RIVER CITY ROCKERS:
The Rockers are a new team by name only, but the management and players on
this team have years of experience. The birth of the Rockers happened in
2002 when a core group of men from the two top teams in Sacramento merged.
They wanted to take their game to the next level and compete for a
National Championship. The merger of the J & P Sportsmen and The Elk Grove
Fastpitch clubs sent shivers down the spine's of our competitors. Both
teams experienced many successes locally and nationally, but never
finished higher than 6th in a national tournament. With the merger of
these two teams, that opportunity was now there!
TEAM MANAGEMENT: The Rockers are managed by Paul Carleton. Paul has
five decades of playing and coaching experience. His coaching style
emphasizes hard play, but in a spirit of true sportsmanship and with a
high level of class. While his players are self motivated to perform at a
high levels, he still find ways to get that little extra effort out of
each player. He preaches practice and discipline and playing the game the
way it was meant to be played...by executing the fundamentals. Paul's
involvement in fast pitch softball goes beyond the management of the
Rockers. He has overseen the operation of the Sacramento fast pitch league
for the past five years, is the Greater Sacramento Softball Association (GSSA)
fast pitch representative, chairs the GSSA fast pitch classification
committee and sits on the ASA Region 14 Men's fast pitch classification
committee. Paul recently retired as the Chief Deputy Director of a large
department in the State of California and is the current President of the
Roseville Fraternal Order Of Eagles. While Paul's time is mostly taken up
with his involvement with softball and charitable events, he still finds
quality time to spend with his wife, two children and three grandchildren.
Many times throughout the year, you can find Paul's family our at the ball
field supporting him and his team.
PLAYER PROFILE: The Rockers consist primarily of players in their
early thirties. Two players are in their forties and one is in his
twenties. They work in a variety of professions that include a Post
Master, a manager of a national insurance company, the NW Region Operation
manager for the world's largest ceramic tile and stone distributor, two
probation officers, a loan officer, a driver for the United Parcel Service
(UPS), a IT specialist, a manager for a large manufacturer of industrial
fans, a provider of services for the developmentally disabled, a resort
owner and a student. All players have years of baseball and/or fast pitch
softball experience with many players playing at the college and
professional levels. The Rocker players are involved in a number of
charitable activities through their membership with the Fraternal Order of
Eagles in Roseville. They annually host a dinner for the Placer County
Association for the Retarded, assemble and deliver holiday baskets (food
and supplies) to families that need a little helping hand and participate
in a number of other fund raiser that support many other Eagles charities.
ROCKERS RECORD: In the Rockers first season they demonstrated they
were the top team in Northern California and one of the top five in all of
California. In two seasons playing in the Northern California Pacific
Coast travel league, the Rockers amassed a 37-8 record and took first
place both years. In doing that, both years resulted in a berth to the
U.S. National tournament. The Rockers play doesn't stop in Northern
California. They also play in the Central California Men's Softball
Association travel league. This league has teams with the best talent in
all of California and in most cases, the United States. Many players on
the teams in this league have gone on to play world class ball and
currently two players in this league play for the United States Pam-Am
team. So, as you can see, this league is high caliber softball. The
Rockers have beaten all of these teams on one or more occasions and
welcome the challenge of these nationally ranked teams. Our goal as a team
is to become nationally ranked as well and playing these teams will help
us achieve this goal.
In 2002, the Rockers finished 3rd in AA
Division of the North America Fast Pitch Association (NAFA), with
several players being named to the All-World team.
The same year, the Rockers
competed in the "B" Division of the ASA National Championship in
College Station, TX. The team finished with an 9-2 record and finished
2nd. The team lost it's first game in the double elimination
tournament and then won nine straight to play in the championship game.
Again, several players were selected to the All-American team. That
tournament showed the true character of the Rockers. A gritty, hard nosed
team that refuses to give up. The Rockers hit 19 homeruns in 11 games with
a team batting average of .432.
