LOUISVILLE, Ky. – While a lot of the 2015 NFCA National Convention program, held Dec. 2-5 at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, is dedicated to education, another focal point is the recognition of coaching achievements. These accomplishments range from earning a 100th victory to being inducted into the prestigious NFCA Hall of Fame.

Over the course of four days, coaches will be recognized for victory milestones, on the field success, off the field success and perseverance and illustrious careers.

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Highlighting the convention is the 2015 Hall of Fame Banquet on Friday, Dec. 4. This year’s class of Jo Evans (Texas A&M), Anita Kubicka (Montclair State) and Clint Myers (Auburn) has generated over 2,800 victories and guided their programs to 44 NCAA tournaments and 17 Women’s College World Series / National Championship appearances. The NFCA has been inducting members into its Hall of Fame since 1991 with the current total standing at 65.

At the Easton Victory Club Luncheon on Thursday, Dec. 3, head and associate head coaches receive recognition for milestone victories obtained during the 2015 season, while enjoying friendly conversation over lunch. In 2015, honorees range from 100 wins to this year’s high mark of 1,400 triumphs.

The Coaching Staff of the Year brunch on Saturday, Dec. 5 highlights 2015 and showcases the coaching staffs that guided their teams to successful seasons, including national championships, with regional and national accolades. Along with entire staffs, individuals garner awards in the Assistant Coach of the Year category.

In addition, the Donna Newberry “Perseverance” Award and the Mary Nutter Scholarship recipients are honored. The late John Keyes of North Fort Myers (Fla.) HS, who recently passed away in October, is this year’s Donna Newberry recipient and will be recognized at the Softball Summit on Friday. The award, named for the longtime Muskingum College and 2008 NFCA Hall of Fame coach who died in November 2010 after amassing a 906-419-1 mark over 36 seasons, recognizes an NFCA member coach who has demonstrated extraordinary strength of will and character in the fight to overcome a physical, mental or social adversity that presented an additional challenge to the already demanding job of a coach.

Sheffield (Ala.) head coach Bradley Kimbrough, Bishop Blanchet (Wash.) High School head coach Lisa Olsen and Amherst College assistant coach Taylor Cournoyer were selected as this year’s Mary Nutter winners and will be recognized at the “First Pitch” Opening Welcome on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The educational grant, named for the former Pittsburg State (Kan.) head coach and 1997 NFCA Hall of Fame inductee who founded National Sports Clinics, seeks to continue Nutter’s effort to provide softball coaches at all levels access to the best minds in the sport to help them become better coaches themselves. Recipients receive funding to attend the NFCA National Convention, where they can improve their skills at educational seminars and through interaction with their fellow convention attendees.

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LOS ANGELES — The organizers of the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival have announced the top acts scheduled to appear at the multi-day event in April.

Goldenvoice, the promoter of the event, said Wednesday night that the big names scheduled to perform at the two-weekend festival in Southern California from April 12 to April 14 and from April 19 to April 21 include Ariana Grande, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala and Janelle Monae. Other performers booked to play at the event include the 1975, DJ Snake, Diplo, Solange and Weezer.

In 2018, Grande capped off a successful year as a pop star with another No. 1 album, “Sweetener,” as well as multiple hits from “No Tears Left to Cry” to “God Is a Woman” to “Breathin.”

The Coachella announcement is a monumental one for the 25-year-old singer. Not only will she be the fourth female artist to headline the festival, but she will also be the youngest female performer in Coachella’s 20-year history, Glamour notes. Björk was the first in 2007, followed by Lady Gaga in 2017 and Beyoncé last year, who was the first black woman to headline.

Grande shared the news with her fans on Wednesday, writing on Instagram, “Humbled and excited as all hell @coachella thank u.”

Grande is no stranger to the Coachella stage. Last year, she surprised festival goers by performing her latest single “No Tears Left to Cry” during Kygo’s second weekend set.

Coachella is known as the festival for cool kids — and musicians. Tickets go on sale on Friday.

