Don't punch me

I see a coach and parent got into it in the softball portion of Iowa Games last weekend. HERE is a story from the Trib. Any of you ladies punch me this weekend with a closed fist, I, like this coach, am gonna slug you back. Just sayin!

But I will take a back rub. (offer applies to mothers only)

Sunday practice

Pretty good practice tonite. Did some more hitting for everybody. Had everybody there except Alex, who got a workout this weekend, as his family is moving from Zearing to Nevada.

We played home run derby to end practice. Players got 5 cuts. 1 point for a flyball to the outfield, 2 points if you have a ball hit the fence (though the outfielders could prevent it from hitting the fence), and 5 points for a home run.

Before the 4th cut, the players could take or decline a "moneyball". If they declined, they simply got their 4th and 5th cuts. If they wanted the moneyball, and scoring on that hit would be doubled, and on their 5th cut would be doubled. However, if they did not score on their 4th swing, their turn was done, and they did not get the 5th swing.

That was kind of fun for something different. I think Jerald won, with Ryan in 2nd, and I think Landon and somebody else I don't remember tied for 3rd.

Next practices are Wednesday and Friday from 6:30 to 8.

schedule released

Here ya go SCHEDULEhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif

We play Saturday and Sunday at 10AM and 2PM at River Valley Park (on 13th Street in Ames). If we finish top 2, we will play an additional game on Sunday at 4:30.

Friday practice

Good practice with 9 guys there. We really focused on hitting tonite. Everybody got some BP thrown to them. Most guys got to hit some wiffles too, and some guys got to hit off live pitching from Jerald and Sam. All in all, not a bad effort.

We also did some infield/outfield practice, because I love for people to get grounders.

Next practice is Sunday from 6:30 to 8.

next practice-for sure

Friday night at the East Diamond from 6:30 to 8. Then tentatively Sunday from 6:30 to 8.

next practice

Leaning towards Friday night, not sure yet tho. And likely Saturday morning from 9:30 to 11. Hope to know for sure on Wednesday.

email to players

ran a pretty loose ship on my North Story teams. It will be a lot tighter here. We are going to have fun, but I expect hustle and good attitudes no matter your role. You are to be in the dugout, and not wandering around, you are to be engaged in the game if you are in the dugout. Steal signs, watch the pitcher's move, find your teammate's gear to help him out, warm up the pitcher. There is lots of stuff to be done in the dugout.

If you are on this team to goof around, and get out of cutting the grass, you chose the wrong activity. Depart the team now. I've seen all of you at least 4 games since April. Most of you more. I have observed your behavior, hustle, attitude, and playing ability. I've pretty much locked in the position(s) you will be playing, and I will be letting you know at practice. This is a new team, and you may or may not have a new role that you are not used to.

Here is a link I want you to go to, and just scan. Not all of it applies, but there is some really good baseball knowledge here--how to go about hitting and pitching, behavior around the diamond and so on. It is from a high school in Missouri, but all in all, it is pretty good.
http://schoolweb.missouri.edu/stoutland/Athletics/SHS_Manual_04-05.doc

Looking forward to seeing you guys. Not sure if we will pound teams, or if they pound us, but I like our chances. So far there are 9 teams entered, and they will take up to 12.

Now the Norsemen blog

I'm converting the Dodgers blog to the Norsemen blog. Here you will find emails and updates about our Iowa Games 14U team. Here is the email I sent out to the parents.

We are officially entered into the Iowa Games. For now there are 9 teams in the 14 and Under, and they will take up to 12 teams. I expect we will play 2 games on Saturday, and 1 or 2 on Sunday.

Despite what I may have told you previously, we are not going to use the Dodgers uniforms. I forgot the players keep their Norsemen shirts, so we will be playing under the banner of the Roland-Story Norsemen with the Jr Hi shirts and hats. We have one player, Alex Good outside of Roland-Story, and I have secured a shirt for him. Alex will just have to come up with a black hat of some kind, and that will be close enough.

The players are CJ Arnold, Michael Finley, Jerald Fritz, Alex Good, Logan Greiner, Ryan Hadaway, Sam Mathis, Will McGraw, Nick Moore, Tyler Rivers, Landon Stalzer, and Parker Witthuhn. Kent Arnold and I will be coaching.

So I will need $15 from each of you to cover our $190 entry fee. That can be in cash or check. I also need to get your signature on a waiver form no later than July 16.

Our first practice is tentatively Saturday July 9 at 9:30AM at the East Diamond, and will run 2 hours. I realize it is vacay time, and if you are on vacay, or have the wrestling events I know about, that is fine, just let me know if your son can't make it. Then I'm guessing we will have 2 practices the following week, and 2 more the week leading into game.

For the past couple years, I have done a blog for my North Story teams. I don't want to do another one, so I will just continue on with my Dodgers blog of this year. I post my emails there, as well as additional commentary about games and practices. Also updates if rain looks like it might wash us out. So save this link
http://nsclldodgers.blogspot.com

As a reminder, the rules are pretty much the same as Jr.Hi/HS, bat 9 with substitution. My goal is to get everybody at least 1 at bat a game, with 2 innings in the field, though that may change due to opponent and game situation. I ran a pretty loose ship on my North Story teams, but we are going to tighten that up on this team. And as always, I have 4 rules on my teams
1. Be safe (no swinging bats and throwing balls around unprepared people)
2. Have fun (I expect positive attitudes with no hovering black clouds)
3. Good sportsmanship (support your teammates, no running the mouth at umpires, no smack to opponents)
4. Look like a ballplayer (hats forward, shirts tucked in, hustle to and from your position between innings)

I'm looking forward to this. Not sure whether we will roll, or get rolled by our opponents, but I like our chances.

Email highlights:
reply to this email to let me know you got this, also give me other email addresses you prefer this to go to
next practice Sat July 8, 9:30 AM East Diamond
Let me know if you will miss practice
I need your signature and $15