November 13, 2009

DAHLONEGA, GA – With the North Georgia softball team gearing up for another season on the diamond, head coach Mike Davenport is set to speak at the NFCA National Convention and accept the staff’s first Regional Coaching Staff of the Year Award next month.

Davenport, along with assistant coaches Andrea Moss and Keri McKee were named the NFCA Southeast Regional Coaching Staff of the Year announced just weeks after the Saints made their first-ever appearance in the Division II College World Series.

Each of the eight regional coaching staffs of the year will be honored Saturday, December 12, at the Coaching Staff of the Year Brunch at the NFCA National Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. The brunch will be held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.

Davenport will join Jan McGinnis, head coach at Jacksonville State University, as two of the headline speakers at the event, speaking to convention attendees on “Coaching Female Athletes” during the Adidas Roundtable.

To register for the NFCA National Convention contact the National Fastpitch Coaches Association at www.nfca.com.

The Saints finished their historic season as the #3 team in the nation with the program’s best winning percentage in school history with a record of 50-5. North Georgia captured the Peach Belt Conference Regular Season Championship, PBC Tournament Championship, NCAA Southeast Dahlonega Regional Championship, and the NCAA Southeast Super Regional Dahlonega Championship to advance to their first-ever Division II College World Series.

Head Coach Mike Davenport concluded his best season at the helm of the Saints in 2009, advancing to his third College World Series, and his first at the NCAA level. After his ninth season, Davenport has accumulated 361 victories to just 135 losses for a winning percentage of .727.

Seven of the eight regional coaching staff selections were from the representing World Series institution, while Lock Haven, the 2009 National Champion, earned Coaching Staff of the Year honors from the NFCA.