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Here’s our TLI for Monday, Jan. 3, 2021…
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EXTRA SPOTLIGHT: ADDISON RUSSELL
Name: ADDISON RUSSELL
Hometown: Fairhope, AL
Graduation Year: 2027
Position: P/1B
Nickname: “ARuss”
Twitter: @ARuss2027
Club Team (age group): So Cal Athletics 09 National-Marinakis/Jaquish 12U
Middle School: Fairhope Middle School (plays for Fairhope High JV as a 7th grader)
Honors: SY Elite, USSSA MVP and A/B Honor Role.
Tell us about your SY Elite team…
I am playing on Softball Youth Elite’s team. I was nominated by my travel coach for selection to play in the Softball Youth All-American Games (AAG). I’ve never played in an All-American i.e. SY/USSSA/USA/PGF before. I have been nominated in the past, but just didn’t line up with our schedule. My Dad noticed that SY was putting on one in Panama City Beach, Florida, in December and it was only two-and-a-half hours away from my hometown, so here was my chance. He said this would give me the opportunity to go have some fun with other girls from around the country and get some exposure to what an AAG was like.
I was selected and offered to play, but my Dad noticed there was an SY “Elite” tourney a week later than the AAG right after Christmas and through New Year’s. He said if I could get into the Elite tourney, it would offer more competition as these ladies were ones who previously played in an AAG and stood out as the best. My Dad contacted Softball Youth to find out how to become eligible for it and they said we would normally have to be seen at an AAG, but since I was playing on a top tier “A” class travel ball team that I could send in a video resume and they would review and get back to us. They must have liked what they saw because I was immediately asked to come play.
My teammate, Mallory Earp, who is my catcher on my select team, also was accepted to come play as well on the same team. She went through the same process as I did. We were then added to a team of 10 players grouped by high school grad year and balanced by position. They have current collegiate athletes coaching all the teams. I played for the 12U SY Elite Blue team at the Panama City Beach, FL, New Year’s Eve Softball Fest from Dec. 27-Jan. 1.
Who were the 12U Elite Team Blue Coaches for the SY Elite Tourney?
Paige Jackson, a senior infielder who plays for Texas Southern University, Tierrah Williams, a senior infielder who plays for the University of Houston, Indykah Edwards, an infielder who just transferred in to play for Texas Southern University, and Jake Hackney, personal friend of the ladies above came to assist them. Kaylee Tow, who plays for the University of Alabama, was in our dugout for a bit along with Haley Lee, who plays for Texas A&M.
Who were some of the players on your team?
Here are a few of my Elite teammates for the week-long event that I got to know: Anya Chernich, a 2-27 utility player who lives in the North Pole, Alaska, and plays for Mayhem Fastpitch in Mill Creek, Washington. She flies down from Alaska to play with her travel team; Mallory Earp, a 2027 catcher from Fairhope, AL, who also plays with me on the So Cal Athletics 09 National team; Tayleigh Stansberry, a 2027 pitcher from Knoxville, TN, who play for Team Tennessee 09 12U; and Bailee Bridges, a 2027 pitcher from Frankfort, OH, who plays for Ohio Generals 09. We also had girls from Texas, Illinois and North Carolina on our team.
What did you learn from your teammates?
That if you have several girls from all over who never have played together, it doesn’t take much to bond and work as a team and have each other’s back.
How did your SY Elite Blue 12U team do?
We ended up going 4-2 for the week. We were seeded #4 going into bracket play and ended the tournament, placing third out of 12 teams. Our only bracket loss was to the team that won the 12U Division right after our game.
What were some of your accomplishments?
I hit a home run during the first scrimmage game we played and watched another teammate, Bailey Bridges, hit one over in our first pool game. Went 11 for 13 in six games at the plate, driving in 10 runs and ended with an .846 batting average and an OBP of .846. Got to pitch two innings in Pool Play and six innings in bracket play with 16 strikeouts. Had a 90% percent strike average. Played third quite a bit, which I never get to play on my regular travel team because I usual pitch or play first. Made a lot of new friends from all over the country. All in all it was a fun week.
Tell us about your Athletics club team and how you became involved with them?
