KFS is a youth travel softball organization in Orlando, FL. We have teams in 10U, 12U, 14U, and 18U.
A question we get a lot is “what is KFS?” or “what does it stand for?”
KFS stands for Key Fundamentals Softball. The company Key Fundamentals Softball, LLC has been established for a few years now. It is the name of my (Keeley’s) pitching company. KFS is our 501C3 counterpart.
It represents the “key” fundamentals of softball- Internal Rotation for pitchers, quality fielding/ throwing mechanics, and the barrel snap/whip shown by all elite hitters in baseball and softball.
It also is an ode to Rob Dunham. Rob Dunham’s first year at Lansing Community College in 2007 was also Keeley’s. “Key” was the nickname he gave her from day 1 and it stuck. KFS is a play on words and a way to remember one of the greatest coaches we’ve ever known.
“Rob taught me how to play the game one pitch at a time, how to be positive and stay mentally strong during difficult situations, and how to love your kids/students. Rob’s love of the game carries on through me and his legacy will continue through our organization. Even though he is no longer physically with us- we hope he is watching and smiling down on us all.” -Keeley Byrnes
Core Values:
As our organization continues to grow, it’s important that we stay true to our mission statement. We have a dedicated staff of coaches that believe in our mission. We encourage any family looking to join our organization to buy in at 100%.
For transparency, here it is:
1. The entire organization is built on positive mental health and positive coaching. We push our athletes to improve, but we do so with mental health at the fore front. We consult with a group of therapist and life coaches in the area and hold mental health clinics. By 2023 we aim to have a mental health clinic led by a trained therapist every quarter. Some of our coaches are training to be officially Life Coach Certified. Most of our coaches are PCA certified- by 2023 we hope all will be. We also encourage FUN! 
2. All of our athletes are learning the same mechanics. From 10U to 18U, all pitchers are throwing IR only, catchers and fielders are using the same mechanics, and all hitters are “whipping the barrel” and following the HLP (high level pattern). High Level Pattern (not named by us) consists of a one legged swing, barrel speed created from behind, elimination of the hands/arms, whip of the barrel created by external rotation of the forearm, and lateral tilt. These factors together produce an explosive swing with high adjustability. We do NOT teach launch angle, we are NOT teaching to only hit home runs. We want line drives. We ask that you come to a tryout or practice willing to listen to what we teach.
We encourage our athletes to continue seeing their private coaches- as long as they follow our same philosophy. We do not know every instructor in our area and what they teach- so conversations at tryouts and practices are welcome.
Here is who we definitely support and will accept athletes from:
Pitching: Rick Pauly, Bill Hillhouse, Furrey Fastpitch LLC, Shelby Engle, Kat Laitner, Jess Meier (Coach Jet), any Pauly certified instructor, Tincher certified instructors, anyone teaching forearm fire or Internal Rotation.
Hitting: Coach Nikki Rombough-Bennett, Justin Gerardo, Richard Schenck, Bobby Tewksbary
Fielding/ Throwing: Austin Wasserman, Antonelli, MegRem
While not everyone in the org has the same hitting and pitching instructors, all athletes and families are on board with only seeing instructors that promote similar mechanics. If a coach is teaching to “throw the hands” at the ball, “put on a seatbelt”, “squish the bug”, “step and put weight on the front foot” that is not a partner for KFS.
3. We want to build a softball community and partner with other teams. Those coaches who instruct in the KFS facility still give lessons to other students outside of KFS. We are not only about making our teams great- we want to help the community.
4. Getting girls to college. From 16U on, our older teams only play showcase ball. Our favorite sanctions are PGF and Backwards K. But we do play some additional showcases as we see fit. In the summer and fall, we commit to college showcases and camps because we feel that our priority is getting the girls seen. We also believe PGF has some of the highest competition levels in our area and want to challenge our girls to be better.
Additional info: we have our own small training facility in Oviedo. We have fields rented at Soldiers Creek for practices. We also try to keep costs low and our 501C3 has been granted by the IRS