La Serna Fastpitch Academy Founder - LFA

About Coach Adam
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Known for developing Champion Pitchers of all ages, coach Adam has brought 22 years of Sports Training experience to Fastpitch Softball and mainly he focuses on creating dominating Pitchers. From Strike Zone in Seattle to Competitive Edge in Puyallup, he will go just about anywhere to train a potential Champion. Adam's long-term goal is to go back to his pre-Olympic days of competing for a spot on the Olympic Wrestling Team. This time as an Olympic Coach for an international softball Team.

" I trained for the US Marine Weightlifting Team after leaving Quanico Virginia in 1985. I did not make the Wrestling Team that went on to compete for spots on the US Olympic Team, 7 Marines did! I had my chance and I went for it. Being a Marine first was top of the order however. I also was able to compete in weightlifting and with the best in the world for the US Team there. "

Adam
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It was later, while raising his goddaughter Shay, that Adam learned about Fastpitch Softball when Shay was 11 years old. "She asked me to coach her team and I learned all I could. What I did not know till later, 5 years later, Shay would be one of the top 10 pitchers in the Nation in 2006.

"I had to learn with her so I could pitch to her for batting practice and I just fell in love with learning to pitch the different spins. Mark Anderton was my teacher, one of the best in the world on the subject. I learned all I could from Mark and went to other teachers. I learned all I could and added dynamic forces to the mechanics I learned. Now we are seeing pitchers all over the Puget Sound throwing advanced pitches very fast. It's still fun even though I miss watching Shay's games. We all do." - coach Adam

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Adam loves fastptich and currently is a reserve pitcher for The Wolverines Mens Fastpitch Team. He enjoyed playing Mens Local Fastpitch 8 years ago in Seattle and could see some time on the mound in 2009. Adam is well known in Western Washington for training pitching powerhouse 4a Emerald Ridge High School to an undefeated 2009 season. Coach Wardle received "Coach of the Year" for his outstanding leadership and Team management approach with the seniors on the team. Wardle trusted Adam with training his pitchers and was invited to Team practices from 2007-2009 and learned all he could about the pitching game.

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Adam began training Alexa Derrick, starting pitcher at Emerald Ridge in her sophomore year in 2007 at Competitive Edge. " We trained and trained and trained. " - grandpa Will

Her Grandpa Will Derrick was responsible for recruiting coach Adam to train Alexa. " I liked how he was training Kelli Bornander. We tried Lance but it did not work out. She was nursing an injury at that time, so Lance had to be carefull. I wanted Alexa to heal fast so she could train with Adam. Yes, they trained very hard and anywhere they could at any time. It was not long before Alexa picked up Adam's lessons and teaching style, "very agressive" with no-excusses or nonsensical behavior or talking back to him. The respect was there and the disciplined followed. I just made sure she showed up. Sometimes Alexa (soph. year) would run off to a pizza party and forget about her lessons with Adam so I would go after her and bring her back to Competitive Edge for her pitching lessons, and sometimes I had to track down Adam if he promised to be at her game or tournament to evaluated her, ...that was my job."

- Grandpa Will
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Alexa was awarded All League 1st Team and Pitcher of the Year and will be on the mound in 2010 for Columbia Basin College in Eastern,WA.

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Adam also enjoyed training Camile Depew of Seattle Lutheran. Camile became High school League MVP and District runner up winner and All State Pitcher/Hitter in 2008. Adam trainined her 3 years prior when Camile was 13 years old playing for WST 14u. Camile now plays for Shoreline CC and is an All Conference award winner batting 0.465. Camile will be pitching for SCC next season possibly at the starting spot.
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Adam's Sports Career Highlights:

