If we could describe the first 6-months of the Backstop in a word, it’d be Exciting! This is thanks to all of our incredible families, players and friends who keep us going (oh, and all those nitro coffees on tap).
These first 6 months of The Backstop Softball Training Facility have flown by. The response to our opening has truly been amazing. It's so rewarding when you’ve imagined something for so long in your head, and now seeing it come to fruition has been such an indescribable experience. It’s exciting to go to work everyday and be able to do what you love! It’s also exciting that 7 days a week I have people who chose to come to my business.
This season, we’re looking forward to having a full winter season to watch and see our athlete’s journey and growth.
Change is good—and we’ve had a lot of it!
Since we’ve opened our doors, we’ve been lucky to experience a number of positive changes at The Backstop. As we continue to grow, we’re determined to keep incorporating the best softball has to offer. From equipment, to technology, and always, the best qualified coaches. Here are a few of the exciting changes that took place at The Backstop this year:
We added HitTrax technology In April we invested in exciting technology that allows players to track progress, compete against players all over the country, and gain insights that help improve hitting and pitching techniques. HitTrax helps us track things like exit velocity, launch angle, and provides video to review with players. This provides softball players who train with us the opportunity to track progress over time to monitor improvements and quantify change.
Three new coaches have joined our staff We’ve welcomed two additional coaches to our team, including a current college softball coach. Amanda “Mandi” will specialize in pitching lessons and has 20 years of coaching experience and is a former assistant coach at Brown University (NCAA DI) and Hood College (NCAA DIII). Holly will lead softball catching, fielding and hitting clinics all winter as a recent graduate of Salve Regina and current assistant coach of Salve. Lastly, we’ve just added Lexi Rodi to our staff as a hitting instructor. Lexi is currently a senior at Nichols College and played for RI Lighting for years.
We’ve introduced product demos We’ll be consistently working to bring in demos of the latest equipment out there. These trials help our players try out new softball gear and decide which bats, gloves, and cleats are the right fit for them.
We partnered with Ringor Fastpitch! In June we announced our partnership with Ringor, a leading softball apparel brand which embodies the mission of “softball only, nothing else.” Due to our common visions and collaborative spirit, The Backstop Softball Training Facility sought out Ringor to be their first official dealer in the US.
We partnered with Nokona! We are now an official distributor of Nokona gloves. Staying true to our mission of trying to bring the best softball gear and equipment to our softball community it was a no brainer that we had to bring Nokona to The Backstop.
We are working with Two Hands Pro In September we started communication with Two Hands Pro in hopes of bringing even more quality products to our Backstop Softball Training Facility community. Two Hands Pro is an inexpensive tool to take your fielding skills to the next level. It fits in any size glove and forces players to use two hands, improving transfers and quickness. We are always on the lookout for products that we believe in and think will help bring our players to the next level and Two Hands Pro is no exception to that. We now have them in stock at the Backstop.
Looking to support The Backstop? Here’s how you can help!
We’ve had a number of our amazing players and families ask how they can help support The Backstop as we continue to ramp up through our first year. Your support already means the world to us, and there’s not too much more we could ask for!
One way to help show your support is by leaving reviews for The Backstop on Google and Facebook. You can also “check-in” while you’re here or share posts on social media. Stay tuned for contests and other fun ways to engage with us online.
There are a number of upcoming clinics at The Backstop
Throughout the Fall and Winter we will be hosting a variety of small group clinics lead by current and former college coaches. These will include pitching, hitting, catching, and fielding. You can register for clinics here!
Before we head off to the next month/season/year, we want to say thank you. Thank you for entrusting us with your children and their growth in a game that has taught all of us here at The Backstop so much in life. We hope to instill that same passion and work ethic the game has given us, in each of them.
Let’s earn it, #TeamBackstop!
Coach Emily