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Stay up-to-date with the team over spring break in Florida.

Mid-Pre Season Mark

We are at the exact half way point of what we call our pre-season practice with 12 practices done and 12 to go before our first game on February 26th.

Progress is slow, but in a good way.  I have changed up our defensive fundamentals this year to place more emphasis on our feet and hands so there is a lot of learning going on.  Because of that we are taking things slow.  Believe it or not our infielders have not taken a fungo yet.  I am slightly concerned about that fact but I know in the long run our patience now will pay off down the road.  We have traditionally been a slow starting defensive team and I wouldn't be surprised if that's not the case again this year, but with our new approach I really believe that in the future we will be more prepared.

I continue to be impressed with the approach our players take at practice.  They are following our three points of emphasis, which are:  1) Bring a positive attitude, 2) Work hard at getting better, and 3) Hustle early.  

First on the docket this season is UW-LaCrosse, the 2010 WIAC regular and post season champion and regional tournament qualifier.  We played them three time last year in Tucson last year so this will be a good test for us right out of the gate.  That will be followed by a game against Carleton.  Both games are at the new dome in Rochester on  February 26.

CSS SOFTBALL APPAREL

  
Under Armour Hooded Sweatshirt - $55
Tackle Twill 'CSS', Embroidered "Softball"
     







Ringor Fleece Pullover - $30 
Black with embroidered print

 Under Armour T-Shirt - $20
Royal Men's Loose Cut
(Sizes Available - Large, X-Large)

 Allison Mesh Shorts - $15 
Grey Men's Cut, 7" inseam

Under Armour T-Shirt - $25 
Grey Men's Heat Gear, Loose Cut
(Sizes Available - Medium, Large)
 







Under Armour T-Shirt - $25      
Grey Men's Heat Gear, Loose Cut
(Sizes Available - Medium, Large)

Champion Hooded Sweatshirt - $25 
Grey Premier Reverse Weave
(Sizes available - Small, Large)


     






 Mesh Baseball Cap - $10
Adjustable





 



To place an order please contact me at 218-723-6422 or jwalter@css.edu.  


You will be charged for shipping or you can arrange to pick items up in my office.

GETTING UP TO SPEED

I am sitting in my office staring out the window, enjoying the massive amount of snow that has fallen so far this winter, knowing that some day this spring I will be cursing every inch of it as I no doubt will be shoveling it off the softball field.  There is certainly plenty for me to do to prepare for our first practice on January 24th, but the procrastinator in me will not allow such a thing. 

Rilee and I had taken an oath to keep up with the blog this season.  Anyone care to share how we are doing.  I'll do my best in this one to get everyone up to speed in hopes that we will be forgiven.

FALL SEASON

Chester Bowl Morning Workout

For all you alumni reminiscing about the good old days of fall softball please know the 'times, they are a-changing'.  To maximize our 16 days we incorporated numerous morning (6:30am) workouts to go along with our team practices in the afternoon.  The 'best' of those workouts were spent on the Chester Bowl hill, running, lunging, hopping and whatever else I could think of, up and down the top half of the hill.  More than a few players 'lost their cookies' but in the end they all survived.  Nothing like a little character builder, right!

The alumni game as always was a blast.  Heise came back an literally mow down every batter she faced.  We may have managed a couple foul balls, maybe.  Thank goodness she only threw three innings!  Azur then came in and did exactly what she was supposed to do, throw the ball right down the pipe so we could get our confidence back.  Thanks Azur for continuing to give back to the program:)  It was an enjoyable day with 15 alums making it back.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Piedmont Project

Is anyone out there aware of my obsessiveness with a well groomed softball field?  Well, one day this summer as I was cutting the outfield grass I came up with a brilliant idea (I do my best thinking behind the lawn mower).  It became known as the 'Ballfield Beautification Project'.  We selected a local, run down field (there are certainlt a ton in Duluth to choose from) and gave it a four hour makeover.(click on picture for short video)  It looked 100% better when we got done and I know ever player enjoyed every bit of the experience!!  (Actually, it seems they don't have quite the same passion as I do.)

