Locally raised ASU players last May before the start of the NCAA tournament (left to right): Breanna Kaye (Glendale- Mountain Ridge), Dallas Escobedo (Glendale- St. Mary’s), Talor Haro (Mesa- Highland), Mackenzie Popescue (Scottsdale- Chaparral), Sam Parlich (Chandler- Basha), Katelyn Boyd (Phoenix- Horizon), Annie Lockwood (Phoenix- Paradise Valley High)

The defending national champion ASU women’s softball team has been named the top team in a preseason poll of Pac-12 coaches. The Sun Devils start their 2012 season on Thursday, February 9, with a 5 p.m. game in Tempe against Western Michigan.  The game is the first of the four-day Kajikawa Classic, which features seven other college teams.  All games will be played at ASU’s Farrington Stadium.

Last May, we sat down with seven locally raised ASU players shortly before they started their successful run in the Women’s College World Series.  The players, including All-Americans Katelyn Boyd and Dallas Escobedo, gave their tips to both players and parents on how to develop your softball skills and get noticed by college coaches.  You can read their advice by clicking here.

For a full schedule of the Sun Devils’ upcoming season and information on tickets, click here and here.

For the seventh year, Phoenix Suns Charities will recognize an extraordinary coach with The Spirit of Cotton Award honoring the memory of former Suns head coach Cotton Fitzsimmons.

All high school head basketball coaches in Arizona are eligible to be nominated. Nominations can be made by a community member, fellow coach/teacher, school administrator or student-athlete.

The Spirit of Cotton Award winner will receive a commemorative plaque and ring and a Phoenix Suns Charities grant of $10,000 for use in the school’s athletic programs.

Nominations are being accepted through March 9. The winner will be announced and honored at the Suns regular season finale against the San Antonio Spurs on April 25.

Previous Spirit of Cotton Award recipients include Byron Maynes of Salome High School in Salome (2011) David Lopez of St. Mary’s High School in Phoenix (2010), Howard Mueller of Phoenix Greenway High School (2009), Karen Self of Seton Catholic High School in Chandler (2008) and Gary Ernst of Mesa Mountain View High School (2007).

Cotton Fitzsimmons. Photo courtesy of the NBA.

Fitzsimmons, who died in July 2004, had been an integral part of the franchise since 1970, with his first of three stints as the team’s head coach. He returned to the Suns in 1987 as director of player personnel. In 1988-89, Fitzsimmons added coaching to his duties with the Suns and engineered what, at the time, was the third-biggest one-season turnaround in NBA history, converting the Suns from a 28-win non-playoff team to a 55-win team that advanced to the 1989 Western Conference Finals.

Over a 20-year NBA coaching career, Fitzsimmons won 832 games with four different franchises. He was twice honored as NBA Coach of the Year (1979 with Kansas City, 1989 with the Suns).

For more information on The Spirit of Cotton Award, or to download a nomination form, please visit SunsCharities.org.

Chaparral girls lacrosse coach Jessica Livingston is featured in this month’s issue of Lacrosse Magazine as one of the “10 people changing youth lacrosse now.” The magazine cites Livingston for creating AZ Girls Lacrosse, a K-9 instructional league she started with only five girls in 2004 and has since taught lacrosse to about 1,000 girls in the Valley.  Livingston also started a post-collegiate team, the Arizona Storm, for which she still plays, and since 2002 has been the head coach of the Chaparral Firebirds, the current two-time defending Arizona high school champions.

In 2010, US Lacrosse recognized Livingston with its Excellence in Growing the Game award, which is given to an individual who supports the US Lacrosse mission and vision to develop lacrosse in a particular geographic area.

“I’m beyond shocked, honored, you name it,” said Livingston on Tuesday when January issue of Lacrosse Magazine, which also features a two page photo of her inside the issue, came out.

While the national attention is flattering, Livingston was far more focused on Tuesday on the first day of practice of the high school season.  Chaparral returns only seven players from last year’s state title team, having lost 14 players to graduation and two players to moving out of state.  ”The first day of practice is always a great day!” said Livingston as she pulled lacrosse sticks, balls, field cones and mouth guards from out of the back of her truck parked alongside the road next to the practice field at Mountain View Park in Scottsdale.  ”What could be better than the first day of practice?”

