We've had a lot of activity with new and current softball members. Tournament season is still going strong. We welcome you all and encourage you to keep sharing your media, news and inviting your friends and fellow participants involved in any sport to weplay. Weplay is for everyone.

We're pleased to announce our new Softball Hub where you can best connect with and share softball content. You can quickly access the hub from the new "Sports" tab at the top of any page. Be sure to post your links on hub discussions to the content you want us to feature (we'll be providing and easier way for you to submit in the future).

If you're part of ASA, check out the weplay ASA Group to get connected. Also, be sure to check out how you can get some special recognition from Jennie Finch for your own group on weplay.

We haven't forgot about other sports. More hubs coming soon! Enjoy and let us know what you think.

It's always fun when we get the weplay pros to do something special on our site. You probably already entered our Meet Derek Jeter Contest. Now Jennie Finch wants to step it up for all you softball teams on weplay.



Every week all summer Jennie is going to honor one softball group on weplay as one of Finch's Favorites. If your group wins:

- Jennie will write about you on her weplay blog!
- You get a special award on your team page (the only team award of its kind)
- Your team will be featured on the contest page for everyone to see!

Before you jump out of your seat, you'll probably want to know how to win. It's simple.

Create an awesome softball team or group on weplay. Upload lots of photos and video. Have a great discussion board. A full calendar. Colors. Logos. Show us what your team can do.

And remember, like softball, this is all about teamwork! So load up your roster with active team members.

All the existing softball groups are already being considered. I hope they step up their game for all of you gunning for Jennie to write about your team.

Find out more about Finch's Favorites here.

Good luck and have fun!

Group organizers and members, you can use e-mail addresses to invite your colleagues, teammates, family and friends to join your groups. Click the "Invite Friends to Group" button on the upper right corner of your group profile or member/roster page.

Within the invitation feature, you can invite your weplay friends as well as send a message up to 50 e-mail addresses to non members at the same time. You are also provide with a convenient option to use your own email and send a special join link to connect invitees directly up with your group.

Be sure to check out my past post on why start a group.

Check out our new monthly photo contest where anyone can submit and vote on their favorite photos. We call it "Click A Pic." Each time you vote the better your chance at winning instant prizes. We'll be randomly be giving away 75 instant win prizes each month to contest participants. Prizes include Peyton Manning weplay football, Jennie Finch weplay softball, authentic Derek Jeter Yankees jersey, backpacks, t-shirts, towels, bags and more!

Every 15 votes you'll be able to see the current top 10 photos of the month. At the end of each month we'll highlight the top 10 and start the contest over.

Come and start sharing your photos with the community. We want to see your winning moments, actions shots, big plays and performances, bloopers and more. Just click the "Nominate for Weplays of the Month" link under any of your photos in media galleries on weplay. This includes public photos you personally uploaded to any group or your profile.

You can access the contest at anytime by clicking Click A Pic under the "Play" tab at the top of any page. Looking forward to seeing your pics. Get Clickin'!

This is the time of year that gets Sean Remson most excited. Just a few weeks away from the start of football season, Coach Remson is getting ready for another season on the sidelines.

http://www.weplay.com/users/NewtownCoach

A resident of Newton, CT, Coach Remson has coached Youth Football for over 18 years now, 11 years in Norwalk and the last eight in Newtown, where he is a member of the Candlewood Valley League (CVL). He is currently the head coach for the 8th grade team, the Nighthawks.

Check out Sean's Team Page: http://www.weplay.com/groups/406-Youth-Football

He is also the father of two daughters, a five-year old and a 10 month-old, and enjoys the great support of his understanding wife. Coach Remson credits his wife as the reason that he has been able to continue to coach the kids even though they don't have any kids in the program.

"I'm thrilled to be nominated as the weplay's Coach of the Week," Remson wrote in an email this week. "I've been blessed with my family and the wonderful coaching staffs I've had over the years."

Remson says that the most rewarding part of being a youth coach is to see these kids become young men and have so much fun playing a game that they love. He helps his players to understand that teamwork is key to success in life, something they learn first playing football. Most don't even realize that they're learning it!"

If you'd like to nominate a worthy coach to be recognized as weplay's Coach of the Week, send us an email at nominate@weplay.com.

We're thrilled to announce that Pop Warner Football and Cheerleading, the oldest youth football, cheer and dance organization, is now an official founding partner of weplay.

Please help us welcome our first founding youth sports organization. If you're a member of Pop Warner or interested in joining up, check out their official group to connect or learn more.

You can check out an overview of the relationship here.

