On October 3rd Woodinville High School and University of Washington graduate Amanda Fleischman will return to the WHS campus to be inducted into the school’s Sports Hall of Fame. Her remarkable accomplishments on the field are now being extended to the community as Fleischman recently became a coach for the Absolute Blast Fastpitch Association, a Woodinville based select softball program. The opportunity to work with her best friend- Woodinville High School Coach Dani Weir- helped to drive Fleischman (whom Dani refers to as “the Fleisch!”) to start her own coaching career. Fleischman and Weir have played together since their Woodinville West Little League days, and recently Fleischman was a bridesmaid in Weir’s June wedding. The two have a shared passion for softball, coaching, and service. “Amanda is someone I look up to. She is confident and competitive- and I have been lucky to have her as my best friend since we were 9 years old. She has a platform now to teach and coach and for me to see that happen is really special”, Weir says of Fleishman. “The Hall of Fame is a great way to inspire our high school athletes and recognizes the talent that Amanda brought to the game and continues to share.” Fleischman is now coach to the 12U team, which includes 5 of Woodinville’s All Star little league players fresh off of their District championship and 3rd in state finish. “These girls are very young and very impressionable. The opportunity for them is incredible when you think that they have such a high caliber athlete guiding them. Amanda lives and breathes what great coaches are made of. Coach Dani is going to see the results when they get to high school”, said Woodinville Softball VP Jess Smith.

Fleischman’s ties to Woodinville have elated her team- like when they discovered that Coach Amanda was also a (former) pupil of Mr. Butz’s 6th grade class. “Amanda was a wonderful student” said Wellington teacher John Butz. “I’m not at all surprised she has been so successful”. As a student athlete, Fleischman led WHS to the state championship as a junior and league championships as a junior and senior. She was a two-time All-King County softball pick- first team all-state pick as a senior and second team pick as a junior. Amanda was team captain as a senior for the WHS Flacon fastpitch Softball team, and also lettered in basketball. She set a career record in steals and ranks second all-time in rebounds for the Falcons. She was first team All-King County as a senior for basketball. She was named the Seattle Times Eastside Athlete of the Year as a Senior and also a ‘Most Outstanding Student’ nominee. In 2003 she was named to the “All-World” Western National Team. Her accomplishments continued as a player for the University of Washington Husky’s, where as a Junior the team successfully won the Women’s College World Series in 2009. Fleischman finished her senior year and last as a softball player with an Honorable Mention to the All-Pac-10 Conference and Second-Team Academic All-Pac-10 team. She was student assistant coach to Coach Heather Tarr while finishing her degree from the Foster School of Business. “Our association is very grateful for having Amanda as part of our coaching staff”, said Steve Dailey, President of the Absolute Blast. “We understand the level of importance as it pertains to providing our current and future players with coaches of Amanda’s caliber. Being a former Blaster herself, Amanda truly exemplifies two of our core values- mentorship and service. (She) is truly investing in our children both on and off the playing fields”. Fleishman will travel to New Zealand after her Hall of Fame induction and return in December to coaching.