Dock Jumping Dogs do not reach their potential until between the ages of 3 and 5 years of age, so Andy has just began his quest for the top. Andy will now take some time off before starting training for next years events.

The canine sports at the Cynosports World Games are open to all breeds of dogs--purebred and mixed breed alike. All owners and their dogs are encouraged to attend one of the Splash Dog events around the county. You may be surprised at what your dog can do? There are Splash Dog divisions for every dog to compete in.
                 Lap Dog Division--Dogs under 16" in height
                 Splash Dog Division---0' 0" to 9' 11"
                 Junior Division---- 10' 0" to 14' 11"
                 Senior Division---- 15' 0" to 19' 11"
                 Professional Division---- 20' 0" to 22' 11"
                 Extreme Division---- 23' 0" and above

A new World Record was also set at these games, by a 5 year old dog named Henry, out of Northern California, with a jump of 26' 11". All measurements were official "Dock Dog" measurements from the end of the dock to the base of the dogs tail as it enters the water.

Come out and give it a try. I know both you and your dog will have the time of your lives.

More Prince Andy, the Flying Puppy (update)

Seven-month-old Prince Andy traveled to Diamond Lake, Ore., this past weekend. He took part in the "Northwest Challenge" and came away with a 2nd place in his junior division before moving up to try on the senior division. In the senior division Andy finished 8th over all. Andy set another personal best record (PR), as a matter of fact he had 4 jumps longer than his old PR. His jumps were 17'2", 16'2", 16'1" & 15'9".

Most Dock Jumping people are impressed at his age and how far he is jumping. 6 month old puppies (he was born on January 12, 2007) usually start in the Splash division (under 10"), but Andy started out jumping in the 14' range in his first competition! Hopefully he will stay interested in jumping so we can see just how far he can go! Like I have said, he is crazy about jumping.

Away from the dock he is mild mannered and obedient, and well behaved like most Labs. But let him see the Dock and then let him on it and he will do anything he can to get to jump. He loves the attention he gets, the applause when he is up there. He hears the crowd and wants to do good, He will even jump without throwing his Wubba. All they have to do is let him go! They did that on one jump and he still jumped over 13'.

One hears people say their pets know when they are competing. Well, it is true, Andy knows what he is doing and that his humans want him to do good and he responds in kind. He is rewarded for his efforts with lots of love and affection and lots of "goodies."

His workout consists of once a week jumping (playing) at the Lake. The rest of his work outs are throwing a ball in the back yard and letting him chase it. Kind of boring training routine for his humans? Most of the regular dock jumpers have a 2 hour per day work out of an athlete. With Andy's age they do not let him work very hard. When he gets to be 18 months old he will then start a regular work out routine. By then he may have a training partner?

He is being jumped in these meets to get him ready for the Splash Dogs World Championships at Cynosports in Scottsdale, AZ on Nov. 1 - 4, 2007. Andy has his in the "Junior Title" and will compete in that dicision at the Worlds.

Next up for Andy is the "Bark in the Park" in Lancaster, CA.

http://www.princeandyflores.com/

Prince Andy WOW's Reno

Reno- The Super Retriever Series, Splash Dogs Super Fly, competition took place at the Sports Warehouse in Reno, NV. this past weekend. There were two divisions of competition, the Amateur division for dogs jumping 18 feet and under and the Professional division for dogs jumping over 18 feet. Andy was entered in the amateur division. Ducks Unlimited was one of the major sponsors of the event. In addition to the Super Retriever & Super Fly events there were the duck calling events going on at the same time as the jumping competition. Making it very noisy for the dogs jumping.

The event finals were being filmed by the Outdoors TV Channel to be shown later as part of their upcoming TV Show about sporting dogs. Only those dogs that finished in the top 12 were allowed to jump in the finals.

Andy showed his stuff on Saturday, setting a personal best with a jump of 15'6" and followed that up with a jump of 15'3" to qualify 3rd in his division moving on to the finals on Sunday and getting the chance to be on National TV?

On the Sunday Finals it was Andy's 7 month birthday and with the newly formed "Prince Andy Fan Club" singing "Happy Birthday" to him as he sprinted down the dock and with the cameras running Andy was distracted by all the interest and his first jump was "only" 13'1", but he calmed down enough to make his final jump of 15'1" to finish 5th over-all in the Amateur Division. Andy was also clocked by the radar gun at 30mph running down the dock, second fastest of all the dogs in his division.

Andy's next event will be at the "End of Summer Bone-a-Fit: in Auburn, Ca on September 14-16th, then it's on to Oregon where Andy has been asked to show his stuff for the people in the great northwest.