As always, we're open about expressing ourselves and like to announce when we fix bugs or make improvements to any potentially puzzling items on the site. Nobody's perfect, so no reason to hide. ;) Also another way for us to let you know all your feedback and comments matter and are continuously reviewed. Please continue to send it in.

Updates:

- Fixed the infinite loop which displayed our login page when trying to access a page you didn't have access to.

- Fixed the "invalid authenticity" error which was caused when your session timed out and displayed when you attempted to log back in.

- You should no longer see the "invalid character" error when posting a news or blog post.

- Group organizers, we fixed a few viewing issues and updated text on the "What's This" help text on "Linked Groups" and Manage Organizer" pages.

- We removed the "Blog" module from the profile page on limited accounts (which affect members under 13 years old). This feature requires permission (and wasn't working anyway for this age group). If you're under 13 and still have a limited account, please click the "Get access now!" link at the top of your dashboard or profile page. It's quick and easy.

- We've updated the design of our FAQ page as well as added a new FAQ entitled "Best Viewing the Site," which explains the Web browsers we support. Check it out...

Stay tuned... new feature announcements coming later in the week.

Big post day for The Huddle, but I promised there would be some big updates today. So, one more news item goin' live. We'll keep these posts at the top for a few days so you have plenty of time to catch up.

We've had many members ask (well, we even asked ourselves) about how they talk it up, share opinions and get to know their fellow weplay citizens a bit better. We created a solution for you. Check out the details below on this and more.

What's new?

Discussions - Check out the new "Discussion" module and page on all groups. You can now post discussion topics and replies to hold focused conversations with your fellow members. So, go and post up a question, how much "fun" practice was last night, your favorite hot topic of the moment, some inspiration, whatever.
Coming soon: A way for you to easily track and be notified of new replies for posts of interest to you.

Change Lead Organizer - Group lead organizers, you can now assign another group member to take your place if you need to step down. When and if the time comes (and whatever the reason may be), go to your "Manage organizers" page and click "Remove self as lead organizer" to make the update.

Weplay Widget - Tell your friends about weplay. Check out our handy widget you can easily add to other social network and blog services you hang around.

Learn More - Check out our new "Learn More" page. You can use it when you're talking to friends and others not yet on weplay.

Lastly, a reminder to be sure to check out and enter the Meet Derek Jeter Contest!

Looking forward to seeing all your discussions. Don't be shy to get involved and proclaim your point of view!

Weplay CEO Steve Hansen checks in with his first post-launch Blog update, keeping an eye on the where we've been and a couple more eyes on where we're going. Wait, that's too many eyes. Maybe that's why he has such a good vision.

"...to know what's coming in the next week, the next few weeks and months ahead is what gets me really rolling and getting into the office earlier and earlier every day... if only you could see the back wall of our office right now, there are seriously hundreds of color-coded index cards taped up there with projects we've got in the pipeline to build a bigger, better and badder weplay experience."

Click to read more: http://www.weplay.com/users/manicsh/posts/1484

This week's weplay Coach of the Week is passionate about coaching girls softball and basketball, and appreciates each and every player for her individual talents. Coach Marc Sirkin is from Trumbull, Connecticut where he coaches the Trumbull Little League Team, the Trumbull Racers.

http://www.weplay.com/users/msirkin

Coach Sirkin has been a youth coach for several years now. He has been coaching his daughter, currently in the minor leagues, for four. One of his favorite things about being a coach is being able to watch his players grow and improve from season to season. In fact, his main goal is to keep practices and games fun so that the girls continue to play season after season and eventually realize their potential.

Sirkin is also a remarkable coach for his ability to treat his players equally, despite their various levels of skill and dedication. When he was a child, he explained, he wasn't the best baseball player, but had tremendous passion for the sport. Then one game, when several starters on his team were absent, Sirkin finally got to show off his talent as a hitter, even earning compliments from coaches of the opposing team. Ever since that experience, he has learned to value each and every player, no matter what number she hits in the in the lineup .

"Thanks for picking me for Coach of the Week," Sirkin said. "It's an honor to have the opportunity to coach my girls about how to play softball, how to work hard and how to have fun. Our team this year worked incredibly hard and grew every time we hit the field."

Coach Sirkin believes in emphasizing fundamentals, self-esteem and fun, all of which are necessary for a successful team. And it seems to be working.

Be sure to check in on Coach Sirkin's blog for team updates as well as his profile for new media throughout the seasons.

Do you think your coach is worthy of becoming a weplay Coach of the Week? Nominate your coach and tell us why he or she is deserving of this recognition! Just send us an email at nominate@weplay.com and check back for updates.