ESPN RISE

The life of a fast pitch travel softball player is not easy.

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Rich Long

Edison, N.J., was the epicenter of high school softball action last week.

Many players spend their summers traveling across the country to tournaments in anticipation of getting the attention of a college coach. These players hope that coaches from the colleges they are interested in are at the tournament -- the coaches being at the field at the exact time their team is playing is another matter.

The Team NJ Softball Tournament and Combine, held June 24-27 at the at the Edison Angels Softball Complex in Edison, N.J., brought together some of the country's best travel teams to strut their stuff in front of some of the nation's top college programs. This tournament attracted elite travel softball teams like the OC Batbusters from California, Texas Glory, Gold Coast Hurricanes of Florida and the Colorado Stars. Top local teams, including New Jersey's Intensity Gold and the Inferno, as well as seven teams out of New York and Pennsylvania were also in attendance.

One of the highlights of the tournament is the National Recruiting Camp Combine. This year, 120 girls from various teams signed up to display their individual skills through a series of drills and batting practice.

Some of the top athletes that were present at the combine included Rachel Gillen, 2011, P/OF (DE); Corrin Genovese, 2011, SS (NY); Maddy Sciappa, 2010, SS/3B (WA); Bri Matthews, 2012, P (CA) and Cali Lanphear, 2012, C/OF (TX).

The competition is divided up into five stations. First, they are lined up for speed trials where they are timed running from home to first and then first to third. From there, they move to some agility work: running a serpentine course through cones as fast as possible. Next, they do a throwing strength drill in which they throw the ball from the outfield of one field to the infield of another.

The players then moving on to batting. They get a chance to hit off the tee, take pitches from a machine, and then face live pitchers. The players finish up with fielding drills. After the skills assessment, the players break off into teams and scrimmage.

The combine format allows players to showcase a wide array of their skills in a short period of time. It is a great opportunity for college coaches to rate players on a consistent platform and the players seem to appreciate the exposure this provides.

"We were given good repetitions and opportunities to display their talents defensively and offensively in a controlled setting," said Krystal Smith, a second baseman from the Virginia Shamrocks.

This year, the Combine was cut short by rain so the fielding drills and the scrimmages were eliminated. But the rain didn't dampen the players' enthusiasm.

"It's great to have the top competitors in front of the coaches," remarked Corrin Genovese, an infielder for the Jersey Intensity. "There are so many drills and so many coaches watching you; it's great."