Heat Out!

Holy Crap... We're All Done????

HUDSON HEAT GOLD 18U - ARE WE REALLY DONE?

The girls made the last ride a good one by taking first place in the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Tournament.

8 years ago, Jess and Nicole suited up in their Hudson Heat uniforms with 9 other teammates as a brand new 10U team.  All they did with that year was win the New Hampshire and New England ASA championships.   The next year, Delaney and Amanda joined the team.  Julia, Angela and Sammy were next to join the party, followed shortly thereafter by Heather, JulieAnne and Sarah.  And the final addition to this terrific group of young women came this year when we welcomed Mackenzie into the fold.  Two of these girls have never worn another travel teams uniform - Jess and Delaney have never been anything but Heat players... rare in this day and age and something to be proud of girls.  We have had plenty of victories and some tough losses.  We have played to perfection in moments and we have played like bums in other moments.  But through it all, these ladies have proven to be great friends, tremendous athletes and about the best softball family in New England.  As a coach, I could not have asked for a better group of players and families with whom to spend my summer weekends.  Yesterday, we played our final game as a team and the girls went out on top by winning their own tournament.  These women are moving on to college.... Assumption, Roger Williams, Plymouth State, Endicott, University of New England, Lesley, UConn, St. Joseph and the University of New Haven will be better campuses this fall.  Their softball teams are lucky to be taking on board fine athletes committed to success and driven to be their best.  I congratulate you all for all you have achieved. 

Thank you to the Hudson Girls Softball League for their continued support of the Heat programs.  Thank you to Karen Bonney and Alvirne High School for the use of their fields for tournaments and practices and thank you to the Kiwanis Club of Hudson. 

And I thank you all for everything you have given me the past 8 summers.   Good luck ladies!!!!! 

Our Summah is Almost Ovah!

What A Ride!!!  

Hard to believe that our time together as the Hudson Heat Gold is nearing its end.  One tournament left to go and then it is time to ship you all off to your college careers.  To all of my Heat ladies, present and past and the ones who helped fill the roster from time to time, thank you for allowing me to be a part of your summers.  It has been an incredible ride with amazing young women!  I want you to go into the real world knowing that you have made a permanent mark in the heart of a grateful coach!  Thanks to Tom, Sarah and Bob for your help and to the parents who made this job really easy! 

Thank you Delaney, Kelsey, Jess, Nicole, Julia, Angela, Sammy, Amanda, Heather, Sarah, Mackenzie, JulieAnne, Kate, Abby, Lauren, SamBam, Mary, and Jen for the lessons in teamwork, softball and friendship! 

Middies Win! Keep It Going Amanda!!!

Amanda and her Middies Advance to Massachusetts Semis

Amanda's school team, Dracut High, remains alive and well in the Massachusetts D2 tournament.  The Middies are on a heckuva run - they haven't lost since the second week of the season!  Last night, Amanda sparked the offense with 3 RBI as Dracut won the Division 2 North final over Winchester.  They get back at it tonight in Taunton in the Massachusetts semi-finals against Abington.  GO MIDDIES! 

We Have Some State Champions Here.... boooyah

Congratulations to Jess, Delaney and Nicole on their second straight NH Division 1 state championship with Alvirne!  Way to go ladies.  Telegraph Article

And good luck to Amanda whose Dracut High team is still alive and among the top seeds in the Massachusetts state tournament!!!

Congratulations Kelsey and Sammi!!!

Kelsey was honored at Fenway Park yesterday as one of 35 recipients of the New Hampshire Red Sox Scholarship!  She was recognized for her academic work as well as her community service as a softball instructor and a Special Olympics volunteer.   Way to go Kels!!!!!

Congratulations also going out to Sammi as she has decided on the University of New Haven where she will join Sarah in the Charger Class of 2016!!!

Heather Is Going To UConn!

More big news coming from the Heat!!!   Heather will be patrolling the fields of the Big East next season, having committed to the University of Connecticut this week.   CONGRATULATIONS HEATHER!!!

Congrats Nicole and Delaney!

COLLEGE NEWS

Roger Williams Hawks

Congratulations to Delaney who has been accepted at Roger Williams in Rhode Island where she will be playing softball for the Hawks in the Commonwealth Coast Conference against buds Amanda (UNE) and Julia (Endicott).

Plymouth State University Panthers

Also congratulations to Nicole who will be strapping on the catcher's gear for the Panthers of Plymouth State University in the Little East Conference.

Congratulations Amanda

Big ups to Amanda who has decided on University of New England where she will be playing for the Nor'easters next season!!!   Way to go Manda.......

Jess makes it official at Assumption.... signing her letter of intent yesterday.  Jess looks to be pitching for the Greyhounds next season.