I currently play for So Cal Athletics 09 National Team located in Fairhope, AL. I started rec ball at age 8 back in 2016 in Fairhope Rec. Played 8U and 10U up until 2019 when I was asked to come try out for pitcher for the travel team Bionix 10U out of Spanish Fort, AL. I did and made the team. I played for Bionix for one year, then our whole team changed organizations to Southern Prospects based out of Fairhope, AL. Played under Southern Prospects until the summer of 2021. Kostas Marinakis and Bill/Sahvanna Jaquish, who had an expanded organization of So Cal Athletics based on the Gulf Coast in Daphne, AL, wanted to add a 2009 team.
They offered our coach, Brad Harvell, the head coach position of their 09 National “A” Class Team. He accepted and I, of course, followed him. My So Cal teammates are all beasts and am lucky to have this much talent on our team and also live within a 40-mile radius of each other. We all see each other at least three times a week. I’ve played for my Coach Harvell, now for over three years and have loved every moment. He pushes us as a team and next to my Dad has made me into the player I am today.
I also have to give “a lot” of credit to my pitching Coach Kayla Jordan, who consistently pushes my ability in the circle weekly, and to my hitting coach Jody Hodo of Orange Beach, AL, who has always told me, “You’re too strong to be a pitcher only.” Working with him weekly has corrected my swing to what it is today. I also don’t want to forget my Assistant Coach, Bill Spriggs, for his support on and off the field. He supports me and all the other girls way above and beyond what an assistant coach does!
I love our current team of coaches, players, even our parents get along great, lol. We also get to have Lacey Fincher, a senior infielder for the University of Georgia, and Camryn McLemore, a junior infielder who played for University of South Alabama, but recently transferred to Jacksonville State U to finish out her collegiate play, as assistant coaches for our team during their offseason from college. We really have something special.
I also play on the Fairhope high school softball team. Seventh graders are allowed to try out for the high school team and I was one of three girls to make it. Fairhope High is a 7A school that won the Alabama state championship in softball in 2018, then COVID hit and the 2019-20 season was cancelled. They came back last season to place second at state. Our 2022 season should fare well for another run at the Alabama state championship. All of my Fairhope High softball senior teammates are committed to go play at the next level after this year. We have pitcher Alea Johnson heading to LSU and Hailey Minchew, a catcher heading to Chattanooga State, after they finish their senior year and hope to learn a lot from. Can’t wait to get on the field with my school team, which starts Jan. 10.
Do you have a secret talent/skill?
I have a passion to draw and paint. And a special talent to irritate my Mom on command. It’s actually kind of funny. But one thing is for sure, I am her mini me. When we go shopping together, we have a fun time. I guess that is a special talent too.
What’s your most memorable softball story?
I remember a time I was leading off second base, which is very rare because I pitch … A LOT and get pulled once I get on base. This time, I got to be a base runner … got a little squirrely and fell flat on my face where I stood. Of course, I was tagged out, but I was laughing so hard when I went to get up, I tripped over my foot and fell again. I was so embarrassed. Also, hitting my first over the fence home run this past season. We played a majority of 14U tournaments this past season to challenge us even though we were a 12U team. I’ve came close a dozen or so times, but when that first one went over … I was so excited I didn’t jog. I ran full bore to home plate. And we were playing up in the 14U division vs. a really good team, so it made it that much more special. Another special moment was when we played in the Ronald McDonald Triple Crown Tourney in Houston, TX, this past season facing 53 12U teams. We made it to the ship, but came up short and took runner-up, but huge for our team. Everyone knew who our team was after that weekend! Our So Cal team will be heading to California for the first time this next year to play in the PGF championships in Irvine. Should be another fun experience for us all.
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NEWS & NOTES
***C Alexia Carrasquillo, #28 in the 2024 Extra Elite 100, joined Hotshots National 16U-Jones. Carrasquillo previously played for the Tennessee Mojo, Lady Dukes and OC Batbusters.
Hotshots coach Steve Jones said Carasquillo de-committed from Florida and will be able to talk to college coaches on Sept. 1.
https://twitter.com/hotshotsjones/status/1476690593644531715
***C/UT Kennedy Marceaux, #6 in the 2024 Extra Elite 100, joined Hotshots National 16U-Jones. Marceax, who previously played for Hotshots National-Serie, batted .630 with 18 homers and 52 RBIs for Kaplan High in Louisiana as a freshman.
https://twitter.com/hotshotsjones/status/1476702875292209158
*** Scroll down to read about more player news plus the latest verbal commits including two going to the Big Ten…