In addition to the BBP we did our usual work at the start of the Duluth Inline Marathon and helped out at the Mentor Duluth Christmas Party.  Thanks to Theresa T. for organizing both events..

PERSONEL
A new year brings on new faces.  We welcomed six new players this fall with another transfer coming for spring semester.  We will be 21 strong.  Our coaching staff has also changed a bit.  We are lucky to have Kristin Swartz ('10) on staff to work primarily with the infield. She joins Rilee and myself.

We also did something a bit different with the selection of our captains.  Any return player who was interested in being a captain had to 'apply' for the position and then interview with a panel of players and with the coaching staff (another idea I came up with behind the lawn mower).  I was a little apprehensive going into the process but when it was completed I feel we selected the best possible leaders for the 2011 Saints.  Senior Jenn Falk returns for her second stint as captain and she is joined by fellow senior Betsy Wehseler and junior Merryssa Tiedeman.  I have no doubt they will get this team to paddle in the same direction.

UPCOMING SEASON
As mentioned earlier we begin practice on January 24th.  This is an exciting year for the us and the UMAC conference as the much awaited Automatic Bid comes into the play for the first time.  As last years UMAC regular season champion we have won the right to host the conference tournament the first weekend in May with the winner to move forward to the regional tournament.  The intensity of the tournament will be surely be elevated.

I have stuck to my vow of never returning to the 'god forsaken' state of Texas for spring break.  This year, for something different, we will travel to the Orlando area.  I'm looking forward to the bus ride down, not so much to the bus drive back.  I'm also looking forward to checking out the competition in Florida.  I've heard there will be some great teams there and I hope we get to play some of them.  We will also add a doubleheader with Central (Iowa) and Division II power Winona State to our schedule.


CSS SOFTBALL APPAREL
Before I forget, our new order of softball gear has arrived.  I'll put pictures, prices and order information on the next blog.  (It will be posted tomorrow at the latest.)

HAPPY HOLIDAY SEASON
I think this should pretty much get me all caught up on CSS Softball news.  I wish everyone a HAPPY HOLIDAY season.  I hope you all will be able to relax and spend some quality time with your friends and family. 

P.S. Still snowing, by the way!

A Day in the Life of... Junior Theresa Tauer

Nickname: T-Dog/Tyrese

Hometown: Plymouth, MN

Position: Utility

5:30 am: I wake up at this odd hour which gives me about an hour to get ready and arrive to morning hill workouts on time. I awake to my cell phone singing a song that no one on the team knows: that's the way i like my music; unknown. The night before I had picked out a 'cute' outfit (in my perspective) although others may consider my clothing choices to be odd since they generally include glasses without lenses or skirts resembling those of the 1930's. I stuff these into my already full backpack, grab some grub and await my ride from Jenn Shaw on the corner outside my antique home

8:00 am: After the exhilarating and extremely fun time that was spent running up and down Chester Bowl ski hill, I head to school.

8:30 am: I shower and put on the the clothes that fit my personality.

10:00 am: My first and only class of the day is a nursing lab where we practice our skills on each other. We've tied each other up (with restraints), given each other shots (of saline solution) and analyzed Seymore Butts (a rubber buttocks with different ulcers on it).

11:15 am: I try and grab some sizzlin' food from Storm's Dena and attempt to find Brittni, Rachel and/or Falk (teammates) to eat with. Usually I am successful and feel like I belong, which I obviously do.


11:30 am:  After food I hop, skip and jump to the theatre where I begin to work. What kind of work do I do? I sew the costumes for the different performances throughout the year. This is one of the strangest work study jobs offered on campus, but it fits well for me.

4:00 pm:  My final accomplishment of the day is softball practice which is great because I can let everything that went not so well in my day just fade away as I throw, bat and field. It's a very therapeutic kind of experience.

