All posts by Christian Smith

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Mara Schemel

South Atlantic Regional Director

How long have you been involved with the NCSA player/volunteer? 9 years

Played club softball at: Clemson University

Fielding Position: OF

Officer Positions: President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? So many options! As a player: playing our first ever NCSA game, team spaghetti movie nights, and dancing in the dugouts. As a volunteer: the behind the scenes adventures with the other regional directors and watching teams grow and succeed.
Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? When I graduated I didn’t want to walk away from softball. The NCSA had been a big positive part of my college experience and I wanted to help make sure others had a similar experience.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Tracy Reardon

Great American Regional Director

How long have you been involved with the NCSA player/volunteer? I worked full time for the NCSA from 2016-2020 and have been a volunteer for the past year

Played club softball at: SUNY Cortland

Fielding Position: CF

Officer Positions: Was voted president but had to turn it down in order to work as a Resident Assistant

What is your favorite NCSA memory? Working NCSA Spring Training and having the Air Force Academy participate in my push up challenge with me.
Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? I love being able to help out athletes who are in a position that I once was in myself. Working full time for the league gave me a much bigger appreciation for everything that goes on behind the scenes that players may not know of and may never know of. Giving girls the opportunity to continue playing competitive softball is absolutely rewarding and reminds me of how hard it was to call it quits myself. It is such an amazing gift to be able to provide as many athletes as possible to pursue competitive softball through college when they may not have known the opportunity existed previously. This community of athletes and regional directors has become such a positive aspect in my life and I hope that the positivity spills over into the teams every day lives as well.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Melissa Culbertson

Mid Atlantic Regional Director

How long have you been involved with the NCSA player/volunteer? 13 years

Played club softball at: Pitt- H2P!

Fielding Position: 1B/3B

Officer Positions: Vice President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? As a player, planning and attending Spring Training; as a staff member every World Series is a new favorite, but I will always remember riding the party cycle through downtown Columbus at my first one.

Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? Like most of us, I craved that connection to the game after college, and being a leader for my team greatly impacted me. As a regional director, I hope that I can be even the smallest influence on our teams and players succeeding both on and off the field.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Jules Villecco

North Atlantic Regional Director

How long have you been involved with the NCSA player/volunteer? 9 years

Played club softball at: University of Delaware

Fielding Position: Catcher

Officer Positions: Vice President & President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? The amazing friendships I made and all the crazy adventures and late nights I was able to spend with my teammates.

Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? I love the game and love the players even more. It’s amazing to work with such amazing young women on and off the field.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Janelle Stawasz

Pacific Regional Director

How long have you been involved with the NCSA player/volunteer: 11 years

Played club softball at: Penn State

Fielding Position: Shortstop

Officer Positions: Vice President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? Playing in the stadium at Nationals and beating University of West Georgia to go to the semi-finals.

Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? I love the mission of club softball. Playing with these girls, who are now some of m closest friends, are some of my best college memories. It was the perfect balance with school work, yet still being extremely competitive! I couldn’t of asked for a better four years with a team, and I want to give / help the girls in school now get that same opportunity.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Sami Michaelis

Great Lakes Regional Director

How long have you been an NCSA volunteer Regional Director: 6 seasons

Played club softball at: University of Kentucky – Go Big Blue!

Fielding Position: Middle Infield

Officer Positions: Founder & President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? Playing in the NCSA World Series, and our entire team singing ‘I’ll Make a Man Out of You’ in the dugout before every game.

Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? Playing in the NCSA was so much fun but still highly competitive- it brought me so much joy. My leadership role also helped me tremendously in my professional life. I want to help teams and team leaders in the Great Lakes experience those same things.

MEET THE NCSA REGIONAL DIRECTORS

Allie Bradley

New England Regional Director

How long have you been an NCSA volunteer Regional Director: 3 years

Played club softball at: Northeastern University

Pitcher, Outfield

Officer Positions: Vice President, President

What is your favorite NCSA memory? Traveling with my team & world series my senior year (first time in program history)

Why you volunteer as an NCSA Regional Director? I had a really hard time coping with leaving my “softball player” identity behind because the sport has given me so much. Being an NCSA Regional Director was the closest I could get to that experience & it allows me to support others through their own experience

FEATURED TEAM OF THE WEEK

U.S. Naval Academy

Annapolis, MD

Mascot: Midshipmen

“In the last three years Navy has been the Mid-Atlantic North Conference Champion in 2018 and 2019, the Mid-Atlantic Conference Regional Champion in 2018, and the NCSA National Champion in 2018 and 2019. They have had many players make the All-Region and All-American teams. This group of Midshipmen work really hard to create a cohesive team environment that thrives both on and off the field.”


Interesting/Fun Facts:

– Upon graduating from the Naval Academy, every Navy Softball player will serve a minimum of 5 years of active duty as an Officer in the Navy or Marine Corps.

– The seniors (“Firsties”) on the Navy softball team have never lost a National Championship.

– Won the National Championship in 2019 all while missing multiple players due to injury or military obligations. The determination of the team was prevalent when one player played on a broken toe for five games in a row to take the title.

– Arguably hold the record for the most pairs of pants ripped during a single tournament (4).

– Our team once used small Gatorade cups to scoop all of the water off of our field after a storm to get ready to play a game.



Team Social Media

Instagram: @navywsoftball

Facebook: Navy Softball

Twitter: @USNASoftball


 

FEATURED TEAM OF THE WEEK

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Milwaukee, WI

Mascot: Panthers

“MSC is a new club softball team with UWM having completed two seasons of play! We are in the Great-Lakes West conference and can’t wait to get back on the field. Our group of girls is really special and we have just as much fun off the field as we do on it. We love to travel, fundraise at Milwaukee Brewers games, have team dinners, and have other team bonding events together. Our biggest accomplishment is creating a tight-knit and welcoming space for girls at UWM to keep playing the game they love! Can’t wait for next year!”


Fun Facts:

1. Our most memorable (and tiring) tournament was an all-nighter at Northwestern University.

2. We love team dinners, especially Chili Night!

3. We are 1 of 2 registered LLCs within the 24 UWM Sports Clubs.

4. Our favorite tournament tradition is playing walk up songs.



Team Social Media

Instagram: @mkeclubsoftball

Facebook: Milwaukee Softball Club

Twitter: @mkeclubsoftball


 

FEATURED TEAM OF THE WEEK

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN

Mascot: Boilermakers

“The Purdue University Club Softball team is a club sport operating through Purdue’s RecWell. We provide the opportunity for softball players to continue their competitive softball career into college as well as expand their leadership skills within the sport. Our team acts as a family and we enjoy getting together outside of softball for team bonding, community service events, and to support other Purdue club sports teams.”


Fun Facts: We are an entirely student-ran organization. We operate without a coach and instead push each other to make our team better as a whole.



Team Social Media

Instagram: @purdue_clubsoftball

Facebook: Purdue University Club Softball

Twitter: @clubpurdue