ASA Fall Texas Challenge Series features Select Softball’s Best

The road to the ASA/USA National Championship starts this weekend in Houston, Texas.  This weekend the ASA/USA Fall Texas Challenge Series which is one of three tournaments that award points based on performance to help select who will represent Texas in the 2016 ASA/USA National Championship which will be held in Salem, Virginia.

Last year in 10U competition, the 04 Texas Travelers represented Texas in the 2015 ASA/USA National Championship in Normal, Illinois where they finished third in the country.  The Travelers girls learned a lot in the competition and the goal has been set to win the 12U National Championship as a first year 12U team.

The road to becoming a National Champion will be very difficult as there are a lot of good 04 teams as well as some great second year 12U teams that have the same aspirations.  Some of the top teams in the tournament will be last year’s 10U PGF Champions (Diamond Sports Hot Shots North) and runner-up (Diamond Sports Hot Shots South- formally Texas Chaos).  Katy Cruisers, Texas Bombers, Texas Peppers, Texas Stealth, Texas Aces and En Fuego will all be competing as first year 12U teams as well.  In addition to strong 04 teams, the 03’s will feature American Freedom, Firecrackers, Impact Gold and Texas Glory.

This past weekend, the Texas Travelers finished second in the ASA Dallas Fall Preview utilizing the tournament as a warmup to this weekend’s Texas Challenge Series.  The girls were led by strong hitting performances from Kaydee Bennett, Emily Jonte, Karley Wolf and Riley Rumfield as well as dominate pitching from Elizabeth Schaefer and Maddison McClarity.  If the Texas Travelers want to win the tournament, they will have to build upon the positives and make sure they limit the mistakes as the field in this elite tournament will be strong.

The Texas Travelers are scheduled to face the TX Strikers 03, Lady Stros 03, American Freedom 0304 and Texas Elite in Pool Play.  The Pool Play games will determine the see going into Sunday’s Bracket Play which will be single elimination Gold and Silver Bracket.

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702 or follow The Texas Travelers on Facebook.  The Texas Travelers are a 12U 2004 team that plays ASA competitive softball.  To follow particular players, games, practices or see any other information about the North Texas Select Softball team visit: 04 Texas Travelers News Site.

Playing Softball like it is 1995

In the year 1995, OJ Simpson was found innocent, Major League Baseball ended a 232-day strike, and the Dow Jones finished above 5000.  Windows 95 and the DVD (an optical disc storage media device was announced.  Bill Clinton was president of the United States, Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s president, Boris Yeltsin was General Secretary of the CPSU and John Major was the Prime Minister of Great Britain.  You could hear Garth Brooks, Smashing Pumpkins, Van Halen, Whitney Houston, Madonna and Janet Jackson playing on the radio.  Toy Story was the first ever wholly computer generated film, and movies such as Apollo 13, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Golden Eye, Die Hard With a Vengeance, Batman Forever and Braveheart were shown on the big screen.

The year 1995 was also significant for the 04 Texas Travelers.  Although, it would be 9 years before these elite softball players were born, a man by the name of John Wardlow would start the Texas Travelers organization paving the way for many girls to develop into strong confident young women, play on their varsity high school softball teams and ultimately provide over 175 girls the chance to play college softball.

The Texas Travelers softball organization is rich with history.  Coach Wardlow has a great reputation and is known for developing great softball talent.  Today, select softball has become a multimillion dollar business.  It seems everywhere you look; a big organization has swallowed up a small team up and then break the team apart to feed a Gold Team.  This wouldn’t be a bad thing, except the fees that come with being part of a big organization start to limit the opportunity for many girls who want to play for the love of the game.  Coach Wardlow was not interested in making the Texas Travelers an organization that he would profit from.  As a matter of fact, he allows the Texas Travelers softball teams the use of his hitting facility at no charge to the girls or the team.

Coach Kyle Bennett is the Head Coach for the 04 Texas Travelers team.  He has led his squad to finishing 3rd in the most prestigious tournament; the 81 year-old competition, 2015 ASA/USA National Championships.  “It is an honor to be part of the Texas Travelers organization.  Coach Wardlow has set the stage for these girls and I am excited to keep the tradition going” states Coach Bennett.

Bennett should be excited.  He has one of the top 04 Select Softball Teams in the United States.  Building on one of the top four pitchers in the country who has struck out over 1000 batters, Elizabeth Schaefer, hitting and All-Star shortstop prodigy Kaydee Bennett; the Travelers have added a plethora of talent.  Girls such as Karley Wolf (another top four pitcher in the country), Riley Rumfield (USA Select Elite All-American Midwest Region Top Performer), Emily Jonte (top pitcher out of the Texas Glory organization), Madison McClarity (Arkansas Elite legendary pitcher and hitter), and a physical hard playing catcher, Kailee Bautista.  In addition to the high profile players on the 04 Texas Travelers squad welcome back girls who became the backbone of the Texas Travelers success such as starting catcher Emily “Moose” Forrester; shutdown first baseman Cadence Hopgood; speedster Zariah London; complete utility player Kelsie Adams; highest softball IQ Jessa McDonald; infield vacuum Bailey Ford and elite pinch hitter Payton Smythe who actually has eligibility to play for the 05 team.  These girls will be playing their first year of 12U (although they have already won 12U tournaments while still in 10U softball).

