We would like to welcome you to our new 16U team's website!  The California Mirage Organization was started four years ago and has flourished to encompass four travel teams serving girls ages 11-18.  The organization's goal continues to be the same; to provide a platform for our wonderful young ladies to embark on a successful softball career.

Our 16U team has one premise in mind; to improve each and every one of our players so that they will enjoy a successful softball season. After only a few months of existence, we have already earned a berth to the 2008 AFA NATIONALS in only our 2nd tournament AND, in only our 6th tournament, we have garnered a 2009 AFA Nationals berth!  A fantastic achievement that has been achieved with the reliance on a complete pitching staff and a complete batting lineup where any player can step up and handle their duties.  That is the true meaning of team effort.

Our upcoming season will be a more ambitious undertaking as our young team steps up into the 18U division.  More details will be forthcoming in August...

Thanks for visiting our site and please sign our guestbook when you have a chance.

After a successful start this winter, the entire California Mirage coaching staff has been very pleased with the level of play our talented young ladies have shown in our first year of existence.  Each and every one of the wonderful young ladies listed below has contributed to the enormous gains we have made in such a short period of time;

Sara M

Taylor B

Kristen B

Laura B

Courtney O

Amber L

Kristen S

Angel M

We have completed the process of fine-tuning our squad this Spring to the point where we can compete with the best the 16U division has to offer.  A special welcome goes out to our 5 newest members;

Alyse G

Bailey F

Ariel M

Maria R

Vanessa T 

We are expecting lots of great things in the near future for our team.  Let's go do it on the field.  Remember, we will not pick certain days to be proud - we are proud of our team EVERY DAY! 

Being part of travel ball over the past 8 years, we've seen the mistakes made by various coaches and programs we've been associated with in the past.  We are putting together a team that will hopefully avoid those same pitfalls.  It is a lofty goal, but we are looking to present a team that will endeavor to do the best towards the improvement of each and every one of its players. 

Winning every friendly game at the expense of our roster is not the focus.  Our philosophy is to make the entire roster the best it can be and, if we're good enough, we will be successful.  We will not bring in players from other teams just for the sake of the "W".  We will make the effort of not over-coaching in the middle of the game and allow our players to decide the outcome between the lines.  Nationals of any alphabetical denomination is not our main goal.  If the team serves its mission to all the members of its roster, a berth to any Nationals will take care of itself. Wherever we end up going in the summer will serve as a reward to our players and not be the end-all or be-all to the season.

The Ladies of Mirage accepted the challenge posed to them by the coaching staff and lived up to the potential as they made a strong, undefeated run to capture a 2009 AFA berth and tournament championship at the AFA Nationals Warm-Up Qualifier in Walnut, CA.

Friday started our Ladies of Mirage facing off against their eventual Championship Game rival, Sudden Impact.  A low scoring affair was laid in shambles when Sara M launched a monstrous homerun that opened the floodgates.  The entire lineup followed suit and Mirage had a 8-1 win when the dust had settled.  Our pitching was dominant with Angel M and Laura B putting the clamps on the 'Impact offense, but it was heartening to see our bats come alive in such an explosive manner.

Saturday found us getting a forfeit win over Fury, who failed to show up to the tournament.  Our 2nd game was against a very good Cal Blasters team.  Mirage struck early with 3 - 1st inning runs and made them stand up in a 3-1 triumph.  Our pitching continued to shine as 3 pitchers (Taylor B, Kristen B and Angel M) combined to keep Blasters in check.

Sunday turned into a double elimination affair and our Ladies of Mirage waited for the winner of Sudden Impact/Blasters.  It turned out to be Blasters who were loaded for bear and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead.  Our pitching really stepped after that first inning and blanked Blasters the rest of the way.  Our offense continued to grind out hit after hit and Mirage pulled out a solid 3-2 victory.  Sara M continued to show the way with RBI hits - one being the game winner.  Vanessa T was also a great contributor with her aggressive baserunning and solid play at short.  Laura B continued to shine in the circle, going the entire distance for the win.