With files from Isabelle Khoo

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – St. Joseph’s (Conn.) Nicole Williams, Indian Lake’s (Ohio) Sammi Miller, Germantown’s (Miss.) Laura Peyton Trammell, Rison’s (Ark.) Kennedy Ratliff and Heritage Academy’s (Ariz.) Mikayla Rojas have been named MaxPreps/NFCA National High School Players of the Week for contests played April 18-24.

East Region – Nicole Williams (St. Joseph – Trumbull, Conn.)
Williams was on fire in the circle for St. Joseph, posing a 3-0 record with three shutouts, including a perfect game versus McMahon. She struck out a 45, walked three and held her opposition to a .119 batting average. Against McMahon, she struck out 14 of the 15 batters she faced to register her first perfect game and second no-hitter of the season. The senior captain tossed a pair of four-hit shutouts in her other two starts, striking out a season-high 17 versus Stamford and 14 against Darien. Williams recorded four hits on the week with two against McMahon and also drove in a run with a double versus Darien.

North Region – Sammi Miller (Indian Lake HS – Lewistown, Ohio)
Miller hit .867 (13-for-15) and slugged 1.733 with 10 RBI, 10 runs, three doubles, two doubles and two home runs keying Indian Lake to a 3-1 week. Behind a 4-for-4 effort, she doubled, homered and knocked in five runs in a 11-0 triumph over Greenon. Miller added a home run, three RBI and three runs scored in a 11-0 victory over Stebbins. She was a perfect 4-for-4 and was a long ball away from the cycle against Shawnee. The junior captain also stole five bases, including three in game two against Greenon.

South Region – Laura Peyton Trammell (Germantown HS – Madison, Miss.)  
Powering Madison to a doubleheader sweep of Ridgeland, Trammell was 8-for-10 (.800) at the plate with five doubles, six RBI, five runs scored and a .1.300 slugging percentage. In the game two of the twin bill, she accounted for over half of her squad’s runs. Trammell was 5-for-6 with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored in a 17-7 victory. She preceded that with a 3-for-4 outing, double, two RBI and a run scored in a 8-1 triumph.

South Central Region – Kennedy Ratliff (Rison (Ark.) HS)
Ratliff recorded four multiple-hit and RBI contests helping Rison to four wins last week. The junior shortstop hit .688 (11-for-16) with 12 RBI, nine runs scored and five stolen bases. She doubled twice, homered three times and slugged 1.384. Highlighting the week was a 4-for-5 outing with a home run, four RBI and two runs scored against Parkers Chapel. Ratliff went 3-for-4 with a double, three RBI, three runs and two thefts versus Woodlawn. She also homered in an 8-7 win versus Stuttgart (3 RBI, 2 SB) and 7-1 triumph against Hermitage.

Picking up her second weekly award of 2016, Rojas was a perfect 12-for-12 with five doubles, seven RBI and 10 runs scored over four games last week. She also homered, tripled, walked twice, swiped nine bases and posted a 1.833 slugging percentage. Knocking in eight runs for the third time this season, Rojas went 4-for-5 with two long balls, one of which was a grand slam, and four runs scored against Metro Tech. The junior infielder drove in seven more runs, homered twice and scored three times versus Imagine Prep. With those two big RBI games, Rojas has posted seven-plus RBI seven times this season.

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. 
To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete’s game stats into MaxPreps.com  by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week’s award.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA.org every Monday during the spring season, with one representative chosen from each of five separate high school regions. During the fall campaign, just a single player will be selected representing all participating regions.

