Dana Cavalea
Director of Strength and Conditioning, New York Yankees

Dana Cavalea is the Director of Strength and Conditioning for the New York Yankees baseball organization. Prior to working with the Yankees, Cavalea enjoyed major-league stints with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays.

Cavalea is considered one of the bright young minds in the field of Performance Training-Strength and Conditioning. His goal is to provide athletes and coaches with a solid foundation on how the body functions.

At the same time, his philosophy attempts to create an awareness about the influence of lifestyle on athletic success. Cavalea specializes in the development of multi-planar strength, power and speed development.

Jo Evans
Head Coach, Texas A&M University

Jo Evans just completed her 12th season as head coach at Texas A&M, leading the Aggies to a second-place finish at this year's Women's College World Series. The 2008 Aggies compiled a 57-10 record, steamrolling to the Big 12 Conference regular season championship.

Prior to her arrival in College Station, Evans spent 11 seasons building the programs at both Colorado State and Utah. Evans carried two of her seven Utes teams to the World Series. At A&M, Evans has posted eight straight 30-win seasons, including three 40-win seasons. Evans has carried A&M to back-to-back World Series appearances in 2007 and 2008.

Evans has totaled 736 wins in her coaching career, including 11 trips to postseason play.

Holly Hesse
Head Coach, Missouri State University

Head Coach Holly Hesse has just completed 20 seasons of service at Missouri State University. Hesse is the winningest coach in that school's history, compiling a 529-501-2 overall record, which includes two regular-season Missouri Valley Conference titles, four MVC tournament titles and four appearances in NCAA regional competition.

This past season, Missouri State finished 28-22 but the Bears did advance to the title game of the MVC tournament, falling a win shy of reaching postseason play.

Off the field, Hesse has been active in promoting both the sport of softball and women's sports in general. She is one of the founding faculty members of the NCAA Women's Coaches Academy, which was created to enhance the skills and perspectives of women coaches, and to aid in the retention of women coaches in intercollegiate athletics.

A former standout pitcher at Creighton University, Hesse has authored publications and is a noted speaker in softball circles. These works include The Diamond of Success, a CD that contains over 250 overviews, student-athlete handouts, exercises and power point presentations which can be used to implement The Diamond of Success themes and ideas. The first 50 copies sold at the NFCA Convention will be sold for $75.00.

Jacquie Joseph
Head Coach, Michigan State University

Jacquie Joseph has a passion for developing student-athletes who are successful on the field, in the classroom and in the community. Those values are at the core of the Michigan State softball program.

Since taking over the Spartan program in 1994, the 16th-year head coach has guided MSU to a record of 471-400-1 and four NCAA regional appearances. Her overall career record is 607-533 in 21 seasons as a head coach. In addition, she has mentored 37 All-Big Ten members, 23 All-Great Lakes Region honorees, nine CoSIDA Academic All-America selections and 80 Academic All-Big Ten honorees. Joseph is the all-time winningest coach in MSU history.

When Joseph was named the fifth head coach in school history, she immediately raised the expectations for the program. MSU has steadily improved under her tutelage, posting three 40-win campaigns and nine 30-win seasons during her tenure.

Joseph has served 10 years on the NFCA Executive Board, inlcuding four years as president, four years as past president and two years as second vice president.

John Kuehl
Co-Author, Mental Fundamentals of Baseball and Softball

John Kuehl has spent good part of his professional life writing books used to stress the mental approach to both games of baseball and softball.

A love for baseball took place early in Kuehl's life, as his father spent time as a manager with the Montreal Expos and coach with the Minnesota Twins. Kuehl crafted his game, starring in high school and eventually playing third base on a College World Series championship team at the University of California in 1988.

Kuehl played six seasons of minor-league baseball before an injury ended that dream. His writings are designed to pass along the elements of the mental approach to the game that make both better players and provide an opportunity for richer and more fulfilled lives.

Michael Lotief
Co-Head Coach, University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Michael Lotief has just completed his eighth season as a member of the coaching staff for Louisiana-Lafayette. Lotief has the rare privilege of sharing head coaching duties with his wife, Stefni Lotief. This past season, ULL finished 52-15, winning the Sun Belt Conference regular-season and tournament titles, as well as taking the Baton Rouge Regional and Houston Super Regional.

