USSSA Pride
USSSA Presents “Back To School” Tour
Nashville, TN – National Pro Fastpitch announced completed plans today for the 2011 NPF Back to School Tour. The NPF Back To School Tour will once again be sponsored in part by USSSA with additional support from Major League Baseball. This year’s Tour will include 19 games over 17 stops. The Tour will once again kick off in Memphis, TN on Friday September 30th against the University of Memphis Tigers.
The NPF Back to School Tour was launched in 2010 as a way to introduce the League and its premier athletes to enthusiastic fans of the game all across the United States. In 2010, the Tour made 20 stops and played in front of over 20,000 unique fans. The NPF team of All-Stars is a combination of players from all four of the NPF’s League participants – Akron Racers, Chicago Bandits, NPF Diamonds, and USSSA Florida Pride. The team plays exhibition games against college teams from San Diego, CA to Daytona Beach, FL.
Players participating on the 2011 NPF Back to School Tour include Olympic medalists Andrea Duran, Kelly Kretschman, Caitlin Lowe; former Canadian Olympic Team member Caitlin Lever; former Canadian Olympic Team members and NCAA Champions Danielle Lawrie and Jenn Salling; 2010 NPF Pitcher of the Year, Lisa Norris; 2011 All NPF Team Members Ashley Charters, Bianca Mejia, Megan Wiggins, Brittany McKinney, and Sam Marder; and NPF Rookie of the Year, Alisa Goler.
The NPF Tour Team will be coached by Christie Bingham. Bingham has been coaching softball for 16 years with much success. Her career in interscholastic coaching saw her earn seven Coach of the Year awards in Memphis, TN, enjoy over 600 career victories, post a winning percentage of .780 and develop teams that were ranked in the top 25 eight times.
The 2011 Tour Team will be making many stops for clinics and appearances along their way, with dates already set in Memphis, TN; Oxford, MS; Conway, AR; Daytona, FL; Hattiesburg, MS; Atlanta, GA; Raleigh, NC; Corvallis, OR; and Walnut, CA.
The Tour will kick off on Friday September 30th in Memphis and will conclude Saturday November 5th in Walnut, CA. To get ticket, clinic, or appearance information, please go to the NPF website at www.profastpitch.com or the individual college team sites.
The complete NPF Back To School Tour:
Sept. 30 University of Memphis First Tennessee Fields; Memphis, TN
Oct. 1 Ole Miss Oxford, MS
Oct. 2 University of Central Arkansas Conway, AR
Oct. 3 Missouri State Springfield, MO
Oct. 4 Daytona State College Daytona Beach, FL
Oct. 5 University of Florida Daytona Beach, FL
Oct. 7 University of South Carolina Columbia, SC
Oct. 9 University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL
Oct. 10 University of Southern Miss Hattiesburg, MS
Oct. 11 LSU Baton Rouge, LA
Oct. 13 University of Georgia Athens, GA
Oct. 15 University of North Carolina Raleigh, NC
Oct. 15 NC State Raleigh, NC
Oct. 22 University of Washington Seattle, WA
Oct. 23 Oregon State University Corvallis, OR
Oct. 26 Portland State University Portland, OR
Oct. 27 University of Oregon Eugene, OR
Nov. 3 University of Oklahoma Norman, OK
Nov. 4 San Diego State University San Diego, CA
Nov. 5 Mt. SAC Walnut, CA
About USSSA Florida Pride:
The USSSA Florida Pride is a professional franchise in the National Pro Fastpitch League that is owned and operated by USSSA. The amateur organization of USSSA has multi-sport coverage and encompasses teams and players from the United States and abroad.
About NPF:
National Pro Fastpitch is headquartered in Nashville, TN. The league, created to give elite female fastpitch players the opportunity to pursue a professional career in their chosen sport, has operated since 1997 under the names of Women’s Pro Fastpitch (WPF) and Women’s Pro Softball League (WPSL). NPF is the Official Development Partner of Major League Baseball in the category of women’s fastpitch softball since 2002.
About USSSA:
The United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA), headquartered in Osceola County, Florida, USSSA is the World’s Largest Multi-sport Athletic Organization. Founded in 1968, USSSA has grown to over 3.7 million participants, competing in 13 nationally sanctioned sports including Baseball, Fastpitch, Slow Pitch, Karate, Basketball, Soccer and more! For more information on USSSA and to register your team visit USSSA.com. Also be sure to visit USSSAToday.com for the latest USSSA News!