Districts 2010

We had a great record this season..better than it was in 2009. Big improvement. We had to play in a pigtail playoff with Ilwaco. We beat them and with that win we were seeded 4th in the Southern Division. That meant we would have to play opponents from our league. We started right off the bat with Onalaska. We lost, and moved onto a loser out with Tenino, beat them in the top of the 7th inning keeping us alive for the game with Castle Rock, winner of that moved on to state, loser out. Castle Rock beat us and went on to win the State Tournament in the Tri-cities.

And another one gone and another one gone...

I got another email from the head coach today, this is how it went...

I don't like to start your day like this, but, two of the girls that weren't here last week because of basketball, both came in and quit this morning. I must say it has set me back a notch. That leaves us with 16 players which translates into probably no JV. I am going to talk with the athletic director this morning about it.

They're dropping like flies and I don't know why.

I just hope we make districts this year.

Clinic 2010

The clinic turnout wasn't as we had hoped. We had three boys and three girls show up. The positive side of this was it was small, we could individually work with them and we can learn their names easier. The two middle school girls knew a lot more than the rest of them so it was easier to work with them. The one girl was a pitcher so the other assistant worked with her while we worked fundamentals with the three little boys and the one girl.

We handed out fliers to the primary and middle schools, where our targets were, we spoke and handed out our fliers to the youth coaches and they told us that they were going to sign up all of their players, which didn't happen and didn't really surprise us. We found out later that we were also competing with youth basketball which happened to be the same weekend as the clinic.

We definitely had more turn out this year than we did last year...

We also found out that our center fielder and catcher probably won't turn out this season. We're hoping that they change their minds and they won't actually decide until it practice begins.

Practice starts next Monday, March 1. Hope for sunshine.

A glint of hope?

I had a meeting with the two girls who were on the fence about playing softball or doing track this upcoming season. They told me their concerns and I listened to what they had to say, I told them my views on the softball team and what kinds of things we were going to do differently this season and I had them ask me questions. I think it went really well but they are still not sure what they're going to do come March 1. I hope they choose softball because we'll really miss them.

Bad News Bears

I found out last night that our catcher and possibly our center fielder might turn out for track instead of fastpitch. Our catcher has made up her mind but our center fielder is on the fence about it. I called her to see what kinds of things were swirling around in her head. She told me her pros and cons on both but still wants to meet with me in person next week to help her come to a decision.

The catcher just wants to try something new. I believe it's because of how horrible the season turned out last year. You have to remember though, every season is different. The personnel, the players, the weather, the circumstances, the other teams we play against, it all matters. As coaches, we now know what did and didn't work last year. I guess we'll see if I can get our center fielder back next week.

Excuses not reasons.

Remember the pitcher I told you about? The one who isn't any good and her parents egg her on? Our head coach got an email today from her. This is what he wrote back to me and the other assistant coach:

Assistants,

I got an email from the girl this morning informing me that she will not participate in the high school program this year. She feels that in order to achieve a higher level of skill that she must focus her attention on her spring and summer team. She goes on to say that if in the future we can provide a higher standard of new skill teaching and teamwork that she would consider playing for Rainier. Get ready. It's starting.

Head Coach

You have to understand something. We are a small school, we get what we get. We don't hold tryouts, we don't cut people. The talent you see is the talent we get. We give them the tools to perform on the field, once on the field, it's up to them and how they use those tools.

Last year she quit her spring/summer team because she thought she was better than they were and she wasn't being challenged enough. I think it's because she sat on the bench most of the time. On the plus side, we don't have to deal with her or her parents this year.

Pre-Season Meeting 2010

This morning I went to our pre-season meeting. It was only a half an hour. I was kinda disappointed in the lack of last seasons players showing up. I heard one might do track, which is really upsetting because Mr. Henry takes all of our good athletes and ruins them in track. I also heard that one might not turn out this year because she doesn't want to wear an infield mask. We implemented this idea to cut down on errors because of how dangerous the composite bats are now. If I were playing now I'd so wear the masks.

Last week I found out that one of our players actually put herself in a institution last semester because she thought she was crazy. She got behind in her school work and opted to be home schooled because she would not be able to play softball without being on academic probation. Being home schooled you can do the barest minimum and still get to play in a school sport. I don't really agree with that. If you can't keep the grades up in the first place school or home schooled, you shouldn't get to participate in any activities or sports.

It just keeps getting better and better doesn't it? I wonder what kind of stories I'll have once the season starts up?