The Cajuns won both postseason tournaments away from home, advancing to the Women's College World Series for the second time in the Lotief era.

In six of the past seven seasons, ULL has produced at least 70 home runs and ranked in the Top 30 of nearly every hitting category in the final NCAA statistics. A school record of 88 home runs was hit during the 2004 season.

Lotief was also instrumental in developing Louisiana's nationally recognized summer-ball softball program. In five years, his teams won five consecutive state championships and made five national appearances, including winning the AFA 18-U national championship in 2000.

Hara Estroff Marano
Author and Editor At-Large, Psychology Today

Hara Estroff Marano is an award-winning author, journalist, and editor who writes about human behavior, for the past 16 years as Editor-at-Large of Psychology Today. She has written for many other publications as well — The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Smithsonian, New York magazine, the Wilson Quarterly, to name a few. In addition, Marano writes an advice column for Psychology Today (called Unconventional Wisdom) and a sex advice column for one of the international editions of Marie Claire. She is the author of two previous books, her last one on the social development of children, "Why Doesn't Anybody Like Me?": A Guide to Raising Socially Confident Kids. As a result of her groundbreaking reporting, Marano was invited to join the advisory board of the Bringing Theory to Practice Project. Privately funded by the Engelhard Foundation, it seeks to counter the epidemic of depression and other disorders of disconnection so widespread on American college campuses today. She is also a member of the Board of Governors of the University of Haifa in Israel.

Her newest book, A Nation of Wimps: The High Cost of Invasive Parenting, documents how the overprotection of children is bad for them, bad for the parents, and bad for the future of our democracy and economy. Marano frequently speaks to parent, policy, and other groups about how we are raising the next generation of society.

Brandon Marcello
USA Olympic Softball Team Director of Human Performance

Brandon Marcello is the strength and conditioning coach for the USA Softball National Team. He works with the USA National Team on all aspects of strength and conditioning as well as nutritional plans.

Marcello has been developing strength and conditioning programs for the past decade and is currently the Director of Sports Performance at Stanford University. Prior to that, Marcello served as a strength and conditioning coach for women's softball at Baylor University and various programs at LSU.

A recognized author, Marcello's work appears in various journals, strength and conditioning textbooks and periodicals.

Jessica Mendoza
President, Women's Sports Foundation and two-time Olympic Medalist

Jessica Mendoza is a two-time Olympic medalist and professional softball player. Mendoza played on the gold medal-winning USA team in the 2004 Olympics and also played for the silver medalist American team in the 2008 Games in Beijing.

Mendoza was a four-time All-American at Stanford University. Her professional career has included being a member of the PFX Tour in 2006 and also playing for the Arizona Heat in the National Pro Fastpitch League. In 2006, Mendoza was named Softball Player of the Year.

Off the field, Mendoza is president of the Women's Sports Foundation and a board member for the NEA Foundation. She has also served as a color commentator on ESPN's last two broadcasts of the Women's College World Series.

Clint Myers
Head Coach, Arizona State University

Clint Myers made his mark in the college softball world by leading Arizona State to its first-ever national championship in 2008.

In only his third season coaching the Sun Devils, Myers led Arizona State to an 11-0 victory over Texas A&M to clinch the Women's College World Series championship. The victory margin was the largest in the history of the WCWS. The Sun Devils finished with a 66-5 record, including 10 straight wins against postseason competition.

Prior to arriving in Tempe, Myers coached Central Arizona College to 481 victories in 10 seasons, winning six national championships. Myers later coached the baseball squad at the same institution with similar success.

An inductee into the NJCAA Softball Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Arizona Softball Foundation Hall of Fame in 2001, Myers also was selected as the NFCA Regional and National Coach of the Year in 1990, 1991 and 1992. This year, Myers and his staff earned NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year honors in Division I.

Stacey Nuveman
Assistant Coach, San Diego State University

Stacey Nuveman joined Coach Kathy Van Wyk's staff at San Diego State in August. During the summer, Nuveman was the catcher on the Silver Medal-winning USA Olympic Team. Previously, Nuveman was a part of two gold medal-winning teams.

