Field Construction

Here are some photo's I've collected over the entire construction process. Adding some finishing touches as we speak....can't wait to get in it this spring!

Quote I liked

"Peak performance is dependent on passion, grit, determination, and a willingness to do something poorly until you can do it well."

-Zig Ziglar

Mason's New Mascot

Check out George Mason's new Mascot! He is nameless so far but there is a month long competition underway to select a name. I believe you can submit a name for consideration on our website...www.gomason.com. Gunston was cool but this guy is pretty cute!

Also, Congratulations to our Men's soccer team who won the CAA championship last week! They play at home friday night (11/21) at 7pm against UPenn in the first round of the NCAA tournament! GO PATRIOTS!!

World Series Update/Sport Psychology

The series was competitive and went all 5 games. The winning roster looks like this:
Team Manager - Meghan Hill
Christina Buono, Tori Dudley, Anush Mooradian, Sarah Martin, Stephanie Strother, Miranda Cranford, India Adams and Brianne Pease

We finished up our last session this fall with Dr. Waddell who is a sports psychologist and teaches sport psychology here at George Mason. I had an undergraduate and graduate class with her and loved it. She agreed to help us out this fall with some performance enhancement and team building stuff. I think it went really well and we will be better for going thru it. She made us a little uncomfortable at times but it was fun and I think we are a closer knit team because of it. To give you an example, one of the sessions was about how to deal with anxiety since all athletes battle anxiousness and nervousness in competition settings. Well to practice of course, we had to put ourselves in a very uncomfortable situation. We broke into three groups...pitchers, catchers and coach V were in one group, the outfielders were in another group and the infielders and myself made up a group. Our task was to come up with a rap song about our position and perform it in front of the group! This was very uncomfortable for a lot of us as you can imagine but it was super fun, super funny and gave us an opportunity to practice dealing with anxiety. There is video floating around somewhere and perhaps if we can figure out how to get it off of the girls phones and onto the blog we will share them with you. I have to brag and tell you that the infielders and I won the teams vote for best performance!!

Yikes! Time flies, it's been a while since i've updated the page. We are wrapping up fall practice in the few days. Hopefully the weather will allow us to finish our World Series. We split the squad into two teams and right now they are tied up at 1-1. I'm happy to report that our new ballpark is still on schedule and I hope to get some pictures on here shortly.
This weekend is the 3rd recruiting weekend of our 4 and Coach V is heading home to the America's Finest Showcase in San Diego. I head to Florida for Rising Stars in the morning. There is so much talent out there, I wish I could get to all the games but for now I can only be in one place at a time!

CAA Blood Challenge

The Softball team and coaches will be volunteering their time on Wednesday, Oct. 15 from 6pm-8pm either by donating blood and/or helping with registration and supporting those who are giving blood.

The CAA Blood Challenge was developed in 2002 by the league presidents as a fun way to emphasize the critical importance of donating blood. Each institution promotes the event on campus and encourages student groups, faculty, staff and alumni to participate and support their school.

WAHOOO! GO SKINS!

I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.

Softball Skit - Student Athlete Picnic

Every year the Athletic Department has a student-athlete picnic where all the teams eat lunch, mingle, compete in a few contests such as dizzy bat, tug of war and a three legged race. Every team also performs a skit and are judged by various staff members. Here are some pictures of the girls and we actually won this year so they will be performing again at the Patriot Center during midnight madness.

Sunday's Game

Well, despite all the rain we had, Saturday ended up being a very nice day and we were able to get in a double-header with UVA. We didn't officially keep score but i think we lost the first game 5-1 and the second game 3-2. I was happy with how we played for the most part, we have a lot of youth on the field but they are very talented and are learning very fast. A couple highlights from the day include Anush Mooridian leaving the yard and Morgan Davis with a RBI single. Freshman Alyssa See and Junior Becky Anderson shared time in the circle. Next up is Georgetown at 1pm on Saturday, Oct. 4.

I am so happy that we have gotten a chance to finally get past the obstacle of running and testing. Being on the field is like a whole new life and mindset to me. Any problems outside of softball seem to disappear when I step foot on the field and see the faces of my teammates. Though we haven’t been here long, I already feel our family starting to form. I LOVE IT! It’s not only the rekindled love for old teammates but also something new with freshmen and transfers. THEY ARE GREAT! We have lost some good players but I do BELIEVE that everyone on our team can be bigger and better then what anyone on the outside says. I hope everyone else believes. Let’s have a great season ladies, starting this Sunday.
Shiq #17 - Junior OF

Preseason Conditioning

Well, it's been a while since the last post. My apologies for that. We finally hit the softball field this week after a couple grueling weeks of conditioning. As is the case with all programs at this time of year, we have a lot of preparation to do but are very excited about the athleticism and attitudes these kids are bringing to work everyday. We have challenged them more physically than any other team in the past and they are taking it head on like champions! The higher you go in any sport the more mental it becomes. Everytime we do something physically that we couldn't do last week or even yesterday makes us stronger mentally. Our first fall ball game is Sunday at Mt. St. Mary's. I'll let you know how it goes!

Congrats Becky!

Better late than never but I just found out!!

Aug. 14, 2008

FERRUM, Va. - The Virginia Sports Information Directors recently honored six George Mason student-athletes for their performances both in the classroom and in competition as the organization selected the 2007-08 VaSID Academic All-State Team. A total of 222 collegiate student-athletes in the state of Virginia were named to the team.

Representatives from George Mason included Becky Anderson, a sophomore pitcher on the softball team majoring in marketing; Steven Benecki, a sophomore on the men's swimming and diving team who has yet to declare his major; Maggie Bridges, a junior defender on the women's lacrosse team majoring in biology; Mark Burik, a senior outside hitter on the men's volleyball team majoring in exercise science; Sarah Fack, a senior midfielder/forward on the women's soccer team majoring in accounting; and Mutsa Nyakabau, a junior sprinter on the men's track and field team majoring in pre-medicine. Each of the Mason student-athletes selected to the team had a GPA of 3.76 or greater.

You can read more at www.gomason.com.

Week 1

Well i enjoyed my first week. I had so much fun. It was a huge adjustment for me though. It was hard because i had no idea what to expect. I didn't know what my classes would be like, what my teachers would be like, or what the work would be like. I love it though! All of my teachers are really nice and i am looking forward to a very exciting semester!!!
=)
-Rachael Davies (Freshman)

Here are some new pictures to take a look at. Dugouts are beginning to form as well as the restroom facilities.

The freshmen are moving in today and tomorrow and the rest of the students will be back on campus this weekend. I can't believe summer is over already but I'm very excited to get to work with this year's team. We have a get together at the pool scheduled for Saturday before our physicals. The kids have a NCAA rules meeting on Sunday and our first team meeting will be Monday afternoon.

Don't forget to catch the Olympic Gold medal softball game and the NPF World Series is this weekend as well. Go Glory!

Heading to Nationals

Hey there! I want to thank you guys again for keeping up with Mason Softball, feel free to email me with any ideas you may have or what you would like to see added to the blog. Coach Verbanic and I are leaving tomorrow night after camp to head to Owensboro, Kentucky for the 16U ASA National Tournament. We may also swing through Salem on the way back for the 18A Eastern Nationals. Summer is winding down and we are getting ready for the team to come back to campus. August 21 is the freshman move in date and August 26 is the first day of class.
GO PATRIOTS!!

Construction is underway! The project is due to be completed by the end of October. Keep up to date with the progress right here at the official Mason Softball Blog!