FROM THE
BASEBALL COMMISSIONER
By Jeff Kreifels
The 2001 regular baseball
season again had Mustang, Bronco, and Pony teams playing in the
Tri-County PONY league. As usual, Nebraska weather dictated how
many games were played. Cold and misty appeared to be the norm and
that true "baseball weather" did not arrive until the
later portion of the schedule. At any rate the players and coaches
continued on and performed with a competitive spirit.
We’re now entering the
"second season" as our all-star tournament teams prepare
for district/state tournaments this month at various locations.
The week of July 9 the Mustangs play in Ashland, and the Bronco
team plays in Carter Lake, Iowa. The Pony squad travels to
Glenwood, Iowa for their tournament beginning July 17. All play in
a round-robin format, with pool winners qualifying for playoff
games to determine state qualifiers.
This season John McGill
organized boy’s Coach Pitch baseball. He formed four teams
coached by Kent Wirges, Mike Buskirk, Kevin Carlson and Clay Krapp.
Games were scheduled with each other and teams from Gretna. Mr.
McGill advised me that the season went smoothly and the kids had a
lot of fun. He also appreciated the great job Corey Reed did with
field preparation at Westmont.
Kent Wirges coordinated
mixed tee ball. Four teams were formed and coached by Kent,
Stewart Marker, Jeremy Kirby and Chip Christensen. Mr. Wirges
declared the season a success, and he noted the coaches had the 5
and 6 year olds running in the right direction. These gentlemen
deserve huge thanks for the effort they gave in taking on this
level of play.
On occasion throughout the
season I was approached by parents with questions and concerns
about S.Y.A.A. as well as suggestions they had for improving the
program. Such comments prove people involved directly or
indirectly with S.Y.A.A. care about the program. I intend to take
some of these suggestions to the Board of Directors for possible
consideration or implementation.
Other aspects of this past
season that deserves noting include umpiring and sportsmanship.
Using Midwest umpires for the second year in a row was a plus for
our program. The level of play is enhanced as well as the
integrity of the game with competent and knowledgeable officials
on the field. Local Midwest umpire Chuck Stoll contributed in
maintaining this standard. The sportsmanship of the players and
fans was a constant positive influence. One particular event I
witnessed was the cheering for all the players by all the fans
when Springfield’s two Pony teams played each other. I am sure
this attitude to a certain degree carries over when any
Springfield team plays, regardless of the location or opponent.
I wish to thank everyone
for their efforts and contributions in making this season a fun
and successful experience. Win-loss records aren’t true
indicators of success. Positive progressiveness and cooperation,
which is evident within S.Y.A.A., are the best indicators. This
doesn’t mean the program is perfect, but we are heading in the
right direction.
Good luck to all our all-star players and
coaches as you head into tournament competition!
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FROM THE FOOTBALL
COMMISSIONER
By Mike Williams
Well folks, here it is July already. Baseball
season is almost over, and the 4th of July has come and
gone. Summer just seems to disappear. We’ll be hitting the Sarpy
County fair soon, and then the kids will be back in school. Where
does the time go?
Football season will be here before you know it,
so I’ll fill you in on what’s happening with S.Y.A.A. football.
We ordered much of the equipment needed for our first tackle
football season. This includes helmets, pants, pads, footballs,
belts, and kicking tees. We expect delivery very soon. Also we are
lining up our jerseys and helmet decals through Angie Carlson.
"What! Did he say helmet decals?"
You bet! We’ll have red helmets with white
facemasks and our S.Y.A.A. logo right on the helmet. (Pretty cool
huh!) Our pants will be black and the jerseys will be red with white
lettering on a black background.
We also have a pretty good handle on our numbers
for registration. Our 11-12 year old group has 27 players, and our
9-10 year old group is up to 20 players. I would like to see a few
more 9-10 year olds sign up to make a good team size. So if any of
you are on the fence and want to sign up, please call me at 896-2309
for more information or to request a registration form. For flag
football we have 21 kids signed up. Over all I’m very pleased with
our numbers.
