Exclusive Interview with Fastpitch Phenom, Angela Tincher: Part 4 – Fun Facts

Softball pitcher, Angela Tincher, 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year, third on the NCAA all-time strikeout leader list, and National Professional Faspitch player, was kind enough to take a break from her busy softball schedule to answer questions for Pretty Tough. 

Six months ago, Angela Tincher led Virginia Tech University to a historical no hit, shut out win against Team USA. Today, Tincher lists her favorite things.

Fave TV Show: Heroes

Fave Song: Anything by Rascal Flats and Keith Urban

Fave Magazine: Sports Illustrated

Fave Book: Anything by John Grisham

Fave Subject: Math

Fave Athlete(s): Jessica Mendoza and Stacy Nuveman

Fave Movie Star: Jennifer Garner

Dream Job: Playing softball for the rest of my life

Girliest Thing You Like to Do: Get a pedicure

Thanks, Angela! 

Exclusive Interview with Fastpitch Phenom, Angela Tincher: Part 3 – Playing for the NPF

Softball pitcher, Angela Tincher, 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year, third on the NCAA all-time strikeout leader list, and National Professional Faspitch player, was kind enough to take a break from her busy softball schedule to answer questions for Pretty Tough. 

Six months ago, Angela Tincher led Virginia Tech University to a historical no hit, shut out win against Team USA. Today, Tincher shares what it’s like to play professional softball. 

Team: Akron Racers
Location: Akron, Ohio
2008 Record: 19 wins 29 loses
Season: Summer: June – August 

What’s a typical day like for a National Pro Fastpitch Player?
Each week during the season, we play four games in a row. On a typical game day, the games are at night. We usually sleep in during the morning. After we get up, we hang out at the house for a little bit. During the afternoon, we eat a good lunch and try to arrive at the field between three and four. Then, we warm up for three hours before the game. During the season when we’re not playing, we usually have a practice. And some days, we hold pitching and hitting clinics to help out kids. Other days, we make appearances and hang out with fans. 

Where do the players live? 
The team owns a few townhouses ten minutes from the stadium. Each house holds three teammate/roommates. 

What’s the best thing about being a NPF player?
Being paid to do what we love to do. Being able to keep playing as long as possible. 

What’s the average salary like for a NPF player?
It averages around $3000 to $5000 for rookies.  Each team has a $100,000 salary cap divided up between 20 players. We can also do lessons, camps, and clinics to make extra money. 

What do players do during the off-season?
As soon as the season is over, we can basically do whatever we want. A lot of the players have teaching jobs or college coaching jobs. Some players spend the rest of the year teaching at camps and clinics. And some NPF players earn their graduate degrees or continue college. 

How can a softball player make it to the professional level?
A lot of practice and time. I always enjoyed softball. I still love practices and playing. Luckily, I never got burned out. Even though, I missed a lot of time with my friends when I was off playing, it was all worth it in the end.     

Don’t miss next week’s Part 4: Angela Tincher shares her faves.   

Exclusive Interview: Fastpitch Phenom, Angela Tincher: Part 2 – Pitching

Softball pitcher, Angela Tincher, 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year, third on the NCAA all-time strikeout leader list, and National Professional Faspitch player, was kind enough to take a break from her busy softball schedule to answer questions for Pretty Tough. Six months ago, Angela Tincher led Virginia Tech University to a historical no hit, shut out win against Team USA. Today, Tincher shares some thoughts about pitching, drills, and what it was like to try out for the Olympic team. 

What is your strength as a pitcher? Definitely movement. 

What was your highest clocked speed? At the World Series, I was told I was clocked at 70 miles per hour. I would say, I tend to throw upper 60’s, but not consistently. I don’t worry about speed. 

Did your pitching style change in college? I saw a big difference moving from forty to forty-three feet. It gave me more distance to work on my movement. Instead of throwing the ball past batters, I had to move the ball around a lot more. My rise ball and my drop ball got a lot better in college. 

What is the most important thing you do to improve your pitching? Weight training is huge for me. It helped with nagging injuries and to stay healthy.

What’s the best pitching drill? I always spin with either a spinner or a ball with a line on it. I focus a lot on that and it’s helped me with my movement a lot.

Describe what it was like to tryout for the Olympics. I attended the invitational tryout held at the Olympic training center in California last September. They invited thirty to forty players. I’ve attended big tryouts before, but this one was the best of the best. I was sharing the field with Jennie Finch and Jessica Mendoza. The first day they went through some drills and they watched us. But, the next day we were split into teams and we scrimmaged for the rest of the time. The pitchers rotated through. So we had a chance to throw for and against everyone at least once, including Crystal Bustos.

