DALLAS – Day two of the 2024 NFCA Convention featured the membership conducting its annual business meetings, a sold-out Exhibit Show, mentoring workshop and the first speaker sessions, including the return of the Head Coach Track, at the Hyatt Regency Dallas.
With 163 companies, attendees mingled with vendors and learned about the latest in equipment, apparel and innovative products, while exploring the sold-out Exhibit Show space. The final 90 minutes were capped off with the Happy Hour presented by Discover Lake County (Fla.), an Official Sponsor of the NFCA.
In conjunction with the Exhibit Show, the digital auction concluded at 9:00 p.m. on Thursday evening as coaches bid on over 60 items from their favorite companies, going home with equipment, technology, gift certificates and more.
The morning was all about business. Attendees dispersed into their respective membership groups to discuss current issues, review pending legislation and create action plans for future changes to the game and their group for the betterment of softball.
View the complete schedule HERE or download the Convention App to see a complete list of activities.
Education kicked off with Drills, Drills, Drills focused on pitching, catching and hitting followed by Pitching 101, Scoring Strategies and Infield IQ. The return of the Head Coach Track on Thursday featured back-to-back panels that combined the knowledge of head coaches and administrators on navigating the rapid changes in college athletics and how to be an impactful leader. Additionally, education geared toward Director of Operations professionals touched on best practices for social media, camps, travel and event management.
Emceed by NFCA Assistant Coach Board Representatives – Purdue’s Heather Gelbard (outgoing) and Notre Dame’s Boo De Oliveira (incoming), the NFCA scholarship winners were recognized, and mentors volunteered to give advice and life lessons to young head and assistant coaches in the always-anticipated Mentoring Workshop presented by SixFour3. Mentors were asked to “pay it forward,” donating money toward great prizes and educational opportunities for the mentees, which included Convention, NFCC and NFCA Clinic registrations.
In addition, 15 mentees went home with prizes, including four Coaches Clinic registrations, four NFCA memberships, three NFCC courses and four 2025 Convention registrations. The latter went to four lucky coaches in attendance – Clarissa Hagler (Missouri Valley College), Steph Cardona (Bridgeport High School), Eli Espinosa (Oklahoma Christian University) and Elysse Petrie (Kent State University).
Also on the docket in the early evening was the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Gathering presented by Major League Baseball with special guest speaker Dr. Jen Fry, who imparted on the subject of using conflict as a catalyst for building a culture of inclusion.
Education continued after the mentoring session with two Fireside chats, laid-back sessions that touched on exploring coaching identity and catching.
The evening concluded with PGF Social, highlighted by attendees taking part in line dancing.
Day two of the Exhibit Show is on Friday, which opens its doors to attendees at 9 a.m. and runs through 3 p.m. It is highlighted by raffles from NFCA Official Sponsors Netting Professionals and Sports Attack.
Friday features a full day of speakers starting at 9 a.m. The lineup also includes High School and Travel Ball Caucuses presented by RIP-IT, the Softball Summit presented by USA Softball, and the Grassroots Summit presented by ATEC with a college coaches panel and educational offerings. The night is capped off by the Convention’s marquee event, the 2024 Hall of Fame banquet.
The NFCA is the professional organization for fastpitch softball coaches. Known for its highly-regarded National Convention, the NFCA also educates and supports softball coaches on a variety of different levels: from podcasts to awards to the National Fastpitch Coaches College (NFCC) to other in-person events such as Coaches Clinics and Leadoff Classics.
Learn more about the NFCA and consider joining our lineup of over 7,000 coaches today!
