Allentown, PA – The Philadelphia Force would like to announce the signing of Jeff Franquet to lead the professional team softball team in 2009. He will be assisted by Joe DiPietro and Carl Taylor. Franquet and DiPietro are not strangers to the Force bench as they both were volunteer assistants to the historical team in 2008.

Erin Statmore, Assistant General Manager said, “This is one of the many exciting advances we have made during our few short weeks into the off-season. With the pedigree of our three new coaches, there is no reason why the Force will not be a contender for the 2009 Cowles Cup. Jeff Franquet is the right person for this job and the front office and the players are nothing but thrilled to sign Jeff for 2009.”

Franquet is not a stranger around the game of softball. He has been coaching at Georgian Court
University for the last two seasons. Some of his accomplishments there include a bid to the NCAA Northeast Regional (2007 and 2008), Coach of the Year (2007 and 2008), NFCA Nationally Ranked top 25 (2008), and first ever NCAA Tournament win in school history (2007). Franquet has also coached at Jacksonville University for four seasons from 2002-2005. He took a program that was nonexistent to a powerhouse in the Atlantic Sun conference. Franquet also played professionally for four seasons in New Zealand and USA.

“I can’t thank Tom Klienman and Erin Statmore for having the confidence in me and our staff to guide the Philadelphia Force. We have put together a great coaching staff(Joe Dipietro and Carl Taylor), and
already have good leadership within the front office. This will be a great summer for all of us. I am really looking forward to the wonderful opportunity. I have wanted to coach in the NPF league since it first started. This is a dream opportunity to be able to watch and coach the best player’s in theWorld”, Franquet said.

DiPietro currently just took over the head coaching position at Temple University. He previously was the LaSalle University Explorers for six years. This past year, DiPietro led his team to 22 wins. DiPietro, the fifth head coach in program history, came to La Salle from Camden Catholic High School. He served 25 seasons as a coach at Camden Catholic, spending the last 15 as head coach. During his tenure as head coach, DiPietro amassed a 274-98 record, and led the Irish to three New Jersey State Championships. His 1991 and 1992 squads were voted the area’s top-ranked team by both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Courier-Post. A graduate of both Gloucester County College and Camden Catholic, DiPietro has also coached the South Jersey Hurricanes Amateur Softball Association 18-and-under tournament team and the All-Star Trophies ASA Class A tournament team.

Taylor has spent the last thirteen years building Rutgers-Camden into a national powerhouse. He led the team to four straight NJAC championships and was ranked nationally twice in the top five and three times in the top ten. He had nine consecutive winning seasons. To top things off, he led the team to the school’s first ever National Championship in 2006.

The Philadelphia Force finished its 2008 campaign just shy of first place behind the Comcast Chicago Bandits. Over the course of the last three seasons, the Force have improved going from last place in 2006 to finishing 4th in 2007. Now the Force has the challenge of continuing in that path and bring home the Championship.

“I am looking forward to spring training with the team. I am sure we will have new players on the roster so it will be important to get everyone in for the workouts. We will want to use every practice opportunity we have this summer. I want to utilize all of our practice times to get tons of ground ball/fly ball reps, and lots of hitting (live batting practice). We will try and get better every day this summer”, Franquet said.

The Philadelphia Force will be hosting clinics throughout the off-season at Diamond Baseball Academy in King of Prussia. Franquet, DiPietro, and Taylor will all be instructing at these clinics. Come join our new coaching staff and learn from the team that is going to bring home a National Championship in 2009!

“We are looking forward to another exciting season for the Force. Grab a friend and come out to the park. We will have another great team full of energy, focus, and the dedication to the game of softball. Bring your youngster to the park to see the best softball players in the world, and learn from the best,” Franquet said.