It was on to the Championship game and it was a bit surprising to see our opponent was none other than Sudden Impact.  Sudden Impact eked out an early run and then the Mirage offense exploded.  A 1-0 game turned into a 6-1 lead for Mirage on the way to a 6-2 victory and a berth to the 2009 AFA NATIONALS.  Timely hitting continued with Kristen S, Courtney O, Jessica R, Kristen B, Sara M, and Angel M all leading our offense.  Once again our pitching was steady with Taylor B and Kristen B combining their arm forces to get the win.  Alyse G turned in the defensive gem of the day with a solid throw to shoot down a runner trying to score.

Every one of our players was able to contribute in nearly all our games.  That is what makes Mirage a TEAM in the truest sense of the word.

The Ladies of Mirage continued to impress all onlookers with the continued steadiness of their deep pitching staff, the quick-strike capabilities of the offense and thesteadiness of a stingy defense to capture 3rd place at the Summer Slam in Artesia.  A very solid 4-2 record with the only losses to the eventual champion (American Pastime) and 2nd place (San Diego Renegades) teams marring a brilliant weekend.

Mirage was ready to carry on from the previous weeknd and played some very sound ball all Saturday.  A last-minute 3-2 loss to American pastime was the only blemish as Mirage rolled by Relentless and Artesia Punishers by 5-2 and 6-1 scores, respectively.

Elimination Sunday found the Ladies of Mirage loaded for bear and the offense really flexed its muscles in a dominating 10-1 opening win over the Tritons.  Our next game provided enough drama to fill three weekends, let alone one game.  With Mirage leading 3-1, the homeplate umpire made a run at trying to eliminate the Ladies of Mirage all by himself, by ejecting our two pitching coaches and our 3rd base coach within a span of 5 minutes.  Our team was left reeling and an opportunistic 3rd Degree team quickly took advantage of all the confusion to forge ahead to a 6-3 advantage.  Our fine team showed its mettle by fighting back with 4 runs of their own to earn a hrd-fought 7-6 decision. 

Our 3rd elimination game in a row found our Mirage Ladies out of gas and without any offense in dropping a 7-0 decision to a fresher, and well-coached San Diego Renegades team.  No excuses - no complaints.  Our pitching staff was solid for the most part (yet again) and all 4 pitchers contributed heavily in our wins.  Our offens has really woken up and is a force with Sara M leading the way as she went an amazing 11 for 14 for the weekend.

As a coaching staff, we feel a great deal of satisfaction with how our team is jelling and coming together.  There is still some work to be done, but the pieces are in place to make a strong run at AFA Nationals.

Ladies, keep working hard - we continue to head in the right direction, and we are really excited about this young and wonderful team. 

We are now headed for Mesquite Nevada for AFA Nationals.  Practices this coming week will be Tuesday at 7 pm and Thursday at 6 pm.

It all starts at any of your practices... REMEMBER... what you put into it is what you'll get out of it.

The California Mirage coaching staff feels blessed that our parents and families have all made the awesome effort to give our team the opportunity to be very successful.  It has taken a combined effort all winter long and we want to take this moment to thank you for all the hard work you all put in and for all that you are doing to support our team.  It is nice to see that the combined effort doesn't stop outside the playing lines. 

Our past fundraisers have exceeded our expectations!  It is the effort of our parents and players that make things so successful. Many thanks to all of you for making these past fundraisers so successful! 

Please keep in mind that dues for July are now due.  There will be no dues in August.  Dues will commence in September when we start up again. 

Here are links to all our sister teams in the California Mirage Organization;

18U - eteamz.active.com/californiamirage

14U - eteamz.active.com/calmirage14U

12U - eteamz.active.com/CaliforniaMirage-12U

Visit their sites and sign their guestbook when you have a chance...