A Championship Softball Program

The one and only head softball coach at the University of Washington was introduced Friday. Teresa Wilson, starting the program from scratch upon her arrival 10 years ago, has built the Husky Women’s Softball Program into a national contender, and has been named PAC-10 women’s softball coach three times. A graduate of Missouri, Wilson took her first coaching job at age 22 at Oregon. She has also coached at Minnesota and has taken all of the schools she’s coached to post season and college world series.

Teresa told her audience that she “lives softball.” She was impressed by the BBRC’s support of the Eastside Academy and invited those students to the women’s softball games. Responding to a comment about the individuality of teenagers today, Teresa said she has had to tell her team to “leave all jewelry at the hotel, and that includes jewelry on the tongue and belly button. And, of course, I get back from the team, ‘You’re stifling our originality!’”

Teresa explained the details of the UW Women’s Softball Program. “It’s a 10-year-old program, and we’ve gone to post-season 7 of those 10 years. The PAC-10 is the strongest conference in country.”

Teresa said that “recruiting is interesting. We have a limited home schedule because of our spring weather. The first 40 games are on the road, which means a pretty hefty travel budget. Our program raises $80,000 each year to support the budget.”

She called attention to a fundraising brochure and schedule cards available at each table. She said, “There’s no better parallel for life than athletics. What they learn on the field means they take responsibility for their actions. They learn leadership and time management. Corporate America is looking carefully at female athletes. They are good community servants. We want our teams to be role models. We want them well-rounded with an emphasis on academics.”

Teresa took the BBRC on a lesson about softball. “The softball is not soft. Most pitchers fling the ball between 62 and 67 MPH. I’ve seen one pitcher who can deliver over 70 MPH. It’s 43 feet from the mound to home plate, which means a batter has 44/100ths of a second to make up her mind. I just tell my kids, Close your eyes and swing! The major difference between hard ball and softball is the softball moves up. Pitchers are able to deliver a rise ball.”

The PAC-10 Conference has the most competitive softball teams. “Seven out of eight teams are consistently ranked. For several years, all eight teams have made it to the post season. There have been PAC-10 teams in the college world series the last five years … with four or five different teams representing the conference.” Teresa said, “It’s an amazing conference. We have to be ready to play for eight solid weeks. If you can be consistent, you’re rewarded over the long haul. When you get to the World Series you have to be hot for two weeks.”

The Husky Program has been in the top five nationally in attendance the last five years. “We have great fans. Our men’s band is centered right over the visitor’s dugout. They’re a bit mischievous. Our field is a great place to be on game day. On May 4, we have our ‘Dinner with the Dogs.’ It’s a huge auction and fun, and that’s where we raise our additional funds to support the program.”

Talking about her team, Teresa said that prospects for the coming season look very promising. Just two years ago, 17 out of 19 players were freshman. Now, this season, the team will be lead by some upper classmen for the first time in three years. Their pitchers have the best ERA in the conference. April 4 is the first home game.

The team has 17 players, with 12 scholarships offered. They recruit in Southern California as well as the Northwest. They are taking the best players in Washington.

Maureen Concannon introduces Teresa Wilson

Some of the new rules instigated recently have included moving the pitching rubber back from 40 to 43 feet. Down the foul lines, the fences are 190 feet and 220 to center. These rules have brought about a more level playing field among teams. Now, there is more offense, with an average of 4-8 runs a game. Pitchers do dominate, but parity is there so the game is more exciting. Ratings for women’s softball is high on TV for the College World Series.

Thanks to Maureen Concannon for her introduction of Teresa Wilson. For Teresa’s presentation, she received a certificate showing that 240 doses of polio vaccine have been donated in her name toward Rotary’s determination to eradicate polio by 2005.