-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Hacala [mailto:
Sent: Saturday, January 27, 2007 11:08 PM
To: Wendy Jacobson; Anne Wynn; Art DeGuire; Diane Barone; Don & Therese Jones; Gabrielle Higginbotham; Gabrielle Higginbotham; Gabrielle Higginbotham; Jeff Barone; Julie Hojnacki; Lynn Ann DeGuire; Michael Hojnacki; Shane Schwab; Shane Schwab; Sue Selvidge; Tom & Liz Bode; Tom Higginbotham; Tom Miller; 'Anne Wynn'
Subject: Additional Baseball Details and Key Dates

Dear parents of the soon-to-be-named Ballwin 8U boys baseball team,

Here are some additional details regarding spring baseball, including some key dates:

ROSTER FORMS:

I will bring the official roster forms to batting practice tomorrow, so that I can get everyone to sign. I have already gotten signatures from most of the boys and parents, but I still need to get signatures from the Bode, Wynn, and Schwab families.

Also, I am required to submit a photocopy (does not need to be an original) of the birth certificate for each boy on the team at the managers meeting on Saturday, February 17. Since we have moved from the 7U Youth League to the more serious 8U League, the Ballwin Athletic Association is extremely strict about the age ranges. Any child born before May 1, 1998 cannot play in the 8U league in 2007.

Please get a copy of your son’s birth certificate to me before February 17. You can either bring a copy to batting practice, you can scan and email it to me, or you can mail it to me at 1402 Windgate Way Lane, Chesterfield, MO 63005.

KEY DATES:

Sat, Feb 17: Baseball Preseason Manager’s Meeting (only the head coach attends).

§  I need to submit signed roster forms and birth certificates for all boys on the team.

§  I will choose dates for our 6 home games.

§  I will receive all of our practice and game equipment (balls, bases, catcher’s gear, batting helmets, etc)

Sat, Feb 24: Practice Field Lottery – our practice fields will be determined on this date. As I mentioned previously, there is a good chance that we will be practicing in Creve Coeur this season.

Sat, Mar 10: County Athletic Association Scheduling Meeting (only the head coach attends).

§  Our 6 away game dates and locations will be determined at this meeting. As I mentioned previously, we will play our away games at other CAA parks in the area.

Sun, Mar 11: Uniform Pickup Date

§  Ballwin provides higher quality mesh uniforms for our team this year (similar in quality to our Bulldog uniforms last year)…the cost was included in our registration fee.

§  I will distribute the uniforms after this date.

Mon, Apr 2 Bonfire Warm-Up Tournament (we may choose to enter this tournament…details later)

thru

Sat, Apr 7

Mon, Apr 9 County Athletic Association Tournament (we may choose to enter this tournament…details later)

thru

Sun, Apr 15

Mon, Apr 16: Spring/Summer Baseball Season Begins

Sat, May 5: BAA Team Picture Day (our date will be determined later)

Sun, May 6: BAA Team Picture Day

Sun, May 12: BAA Team Picture Day

Wed, May 23 Memorial Day Classic Tournament (we may choose to enter this tournament…details later)

thru

Mon, May 28

Fri, Jun 22: Ballwin Night at Busch Stadium (Cardinals versus Phillies) – former Ballwin league player and 2007 NL MVP Ryan Howard of the Phillies will be honored

Sat, Jun 23: Team Pictures will be available for pickup

Sat, Jun 30 Independence Day Tournament (we may choose to enter this tournament…details later)

thru

Wed, Jul 4

Tues, Jul 31: Spring/Summer Baseball Season Ends

Thus, Aug 9: Fall Baseball Season Begins (for those boys on the team who would like to continue to play in the fall)

Sun, Oct 7: Fall Baseball Season Ends

If you know of any dates when your family will be out of town, or if your son has specific conflicts with potential game dates, please let me know before the league scheduling meeting on February 17. I’ll do my best to avoid schedule conflicts. Also, please let me know if you have a strong preference for any specific days of the week or times of the day to either avoid or attempt to secure for our game schedule.

As for tournaments, I’d like to enter the boys in one or two of the above tournaments this year. Please review the dates and let me know if you have any conflicts or preferences for specific tournaments. Thanks.