When watching a SplashDog's Super Fly or DockDog’s Big Air event, people always ask how they measure the distance of the dog’s jump? This is by far the most asked question by everyone watching for the first time and I will try to answer the question:

The measurement standards among various dog-jumping events were set when DockDogs, and ESPN hosted the first Big Air Dogs event during the Great Outdoor Games a few years ago. Most other jumping events, Purina for one, still measure a dog’s jump distance from the edge of the dock to where the dog’s front feet enter the water. All SplashDogs and DockDogs sanctioned events including Super Fly and Big Air events like all the Super Retriever Series measure the official jump distance as being where the hind-end of the dog breaks the plane of the water’s surface, minus the tail. Because of a dog’s physical length this can mean a difference of 4 or 5 feet between a front measured jump (Purina's) and a rear measured jump (SplashDogs/DockDogs). A front measured jump of 20 feet, one can do the math and find the jump is actually a 15-16 foot jump using the SplashDog/DockDog standard.

The objective of the sport and of SplashDog's/DockDog's is to make this a performance competition like track and field’s Long Jump. By measuring from the edge of the dock they create a single standard from which to measure, and by measuring to the rear of the dog, minus the tail, can they measure the true distance the dog jumped without non-jump factors like how big the dog is. To make the point, think of a Irish wolfhound jumping against a 45 lb lab! Say that from the rear of the dogs both jumped the same distance, but if we used a front measured standard the wolfhound would always win simply because of its size! SplashDogs and DockDogs objective is to make this a performance sport that demands that they measure from the edge of the dock to the rear most part of the dog (not including the tail) to take away all unfair advantages not associated to the jump distance itself.

Flying Puppy

Watching the Purina incredible dog challenge on ESPN today and was wondering how they were saying those dogs were jumping so far? I did some checking and found out that Purina measures where the front paws hit the water while the Splash Dogs and Dock Dogs groups measures electronically from where the base of the tail enters the water. That can be as much as 4 feet for some dogs? So, Prince Andy's jump of 15' 4" would have been 18-20 feet if measured Purina's way.

Also found out that there are at least 3 groups that do dog diving, "Splash Dogs" here in the west, "Dock Dogs" in the eastern part of the county and Purina puts on it's own show for avertising in selected sites. Each has it's own rules.

Prince Andy Flies again.

Vallejo--The Sonoma County Fair Splash Dog Challenge was a success for local flying puppy "Prince Andy". On Friday Andy qualified for the "Open" Division by finishing 2nd in the Junior class with a jump of 14' 7". On Saturday, 6 month old, Andy jumped 15' 3" to qualify for the "Open" Division Finals on Sunday against the best adult dogs in Northern California. Only the top 20 dogs qualify for the "Open Finals".

The event director and splash dog founder, Tony Reed, commited to the people watching that he "had never seen such a young puppy that loved jumping and had no fear of the water like Andy". Altho Andy is not jumping as far as the adult dogs in the "Open" class "YET" he loves the challenge. When he see's the dock, the other dogs and the people cheering, he wants to show off, he wants to jump! He knows when it's show time.

On Sunday Andy seemed to know he was on center stage and he was sky high for the event, we couldn't get him to calm down, but he still finished in 10 place over all with a jump of 14' 4" against some of the biggest jumpers in Northern California and Naveda.

Next up is the Super Retriever Series in Reno, NV August 8 - 12, 2007.

                   Prince Andy on his "open" jump of 14' 7" to finish 10th over all.
                                         Picture #1 catch the "wubba"


                                        Picture #2 Closing in on the "Wubba"

                                     Picture #3 catching up to the "Wabba"

                                        Picture #4 The "wubba" is mine!

Prince Andy, the flying puppy

Prince Andy at the Lakes of River Walk in Bakersfield

Prince Andy, the flying puppy
by Joe Cox

Six months ago, my grandaughter, Tasha and her husband Octavio Flores, decided they wanted a new dog to add to our family. So one day she came across a lab that something just said “he’s my dog” to them, so they bought “Prince Andy” home. He was 6 weeks old at the time. We also have a 4 year old chihuahua that hates water and a 6 year old Lab mix that loves water and every summer we put a children’s wading pool out for them to play in. We quickly noticed that Andy loved to run and "Jump" into the water A couple weeks later they were watching a dog "Dock Jumping" competition on ESPN television and Tasha thought, “I would love to have my dog do that”. They didn’t know what they were in for. They decided to take Andy out to the Lake at River Walk to see if he would jump into open water, he passed with flying colors (see enclosed pictures) far exceeding their expectations. His first jump ever was almost 10 feet.

They then decided that they would see just what he could do, so a trainer in the bay area was contacted to show them what they needed to do to get into the sport. Tasha and Octavio decided to have Andy take the plunge at the “WAGS FOR WISHES” competition in San Diego this past weekend. Andy by far exceeding their highest expectations. He was one of only 2 puppies entered in the competition. Andy is 6 months old now. Dogs compete in 5 divisions. They are:

Splash Class 0'1" to 9'11"
Junior Class 10'0" to 14'11"
Senior Class 15'0" to 19'11"
Pro Class 20'0" to 22'11"
Extreme Class 23'0" and above
There were no age groups at the competition.

