Gary Leland a softball business innovator and a member of podcast hall of fame shares his insights into business and life

Behind The Dish

Gary Leland took his first step in fastpitch softball when he decided to form a team his daughter could play on.
In 1997 Gary formed the team Da’Bomb in Arlington, Texas. Little did he know that forming that team would change his life forever.
By 2000 Da’ Bomb won their first Texas USSSA state Championship in the 14U age group. Da’Bomb repeated the feat by winning the 15U Texas State Championship in 2001. Da'Bomb ended the 2000 season with a 4th place in the USSSA National Championships.
That same year he formed the Arlington Girl's Fastpitch League with 5 teams. His goal was to give more girls the opportunity to play fastpitch.
In 2000 Gary created the website SoftballJunk.com. It was the first site on the Internet to exclusively sell girl's fastpitch softball equipment. Until SoftballJunk.com, players either bought online from slowpitch websites or baseball websites.
The website was an overnight success. Due to demand for equipment, Gary opened a retail store for SoftballJunk in Arlington, Texas. Gary still runs and operate the store. SoftballJunk.com has grown into a network of 40 plus websites that cater to fastpitch softball.
In 2004 Gary was one of the first 100 Podcasters on the planet, creating the Fastpitch Radio Show which was the first podcast devoted to fastpitch softball.
2005 marked a new role in coaching for Gary when he volunteered as the head coach for Academy High School in Texas. This was the first year for softball at the school, and Gary stepped up to help.
In 2006 Gary moved forward to the new technology of Video Podcasting where he created the popular Fastpitch TV Show which has been viewed over 5 million times.
In 2012 Gary started publishing the Fastpitch Magazine. It was the first softball magazine made exclusively for the iPhone and iPad.
Gary has been a regular on the field, and in the press box of the WCWS for the last 6 years conducting interviews and shooting photography. His staff has been proudly producing more content from the event than anyone, except ESPN.
In 2014 Gary became an Associate with USSSA when he became the Texas State Director. The next year he became the USSSA National Director of Social Media.
Gary just published his 12th e-book, and his 5th paperback about the sport of fastpitch. Primarily the books focus on skills and information for players and coaches.
In 2016 Gary was inducted into the Academy Of Podcasters Hall Of Fame because of his early successful endeavors in podcasting.
In 2017 the Mayor of Arlington,Texas proclaimed March 1st as "Gary Leland Day" for his contribution to social media.