This Saturday morning, January 7, Livingston will also be starting a new six-week session of her Desert StiX lacrosse program for girls in grades K-9.  All sessions will take place at Cochise Elementary School, Mountain View Park, 9451 N. 84th St. in Scottsdale.  To register for the Desert StiX program, click here.

The Desert StiX girls lacrosse program starts a new six-week session on Saturday, Jan. 7 for girls in grades K-9, beginner to advanced, who may be interested in learning and playing the “fastest game on feet.”  All sessions will take place at Cochise Elementary School, Mountain View Park, 9451 N. 84th St. in Scottsdale.

Each session entails drills, scrimmages, and fun learning games. The purpose of Desert StiX is to prepare girls with the fundamental skills they need to advance in the sport of lacrosse. Girls are frequently divided by skill levels to help them grow and advance over time.

Early Bird registration fees, in effect through this Saturday, Dec. 31, are as follows for each age group:

Pixi StiX (grades K-2): $85 for one Saturday session each week.

Junior StiX (grades 3-5): $145 for two sessions each week, including Saturdays.

Chop StiX (grades 6-9): $165 for two sessions each week, including Saturdays.

After Dec. 31, registration prices will increase $25 for each group.

To take advantage of the Early Bird registration fees, register here.

The tournament will feature eight games each day from Tuesday, December 27 through Friday, December 30.  The first game each day will be at 9 a.m. and the last game will start at 8:30 p.m.  Two games are scheduled for Saturday, December 31.  A full schedule for the tournament can be found here.

Two of Thursday’s games, the 7 p.m. game between South Sioux City, Nebraska and Corona del Sol and the 8:30 p.m. game between Mountain View and Desert Vista, will be televised on Cox Cable Channel 7.

Tickets for the tournament are $10 for each day and $30 for the entire tournament.

Chandler Hamilton will play Phoenix Desert Vista for the Division I title at 2 p.m. at University of Phoenix Stadium.  Scottsdale Chaparral and Vail Cienaga face off for the Division II crown at ASU’s Sun Devil Stadium at 5 p.m.  Both games will be televised on Fox Sports Arizona.

A championship tripleheader will take place at NAU’s Walkup Skydome starting at 11:30 a.m. with the Division V championship game between Phoenix Northwest Christian and Yuma Catholic.  The Division IV game between Lakeside Blue Ridge and Show Low will follow at 3:30 p.m. and the day will conclude with Scottsdale Saguaro and Glendale Cactus playing for the Division III title at 7:30 p.m.

To view the Flagstaff games live on www.aia360.com, click here:

Northwest Christian v. Yuma Catholic

Blue Ridge v. Show Low

Saguaro v. Cactus

Admission for Saturday’s games is $10 for adults and $6 for students with high school ID cards.

The Raymond S. Kellis cheer squad.

The cheer squad at Raymond S. Kellis High School in Glendale never gives up.

After a tumultuous 2010-11 season, they fought past it all to end up winning the 2011 AIA Division 1 Coed Division State Championship title. This year, the girls were faced with an entirely new set of challenges: a new coaching staff (now under the guidance of Ashli Johnson), a new school division and a new team size (they competed with 23 in the large category last year and are now competing with 16 competing in the medium category). They also are competing this season in both all-girl and coed events.

The squad’s first competition was Saturday, Nov. 5  at the USA Regional Competition at Deer Valley High School. They competed in the All Girl Varsity Show Cheer Advanced Small/Medium Division for the first time ever. Kellis Cheer was awarded with secnd place and won a bid to the 27th Annual USA High School Spirit Nationals at the Anaheim Convention Center in California March 30- April 1, 2012.

Kellis Cheer has never been to the USA Nationals, so this will be an amazing event for them to experience. Half of the members of the team are seniors this year.

Johnson’s goal is to take Kellis Cheer to the top and show that hard work, dedication and vision will help this team be a championship team once again. Their next competition is Saturday, Nov. 12 at the AIA Spiritline State Qualifiers at Mesquite High School.

— Submitted by Tracey Rodriguez of Peoria

The Phoenix Suns Kids’ Dance Team will be comprised of high-energy, trained dancers between the ages of 6 and 12 who are enthusiastic about the Phoenix Suns and performing in front of large crowds.

The team will perform at a minimum of one Phoenix Suns home game a month, interact with fans and have the opportunity to dance with other Suns entertainment groups.

For more details, contact Kip Helt via email at khelt@suns.com or by phone at 602-379-7951.