By day, Tammie Shemenski is the Grant Coordinator for Churchill County Coalition, but by night she becomes Fallon's fast pitch pitching clinic instructor. Shemenski contracts with the Churchill County Parks and Recreation Department (Parks and Rec) to run the clinic at the City/County Gym on Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting at 6:30 pm.
Under normal circumstances, the clinic runs from November through January, wrapping up in time for the start of Churchill County Youth Softball Association (CCYSA) softball team try-outs in February. This year, the clinic started in January and will run through the end of March. Shemenski is hoping that the CCYSA softball try-outs will start in April.
Generally, girls from 8 to 18 years old attend the clinic, but Shemenski has had girls as young as five in attendance. She says, “The clinic is not just for the game; it also teaches respect, integrity and the concept of team.” Registration starts about one month before the clinic starts and is done through Parks and Rec. There is a $50 sign-up fee, and a waiver must also be signed. Each registrant must have their own glove and their own catcher. There are not enough catchers to provide one for each of the 30 girls enrolled so each participant must bring their own. Parents or siblings are good catcher candidates.
Shemenski opens each clinic by telling the kids, “We're here to support each other, not to break each other down. No matter what, you should wish the best for your opponent. You want to beat them, sure, but you still wish them success.” Each session starts with warm-ups because stretching properly and getting the heart rates going before starting to exercise is the best way to avoid injury. Pitching instructions continually emphasize throwing overhand so that the pitcher's arm is not hurt. The focus of the clinic is on fast-pitch pitching, the different types of pitches, their placement and framing.
Each clinic always ends with a big Greenwave cheer, and what the kids should work on at home. Shemenski does give them homework too. They are taught how to practice without a catcher at home by throwing a balled-up sock into a pillow. They can also work on their techniques and movements in front of a mirror to see what they are actually doing. Shemenski said she will ask the girls “Did you do your homework? They are very honest, some will say yes but others will say they did not - and I can tell which ones did not.” It's helpful for the parents to also learn the lessons taught at the clinic so they can practice with their kids at home.
Shemenski is grateful for those who help out with coaching, many of the girls who came up through the pitching clinic themselves; Louie Mori and his daughter Frannie who is now a CCHS junior who plays softball for the Greenwave, Trinity Helton also a CCHS junior and Greenwave player, and CCHS Junior Varsity (JV) Coach Rhianne Thorn and her daughter Canbri, a CCHS sophomore. The two coaches from Oasis Academy, Rachel Casey Payne and Brandon Bird encourage their team pitchers to assist with coaching as well. There are also many other volunteers who help with training the kids, showing them the mechanics and techniques of fast-pitch softball pitching, such as Richie Smith.
Dale Jensen and Laurie Mookini originally started the clinic with Davey Miller who was Shemenski’s original pitching coach. It was because of the three of them, Shemenski said, that she became interested in softball. When Jensen and Mookini were no longer able to run the clinic, Shemenski took on the responsibility.
Shemenski said she's been pitching since she was13 years old, “a long time!” she laughed.
She went on to pitch at Columbia College in Missouri, earning a full-ride scholarship where she received her BA in Education, and where Payne was her catcher. She played in the National Championships as a pitcher all four years and made All-American three of those four years.
In 1994, she tried out for the Olympics and although she didn't make the final team, she got close. She said it was a privilege and honor for her to stand next to Michelle Smith and Lisa Fernandes, two of the greatest softball pitchers, and also a very humbling experience. “After making it through those first two trials and then not making the final cut,” Shemenski said, “that was so very hard. I learned to deal with defeat that time – and that was a big one.”
She talked about the awesome support for sports programs in this town. “The parents and other people who come out to help, it's just amazing. I don't think we could have a better town when it comes to supporting the sports programs, and softball is one of the most popular.” She summed things up by saying, “All in all, we have great kids, great parents and a great community.”
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