The Alliance Fastpitch names Calista Van Artsdalen National Player of the Month for February

As part of the Alliance Fastpitch Player Recognition Program, we are excited to honor Pacific Coast Fastpitch League (PCFL) pitcher Calista Van Artsdalen of OC Batbusters Nichols as the National Player of the Month for her performance in February.

Calista Van Artsdalen
Team: OC Batbusters Nichols
Pos: P/1B
Division: 14U

Stats:
During the month of February, Van Artsdalen posted an impressive .773 batting average with 13 RBIs. In the circle, Van Artsdalen went 2-0 in the circle with only 2 walks and 18 strikeouts.

Softball Story (How did you get started?) – Tell us about you:
“The reason I started playing softball is because of my older sister, said Van Artsdalen. “She was a very good softball player and pitcher. Whenever I needed advice on softball or someone to look up to I talked to her about it. When I was 5 years old, I asked my sister to teach me how to play softball because I wanted to be like her. The most interesting thing to me was how to be a pitcher. With her being a pitcher back then, she showed me how to pitch. Ever since that day, I fell in love with the game. I love every minute of being on a softball field. Whatever success I have had on the field I contribute to her, my family and my great coaches.”

Favorite Softball memory:
“The best memory I have of softball is last year our Batbusters Nichols went to Utah for Nationals. Our team competed extremely hard. We ended up taking second place. It was the most competitive softball I have ever played. The best lesson I learned from that experience was no matter if you win or lose, a person needs to be a leader off the field as well as on the field no matter how hard things get. Be encouraging and supportive at all times to my teammates. I know that without my teammates and great coaches’ success will never happen.”

Coaches feedback:
“Calista “Cali” Van Artsdalen is one of our primary pitchers for our 14U OC Batbusters Nichols team,” said coach Dave Nichols.  “I have had the privilege and blessing to coach Cali and I am extraordinarily proud of how she has continued to excel on and off the softball field.  Cali is an amazing teammate who consistently encourages and supports all of the players on the team.  She is a leader and is unselfish, always willing to put others first for the benefit of the team.  I have been her travel ball coach going on 2 years and I have seen her from the age of 6 continue to improve for the last 8 years, putting in the hard work needed to be an elite player and pitcher.  Cali’s incredible stats speak for themselves, but more than numbers, she has strong character, a positive “can do” attitude, enormous work ethic, confidence, and outstanding softball talent and IQ.  Cali also excels off the field and, in the classroom, maintaining a high GPA and great grades in all her classes.  Cali is a coach’s dream who embraces challenges and her “on the mound” dominance and power-hitting contributes to the success of the team on a consistent basis.”