The West Coast travel ball softball scene has a new program on the prowl.
On Monday, Wildcat Fastpitch officially announced the launch of its inaugural season, which will be led by legendary high school and travel ball coach Rob Weil, who just last Friday won the TC Nationals in Chino Hills, California with his 14U team.
Weil’s resume includes 22 coaching awards, six California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) championships, five PGF championships, three NCFA Championships and nine California State championships.
Now, after decades of success based in Orange County, California, Weil takes on the task of building Wildcat Fastpitch from scratch.
The coach says he will ensure players will grow at the club level to prepare for success at the college level:
“Our teams will play in the top tournaments and showcases in the country,” Weil explained on the organization’s website. “Wildcat fastpitch is a college prep program and is continually looking for the top talented players from all over the country that want to make the commitment and do what it takes to play at a college level.”
Here’s a look at an interview down with the coach about his new program:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mk1-t3SXSs
The coach today runs the highly successful Los Alamitos (Calif.) High program and in December 2020, Weil was listed as one of the Top 5 High School Coaches in the Extra Elite 100 High School Coach Rankings: #’s 10-1 (Dec. 11, 2020).
The bio on the championship-winning coach included the following:
Weil’s team was ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps when the 2020 season came to an end due to the Coronavirus. Weil has led his teams to six CIF Southern Section titles and a MaxPreps national championship in 2017. He won five of those championships at Pacifica from 1997-2004.
Weil’s 2017 team went 28-3, beating mighty Norco in the championship game.
“I told them when we were in pregame today, ‘We’ve beat every team that we’ve played this year,’” Weil told the OC Register. “We lost to La Habra, played them the second game and beat them. Played Mission Viejo, beat them in the second game. I said, ‘Let’s go out and do the same thing tonight.’”
Weil was also named the National Softball Coach of the Year by USA Today in 2017.
He says he’ll utilize the same formula that has worked going back to his Pacifica (Garden Grove, California) days when he won five CIF titles in an eight-year stretch at between 1997 and 2004 and fielded such future college stars such as Amanda Freed (UCLA), who also played in the Olympics, and Toni Mascarenas (Arizona). Freed, incidentally, will be working with the Wildcat organization as a pitching instructor.
“It’s all about creating a culture,” Weil continues. “I look for kids with their heads on straight that come from a good foundation. Quality kids, quality teammates, and quality athletes. These are the kids we are focused on finding, and these are the kids the culture of Wildcat Fastpitch will revolve around.”
Part of that culture is bringing in coaches and former players to help bring to fruition his vision of a winning culture.
Weil will oversee the organization as well as coach the 18U team. Greg Knight and Ted Holcomb will lead the 16U and 12U squads while the 10U team will be managed by Shawn Nugent. The 14U head coaching position is still being finalized.
Holcomb has known Weil since his daughter, Jenna Holcomb, played for the coach at Los Alamitos High. She is now finishing up her collegiate career at San Diego State and will also assist with helping the Wildcat organization.
The coach adds that he, like many others in the softball space, are fans of Weil’s approach on and off the field.
“When I heard Coach Rob was starting this organization, I was very excited,” Holcomb continues. “I have been around Rob for many years watching him coach my daughters and many of my former players and I can tell you nobody gets the respect of their players like Rob. He is in it for all the right reasons and cares about his players more than anyone.”
“Whether it’s high school or travel, the culture he creates on his teams are second to none. He is the perfect guy to start a new organization and mentor players from the ground up.”
Interested players and parents can click HERE to register for a tryout.
