Aloha Softballers,

Welcome to 2009.

Lots to catch up on, including a coconut-filled kickoff for the Easton/Brett Helmer 2009 “Bring Ur Real Skilz” Series, which got things underway Jan. 16 in Oahu, Hawaii.

Close to 50 teams showed up for the three-day ASA tournament at the Central Oahu Regional Park during the Martin Luther King holiday weekend for what was undoubtedly one of the best pre-season openers – and site-seeing trips – of my career.

Not only was the venue incredible, but Easton’s new Synergy Reveal slow-pitch bat was the official bat of the tournament – ensuring a level playing field thanks to the bat’s composite construction, which includes a clear composite glass outer diameter that allowed both players and officials to see the bat’s design lay-up before every swing.

An awesome event – and bat – all around. You can check out more on the event on the tournament sponsor’s site at SportStanHawaii.com.

Off the field, Brian Wegman and I had a chance to meet with the University of Hawaii’s women’s softball team, plus tour the facilities and meet with one of longest-tenured Easton sponsored head coaches in the business – Bob Coolen. Definitely a pleasure.

We also caught up with head coach Tim Donahue and the Little League World Series Champions from Waipahu, Hawaii almost five months after we watched the South Pacific sluggers light up Mexico 12-3 in the 2008 LLWS final. I took part in my first-ever Luau and I have to say, I couldn’t have asked for a finer group of young men to do so with.

On a personal note, I also had a chance to stop by the Pearl Harbor Memorial. If you get the chance, it’s something that everyone should see if at all possible.

Back in the continental United States, we kicked things off with the ISA Winter Nationals in Winter Haven, Florida on Jan. 23. The three-day tourney has been a mainstay since as long as I can remember and has never disappointed, including this year – it’s fitting that it’s where a lot of teams put in their first competitive swings of 2009.

Upcoming, we’ve got the USSSA Nationals in Orlando on February 6-8. It’s an open roster event where we expect a lot of the teams to try and get as many of their regular teammates as possible, especially with the start to the regular season just two months out.

The highlight of this month though should be the third weekend in February (Feb. 21, 22) when the Easton/Brett Helmer 2009 “Bring Ur Real Skilz” Series hits Sparks, Nevada. They’ve got a brand new complex out there that we’ve been looking forward to seeing since 2008 wrapped up. They just opened the complex last year and it’s supposed to be incredible.

In the meantime, make sure you’ve got your eye out for the latest Easton technology coming out this year – we’ve got four new 100-plus mile-per-hour bats coming out this year toward the end of March.

Hope you’re as ready for 2009 as I am,

Brett