{"id":33127,"date":"2019-03-11T15:58:21","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T22:58:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=33127"},"modified":"2019-03-11T15:58:30","modified_gmt":"2019-03-11T22:58:30","slug":"guzman-hackett-hicks-mccurry-and-muizelaar-tabbed-assistant-coaches-for-usa-2019-mens-national-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/?p=33127","title":{"rendered":"Guzman, Hackett, Hicks, McCurry and Muizelaar tabbed Assistant Coaches for USA 2019 Men\u2019s National Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Web Release:\u00a0Link<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n
OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 USA Softball has announced the USA Softball Men\u2019s
National (MNT) assistant coaches that will join Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.) during the 2019 season.\u00a0 Ron Guzman (Salinas, Calif.), Ron Hackett (Richmond, Va.), Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.), Nick McCurry (Ashland, Ohio) and Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.) will assist Leather as the team competes at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Men\u2019s World Championship in Prague, Czech Republic, the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and select international events on the 2019 calendar.
\u00a0
This will be the first stint on the coaching staff for Hackett and Muizelaar while Guzman, Hicks and McCurry have each previously held roles on the MNT coaching staff.
\u00a0
Guzman, along with Hicks and McCurry, helped lead the 2018 U.S. team that competed at the Intercontinental Cup in Prague, Czech Republic.\u00a0 Despite a 1-4 showing at the event, Team USA proved they are a Top Five contender with a 5-4, walk-off win over Argentina.\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cI am extremely honored to be a part of the USA Softball Men\u2019s National Team program this summer,\u201d said Guzman.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to working with Coach Leather and the entire staff.\u00a0 This is the absolute pinnacle in your career to be able to wear the Red, White and Blue while representing your country.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
Hicks and McCurry have served as Assistant Coaches for the MNT since the 2014 season.\u00a0 In their tenure with Team USA, the duo has coached at two WBSC Men\u2019s World Championships and the 2015 Pan American Games.
\u00a0
\u201cAs a player or coach, the highest honor you could ever get is to represent the United States,\u201d said McCurry.\u00a0 \u201cThere is no better feeling to have a jersey with \u2018USA\u2019 on your chest.\u00a0 I\u2019m very thankful that I am chosen for this prestigious honor.\u00a0 Softball has been in my blood ever since I was a very young man.\u00a0 I want to thank everyone that is involved in USA Softball for selecting me.\u00a0 I will never forget this honor.\u00a0 We are looking forward to working with the athletes to win a Gold Medal.\u201d
\u00a0
Hicks and McCurry were also a part of the 2017 coaching staff that helped Team USA claim the Bronze Medal at the Pan American Championship \u2013 the first international medal for the U.S. since 2003.
\u00a0
\u201cBeing selected to be part of the coaching staff for the 2019 season is very special,\u201d said Hicks.\u00a0 \u201cAny time you can stand on a ball field with \u2018USA\u2019 across your chest – it is an unbelievable feeling and never gets old.\u00a0 I feel unbelievably blessed with the opportunity to represent my country in international competition.\u00a0 It is a unique experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.\u201d
\u00a0
Hackett joins the USA Softball MNT program for his first stint as Assistant Coach after being around the men\u2019s game for a number of years.\u00a0 A native of Elkland, Pa., a hotbed for men\u2019s fast pitch, Hackett played a number of years at the men\u2019s major level.\u00a0 Beginning in 2015, Hackett transitioned into administrative roles, coaching and sponsoring several teams who finished in the Top 5 at the Men\u2019s Major Fast Pitch National Championship.
\u00a0
\u201cIt’s an honor to be selected as part of the Men\u2019s National Team coaching staff,\u201d said Hackett. \u00a0\u201cTo represent your country competing against the best in the world is the pinnacle of our sport.\u00a0 I’m humbled and appreciative for the opportunity USA Softball has given us to represent our country this year.\u201d
\u00a0
Muizelaar is making his first appearance as a coach for the MNT program, though he packs plenty of experience as an alumni of the program.\u00a0 A member of the 2013-2015 MNT rosters, Muizelaar competed in two WBSC Men\u2019s World Championships and the 2015 Pan American Games.\u00a0 Muizelaar compiled a 2-3 record in 36 and one-third innings in the circle for Team USA at the World Championships, fanning 53 batters while he went 1-0 at the Pan American Games with 11 strikeouts in 10 and two-third innings pitched.
\u00a0
\u201cI am very excited to continue my involvement with the USA Softball Men’s National Team,\u201d said Muizelaar.\u00a0 \u201cI know that my desire to compete on the field will never go away, but I look forward to the new challenge of coaching this group of talented athletes. With the right preparation, I believe that we can compete with the best in the world and have a legitimate opportunity to achieve our goal of winning Gold this summer.\u201d\u00a0
\u00a0
For more information on the USA Softball National Team program, please visit\u00a0USASoftball.com.<\/a>
\u00a0
About USA Softball<\/strong>
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation\u2019s largest sports organizations,\u00a0USA Softball sanctions competition through a network\u00a0of Local Associations, which includes all 50 states and select metro associations.\u00a0 USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch.\u00a0 USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.\u00a0 The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation\u2019s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.\u00a0
\u00a0
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit,\u00a0www.USASoftball.com<\/a>.
\u00a0
About the World Baseball Softball Confederation\u00a0<\/strong>
Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland — the Olympic Capital — the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 208 National Federation and Associate Members in 135 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent\u00a0a united baseball\/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwide\u00a0annually.\u00a0
\u00a0
The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Premier12, World Baseball Classic, Baseball World Cups, Softball World Cups and Softball World Championships,\u00a0as well as baseball and softball events at the Olympic Games.
\u00a0
For more information, visit\u00a0www.wbsc.org<\/a>,\u00a0which is available six languages: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Traditional Chinese.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Web Release:\u00a0Link OKLAHOMA CITY \u2013 USA Softball has announced the USA Softball Men\u2019s National (MNT) assistant coaches that will join Head Coach Gregg Leather (Staten Island, N.Y.) during the 2019 season.\u00a0 Ron Guzman (Salinas, Calif.), Ron Hackett (Richmond, Va.), Greg Hicks (Bakersfield, Calif.), Nick McCurry (Ashland, Ohio) and Gerald Muizelaar (Grand Forks, N.D.) will assist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":29620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,22,61],"tags":[125,949],"class_list":{"0":"post-33127","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"category-people","9":"category-usa-softball","10":"tag-usasoftball","11":"tag-usasoftball2019","12":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33127"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33127\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33130,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33127\/revisions\/33130"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/29620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fastpitchwest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}