TESTIMONIALS

To Whom It May Concern:Ray Massie – Coach, Instructor, Pitching & Hitting Coach and Advisor for College Recruiting.  I have two daughters Mackenzie and Kayla Bay who have been coached by, instructed by, taken pitching and hitting lessons from and used Ray Massie as an advisor for college recruiting during the last 2 years.    Let me start with my oldest daughter Kayla (2011) who started playing for Ray 2 years ago as part of the FW Batbusters 18U Gold Thiessen (Brann) team. Kayla has progressed into a very good slap hitter and outfielder because of the extra time that Ray gave of himself in coaching, instructing and hitting lessons for her. He has spent many hours talking to college coaches about my daughter and her skills to get her to the next level for us. Ray has demonstrated that he will go the extra mile to do whatever it takes to get her to the next level.     Next, I will comment on my youngest daughter Mackenzie (2013) who started playing for Ray a year ago on the same team as Kayla. Ray started as Mackenzie’s new pitching coach last November 2009. Ray said she was a very talented pitcher but he could make her better. He started by changing her mechanics from closing to staying open through her finish. Mackenzie was very open to Ray ideas as a pitching coach from the start. She has increased her velocity of all pitches by more than 6 miles an hour and her accuracy of location of her pitches is incredible. Mackenzie also uses Ray as a hitting coach and is able to hit with more power, bunt, slap and drag.     My wife and I have been very impressed with Ray Massie as a friend, coach, instructor and college recruiting advisor and would recommend Ray to our friends for their daughter’s advancement in the game. Ray is very knowledgeable about the game of girls fastpitch softball and would be a valuable asset for your daughter’s future in this game.   I would like to say thank you to Ray for all the hard work he has devoted to making my daughters the best they can be on the dirt.  
Rick and Kim Bay   Bluver40@sbcglobal.net   Kennedale, TX



Coach Massie’s mastery of the fundamentals of softball in aspects of pitching and hitting are unsurpassed.  His decades of instruction with athletes of the highest caliber enable him to teach the game at a level that is seldom seen.  It is a pleasure to witness the rarity of legendary instructor and coach in one person.
--Michael King
contact information:
Michael King

6720 Fall Meadow Drive

Fort Worth, TX 76132

(817) 980-3798




To whom in may concern,   My daughter and I had the pleasure of working with Ray Massie for 3+ years as she entered her senior year of high school through 2 years of college.  Ray has more knowledge of the game of softball including the fundamentals of the sport than anyone we have ever met.    We came to Ray following time off due to an injury.  Ray had plenty of “fixing” to do.  The patience, persistence and constant explanation of how and why of her pitching made her successful.  I could call him from a tournament, tell him what she was struggling with, and without a doubt he could diagnose her bad habit and correct it – OVER THE PHONE!  Amazing!  Ray takes the time to know his student; the habits both good and bad, and help them be the best they can be with what strengths they have.  There is no “text book” pitcher with Ray.  My daughter was not a fast pitcher, but she had movement and Ray taught her how to make that successful for her pitching.   With his teaching and guidance, she landed a two year full ride.   Anyone that asked about a pitching / batting coach, we give them Ray.      The passion that Ray has for the game of fast pitch softball comes through every word, lesson and story he has to share.  
 Michelle GrassOffice ManagerBest Associates214-438-4169fax:  214-210-3997