Nuveman has had a highly-successful international career, also helping the United States National Team to a World Cup championship in 2006, as well as two World Championships (2002 and 2006) and two Pan American gold medals (1999 and 2003).

At San Diego State, Nuveman will serve as the recruiting coordinator and will also be working with the hitters.

Nuveman was a four-year letter winner at UCLA, setting four NCAA records - 90 home runs, 299 RBI, .945 slugging percentage and 240 walks. During her playing career, Nuveman was a four-time first-team NFCA All-American and a three-time Pac 10 Player of the Year.

Angela Robles
Coordinator, Convention Roundtables

Angela Robles has recently completed her doctoral dissertation, entitled The Perceptions of Strengths-Based Play, Team Cohesion, Relational Capacity and Group Dynamics: Voices of Elite Athletes. Robles selected and studied 16 elite female softball players who are some of "the best of the best" in the sport. Using the Gallup Organization's Clifton Strengths Finder Inventory, Robles interviewed these elite athletes in an effort to gain their perceptions of the inventory and its value in collegiate athletics. The findings revealed the inventory as an instrumental tool in helping equip athletes with confidence, empowering coaches in understanding their athletes, and cultivating strong team cohesion.

Robles, a former pitcher from the University of Notre Dame and collegiate coach at both NAIA and NCAA institutions, combines her personal softball experience and doctotal education to make an immediate impact in the way teams approach cohesion and success. Robles has also enjoyed playing professionally in Italy and has led various softball camps and clinics in China, Mexico and Venezuela.

Michele Smith
Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist and television broadcaster

One of the most dominant pitchers in fastpitch, Michele Smith was a major contributor on the 1996 and 2000 USA Olympic teams. Currently, she is in her 14th season as a player in the Japanese Professional League and is a commentator for ESPN.

She began her international career in 1992 as a member of the USA team that won a gold medal at the 1992 Women's World Challenger Cup in Beijing, China. In 1995, Smith helped the USA win its third consecutive gold medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in Argentina. In 1996, Smith reached a pinnacle in her playing career as she was a member of the USA team that won the gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games. Smith played in all nine games and went 2-0 in the circle. Smith posted an ERA of 1.50 with 23 strikeouts. At the plate, she had a .211 batting average with four hits and two RBI.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Smith was inducted into the ASA Hall of Fame in 2006.

John Tschida
Head Coach, University of St. Thomas (Minn.)

John Tschida is the only NCAA coach to lead two different institutions to NCAA softball titles. It took just two years to get the University of St. Thomas to the national championship and just four years to lead the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) to two consecutive Division III national titles in 2004 and 2005.He guided his alma mater, St. Mary's, to the 2000 NCAA Division III championship in just his fifth year of coaching.

He and his staff have earned NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year honors twice in the last five years. In his 14-year college career, Tschida has become the winningest Division III softball coach, active or retired, with a 533-92 record (.853 winning percentage). Every team coached by Tschida has been nationally ranked.

He guided the 2006 Tommies to a second-place finish in the NCAA Division III National Championship and finished 48-4. The 48 wins tied a Division III record, and the team's 72 home runs in 52 games shattered the old NCAA Division III school record.

As a player, Tschida has been a two-time NAFA All-World player, five-time ASA Class "A" All-American, 2006 ASA Men's Open All-American and an ISC All-World Team player. He has competed in 17 ISC World Tournaments, 18 ASA National Tournaments and eight NAFA World Series.

Tim Walton
Head Coach, University of Florida

Tim Walton led the Florida Gators to the first-ever 70-win season in NCAA history. This past season, Walton's third team in Gainesville finished an amazing 70-5, falling to Texas A&M in the semifinal round of the Women's College World Series.

In 2007, Walton led Florida to its first 50-win season and to an NCAA super regional appearance. Florida also advanced to the championship game of the Southeastern Conference tournament for the first time since 1997. Then in 2008, the Gators returned to that spot, taking out Alabama to win the tournament championship.

In addition to the eye-popping victory total, the 2008 Gators rewrote the school record book, setting numerous standards in hitting, pitching and fielding. Prior to arriving at UF, Walton was a head coach at Wichita State and an assistant coach for a national championship team at Oklahoma.