ASA announces Mike Candrea as Director of Coaching Education

The Amateur Softball Association recently named Mike Candrea of Tucson, Ariz. as the new ASA Softball Director of Coaching Education effectively immediately.

A new position within the Amateur Softball Association, the former 2004 and 2008 USA Softball Olympic team head coach will continue to enhance the ACE Coaching Certification program as well as integrate instructional opportunities to educate ASA coaches across the country.

Candrea will remain the head coach at the University of Arizona and will assist ASA in this new role when he is not obligated to his duties at Arizona.

"I am really excited for this new position within the ASA," said Candrea. "As an organization, they bring a high level of commitment to further the education and development of our grassroots coaches. As a softball coach for over 28 years, I still learn new things and have ideas every year and I look forward to the sharing those with others."

His duties will include content oversight of the ACE (Achieve, Certify, Educate) Coaching program, writing monthly articles describing various coaching experiences, online interview segments with responsiblesports.com, regional coaching and athlete clinics, speaking engagements, developing a practice planner and other duties as assigned.

"We are thrilled to have Mike on board in this position," said ASA Executive Director Ron Radigonda. "He brings a wealth of knowledge and success to the table that will provide a framework and foundation for our young ASA coaches."

Candrea's coaching success speaks volumes as a two-time Olympic head coach earning a gold medal in 2004 and a silver medal in 2008. He has also led the Arizona Wildcats to eight NCAA Women's College World Series National championships in 18 seasons. He reached 1,100 career Division I victories faster than any coach in history and has 20 trips to the WCWS over the last 21 years He is currently in his 22nd season as the head coach of the Wildcats and retired from the head coaching reigns of USA Softball in September of 2008.

About ASA

The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation's largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 83 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 240,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.

About USA Softball

USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men's, Women's, Junior Boys' and Junior Girls' National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women's National Team is one of the only two women's sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won eight World Championship titles including the last six consecutive as well as claimed two World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.