I first went to Ray Massie for pitching when I was ten years old. He completely changed my pitching style and being a stubborn ten-year-old I was very frustrated and upset about it. However, Ray kept working with me and pushing me to work harder and change my attitude. Like with me, Ray makes sure his pitchers work hard and give a great effort in their pitching. He always emphasized the importance of a pitcher’s attitude and how it affects not only her performance but her team’s performance. Since I struggled mentally in games when I was younger, Ray always stressed mental toughness in our lessons. He was always telling me that if I was confident in my pitching and had a positive attitude that I would do well, which I still use today. Whenever I was having trouble throwing pitches, Ray would tell me to think about the pitch I wanted to throw, going through the mechanics in my mind and even making key words to remind me what to do for each pitch. Even today I go through those mental exercises whenever I’m struggling with a pitch. 
       Ray makes learning how to pitch easier by breaking down every motion or movement into small steps. He also focuses on the mechanics of pitching and perfecting every detail of the pitching motion to ensure the greatest results. Ray could tweak one small thing in my pitching motion that resulted in a huge improvement, either in movement or speed. For me, Ray stressed movement as most important, and the movement of my pitches is what I depend on now as a starting pitcher at the college level. One thing I loved about Ray was how he incorporated the physics of pitching into our lessons. He would explain to me the importance of a torque on the body in pitching, especially the hip snap, or how the air would hit the seams on a ball and cause it to move. Ray also conducts his lessons using excellent visual instruction either by going through the pitching motion himself, or using the ball or the plate to emphasize the desired spin or movement of a pitch. He also provided helpful drills or warm-ups for me whenever I had one specific part of my motion that I wanted to fix. As I got older, Ray stressed to me even more the importance of mechanics and how to recognize when I was messing up my motion, so that in a game or practice I could fix my pitching motion or get a pitch to work better on my own. 
     Ray taught me how to call pitches, and what pitches to thrown in certain situations or against certain types or hitters. During my lessons, I would pitch to “batters” and Ray would help me figure out what pitch to throw and where to place it.

    Ray’s pitching instruction is definitely the reason I was able to develop as a successful pitcher and pitch at the college level at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, where, as a freshman, I pitched regularly and in two games (including one start) at the 2010 Division III NCAA Championships.
Caitlyn GrudzinkiWesleyan University




Ray,

I wanted to give you some feedback on Kristen's lesson today.  When I first told her she was going to a new pitching coach, she was not excited - especially finding out it was another man.  She was sure it was going to be more of the same.  She was a little more open after reading your website.  Well, we were both pleasantly surprised with your way of teaching.  Kristen now feels she can reach the goals she has set for herself with your help.  Thanks!!

Laura 
817-228-1979


I have had the pleasure of having Ray as my pitching coach as well as my select coach. When I first came to Ray in the spring of 2009, I was really struggling with control and velocity. I have been taking pitching lessons since I was about 10 and had seemed to plateau with my previous instructor. A couple of my teammates on my select team as well as their parents highly recommended Ray, "just to see if you like him and his philosophy on pitching". My parents set up an appoinment and  on the first lesson within 10 minutes Ray corrected a few minute details that not only increased my velocity but made my pitches move better and with accuracy on their locations. He has always been positive, encouraging and most of all a believer in me and my abilty. Due to Ray's abilty to teach me a new way to perceive pitching, I am Weatherford College's 1st softball recruit in the history of Weatherford College and am looking forward to a successful college carreer pitching for the Lady Coyotes. 
Emily Ditmore817-444-6058 Home817-201-4845 Celljkditmore@msnc.com



Hello Ray 

With great enthusiasm I want you to know that Kix verbally committed to Northeast Texas yesterday.  We couldn't be more proud of her!  A special thanks to you for your training, guidance and support of Kix throughout this process.  It's funny.........the old cliche' is that you should "watch what you wish for 'cause it just might come true", well that is what has happened for Kix and our family.  Many interested college coaches (D1 thru JUCO) have surfaced during our time with Batbusters and Kix has done her due diligence as far as attending camps, writing letters and researching the schools, but her favorite has been and remains NTCC.  Her second choice was UT-Tyler.  Her and Coach Reed have formed a relationship over the past year and she thinks a lot of him.  The awesome thing is that Coach Reed told her that although he wished she would've spent all 4 years with him at UT-Tyler, that she has a place at UT when she's done at NTCC.  He had great things to say about Coach Terry at NTCC and what we didn't realize is that they are friends and speak often.  So maybe Kix will receive the best of both worlds!  We understand that things may change by the time we get to that point, but for now it feels like Kix is on the right path.
Thanks,Jeannie