7:45 pm: I catch the bus to drive me to the nearest  spot to my house and trudge through darkly lit streets until I reach the door to my house. I get inside and eat some foot (which tends to be a common occurrence on the softball team - we love to eat!) and listen to some music like Cloud Cult, Wookiefoot or Mumford & Sons as I drift off into dreamland!

Batter Up: Senior Erika Solin

Why is your name spelled with a K and not a C? "My name is spelled with a K and not a C because I was born at sea and my parents, being the literary genious' that they are, did not want to be too repetitive or ironic. It would take the focus away from the person behind the name and I would walk through life in the shadows. Thank you, mom and dad, for letting me shine for the person I am."  
Did you ever try to catch the rabbits on Park point?
"Being a good friend of the park point fox, I don't really associate myself with the rabbits.  The fox is much more friendly and has been known to show up to beach fires as well as go jogging alongside my brother when he runs."

What is with you and cold water?
"Cold water is way more refreshing then warm water.  Lake superior is perfect temp."

When did Lewis and Clark come about? (Editor's note: Erika's high school teammate, Mya Gordon (now assistant coach) and Erika nicknamed themselves Lewis and Clark in their days back at Duluth Central High School. They did not let the adventures die as they were reunited at CSS for 2 years following Mya's transfer from Itasca Community College).  
"I was assigned the task of scoping out the new world with Meriweather Lewis. We didn't really know each other, but he seemed competent and I respected him for his knowledge of crossbows and technique in canoe navigation.  We hit it off right away. just a couple of kids really, off on an adventure.  He saved my life several times as in my youth I had a tendancy of walking into buffalo stampeeds without looking.  I had the chance to repay him, though, when Lewis wasn't paying attention to a particularly large pile of bushes that nearly squashed his scull.  I pulled him to safety in the knick of time.  and the rest is history.  

What was going through your head when you were frantically looking around at the fog rolling in against Bethany? (Editors true note: Those in attendence at the April 30th game could witness Erika staring up towards the sky with a puzzled look at the fog as it appeared. 
"The first thought that came to my mind was, obviously, where is my wand?  I have watched enough Harry Potter to recognize the presence of dementors in the area.  When I couldn't come up with a decisive answer I did start to worry, I mean who else could fend them off?  Certainly not T-Dawg (3rd baseman Theresa Tauer) regardless of what she may say.  Luckily, however, there was no attack. 

What's the fish eye and how did that evolve?(Editors note: There is no explaining the fish eye... you'll have to ask her one day to perform it). 

 "You'll have to ask Lewis, I don't remember how it came about."

What's the best man made into animal you have ever made? (elephant, giraffe, fish... or something else)? 
"I would say the top two are definately the elephant and the turtle.  Sadly, nobody may ever witness the turtle again because Rilee Dawson lost the footage."

 Ok, ok, ok, ok, ok... can we be serious for 1 minute to answer some questions... 

Major: Marketing

Favorite class: Advertising

What are your career aspirations?
"I would someday like to work for a company who's purpose I belive in, designing marketing strategies to reach people who could benefit from what the company provides."


What do you like best about CSS softball?
"I like the stress on "smart softball", and the thought process behind playing the game.  I like getting the chance to meet awesome people who share a love for softball and who like to work hard." 


  

Coach Walter Earns 300th Career Win

Check out the article the Duluth News Tribune printed on Coach Walter's 300th career win that came April 30th vs Bethany Lutheran College at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/167484/publisher_ID/36/

The Saint made it interesting late in the game, with Bethany Lutheran loading the bases in the 7th inning with the score 3-2 and one out. Freshman pitcher Shannen Schmidt struck out the final two batters to end the game.

The Saints are now 25-11 and 18-1 in conference action and have clinched the UMAC regular season championship. Kenwood Field will be the home of the conference tournament May 7-8th which was changed from Aberdeen, SD. CSS will look to defend its regular season conference championship.