2010 Aussie Spirit team

Competition and training schedule
Photo gallery

The Aussie Spirit Australian Open Women's team is ranked 3^rd in the world as a result of its performances at major international events, including:

• ISF Women's World Championship bronze medals in 1974, 1982, 1994, 2006, silver medal in 1998 and gold medal in 1965
• Olympic Games silver medal in Athens (2004) and bronze medals in Atlanta (1996), Sydney (2000) and Beijing (2008)
• Japan Cup bronze medal 2009, bronze medal 2007
• Canada Cup silver medal 2008, gold medal 2006, gold medal 2005, silver medal 2003, silver medal 2001
• US Cup silver medal 2009, bronze medal, 2001

The Aussie Spirit team archive, picture galleries, team statistics and media coverage highlight the significant achievements of the team. Current and past player profiles celebrate the accomplishments of individual players, many of whom, like Atlanta Olympic Games pitcher Jenny Holliday, have gone on to make a significant contribution to Softball in Australia.

The team has benefited from the support of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) Softball program, which was established in 1993 to maximise the development and performance of the Aussie Spirit in Olympic and other international competition. The program employs the national coach, the program coordinator and funds the team's daily training environment.

2010 Aussie Spirit team

The Aussie Spirit will be leaving Australia on 10 June to finalise their preparation prior to the commencement of the XII ISF Women's World Championship in Venezuela on the 23^rd June. The team has a busy preparation campaign including a 14 game competition schedule in the USA leading up to the World Championships that will provide valuable match practice and create a better understanding among the players.

'Although the Aussie Spirit team will be a lot younger and severely inexperienced compared to the team that played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics it won't lack enthusiasm, skill and a deep passion to give a strong account of itself at the World Championships. Our more experienced players are in core positions through the middle of our defence and at key spots in our hitting line up which is important. The Australian based players have been working hard on their training programs with their State based coaches and our overseas based players are performing well in their professional leagues. With the quality exhibition games organised in California prior to arriving in Caracas the team will be well prepared to make a run at doing something special in Venezuela,' said Head Coach Fabian Barlow.

The World Championship team of 17 players was selected on 24 February from an original AIS squad of 24 players. The profiles of the World Championship team members listed below highlight that the team has a blend of youth and experienced players who have competed at previous World Championships:

The Aussie Spirit is coached by Fabian Barlow, who is on his 2^nd ISF World Championship campaign. Fabian is supported by Assistant Coach Wayne Saunders, Video Analyst Sue Tomlinson, Team Manager Jill Ritter, Statistician Cheryl Dawes and Physiotherapist Brooke Cranney.

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The team is entering a re-building stage with 13 from 17 players making their debut at the 2010 ISF World Championship. The inclusion of Tracey Mosley, who has played at 2 Olympics (2004, 2008), 3 World Championships (1994, 2002, 2006) and played 281 games for Australia is the most experienced member of the team and will be significant in supporting the younger players to deal with the pressure of playing at this level.

The team will gain experience from the 8 players who have been competing in the foreign leagues:

• Italian League – Karina Cannon (Caserta), Verity Long-Droppert and Clare Warwick (Legnano), Brenda de Blaes (La Loggia)
• Netherlands League – Aimee Murch (Twins)
• Japan League – Stacey Porter and Justine Smethurst (Sagawa)
• US Colleges – Kaia Parnaby (University of Hawaii)

Stacey Porter will lead the Aussie Spirit in their quest for a World Championship title. Head Coach of the Aussie Spirit, Fabian Barlow, believes she is arguably the best hitter in the world and has a strong defensive presence in the infield at short stop. Kylie Cronk (Vice Captain) will support Stacey in the leadership role. She adds variety to the offence of the team, while maintaining her composure to make the right plays at the right time.

Justine Smethurst is considered by Fabian Barlow to be within the top 6 pitchers in the world who provides powerful pitching variety and speed, which will challenge the best international hitters. Justine's mental toughness and international experience is crucial to Australia's pursuit of the World Championship gold.

Danielle Stewart, who played a leading role in the ISF's Back Softball Campaign as a player ambassador, is representing Australia for the 137^th time at either 2^nd Base or Short stop, she possesses good running speed and power in the batter's box. She provides an insight into what it takes to make the team and strive for a world title in a recent Inside Sport Training Day article.

 Aussie Spirit competition and training schedule

*Denotes an event that players may be observed and identified by Australian selectors for the respective national team.

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