We are doing pretty well lining up coaches for
our program. Kevin Wilson and Mike Fauver volunteered to head up the
9-10 year old tackle team. Roger Winters, Jeff Wilson, and myself
will be working with the 11-12 year old tackle team. For flag
football Mike Buskirk, Scott Daly, Don Meyer, and Wayne Allison have
volunteered to help coach. Now, the only problem with naming names
is that one usually runs the risk of leaving someone out. (Heck,
last fall at our banquet I forgot to thank my wife for all her help.
Lucky for me she’s a good sport.) So if I did forget someone
please know it is not intentional.
The tackle football coaches will be attending a meeting with
Platteview’s varsity head football coach, Dave Herbener, and
Platteview Central’s 7th grade coach, Dennis Mahaney,
sometime soon after baseball is over. As I have said in the past, we
want to work closely with Platteview’s programs to help our boys
get ready for their careers at Platteview. Our program has received
great support from Platteview, and I would like to take this
opportunity to thank Coach Herbener and athletic director Tim
MacNamara for all of their help. Also thanks to all of you who have
volunteered to help this program. You know who you are. All of your
help is greatly appreciated.
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CONGRATULATIONS!
The Pony 2 baseball team recently finished 2nd
in the Wakefield Wooden Bat Tournament in Wakefield, NE. The
team of 13-year-old players finished with a 3-1 record
against teams from Wayne, Pierce and Wakefield. Players and
parents had a great time on their weekend away. Visit the
team's web page to get
all the details and view some photos. |
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FROM
THE SOFTBALL COMMISSIONER
By Jim Bowers
The Todd Valley League is in full swing for the 2001 season.
U-8 Girls: I haven’t heard any reports from Ken Stein or Dave
Spurgeon in regards to league play for this year, so I guess
things are running smooth for both teams.
U-10 Girls: Cece Mitchell reports thing are going great for her
team. The girls have a 2-3 start on the season, and a couple of
those losses were by only one run. The girls played in the league
tournament June 23 & 24 and finished with a 2 - 2 record.
Congratulations to Cece and her team. They were chosen as one of
the U-10 teams to go to the State Tournament, which will be played
in Hastings July 14 & 15.
U-12 Girls: The team has struggled much of this season with a
1-6 record, but it has been a learning process for both players
and coaches. Our tournament was the June 15 - 17. The girls went
0-2 in the tournament but played hard. I was very happy to see us
play hard and make some things happen.
U-16 Girls: There was a U-16 team sign up this year, but it was
too late to get them into a league. The Papillion League they
normally play in didn’t have any older girls’ teams this year.
I’m hoping we have better luck next season.
Anyone interested in what’s happening in the Todd Valley
League can log on to www.toddvalley.org.
This will be my last year as Softball Commissioner, if anyone
is interested in taking over the position please contact me or
any other current S.Y.A.A. board member.
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WEB
SITE
Our web site is a good source of
information about our organization and teams. We encourage you to
visit the site often for the latest news, schedules, rosters, and
much more. You’ll find just about everything you need to know at
www.goodlifeoutdoors.com/syaa.
We want your stories and photos from the 2001 Diamond Sports
season to enhance the content on our site. We are looking for team
photos, action photos, funny photos, game results, season
summaries and more. Coaches and parents are encouraged to submit
material, preferably in electronic format, via e-mail or diskette.
If you can’t scan photos just submit the print, slide or
negative. If you can’t type very well, or you don’t have
access to e-mail, legible handwritten copy will be fine too.
Submit all material to Frank Staskiewicz. Computer users can use
e-mail (to huskerfan@aol.com). All others can use postal mail or
personal delivery. If you have any questions contact Frank by
e-mail, or call him at home at 253-8052.
Please keep in mind that S.Y.A.A. reserves the right to edit or
omit the material it receives. There is no guarantee that material
submitted will be published.
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DIAMOND SPORTS
FUNDRAISING
It’s never too late to contribute to
this important fund raising campaign. Make your checks
payable to S.Y.A.A. and write "diamond sports
contribution" in the memo field. You can send your
contributions to our mailing address shown on the front of
the newsletter. |
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