Late last year S.Y.A.A. President, Frank Staskiewicz, approached me to discuss the restructuring of Springfield 46 Baseball. He asked if I would be interested in taking the position of Baseball Commissioner on the Board of Directors. I’ve been a part of the baseball program for several years and viewed this request as an honor as well as a challenge.

As we progress toward the 2001 baseball season, that challenge has lived up to its definition. Organizing teams, lining up head coaches, keeping up with league activities, and touching base with members of S.Y.A.A. who have specific responsibilities concerning baseball, has kept me somewhat busy. Thrown on top of that, I’m the Equipment Coordinator for diamond sports.

I’m pleased that we are able to field three Mustang (9-10 year olds), three Bronco (11-12 year olds) and two Pony teams (13-14 year olds). John Kohlbeck, Mike Kalin and Mark Reissener will coach the Mustang teams. Don Dalton, Mike Williams, and I will coach the Bronco teams. And Frank Staskiewicz and Dixie Davis will coach the Pony teams. I have had a lot of contact with these coaches, and I’m confident they’lll dedicate their experience and time to their players as well as continue the tradition of sportsmanship that is the cornerstone of our organization. John McGill and Kent Wirges have graciously accepted my request to coordinate the coach pitch and tee-ball programs respectively. They’re putting together another eight teams between them, and I’ll report further on these teams in the next newsletter.

As in the past, our boys will play in the Tri-County PONY League. The league scheduling meeting was held April 1 in Bennington. Practice has started for most teams, and games will begin in late April and in May. There won’t be a mid-season league tournament this year. The district tournament is set for the week of July 8 for the Mustang and Bronco ranks, and the Ponies play in districts the following week. State tournaments are played the week after districts. More tournament information will be shared as the season progresses, but please keep these dates in mind when making summer vacation plans.

With the 2001 baseball season nearly upon us, let’s always keep in focus that sportsmanship is the predominate element we, as adults, should always exhibit. Winning is always a goal, but it’s hard work, dedication, and total effort that our youth put forth that should be positively acknowledged. When all these factors are put together, the end result always makes for a successful season regardless of the win/loss record. Let’s have that kind of season.

FROM THE FOOTBALL COMMISSIONER
By Mike Williams

We would like to thank all of the volunteers who participated in S.Y.A.A.’s inaugural flag football season last fall. The first year found many parents/youths interested in our program. We sponsored four flag football teams and formed a league that played at Platteview, High School, complete with a concession stand and volunteer officials. We held a Spaghetti Banquet after the season.

This year we’ll introduce tackle football and continue our flag football league. Our tackle program will run in conjunction with, but not competing against, the Platteview Central Jr. High School football program. We’ll coordinate with the coaches at Platteview so we won’t interfere with the 12 year olds as they start 7^th grade football. And we’ll reduce practices during the 7^th grade season.

S.Y.A.A. tackle football practice will start around August 1, and games will begin in September. Our season will consist of eight or nine games played on Sunday afternoons. Practices will be held at Platteview, and league play will be held in Omaha, Millard, and surrounding areas. We’ll also have games at Platteview, and we hope to have a concession stand available again. We’ll need lots of volunteers to accomplish our goals this year, so please keep us in mind when registering your child, and sign up to help if you can.

Our goal is to develop the skills necessary to compete at a higher level as our players get older. Currently many 7^th graders go into junior high football without adequate knowledge of how to play organized football, unless they played in surrounding areas. Let’s put Platteview on the map!

Because tackle football requires so much organization (determine player positions, conditioning, installing offense/defense, and teaching the basics of blocking/tackling), it’s very important for those who join the program to make as many practices as possible. No coach can effectively coach a team without players coming to practice. Creating team spirit and chemistry is an important part of this sport too.

Football registration will be held at the Springfield Legion Hall on April 7 from 10:00a.m. to 2:00 p.m. If you absolutely can’t make it on April 7, you can send your registration to our mailing address shown on the front of the newsletter. Look for late registration information on the registration form provided at your school. I look forward to another great season. If you have any questions please feel free to call me at 896-2309.

I recently had a parent ask, "Why won’t there be softball teams for the U-14’s and older girls, and why are parents taking their girls to other leagues in the area." My answer was, "I don’t know." I’ve heard from three or four parents in the past year about our program, and they didn’t sign their girls up for various reasons. You would think that if parents weren’t happy with the way things were being run, they would at least call and offer some suggestions as to what can be done to make it better and keep the girls in the program, instead of just leaving without a word. If I wasn’t happy with something I paid money for at a department or grocery store for my girls, I would let the store manager know what was wrong. You would think talk of Platteview High School possibly having a varsity softball team this fall would encourage girls to stay together within our program.

This year’s group of girls for the U-12’s and below is starting to take shape for this season with about 40 girls playing in three age groups. The coaches’ meeting was March 8. U-8’s coach will be Dave Spurgeon, U-10’s coach will be Cece Mitchell, and I will coach the U-12’s along with Doug Molzer.

Todd Valley had their first league meeting of the new season on March 1. The season will begin for everyone the week of June 3, with the U-8 playing on Tuesdays or Thursdays, the U-10 on those same days, and the U-12 playing on Mondays and Wednesdays.

RE-ORGANIZATION UPDATE

Our re-organization is nearing completion. We have a couple more documents to file related to our tax-exempt and non-profit status. The original by-laws adopted at the February board meeting need some tweaking to best fit our organization. And our financial books housed within Quicken computer software need to be cleaned up.

Our first two Board meetings under the new organization structure have gone smoothly. Both meetings were well-attended and productive. The Board is getting used to being the decision-making body, which means only they make the motions and do the voting. We still have a couple procedural and policy issues to address, but overall we are functioning well.

At its March 6 meeting the Springfield City council gave S.Y.A.A. approval to proceed with its proposal for improvements to the City Park ball field. Those improvements include:

• Installing an outfield fence to enclose the field

• Installing maintenance and dugout gates

• Closing off the sides of the backstop with fence

• Moving home plate out and extending the infield

• Improving infield drainage and drying ability

• Installing lights

Of course completion of all this work is dependent upon how much money we’re able to raise through our present sponsorship campaign and future fund raising efforts. With your help we can get some or all of this work done this season. I hope you’ll support the cause with a contribution if you haven’t done so already.

 

ATTENTION COACHES In March the Board authorized the purchase of coaching aids from The Strike Zone for all head coaches of our baseball and softball teams. Each coach will receive a complimentary set of two books geared toward helping him or her with everything from organizing and conducting practices to learning and teaching strategy. The books were compiled by The Strike Zone’s staff, and they’re an excellent resource that will help make our coaches, and ultimately our players, better. Books are currently being distributed along with the 2001 SYAA Handbook, which teeball coaches also receive. Contact your commissioner if you haven’t received your handbook or coaching books.