Jess signs her letter of intent to Assumption College

February Update

Winter workouts are halfway through... and the girls are looking fantastic.  Had special guest Bailey Jennie Finch Brisk visit us at practice on Saturday to teach us some dynamic stretching and how to wear a Giants shirt and still look adorable.  Sarah P was on the good list this weekend, jumping into the frigid Atlantic for charity.  Way to go Sarah.... better you than us. 

Lots of exciting news coming our way re: college acceptances and the such.  Kudos to Julia (Endicott), Jess (Assumption College) and Angela (Lesley College) who have all made their final decisions as to where they will be playing their college ball.  Looking forward to hearing more good news in the coming weeks.

Getting ready for Winter Workouts

Back to work ladies!!!   Can't wait to see your smiling, bright eyed faces Saturday morning for our first workout of 2012.   Tons of exciting news about college committments and some old familiar and friendly faces are returning to the blue and gold.  Hope you all had a terrific off-season.... 

And....... I hope you like the new web site... the old site was much too complicated and geek squad-ish for me to keep updated regularly.  So this is the new one... expect to see it kept up to date with important messages and the such.   Adding the slideshow from last summer's Michael Geary game to remind us of the great times we had last summer.    See you in a few days!!!!

Heat Host Tournament - Finish Second

HEAT TAKE RUNNER UP - CONGRATULATIONS FLAMES!

What a great weekend for the ladies.  We hosted the Barbara Hamilton Tournament and advanced to the 18U Championship game against the Southern Maine Flames.  Sarah and the defense managed to hold the Flames bats scoreless for the final 5 inning, but the 4 runs in the first two innings held up as the visitors from Maine won the championship with a 4-3 win.  The weekend started not so well as a little sloppy play led to two early losses to the Firebirds and the Quicksilver.  But the girls bounced back with convincing wins over Smackdown Softball and Nor'Easter softball to earn the 3 seed for Sunday.  Elimination play started with a 5-2 win over the Rampage out of Rochester, NH.  The semi-final game was a rematch against the Quicksilver and this time the Heat were able to avenge Saturday's loss with a 3-1 win to make it to the final game against the Flames.

Final tournament of the weekend coming up in Plainville/Wrentham at New England's Finest Showcase. 

Past Two Weekends

It's been a busy few weeks for the Heat.  Two weekends ago, the ladies competed in the Massachusetts NSA State Championship and came home with a 3rd place finish in a 13 team pool.  Saturday's action saw victories over the Northeast Hurricanes Red and the EMass Panthers to advance to the winners bracket final against the Raiders Gold.  It was a tough game for the blue and gold as the Heat dropped a 13-2 decision to the Raiders.  To the losers bracket final we went and despite a valiant last inning comeback including Dee's 3 run homerun, the ladies fell short by a score of 8-7 and finished the weekend in 3rd.

This past weekend, the Heat traveled to Ewing, NJ to play in the Newtown Rock Showcase, a tournament that had 120 teams in action.  It was a rewarding weekend for the ladies as they played their best softball of the season en route to going 3-1 in the two days.  Saturday saw temps reach 107 degrees on the field.  With the right team name for the occasion, the Heat disposed of the South Jersey Cobras (5-4) and the Lenape Valley Fury (6-5).  The third game of the day was cancelled due to heat index reaching 115 degrees.  Sunday morning cooled down to a brisk 92 degrees and the Heat battled to a 4-2 victory over the Long Island Silver Bullets before losing their only game of the weekend, 3-2 to the New Jersey Mystique.

This weekend we will be hosting the Barbara Hamilton Memorial Tournament.  It will be good to be close to home.

CONGRATULATIONS TO:  Mary for being named to the First Team Nashua Telegraph All Stars and to Abby for being named to the Salem News All Star First Team.  Also, shout outs to Jenn, Angela and Delaney for making Telegraph Second Team and to Jess, Julia and JulieAnne for Telegraph Honorable Mention recognition.  Way to represent the Heat!  (Congrats to old friend Lauren  for making Telegraph Second Team)

Tradition Showcase - Gettin' Our Money's Worth with 6 Games

A great weekend in Wallingford, CT this past weekend at the Tradition Showcase.  Friday's game was cancelled after heavy rains rendered the fields a giant puddle.  On Saturday, the Heat faced the Nightmare Elite out of Albany, NY and dropped a 6-0 decision as the ladies were held to just 2 hits in the game.  The second game of pool play would have the Heat against the MA Raiders Gold and despite holding the Raiders to just 3 hits, we could not overcome a messy 4th inning where the opposition rallied for 5 unearned run on just two hits.  Final score was 5-1 and that left the Heat in the "Consolation Bracket" for Sunday.  But with something to play for on Sunday for the first time this season, the ladies came up big with three straight wins over the NH Elite (6-5), MA Raiders Elite (3-2) and the Cheshire Wildcats (7-0) to get to the Final Game of the Consolation bracket against Total Kaos.  After a long day of timely hitting, the big hit escaped us in the final and the Heat lost 5-0 to end a long, successful day for the ladies and send us off on that LOOOONG ride home. 

