SOUTHEAST IDAHO 2012

SPARQ TESTING BLOG

Day two of our inaugural week of Fast Pitch Northwest prospect camps brought us back to Twin Falls, Idaho for a fun-filled day with local female athletes in the Class of 2012.  An enthusiastic group of young ladies representing five different high schools in the Southeast Idaho region showed up bright and early to impress all in attendance.  With a goal of getting high school fast pitch athletes exposure to college coaches and a measurement of skills and athleticism to promote self-improvement, Fast Pitch Northwest seeks to work with the best girls of all high school ages in the northwest region of the country.  Once these diamond cutters took the field and began their dynamic warm up before SPARQ testing, it was apparent from the beginning that we were about to witness something special.

That something special came in the form of 5'6" shortstop Brinley Miller.  A member of the team at host school Canyon Ridge, Miller took the SPARQ tests head on with an unmatched focus that helped her absolutely dominate.  With incredible test scores of a 21.9 inch vertical jump, blazing fast 20-yard dash time of 3.11 seconds, 40-foot powerball toss and lightning quick 4.93 second shuttle time, all best on the day, Miller rated off the charts with a ridiculous 100.38 SPARQ rating.  Such an astounding rating puts her into a category of elite level fast pitch athletes throughout the entire country, and what makes this feat more amazing is that Miller just finished her freshman year.  That's right.  As a member of the 2013 age group out there competing with the Class of 2012, she showed no fear and proved that she has a very promising future chasing down ground balls and making plays all over the infield like she did consistently today.  Either with her Riverhawks teammates at Canyon Ridge or this summer with the Crimson Crush, look for Brinley Miller to turn some heads over the next year.

Miller's teammate, Lauren Shotwell, put up solid SPARQ test scores to come in second with a 68.82 rating despite an injured finger which prevented her from participating in much of the skills activities and showing off her highly-touted pitching ability.  Bonneville's Cierra Banks and Canyon Ridge's other star freshman Emma Stephens, standing at 5'9" and 5'11" respectively, both used their long frames to heave the 2kg powerball 40 feet, tying Brinley Miller's mark.  To no surprise, Daliss Pickup from Declo High School was right behind with a 39-foot powerball toss, as she stole the show during batting practice while consistently flirting with deep shots that nearly went over the fence.  It was obvious throughout the day's events that all of these girls are devoted softball players who truly love to play and want to improve, and that always makes for a fun, productive environment for everyone.  Thanks to all those who came out to participate today, and we can only hope that tomorrow's Class of 2013 will be just as positive.

Article written by Colin Fahey (Athletic Trainer).