• Founder of Bodycoach Sports Training Systems in 1988 for world class weightlifters and wrestlers preparing for Pan Am and Olympic games.
• Member of the US Marines Weighlifting Team 1986-88 and Olympic trials Freestyle Wrestler.
• Founder of Strike Zone/Seattle Fastpitch Academy 2004
• Founder of Competitive Edge Fastpitch Pitching Academy 2007
• Founder of LFA and Tacoma Fastpitch Center, a 10 year Professional Fastpitch Softball Training Program for Teams and individual Pitchers,Fielders and Hitters.
• 22 year career in Sports Training and Industry Management.
• 2000, Began coaching football and softball in Auburn,Wa.
• 2001 Auburn Panthers National Football Jr. Champions
• 2001 Pitching Coach to goddaughter Shay Naranjo. Record 7-1 , 2001 middle school MVP and 7-1 seson in 2002 middle school MVP.
• 2002 to present. Trained several ASA/NSA/USSSA Teams to local and State Championships.

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Adam's Advanced Training from the Worlds best;

• 2002 Trained with Olympic Softball Coach Mike Candrea and Olympic coach Bobby Simpson in all areas of Hitting and the Swing Cycle for Olympic and College hitting.
• 2004 received Pitching training and support from then UW Coach Teresa Wilson and assistant Amy Hanson and individual college players.
• 2005 trained with current UW Coach Heather Tarr on UW approach to hitting at Coaches Clinics. Coach Heather Tarr and the Dawgs won the National Championship in 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q65JxKVRSyE
  

career highlights continued...

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• 2006 Pitching Coach to 9th Place ASA Nationals Acers 16u of Auburn.
• 2006-2007 Pitching Trainer/coach for 2 seasons with Seattle Lutheran, 2 time 2nd Place Districts and state qualifiers.
• 2009 Pitching Trainer/coach to Mt Rainier High School, 6th place State finish.
• 2007- 2009 Pitching Trainer/Coach to Emerald Ridge High School to back to back 2nd place Districts finishes.
• 2009 Undefeated regular season record and top 6 finish at State. Trained starting pitcher Alexa Derrick. (presently training younger sister, Cydni 12u).

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Community envolvement:

• 10 years established softball coach and professional trainer.
• Earned the espect of many fastpitch coaching staff in Pro Fastpitch,College, High School, Little League and ASA,USSSA communities and peers alike and has become well known ASA Fastpitch Pitching and Hitting Instructor-Coach for his hands-on, personable training approach.
• Involvement with the Elementary youth and High School Sports community since 2000 developing Champion Fastpitch Pitchers and Hitters.
• Active on the local ASA/NSA/USSSA/NCAA as well as national and regional level assisting Seattle and Tacoma Police Officers and Detectives with quality fastpitch camps, assists the parents and recruiters during the college recruiting phase as a member of the National Coaches Association.
• Mentor to High School,ASA, Fastpitch Training Programs to new Elementary, LL,High School coaches since 2000.
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"Winning any Championship requires having a dream and a plan. Then work at your plan, follow a mission and take it on with coaches and mentors that will help you reach those dreams! I look forward to hearing about your Fastpitch Camp stories and seeing your new skills!"
- Coach Adam
____________________________________________________________________2009
2009 Parent Testimonies and Thank you's
____________________________________________________________________Anna " Anna pitched 5 innings against a big team and hit for 3 of 4 at bats with 3 rbi's.She struck out 7 batters and allowed only 2 hits! Your pitching practices with Anna have really helped alot. All her pitches looked good. Anna really focused well when she was behind in the count a couple times and was able to strike them out. She remembers what you told her about keeping her mechanics consistent on each location of every pitch.
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Thanks Adam,
coach Jason and Diane Kasner
2009 Acers Kasner 12u
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Cydni pitched a "no hitter" against Pheonix
and had 10 strike outs for the win for Acers-Kasner 12u 4-1..Thanks Adam,Melanie McCullough."Michelle has been pitching alot. Today she went 4 innings and faced 15 batters.Walked 1 and Struck out 12!! "

