Next Level Softball: July 2013

July 23, 2013

Surviving the Heat!

We had a great week at camp despite the hot temperatures. Thank you to the softballers for working hard and being great students of the game. Hope to see you all next year! Here are some photos of the girls practicing their sliding and diving!

Our Story

We created The Next Level Softball Clinic (NLSC) in 2008 in order to give quality instruction to young players. As students of the game for the majority of our lives, we know what it takes for you to take it to the next level. After working our way up through town leagues, tournament ball, high school softball and college softball, we felt it was time to pass on our knowledge and enthusiasm of the game. Focus areas of our clinic include proper techniques of throwing, fielding, hitting, bunting, pitching, catching, base running and more.

Melissa Hanafin

Melissa Hanafin is a resident of Burlington, MA. Hanafin graduated from UMass Lowell in 2007 with a degree in Business and was the starting catcher for the UMass Lowell River Hawks. She was the league leader in pick-offs all 4 years and holds the school record for most stolen bases in a game(4). Her senior year, she led her team to win the NE-10 Conference Tournament and was named to the NE-10 Conference Tournament All-Star Team. A graduate of Burlington High School (2003), Hanafin was also a member of the 2002 Middlesex League Softball Championship team, was a 3 time Softball All-Star and served as team captain for the Red Devils her senior year.

Kristen Mahoney

Kristen Mahoney is the head coach of the Burlington High School's Varsity softball team. Burlington High has clinched first place in the Middlesex leage 4 years in a row. In 2011 and 2013, Burlington had playoff runs that took them to the State Finals. Along the way, Burlington earned titles of Division II North Champions and Eastern Mass. Champions.

Kristen is also the current Merrimack College Pitching Coach. Before coaching at Burlinton, Kristen spent 3 years as pitching coach at UMass Lowell. Kristen graduated from UMass Lowell in 2007 having set nine career records, including wins (70), strikeouts (598), shutouts (25), complete games (77) and innings pitched (673.0). Along the way, she earned a number of honors, such as Northeast-10 Pitcher of the Year, 2-time All-Region standout, and a 3-time All-Conference standout. As captain her senior year, Mahoney lead the River Hawks to their first-ever Conference Championship, where she was named Most Valuable Player of the NE-10 Conference Tournament. Mahoney graduated from and served as Varsity softball captain for Burlington High School. She was also a member of the 2002 Middlesex League Championship team. Mahoney has been giving private pitching lessons for the last 10 years, and has instructed numerous pitching clinics for UMass Lowell.

Stacey Lajoie

Stacey graduated from UMass Lowell in 2009. During her time there, she set many records, including Most Home Runs in a Career. Stacey played center field, catcher, and shortstop. During the summer of 2009 & 2011, Stacey played for the Brakettes, a semi-pro softball team in Connecticut. Stacey is currently an assistant coach at Merrimack College and the Director of Softball at Play the Game in Manchester, NH. She also is the head coach of the Granite State Gamers, an ASA summer tournament team.

Vikki Guido

Vikki Guido graduated from UMass Lowell, where she played four years of softball for the River Hawks. She was named captain for both the 2006 and 2007 seasons. As a junior, Guido was named to the NE-10 conference Second Team and as a senior was named to the NE-10 conference First Team. In 2006 she was a finalist for the Laurie Mann Award for UML Female Student-Athlete of the Year. She graduated from Winchester High School in 2003 where she was a four-year League All-Star as well as team MVP all four years. She was named Boston Herald All-Scholastic her junior year. Guido is currently working as a nurse at Winchester Hospital and serves as the Assistant Coach at Lesley College.

Next Level Softball