Jan. 22, 2003
Click here for on-line registration
SAN DIEGO - The 2003 Aztec Softball Camp will be held Monday, June 23 - Thursday, June 26 from 8:30a.m.- Noon daily. The camp will be held at the Sportsplex USA in Poway, Calif. Age groups are 10-13 years old and high school and up. For 10-13-year-olds, the camp will have hands-on training in the basics of throwing, fielding, hitting, sliding, base running, pitching, and catching. Offensive and defensive stations will adjust to the skill level of the campers and will consist of individual and small group instruction. The campers will also be evaluated and split into teams to play actual games.
The high school and up campers will be learning more advanced skills for the high school and travel ball level players. The advanced camp will have hands-on training in all aspects of throwing, fielding, hitting, sliding, base running, pitching, and catching. Actual games will be played and a strong focus will be placed on game situations. The Aztec Softball Camp staff consists of Aztec softball coaches and players. The camp will be limited to 150 campers to ensure quality instruction.
The cost of camp for early registration (before June 2) is $125 and will be $150 after that date (NO EXCEPTIONS).
STAFF
Head Coach, Kathy Van Wyk - Has had more success than any previous coach at San Diego State. Under Van Wyk's leadership, the Aztecs have finished above .500 in five of six seasons. She is also the first coach to achieve a top-25 ranking, two 40-win seasons and is the fastest to 100 wins in the history of the program. Van Wyk's knowledge of pitching is one of the top in the World. she spent 10 seasons as a player and an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, she became a pitching instructor at the Rod Carew Baseball School in Anaheim, Calif., from 1987-89. In 1989, she moved to Azzano Decimo, Italy, where she was the head coach and pitcher for the Azzanase club, she was the pitching coach for the Walkerville Softball Club in Adelaide, Australia. In addition to coaching the Aztec softball team, she has been the pitching coach for the Dutch national team for two years and traveled with the team to the World Championships in Japan. Van Wyk conducts many clinics throughout the year and has produced several instructional videotapes on pitching, catching and strength training for softball. As a player, Van Wyk established herself as one of the top pitchers in the history of collegiate softball. As a pitcher for the Titans in 1982, she posted a 35-1 mark with a 0.18 ERA. The victories remain a school single-season record and her .972 winning percentage is an NCAA record (30 or more decisions). Throughout her career, she has won numerous awards, including AIAW and NCAA All-America honors and the Broderick Award, which is given annually to the top collegiate player in the nation.
Camp Director/ Assistant Coach, Kelly Howard -A two-time All-American who participated in the College World Series four times for UCLA from 1993-96, is in her third season as an Aztec assistant coach. Howard previously served as an undergraduate assistant at UCLA when the Bruins were runner-ups in the national title series in 1997. She also spent time in Wisconsin as an assistant coach at St. Norbert College in 1999. Howard is one of the most decorated softball players in UCLA's rich tradition in the sport. She was a member of the 1995 NCAA championship team, earning all-World Series team honors. A four-time all-Pac-10 selection and a three-time all-regional selection, Howard earned the UCLA Bruin Boosters Women's Althletic Outstanding Athlete of the Year Award as a senior. Howard still owns Bruin career records for at-bats, runs scored, hits and doubles and was named an all-decade Pac-10 selection. Following her career at UCLA, Howard played professional softball for the Tampa Bay Firestix in the Women's Professional Softball League in 1998. Howard has conducted and worked in numerous camps and clinics throughout her playing and coaching career.
Assistant Coach, Joe Verbanic - Verbanic is a 1982 SDSU graduate and played baseball for the Aztecs from 1977-80. After his playing days, he was a graduate assistant coach for SDSU during the 1980-81 and '81-82 seasons. Most recently, Verbanic spent five years as the assistant coach at perennial state powerhouse Palomar College. He has also been the head coach of the California Players women's major team that finished third in the nation and he has coached U.S. Olympians Laura Berg, Leah O'Brien, Dani Tyler and Michelle Venturella in the Women's Open Division. He competed nationally and internationally as a catcher for the Vista Bombers of the Western Softball Congress.