On Andy’s first jump he bypassed the Splash Class, jumping 12'10" to win 2 ribbons. On the second day of competition Andy bypassed the Junior Class by jumping 15'4" moving into the Senior Class (the classses ar based on length of jump, not age of dog). Andy was the only puppy to be placed in the Junior or Senior Class during the weekend. On Sunday, Andy was again placed in the Junior Class where he Jumped 14'11" to win his "Wave" and the blue ribbon for first place and to qualify for the “Splash Dogs World Championships in Scottsdale, Az on November 1st-4th.

There were over 150 dogs entered in this event. Andy finished 43rd over all. Not bad for a puppy going against mature dogs.

This weekend Andy plans on traveling to Vallejo to compete in the Solano County Fair Dock Jumping Challenge with the "Splash Jumpers". The next competition will be at the Super Retriever Series Super Fly in Reno, NV. on August 11th & 12th.

Dock jumping features ordinary dogs doing spectacular jumps into water, Andy is one of thousands of dogs across the country participating in big-air dock jumping. The concept of dock jumping is simple: Dogs jump as far as they can into a body of water. Specifically, the dogs sprint down a 40-foot dock which stands two feet above the water's edge. Their handlers toss a toy into the air for incentive. Then they leap out over the water in hopes of reaching the toy — and a record distance. Officials then use a specialized camera to create a digital image and measurement of the jump, calculating the distance from the end of the dock to the closest point where dog hits water, minus the tail. Average distances in competition range from 6 to 18 feet, while dogs jumping over 20 feet are considered to be at a professional level

For more information, please call Joe Cox 565-1808

http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/Cynosports.php

http://www.splashdogs.com/events/register/DelMar7-6.php

Why Play ASA Softball

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Amateur Softball Association

Softball is a way of life for thousands of people each year, and their choice for softball is the Amateur Softball Association, the national governing body of softball in the United States.

Not every team can come home with a national championship, but the ASA softball program gives people an opportunity to have clean, competitive fun playing slow pitch, fast pitch or modified pitch, at levels ranging from district to national championship.

Since its founding in 1933, the Amateur Softball Association has given the sport direction and strived to have the best program possible for the millions of people who play amateur softball each summer. Many of them started playing in the ASA's Junior Olympic program before moving up to the adult divisions of play.

ASA has kept its hand on the pulse of the softball community in America and, when needed, has added divisions of championship play to meet the interests of those involved in the ASA program.

Today, ASA has more than 90 national championships, ranging from 10-under fast pitch to 75-over slow pitch. Annually more than 40,000 players participate in ASA National Championship Finals and they are assured of playing some of the best teams in America.

The tournaments they participate in are run by well-qualified tournament staffs who care about the players participating in their national tournament and want them to enjoy playing in an ASA adult national championship.

Jess Maxey of Yukon, OK, had this to say a few years ago after his team played in an ASA national championship.

"We played in a lot of tournaments and won most of them, even so-called world tournaments, but it wasn't until we got to the ASA nationals that we realized we had distinguished ourselves by earning a spot among the best. It was exciting to compete against some of the legendary teams in the sport and realize that they had also earned the right to be there. There is nothing like an ASA national. It's a tournament that means something and it creates memories that will stay with you for a lifetime."

It's the substance behind ASA national championships that make them the best of the rest and teams realize they have accomplished something they can be proud of for a lifetime.

Besides well-run national championships, the participants are assured of nothing but the best in umpiring. Each year more than 40,000 umpires register with one of the more than 84 ASA local associations. The ASA annually hosts local, state and national umpire clinics, which cover the nation and bring together the best instruction available in the sport to all 15 regions of the ASA. The ASA strives to make its umpires the best they can be, and ASA umpires are known for their professionalism and expertise.

Besides playing in national championships, the ASA program offers players, if they are selected to one of the USA National Teams, an opportunity to compete in the Olympics, Pan American Games and ISF World Championships, as well as other national and international events.

As the NGB of softball, the ASA is the only softball organization that can offer players the opportunity to play in these prestigious events, which are often held throughout the world. The 2004 Olympics, for example, will be held in Greece, and USA Softball is responsible for selecting and training the USA Olympic Team for the 2008 Games. In the past three Olympics, 1996, 2000, and 2004 the USA National Team has won the gold medal.

To help players improve their skills for not only these prestigious events but for national championships as well, the ASA offers clinics, camps, publications and videos, all designed to help people become better playing America's summer pastime - softball.

To learn more about the ASA program in your local area contact the appropriate ASA commissioner and learn why ASA has it all for softball.