Pro softball player assists Indians in early season

By MICKEY ALVARADO

Sticking to the states to finish up her master’s degree at the University of Michigan has allowed professional softball player Ashley Smith to give her sister Kristalyn a hand getting Tecumseh's state championship softball team prepared to defend its title during the early season.

Many of her National Pro Fast pitch teammates and opponents head overseas to Japan during the off season to continue playing professionally, but Ashley will be a member of the Indians' 2007-2008 squad at least until the middle of May when she returns to her professional team, the Philadelphia Force.

When looking at Ashley's credentials it's apparent why Tecumseh's coach would invite her to help out for any amount of time that she was available. Ashley's primarily been a catcher during the last few years but has spent time at first base and as a designated hitter. To book a private lesson with the pro it'll set you back $25 bucks for a half an hour or $45 for the entire sixty minutes and is worth every penny spent.

Ashley started with the Force two years ago and before that was a four year starting catcher at the University of South Carolina. While at USC she was a three time Academic All-American, USC Scholar Athlete of the Year (2006), three time SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year, ranked fifth in homeruns (17), ranked eighth in career RBI (106) and had a career slugging percentage of .406.

In high school at Portage Northern, Ashley was the 2002 Michigan Gatorade Softball Player of the Year; named 2002 Miss Softball by the Michigan High School Coaches Association; a first-team All-American catcher by Student Sports Magazine in 2002 and named the Number 1 softball player in the state by the Detroit Free Press in 2002. She was an all-state catcher twice (2001, 2002) and helped her team to win three Division I Michigan state championships and four all-conference titles. She was a three-time all-conference team selection. In 2002 she set a school batting average record (.491) and the schools doubles record (20). She also achieved varsity letters in tennis, volleyball and basketball.

As luck would have it, Ashley is in Michigan finishing up her master’s degree in construction engineering and management., which allows her to also help the Indians. She has to return to Pennsylvania to begin her own spring training on May 12.

Professional woman's softball has gone through several major changes since 1991 but this season marks the fifth for National Pro Fast pitch (NPF). In 2002, Woman's Professional Softball League announced a rebranding strategy and official name change to NPF where Major League Baseball partnered with the organization to connect with female athletes and women.

“We've teamed up with Major League Baseball,” said Ashley, “So we have similar sponsors so we've kind of gotten the financial ability to keep the league going.”
There are six teams in the NPF including Philadelphia, Akron, Chicago, New England (Lowell Massachusetts), Rockford (Illinois) and Washington D.C.
Last year Ashley was the Force's starting catcher and the team finished just one game out of the playoffs.

“That was a success,” said Ashley. “This year we're looking to actually win the whole thing. We've got a good base coming in and we drafted some good players.”
As a representative of the NPF, Ashley is like any other major league star when not on the field and signs many autographs after leaving the home stadium, right downtown in Allentown Pennsylvania. She does interviews and can be seen in action occasionally on ESPN but understands that it will take some time before being seen in the same light as the big league's boys.

“You see a League of Their Own and those types of movies that are trying to allow women to have careers in professional athletics and we're trying to do the grass roots thing here where we're starting it off,” said Ashley. “These girls play because they love the game and are trying to promote it in a positive fashion. It's just a different type of atmosphere when you go to the games.”

This mega softball package is more than happy to help young girls who've just become interested in the sport or to help high school players ready to advance to the collegiate level of play.

“I love coming back to the high school atmosphere,” said Ashley. “I feel like it’s kind of my duty to give back to the game that's given me so much.”

So far Ashley likes what she sees in the Indians and feels like she'll be able to pass on some valuable knowledge while here. She said that she's bringing information with her that usually takes a couple of years to trickle down to the high school level after beginning at the top and then going to the colleges.

“This is a very good team, a very good program,” said Ashley. “It's very exciting to be able to bring them some of the newest techniques or things because I've seen them being used. So, I'm trying to bring their level of play up quicker.”

Players interested in booking some instructional time with Ashley can call her at 269.873.1910. Those interested in seeing her play can go to www.philadelphiaforce.com for a full season schedule.