Michael Geary Project First Pitch 6/8/2011

OUR SHOWCASE/TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

6/25/2011:

Polar Crush Showcase;  Devens, MA

7/1/11:

Mike Tingley Stars and Stripes Showcase;  Warwick, RI

7/8/11:

Tradition Showcase;  Meriden, CT

7/15/11: 

NSA Mass State Tournament;   Lowell, MA

7/23/11:

Newtown Rock Showcase;   Newtown, PA

7/29/11:

Barbara Hamilton Tournament;  Hudson, NH

8/5/11:

New England's Finest Showcase;  Plainville, MA

First Weekend In The Books

With the school seasons finished and the first day of Summer already passed, the Heat Gold 18s hit the fields a running this past weekend in the Polar Crush Showcase.  It was an exciting Spring for the Heat ladies as we saw 4 of our players (Jess, Delaney, JulieAnne and Julia) capture state championships with their school teams and 2 other players (Mary and Angela) garner All State honors in New Hampshire.  We also had a couple of players (Abby and Kelsey) reach the state semi-finals with their high school teams. 

The Heat Gold had a great weekend of softball and after our first game was rained out (love New England weather), they went on and played 4 tough games against tough opponents, winning two and coming out on the short end of the other two games.  In the mud on Saturday, it was an evenly played affair but the Bay State Bandits managed to squeak out a 1-0 win.  The afternoon matchup against the Hurricanes Red saw the ladies take an early 4-1 lead and then hold on for a 4-3 victory in 7 innings.  On Sunday it was a familiar foe in the Firecracker Fury Gold first thing in the morning.  We held an early 2-1 lead but the Fury had one big inning and scored 3 unearned runs.  Final score in 7 innings was a 4-3 loss.  The final game of the weekend was the best game of the weekend.  Despite being down 4-1 in the 5th inning to the Frozen Ropes Thunder, the power bats game alive and the ladies pushed across 5 runs to go ahead 6-4.  Pitching and defense made sure of the victory by setting down the Thunder 1-2-3 in the final two innings. 

We get back after it this coming weekend in Warwick at the Mike Tingley Stars & Stripes Showcase. 

Spring Awakenings!

Winter workouts have ended and the ladies have been turned over to their high school coaches.  We wish them all the best of luck in their high school seasons.  We are proud to announce that the Hudson Heat have been invited by the New England HardLiners to participate in an exciting event on June 8th in Amherst, NH.  The HardLiners have created the Michael Geary Project, a program aimed at promoting support and awareness for wounded troops.  The HardLiners have dedicated their summer tournament schedule to honoring the men and women who have sacrificed so much in their service to our country.  At each of their tournaments, they will be honoring a wounded soldier.  Their hope is to invite that soldier to one of their games and to pay tribute by wearing patches to show their support.  The program is named after Lance Corporal Michael Geary, USMC, who was killed during combat operations in Afghanistan in December of 2010.  LCPL Geary was 20 years old and from Derry, NH.

On June 8th, the HardLiners will be kicking off this program with a scrimmage/cookout/tribute at Souhegan High School and they have invited the Heat to be their opponent that night.  The night will include a motorcycle escort by the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, who will be riding in with a group of Vietnam Veterans from the west coast as part of a cross country ride.  The umpires for the game are all veterans.  The game will be followed by a cookout under the lights.  It should be a fantastic evening of patriotism and softball.  A very big thank you to Coach Eric Mensh and the New England HardLiners for including us in this noble program.

Photo Ops During Practice

The Heat Gold 18s are wrapping up our winter workouts with just a few more Saturdays before the high school seasons begin.  Sorry to say goodbye to Lauren and SamBam, but we wish them the best of luck.  And we are incredibly excited to be playing alongside Mary, Sarah and Jenn this year.  The snow has gotten the best of most of us this winter, but the warm weather and grassy (or muddy) practice fields are closer than we think. 

Our bat girl came to practice today and Coach Ken had the camera.  Enjoy the pics ...  looking forward to sunshine and 70's.

March Practice / Bailey Visits

You Can See It In Their Smiles

The 2010 season had its ups and downs for the Heat Gold as we played primarily an 18U schedule as a 16U eligible team.  We had some exciting wins and some frustrating losses.  We played against some of the top competition the northeast has to offer.  The one consistent throughout the summer, however, was the fact that these young women had a lot of fun playing together and spending their weekends in royal and gold.  This video was made just to show off how much fun we had in 2010.

Smiles Tell The Story from Ken Underwood on Vimeo.