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The NFCA Convention
There's no denying the NFCA Convention is a special event. Coaches from all divisions, all over the world, meet in one place to talk softball, network and grow. There's no better experience than being in the same location - for four full days - with thousands of your colleagues. If you've never been to Convention, we're going to try and give you a glimpse of the magic, and if you've been before, hopefully this re-ignites your fire to join us again (and again, and again).
The 2024 NFCA Convention is heading to Dallas, TX, December 4-7, 2024.
One of the NFCA's newest team members, Director of Innovation, Lyndsey Talbot, is going to share her perspective having recently made the transition from attendee to NFCA staff. Come along!
Who am I?
Favorite book: 'Oh the Places You'll Go' - Dr. Seuss
Favorite song: 'On the Road Again' -Willie Nelson
Favorite shape: Square
Favorite logo: NFCA logo
Favorite hobby: Travel
Favorite beverage: Gatorade
Things I hear: Lots of loud noises and lots of laughter
Things I see: Lots of people who like softball and beautiful parts of the country
Things I smell: Snacks and gasoline
Recent travel: Atlanta, Chicago, Nashville … but my favorite is Las Vegas
MARCH IS Women's History Month, and as we celebrate women's contributions to history, culture and society at a national level, what better time to honor those closer to home – the players, coaches and administrators whose efforts have elevated women's fastpitch softball to the extraordinary heights we enjoy today.
When I worked for the NFCA, we had the privilege of publishing a history of women's fastpitch softball written by former Arizona State head coach Mary Littlewood. Mary, who founded the softball program at ASU, coached fastpitch at the school, as well as other sports, from 1967 through 1989. After her college coaching days were over, she came to the NFCA with manuscript in hand, in addition to more than 200 photographs and illustrations to complement her written word. It was an amazing compilation, and all we had to do was put it together in book form and publish it, which we did in 1998. As I reminisce now on our sport's history, Mary's book, "Women's Fastpitch Softball – The Path to the Gold", serves as the backbone to many of these observations.
WHEN YOU take on a project that you've never done before, there's A LOT of uncertainty. Can we pull it off? What do we need to know to make it happen? How do we entice people to join us?
COVID-19 changed our world nine months ago by canceling so many softball seasons and giving coaches some unexpected (and unwanted) time off. Even with a vaccine arriving, it is expected to continue to affect our everyday existence well into 2021.
After the initial shock, we at the NFCA quickly decided it needed to pivot to online learning, not only to keep providing coaches with educational opportunities, but also to provide a place to gather and have a much-needed break from the worries brought on by the pandemic.
We all got very familiar — too familiar, possibly — with Zoom calls in 2020. But what would we have done WITHOUT Zoom calls? For those of us stuck at home for months at a time, Zoom gave us a chance to interact with our friends and colleagues, and really save our sanity in a very uncertain time.