Check out Part 1: The Beginning here. Next Tuesday, Tincher lists her favorite things.

Exclusive Interview: Fastpitch Phenom, Angela Tincher: Part 1 – The Beginning

Softball pitcher, Angela Tincher, 2008 National Collegiate Player of the Year, third on the NCAA all-time strikeout leader list, and National Professional Faspitch player, was kind enough to take a break from her busy softball schedule to answer some questions for PrettyTough.com

Six months ago, Angela Tincher led Virginia Tech University to a historical no hit, shut out win against Team USA. Every amazing athlete has a beginning. Check out Tincher’s story of her softball beginning below. 

Hometown: Eagle Rock, Virginia
High School: James River High School
ASA Teams: Roanoke Scrappers 14U and 18U, 18U Virginia Shamrocks 
College: Virginia Tech University

How old were you when you first started playing softball?
I started playing Little League when I was nine. I tried pitching at ten and I really started practicing pitching at eleven.

Did you love softball right away? Did you play any other sports?<em>
I tried dance, gymnastics, and basketball. None of those stuck. Softball was the one thing that I wanted to play year round. I played volleyball for five years, but it was just in season. I wanted to play softball all the time.

Did you play ASA?
I played for a local ASA team called the Roanoke Scrappers. Then, during my senior year, I drove three and a half hours to play for the Virginia Shamrocks, an ASA Gold Team because I wanted the national exposure.

Where did you play high school softball?
I transferred to James River High School during my sophomore year after my family and I moved.

Did you dominate as a pitcher during high school?
I wouldn’t say I dominated all the time. But, I did pitch games where I struck out every batter I faced. We won states my junior and senior year.

Who was your pitching coach?
My dad. When I started playing Little League, my dad taught himself pitching mechanics with books and videos, so he could teach me. At that time, there weren’t any clinics or coaches in the area. We learned together and tried all sorts of stuff, deciding what worked and didn’t work along the way.

How did you end up at Virginia Tech?
I wasn’t recruited very heavily out of high school. Since my high school was small, schools weren’t sure if the competition was strong enough. Virginia Tech is about an hour and a half away from where I live. Virginia Tech showed interest in me. It was the only visit I took and when coach made an offer, I took it.

Want to learn more? Check out this in-depth article about Tincher’s humble, small town beginnings here. 

Next Tuesday: Part 2: Angela Tincher: The Pitcher – Angela shares pitching tips and what it was like to tryout for the Olympics.

Bound for Beijing Saves the Best for Last

July 22, 2008 – As the Bound 4 Bejing tour comes to a close, the USA Women’s Softball Team is in the mist of a major winning streak. Team USA has recorded 10 shut outs and scored a whopping 160 runs during their last 10 games.

But, Team USA will face their biggest challenge yet when they take the field against the Akron Racers and former Virginia Tech phenom, Angela Tincher, tonight in front of a sold out crowd in Akron, Ohio. Tincher allowed no hits against Team USA on  March 26th, 2008 when Virginia Tech made history by beating Team USA 1-0.

Don’t miss this game and check out live stats here beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST. 

Tincher vs. Team USA: Part 2

July 1, 2008 – Can the amazing Angela Tincher accomplish the unthinkable again? Find out three weeks from tonight when the 2008 Collegiate Softball Player of the Year, Virginia Tech graduate, and current NPF Akron Racer pitcher, Angela Tincher, takes the mound against Team USA on July 22, 2008 in Akron, Ohio.

Tincher made collegiate and USA softball history on March 26th when she recorded a no-hitter and led Virginia Tech to a 1-0 victory against Team USA.

In an ironic twist of fate, Tincher took part in the Olympic Tryout camp last September, but was not one of the eighteen originally selected to play for the national team. Is she bitter? No, but she does admit that being cut fuels her desire to pitch well, especially against Team USA. 

Check out complete coverage and live stats on July 22nd here.  Will ESPN or another network pick up the biggest Bound 4 Beijing rematch? Fingers are crossed. 

POY Award Announced

May 28, 2008 - Last night, Virginia Tech pitcher, Angela Tincher, was named the 2008 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year.

Tincher led Virginia Tech to its first ever appearance in the College World Series, recorded 2,121 career strikeouts, and leads the nation averaging 14 strikeouts per 7 innings. Tincher also made USA softball history on March 26, 2008 when she no hit Team USA in seven innings. Check out USA Softball’s complete coverage of the ceremony here.