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Thank you Adam,

Joe and Karen Fowler
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Kendahl went 5-0 last weekend and pitched great in every game for the Blue Jays.All the players did great! Kendahl pitched 5 shut-out innings including the 8th with the int'l tie breaker in effect!
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Thank you Adam,
coach Darin Sugai, Bluejays 12u
Puyallup Blue Jays 12u
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"Adam, Orion pitched in two games today for WST 12u and won both. Her change-up were making batters look silly and sat four hitters down in a row. hank you for all your help this month at your pitching camp."
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Coach Rob Shade, Bull Dogs 12u
Des Moines,Wa.
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"As a dad/coach we learned so much about pitching and hitting in one night, my 13yo daughter is improving and now driving in game winning RBI's from both sides of the plate!"
Thank you AdamJeff and Chris PriggeGig Harbor
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"Our daughter is now shutting down 12u LLTeams 15-0 and works harder at
pitching than ever".
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Thank you Adam,
Jana and Troy Roy, Coach FMF
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"I was really impressed and very excited. For the past year, we've been working, working, working, and not seeing a lot of increase in speed or power. With just a few simple observations and tips from you, I saw a remarkable difference in her throwing.
We have a game tonight, and I'm excited to see a difference.
Please let me know if we'll have a set day/ time going forward, or how the scheduling thing works with you.
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Take care,Melissa Musser, Highline Nationals LL.
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"Thanks Adam !!! We are very proud of Stephanie.Sure she had some ups and downs during the season, but I believe that every pitcher has that.She is definately growing as not only a pitcher but as an athlete. We believe that she will lead her school to districts next year.Go Lady Lancers!! Now that school ball is over she can really focus on the Lady Viks. I really would like to see her team get to the championship game of a tournament,they have the talent so I know they can do it. Steph just needs to keep up the good work and keep her bat going. She is finding out that the new bat is way better.".
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Thanks Adam for all your support.
Terri and Brian ShupeLakewood,Wa.
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Hi Adam, College freshman year is over and Kelli is ready for off season Pitching Training
and would like to train 3 days per week. By the way, her GPA was 4.0!
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Thank you!!Linda and Larry Bornander
Lakewood,Wa.
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PLEASE CALL OR TEXT ADAM WITH ANY QUESTIONS and SUGGESTIONS FOR TRAINING YOUR PLAYER OR TEAM: (206)227-9698.
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Coach Adam La Serna, LFA
http://tacomafastpitchcenter.blogspot.com/
ttp://fastpitchtrainingcampsofseattle/
http://auburnfastpitchcampslfa.blogspot.com/
http://desmoineswashingtonfastpitchlfa.blogspot.com/

Bainbridge Island Spartans Fastpitch earn first State Championship against Holy Names

Bainbridge pitcher Lindsay Willmann and catcher Brittany Wisner celebrate on the field seconds after winning the Class 3A state fastpitch title against Holy Names on Saturday in Tacoma. Bainbridge won 6-2. (CAROLYN J. YASCHUR KITSAP SUN)

The Lindsay Willmann express ran fast and strong through the Class 3A fastpitch tournament. Willmann, Bainbridge's senior ace extraordinaire, found redemption against Metro League rival Holy Names on Saturday and helped the Spartans earn their first state championship with a 6-2 win at the South End Recreation Area.
It was Holy Names (23-7) that beat the Spartans (26-4) in the Metro League championship and Willmann wasn't about to let it happen again.

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"I felt it. Honestly, I felt it," she said believing Bainbridge was going to win. "We've played Holy Names so many times but this is the championship so there was a bit more pressure."
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Willmann struck out nine, walked three and scattered five hits. She pitched a no-hitter in Bainbridge's 2-0 semifinal victory over Enumclaw earlier in the day.
Rarely does a class live up to its advanced billing, but that's exactly what the seniors did, said Bainbridge coach Liz McCloskey.

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"This senior class has especially worked hard for four years," she said. "They brought a little different swagger to the ballpark this weekend then they have the last few years and I guess third time's the charm."

