Staff Photo by Jake Olson: Sarah Pauly prepares to pitch during Saturday's second session of the Rick Pauly Pitching Clinic held at the Fairmont High School.

FAIRMONT – The Rick Pauly Pitching Clinic came back to the Fairmont High School this past weekend. Rick Pauly, his daughter Sarah Pauly, and a handful of other coaches helped teach youth athletes the basics and advanced techniques of throwing a softball.

The clinic was split into two sessions, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The first session focused on fundamentals. From 9 a.m. to noon, athletes learned basic mechanics plus how to increase speed and accuracy. Participants are expected to work through dry techniques before practicing with softballs.

“In the first part of the day, they don’t even have a ball in their hands,” said Bethany Lutheran assistant softball coach John Oothoudt regarding the first session. “They are just learning how the ball should come through.”

A final coaching session was held later, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Intended for athletes seeking more advanced advice, Rick Pauly and his staff headlined drills teaching different pitches, such as the rise-ball, curve-ball, drop-ball, and change-up.

“This one, we call it the advanced [session], and it’s all about making a ball move,” Rick Pauly said. “Rise, drop, change, curve, screwball, whatever. It’s about how you spin the ball to make it move.”

The camp has only gained popularity over its 10 years of existence. This year’s session is the largest participation Fairmont has seen, according to Oothoudt. Oothoudt also says they have hosted athletes from Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Oregon and even Canada.

The main attraction for this vast population lies in the credibility of the coaching staff, including Rick and Sarah Pauly.

Rick Pauly has had his entire life surrounded by the sport, hailing back to his playing days in Wisconsin for the Menomonie Blues. He also played in 11 International Softball Conference National and World Tournaments, and took part in the 1987 and 1991 US Olympic Festival Games.

Following his playing days, Rick Pauly has coached at multiple levels of fastpitch. His head coaching tenure at Spartanburg Methodist College culminated in two trips to the Junior College World Series in 2008 and 2009. He went to the University of South Carolina, the University of South Carolina Upstate and the University of Georgia to take roles as pitching coaches, retiring from the Bulldogs after 2015.

Sarah Pauly was a collegiate and professional pitcher for many different organizations before retiring from the sport in 2021. She was a four-year pitcher for Texas A&M Corpus-Christi, going 112-46 for the Islanders while piling up 1,370 career strikeouts.

After playing one year with the Stratford Brakettes and earning Amateur Softball Association All-American Honors in 2005, Sarah Pauly spent the next 11 years competing in the National Pro Fastpitch league, earning All-Pro honors on eight different occasions while playing for five different teams.