Last info about China trip and on to Fall News

On one of the last days of our training in Xishuangbanna the team was interviewed by a local television station.  So we were on Chinese TV and hope to get a copy of it someday.  Below is a picture of my friend Lauren and I being interviewed.  Lauren is fortunate enough to have Mandarin taught at her school so she could speak it and translate.  The reporters did speak good English.

This is a picture of the baseball and softball players that live at the complex in Xishuangbanna.  I donated a glove, bat, helmet and my softball bag to them when I was done with training.  I have some more donated equipment that I could not fit in my bags and some donated uniforms that I will be mailing to them soon.

FALL BEGINS

Wow, has time gone by fast.  It is the Junior year already.  I am taking two AP classes, AP English 11, and AP Psychology,  Regular Discrete Math, Honors Chemistry, Honors Spanish 3 and Honors US History.  I am planning on taking an SAT prep course and then take the SATs again.

My travel ball schedule is as follows:

September 8-9th Kristy Mae Memorial Tournament at Springwood Park, Burlington, NC

September 21-23 Chandler Memorial Showcase in Rock Hill, SC

UNC Fall Tournament/Cardinal Clash

College Invitational (pending) Raleigh, NC

October 19-21 Guilford College Showcase at Springwood Park, Burlington, NC

November 9-11 WFC Late Signing Showcase in Myrtle Beach, SC

These are all with my travel team the Spirits Fastpitch Black from East Wake County, NC and I am #4.

I have been accepted by the NFCA Recruiting camp for the Ronald McDonald tournament in Houston , Texas on November 2nd.  I may even get a little play time with Team TFS Texas 18U.

I have been invited to many prospective camps recently.  Some I would have liked to attend but was unable to register in time since I was out of the country.  I will be attending the following in December and January:

Florida Atlantic University Prospect Camp from December 20th to 22nd

Southern Stars All Star Tournament at Georgia Southern University January 21 and 22 of 2013

My training is stepped up once again.

I am working with Gwen Johnson, former UNCG assistant coach, on hitting and just about any other part of the game.  I see Gwen about once a week.  I will continue to see Coach Bastian once a month when he comes to NC.  I have two sessions planned with Monti VanBrunt from TFS Texas who will work with me to prepare me for future recruiting camps.  As well as my travel team practices.  I also plan to return to the PSP program at Proehlific Park in Greensboro to work on strength, speed, agility and flexibility.

I am excited to see what the future holds.

I may even be traveling next August to Holland with the TFS International Softball Team.

Training in Xishuangbanna

Team TFS International trained with the Chinese National Team's coach.  Coach Bastian calls him " Gunner".  Gunner worked with Coach Bastian when he coached the 2008 Chinese Olympic team.  Gunner ( I am not using his true name to protect him) did not want any of the Chinese to know that he was helping the Americans because he could loose his job.  He is an excellent coach and the girls learned a tremendous amount from him especially about increasing their speed.  "Quedar" means fast.

The girls started the day with a morning workout of 30 minutes of running and stretching before breakfast.  Then they trained from 9am to 12, had lunch and a break in the heat of the day, which in China is nap time.  Then back to training from 4pm to 7pm, dinner and then sometimes back to training until it's too dark to see.  They spent one session at the weight room on a rainy day.

Here is a link I found about the Sports Competition and Training base we stayed at in Xishuangbanna.

Second half of China trip

Team TFS International traveled to Xishuangbanna in the southwestern part of China.  The weather is warm and tropical.  The area was beautiful and the people very friendly.  These are panoramic photos that were taken from the baseball tower.

The complex that we stayed at is called Xishuangbanna Nanjing New City Sports Competition and Training Base in Yunnan, China.

We stayed in a villa and had access to a weight room and had a softball field all prepared for us.  The Chinese National Softball Team comes here to train.  They are trying to encourage more teams to come and train here in this beautiful paradise.

More Photos of Chinese Pro Games

In Chinese Softball game you bow to the opposing team and bow to the umpire to show respect and honor.

Alicia at bat

This team was the Tianjin team.  This is the only game we won.

This team is GuangDong and said to be the most difficult team.  Their coach " Coach Wendy" did not like our coaches.

Visit to 2008 Beijing Olympic Softball Staduim

This is what the 2008 Olympic Softball Stadium looks like now, after only four years.  It was really sad to see.  They are turning it into a baseball field because we were told softball is not as popular.

This is TFS International on the infield ground of the stadium.  We even took our positions and pretended we were playing there.

This is a picture of the dugout, where the construction workers have made their homes while they are working on changing this peace of history into a baseball field.

This is the inside of the dugout and example of what the construction worker's homes look like.  Many of the workers travel from outside of Beijing to work in Beijing because they are so poor in their area.

Can we ever get softball back as an Olympic sport.  I brought the donated softball equipment with me and have made two contacts in China that will help get it to young children that want to play.

Games in Beijing China

The first picture is of TFS International Softball team with the Beijing Pro Team.  They were our first game.  Their pitcher was a 34 yr old former Olympic player.  There are only about nine pro softball teams in China and the National team picks the best players from those nine teams.  Some teams have more players on them than others.

This photo is of Alicia warming up with her Chinese teammate whom is 23 yr. old and attends a University in Beijing.  This field was artifical tuff and the balls slid very quickly across the field.

Returned from China.. So much to tell

Alicia just returned from Beijing, China on August 17th, where she played and trained on the TFS International Softball team.  This photo is of their first day of practice on August 1st.  The team was made up of American girls and Chinese girls.  Communication was a big part of learning to play together.  They stayed at the Muxiyuan Sports Technology School for most of the trip.  That is a Chinese sports school that families give their children over to the sport and the child stays and trains there.

On August 3rd and 4th the TFS International team played two games each day against Pro Chinese teams that came from different parts of China.  The Beijing team had a former Olympic pitcher that was 34 years old on the team.  The Chinese National Team is made up of the best players from the Pro teams.

More information and pictures in Upcoming posts.