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Senior catcher Brittany Wisner, who is headed to Whitworth University, couldn't agree more.
"The seniors have absolutely strived to win the state championship since the first day of practice our freshman year," she said. "We made a pact, the five of us, that we were going to carry this team. No ifs, ands or buts, no matter what happened we were going to do it — we were going to win that state title."

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It was the fifth time this season the two teams faced off and it was only fitting they found themselves in the one game that mattered most.
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Willmann and Holy Names pitcher Farleigh Winters battled for five innings before it looked like the Cougars would get on the board first. Holy Names loaded the bases with one out, but Willmann struck out Maddy Baker and forced Riley Hughes into a groundout to first to end the inning.

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McCloskey said that was the turning point for Bainbridge.
"It was very nerve-wracking," she said. "In fact, I started pacing. But I had complete faith in Lindsay and Brittany."
Wisner had faith in her battery mate.
"She's done that all her life," Wisner said of Willmann's knack of getting out of trouble. "She is amazing under pressure, she doesn't even break a sweat — I'm never worried."
Bainbridge's bats came alive in the top of the sixth when the Spartans touched Winters for four straight hits, including an RBI single by Chelsie Kakela and an RBI double by Cara Thompson for a 4-0 lead. The Cougars answered with two runs on a one-out, two-run double by Natalie Gellos, but Willmann ended the threat by striking out the final two batters.
Bainbridge scored two more runs in the seventh for a 6-2 lead, but Holy Names made it interesting. The Cougars, with two outs, put together back-to-back hits and had the tying run on deck.
But Willman forced Candy Button to hit a chopper to shortstop Haylee Baker, who deftly threw to first baseman Taylor Greenfield for the final out as the Spartans threw their gloves in the air and celebrated wildly on the field.

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"It hasn't quite sunk in yet," Wisner said after she and her teammates received the championship trophy. "I mean, this was my goal since my freshman year. I'm so proud of those girls. We couldn't have done it without any one of those girls, absolutely could not have done it."
Willmann was dialed in from the start of the day. The Pacific University-bound right-hander threw just 81 pitches — 60 for strikes — in her no-hitter against Enumclaw. She nearly had a perfect game, save for a dropped pop-up at third base.
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After Bainbridge scored both its runs in the fifth inning, Willmann then faced just six batters in the sixth and top of the seventh. Willmann's younger sister, Hailey, secured the win when she tracked down a pop up to short right field.
"Yeah, she's a stud," Willmann said of her sister.
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Now, the Spartans will reload — McCloskey said she has an incoming freshman class that reminds her of her departing seniors — and hopefully vie for another state tournament.
"It's kind of nice, we can do (the) four years over again," she said.
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State Championship
Bainbridge 6, Holy Names 2
Bainbridge 000 004 2—6 10 2
Holy Names 000 002 0—2 5 5
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Lindsay Willmann and Brittany Wisner; Farleigh Winters, Julia Hopkins (5) and Natalie Gellos. W—Willmann. L—Winters.
Leading hitters—Bain: Haylee Baker 1-4 (R), Clara Dunn 1-4 (R), Chelsie Kakela 2-4 (3RBI,2b,R), Willmann 1-3 (R), Wisner 2-4, Thompson 2-4 (2b,RBI), Lauren Reichert 1-3 (R). HN: Natalie Gellos 2-3 (2RBI), Riley Hughes 1-3, Winters 2-4 (R), Candy Button 1-4.
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Semifinals
Bainbridge 2, Enumclaw 0
Enumclaw 000 000 0—0 0 2
Bainbridge 000 020 x—2 7 1
Austin Rogers, Jillian Stewart (5) and Ashley Dell'Osa; Lindsay Willmann and Brittany Wisner. W—Willmann (21-4). L—Rogers.
Leading hitters—Bain: Haylee Baker 2-4, Cara Thompson 1-2 (RBI), Chelsie Kakela 2-4 (R), Clara Dunn 1-2 (R).
Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/may/30/spartans-are-state-champs-where-theres-a-willman/?story_detail_bainbridge-islander=1#ixzz0N9pAf34w