LAS VEGAS – With 200 companies and over 300 booths, the record-breaking Exhibit Show highlighted a day filled with business meetings, the first speaker sessions, the mentoring workshop presented by SixFour3 and the Y2K social hosted by PGF.
In addition to the sheer volume of the Exhibit Show, it also featured a Netting Professionals batting cage, centrally located in the hall. On Thursday several companies presented inside the cage, showcasing their products and latest innovations, which will be followed by educational sessions on Friday.
Also in conjunction with the Exhibit Hall, the digital auction concluded at 10:00 p.m. on Thursday evening as attendees bid on 77 items from their favorite companies, taking home equipment, technology, gift certificates and more.
View the complete schedule HERE or download the Convention App to see a complete list of activities.
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.
The afternoon’s gamut of education, which consisted of a mix of speakers and panels, kicked off with the always popular Drills, Drills, Drills focused on pitching (Pattie Ruth Taylor – Texas), infield (Sheryl Gilmore – Western Washington) and hitting (Jeff Tylka – Virginia). There were sessions for everyone from the Head Coach Track presented by FieldTurf to a Grassroots/Youth-focus panel to Director of Operations-specific programming. Some of the topics included hitting, pitching, defense, recruiting, strength and conditioning, leadership and culture.
Emceed by NFCA Assistant Coach Board Representatives – Southern Oregon’s Cheyenne Bricker 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, 11 mentees went home with prizes, ranging from NFCC registrations to a 2026 Convention registrations. The lucky winners of the Convention registrations were Florida Tech volunteer assistant Xiary Emerenciana and Fullerton College's Lorraine Maynez Cordova.
Also on the docket in the early evening was MLB Together with special guest speaker Dr. Jen Fry’s presentation – Don’t Sugarcoat It: Coaching Leaders, Not Just Lineups.
Education continued after the mentoring session with two more Fireside chats, laid-back sessions that touched on exploring defense and catching. The evening concluded with the Y2K-themed PGF Social.
Day two of the Exhibit Show is on Friday, which opens its doors to members at 9 a.m. and runs through 3:00 p.m. It is highlighted by the return of the Home Run Derby presented by HitTrax, along with raffles by fellow NFCA Official Sponsors Netting Professionals and Sports Attack.
Friday features a full day of speakers starting at 8:30 a.m. with 2026-27 Playing Rules education. The lineup also includes High School and Travel Ball Caucuses presented by RIP-IT, the Softball Summit presented by USA Softball and batting cage education. The night is capped off by the Convention’s marquee event, the 2025 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!