The 04 Texas Travelers are a fully-funded team and are proud to have Baylor Bears All-American shortstop, Jordan Strickland on their coaching staff as well.

This softball team is looking forward to keeping the tradition alive for another 20 plus years doing things the right way and continuing to develop these ladies to whatever the future holds.

For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers visit the team on Facebook or contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702.

Texas Travelers add Proven Winner to Softball Team

The Texas Travelers are always looking for top softball players in the country to add to their already talented softball club.  When the opportunity opened up for the softball team to add one of the top pitchers in the country; it became a no-brainer as all of the coaches were unanimously in favor of the acquisition.

Enter Karley Wolf.

Karley has been playing softball for the last 5 years with four of them being in select softball.  She started playing in the Fall of 2011 with the 03 Texas Glory where she played for two years under Kyle Bennett who is now the head coach for the 04 Texas Travelers.  “I have always enjoyed coaching Karley as she is one of the hardest working girls you will find.  It is a pleasure to have her back and will be a huge addition to our pitching staff and lineup.  Not only is she a great ballplayer, but she is a wonderful young lady with outstanding parents.  She will fit in perfectly with the Texas Travelers.” Adds Bennett.

She joined Texas Shock 04 in the Fall of 2013 where she has played the last 2 years.  Playing for these 2 great teams has led her to several tournament championships.  She has also received several individual awards over the past several years such as 2012 VTD World Series- All-tournament team, 2014 10U Premier Texas State Championship- All-tournament team, 2014 USSSA World Series- pitching velocity award, 2014 USSSA World Series- Most Valuable Player, 2014 Fall Play Hard- Play Sunday- Most Valuable Player and 2015 VTD World Series- Most Valuable Player.

Karley is a proven winner being part of 2 National Championship teams, 2 runner-up National Championship teams and recently helped her team finish 3rd at PGF Nationals.  There is no doubt she will continue to help Whitesboro High School win a state championship and eventually move into the role as a D1 pitcher.  However, first she will concentrate her talents on helping the Texas Travelers 12U softball team add National Championships to their trophy case.

The 04 Texas Travelers are a very competitive select softball team and part of a rich tradition of success.  Each team at each age group is hand selected.  The organization as a whole is small in nature, but has the success and great reputation as the larger organization giving its girls the highest advantage when it comes to their future having sent over 175 girls to play college softball.

The 04 Texas Travelers were chosen by ASA, which is the governing body of softball to represent Texas in the 2015 ASA/USA National Championship held in Normal, Illinois.  However, the winning record of the 04 Texas Travelers is not what defines the team.  This team was built from the ground up having taken girls out of recreational softball to be able to compete and win at the highest level.

The coaches, led by Coach Kyle Bennett prepare the girls to be strong independent young women.  They are getting their players ready to be able to start as a freshman on their high school varsity teams, and with the organizations connection and strong alumni support; the Texas Travelers girls will be able to attract the attention of some of the top softball programs in the country.  As a matter of fact, Jordan Strickland, Baylor Bears history making shortstop, is on the coaching staff of the 04 Texas Travelers.

The 04 Texas Travelers is also a fully funded team.  This is a plus in today’s select softball world where playing for teams require you to pay for their uniforms, coaches, team lessons on top of the travel expense to play at a high level.  The softball players that play for the Texas Travelers save thousands of dollars for their parents because of the support they receive from the continued donations.

In addition to being a fully funded team, the 04 Texas Travelers have a marketing program second to none.  DeliveryMaxx has donated its patent-pending services to help market the 04 Texas Travelers as well as each of their players which will help when the girls become old enough to start the recruiting process.

The 04 Texas Travelers are one of the top 10U teams in the country.  They will be a first year 12U team, but they have already found success playing in several 12U tournaments recently winning the 2015 Summer Swinging 12U Championship.  Even though they have some of the top rated players at their position, the players are always looking to add to the roster giving them a heighten level of competition even in their own club.  The players and coaches both agree that their performance at practice, off the field, and tournament play determines their time of play in competition.  The coaches look at each player as an individual and identifies how the player can best help the team reach its goals.

The 04 Texas Travelers will be completing their roster for the fall season as they prepare to become 2016 National Champions.  For more information about the 04 Texas Travelers visit the team on Facebook or contact Coach Kyle Bennett at 972.679.7702.