Please note, in order for a school to have multiple player(s) recognized during the course of a season, a coach from that institution must be an NFCA member. To become an NFCA member, please click HERE or call 502-409-4600.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team’s stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

Previous 2015-16 Max Preps/NFCA Players of the Week

4/25

Cassie McGrath | Tuckahoe (N.Y.) HS | East

Kelsey Corn | Menominee Indian (Wisc.) HS | North

Alexee Haynes | Sissonville (W.Va.) | South

Tylar Vernon | Pangburn (Ark.) HS | South Central

Amanda Naylor | Manti (Utah) HS) | West

4/18

Kelly Nelson | Norton (Mass.) HS | East

Emily Lipsett | Culver (Ind.) Academies | North

Makray Odom | Dickson County (Kent.) HS | South

Abby Garcia | Sweetwater (Texas) HS | South Central

Noemi Farfan | Calvary Christian (Calif.) | West

4/11

Raeanne Geffert | Seymour (Conn.) | East

Rachel Kedl | Red Rock Central (Minn.) | North

Corynn Miner | Admiral Farragut (Fla.) | South

Hannah James | East Jessamine ( Ky.) | South Central

Jadin Placencio | Cobre ( N.M.) | West

4/4

Cameron Lischinsky | Lakeland (N.Y.) | East

Maggie Balint | Avon Grove (Pa.) | North

Madison Aughinbaugh | St. Mary’s Ryken (Md.)  | South

Haidyn Bassett | Oskaloosa (Kan.) | South Central

Mikayla Rojas | Heritage Academy (Ariz.) | West

3/28

Jillian Weinstein | Half Hollows Hills West (N.Y.) | East

Ashley Swartout | Westfield (Ind.) | North

Rivers Andrews | Cedar Ridge (N.C.) | South

Jordan Carlson | Council Grove (Kan.) | South Central

Ashley Bodin | Spring Creek (Nev.) | West
  

3/21

Nicole Danyi | Baldwin (N.Y.) | East

Abby Marlow | New Athens (Ill.) | North

Mia Davidson | Orange (N.C.) | South

Grason Gasser | Bethlehem (Ky.) | South Central

Hailey Heeringa | Valley Christian (Ariz.) | West

3/14

Emily Merritt | Herford County (N.C.) | South

Aziah James | Spring (Texas) HS | South Central

Amanda Sink | Legacy (Nev.) HS | West

3/7

Hera Varma | Tampa Catholic (Fla.) HS | South

Tylar Vernon | Pangburn (Ark.) HS | South Central

Shaye Bowden | Sunnyslope (Ariz.) HS | West

 
2/29

Sarah Dugan | Oak Grove (La.) HS | South

Jordan Llinas | Cypress Woods (Texas) HS | South Central

Aurora Adams | Santiago (Calif.) HS | West

Fall

10/13 – Jessie Briley | Bishop Neuman (Neb.) HS | South Central

10/6 –   Victoria Haugsness | North Platte (Mo.) HS | South Central

9/28 –   Taylor Parham | Wilber-Clatonia (Neb.) HS | South Central

9/21 –   Savannah Chalfant | Gilmer (Ga.) HS | South

9/14 –   Madison Ingram | Bowling Green (Mo.) HS | South Central

9/7 –     Riley Craig | Mountain Range (Colo.) HS | West

8/31 –   Sieara Price | Eaton (Colo.) HS | West

8/24 –   Callyn Carter | Charlton County (Ga.) HS | South

Warning! SPOILERS for Season 1 of The Dragon Prince below. You can read our spoiler-free review of the first season right here. 

Netflix’s epic and magical fantasy series – The Dragon Prince – returns for a second season on Friday, February 15. The adventures of Callum, Ezran, and Rayla continue with exciting new episodes for you to binge.

“The nine-episode second season follows Rayla, Callum, and Ezran as they continue their adventure to Xadia. But the journey won’t be easy: every step of the way, they’ll be challenged by new foes and old friends alike. They’ll struggle with trust and betrayal, face down vicious dragons, and be tempted by the lure of dark magic, all while protecting the newly-hatched Dragon Prince, Zym,” according to a synopsis from Netflix. For an exclusive look at the upcoming season, check out the official trailer below.

Season 2 looks like it will be an action-packed adventure filled with new dragons and new elves to discover. The Dragon Prince was created by Aaron Ehasz (Avatar: The Last Airbender) and Justin Richmond (Uncharted 3), featuring the voice talents of Jack De Sena (Callum), Paula Burrows (Rayla), and Sasha Rojen as Ezran. All 9 episodes of The Dragon Prince will drop on Netflix on Friday, February 15.