BASEBALL BATS:

Ballwin utilizes standard restrictions for baseball bats. The barrel cannot exceed 2 ¾ inches, the length cannot exceed 36”, and the Bat Performance Factor (BPF) cannot exceed 1.15 (but this shouldn’t mean much at the 8U level).

For our boys, we should be using bats between 27” and 30”, with weight between 15 and 18 ounces. Generally, our boys should try to use the lightest bat possible for a given length, as indicated by the negative number on the bat (also referred to as the drop number). The bat drop number is determined by subtracting the number of ounces from the number of inches. For instance, Bennett likes to use a 29” bat that weighs 16.5 ounces, for a drop number of -12.5. A higher negative drop number is better at this age, as this will allow the boys to generate more bat speed.

KEY RULES FOR 8U MACHINE PITCH LEAGUE:

·  Infield fly rule is NEVER used

·  Players can bunt this year

·  Base stealing and lead-offs are NOT allowed

·  5 Runs maximum per inning

·  Balls and strikes will be called with the pitching machine (I believe that we will have 7 pitches or 3 strikes…whichever comes first)

·  Dropped strike 3 is an out

TEAM ROSTER AND CONTACT INFORMATION:

Player's Name / Birthdate / Phone / Parents/Guardians & Address & Email
BARONE, CULLEN / 7/23/1999 / (636) 728-1455 / JEFF BARONE - DIANE BARONE
17360 COUNTRYSIDE MANOR PKWY, CHESTERFIELD, MO 63005

BODE, RYAN / 1/5/1999 / (636) 527-7083 / TOM BODE - LIZ BODE
313 CROYDON LANE, MANCHESTER, MO 63021

DEGUIRE, ARTIE / 4/19/1999 / (636) 386-2130 / ART DEGUIRE - LYNN ANN DEGUIRE
501 RICHLEY DRIVE, CHESTERFIELD, MO 63017

DELIA, STEVEN / 6/6/1998 / (636) 230-0202 / R. SUSAN SELVIDGE - NICK DELIA
213 ASPEN VILLAGE DR., ELLISVILLE, MO 63021

HACALA, BENNETT / 12/29/1998 / (636) 530-7035 / TIMOTHY HACALA - SARA HACALA
1402 WINDGATE WAY LANE, CHESTERFIELD, MO 63005

HIGGINBOTHAM, PARKER / 2/18/1999 / (636) 386-3400 / GABRIELLE HIGGINBOTHAM - THOMAS HIGGINBOTHAM
156 HOLLY GARDEN DRIVE, BALLWIN, MO 63021

HOJNACKI, MICHAEL / 10/22/1998 / (314) 961-6904 / MICHAEL HOJNACKI - JULIE HOJNACKI
511 NORTH BOMPART, WEBSTER GROVES, MO 63119

JONES, BRIAN / 6/9/1999 / (636) 230-9537 / THERESE JONES - DON JONES
41 JAMES CT, BALLWIN, MO 63021

MILLER, JACOB / 10/6/1998 / (636) 391-0960 / WENDY JACOBSON - THOMAS MILLER
827 WESTRUN DRIVE, BALLWIN, MO 63021

SCHWAB, COLIN / 9/4/1998 / (636) 256-8052 / SHANE SCHWAB - COURTNEY SCHWAB
1140 OAK BOROUGH DRIVE, BALLWIN, MO 63021

WYNN, MATTHEW / 4/23/1999 / (636) 527-0377 / DAVID WYNN - ANNE WYNN
303 SURF CT, BALLWIN, MO 63021

OFFICIAL BAA MANAGER’S GUIDE:

For those of you who suffer from insomnia, attached to this email is a copy of the official BAA Manager’s Guide for 2007. I have included this only as an FYI…there is much information here, and there is no requirement for the parents to review this document.

That’s all for now. See you tomorrow night.

Tim

The Hacala Family

Tim, Sara, Haley, Bennett, Trey & Hunter

1402 Windgate Way Lane

Chesterfield, MO 63005

636-530-7035Home

636-399-0150 Sara's wireless

314-712-9996 Tim's wireless