Diamond Club Meeting – October 10, 2017 - Mark Downey Report

Players

Player Apparel: We had an initial meeting with the Captains last week to discuss Player Apparel for 2017; final decisions will be made by November. We plan to provide two order periods again this season as in past seasons; one in January and the second one at the end of March following the formation of teams.

Players Meeting:I will have an optional meeting for all players (grades 9-12)on Tuesday, November 14 right after school in which I will cover winter off-season baseball and strength/conditioning options for those players not participating in a winter sport. This will include MVHS based activities of Captains Practices and MVHS weight training. And, I’ll also review local baseball training organizations that have asked me to present their winter training programs for those interested. (If you play a winter sport, great! – Never mind - We encourage and support multi-sport athletes!)

  • All this will also be communicated to parents as well right after the Player Meeting.
  • I will communicate to the returning players about this meeting via text message when we get closer to the date. There will be some signs around school. And, I will email all parents about this meeting to help insure all players 9-12 are informed about this optional meeting.

Throwing Arms: As everyone is aware, it is very important to properly manage baseball throwing arms. The rapid rise in shoulder and elbow injuries in recent years has led to things like pitch count limits for the high school, VFW, and Legion seasons. With year-round baseball opportunities readily available, it is important to remember that all baseball organizations from MLB to Little League recommend that baseball players take at least 2-3 consecutive months off from any throwing activity each year. Obviously, fall and/or winter is the time for much needed rest on the arm. That said, fall and winter are great times to improve general strength, mobility, athleticism, and other aspects of baseball performance – what we’ll be talking about with players on November 14.

Coaching Staff

Nate Fredrickson will not be returning to coach again in 2018; he will be helping out with the Bethel Baseball team.

Ryan Poepard will re-join the MV Baseball Program. Ryan is a Dean at MV with many years of coaching experience in baseball, football and basketball.

Coaching Staff Status:We have one opening at this point.

Varsity: Scott Courtright, Darcy Ruff, Steve Gorman

Varsity/JV: Jon Chhay, Ryan Poepard

B: Scott Oberg, Derek Ruff

Freshman: Marshall Dalziel, TBD

Financial

Mustang Chariot: Freshman baseball parents Mark and Liv Rosin have donated a “people mover” to help people needing some assistance in getting from the parking lot to the baseball Field for games. Thank You for this generous donation!

Paved Path to Field: District bids for providing a paved path from the MVHS Back parking Lot to the Baseball Field ranged from $17,000 (asphalt) to $50,000 (concrete). The District will discuss whether they could financially support a portion of the cost if the Diamond Club wanted to pursue this.

Batting Helmets: The Diamond Club discussed last month, and tabled for October to make a decision. The material below is repeated from last month’s report for discussion in October.

Current Process The school provides helmets for each team. Each team has 8 helmets of various sizes that players share during games and practices.

Current Helmet: The Rawlings helmets we stock today are $34/each. The school buys 6-8 new helmets each year to replace old ones no longer usable.

Current Inventory: 2017: 7. 2016: 10. 2015/2014 (Schutt helmets): 14

Options going forward:

Option A: Leave things as they are today. Players share helmets.

Option B: Each player is issued their own helmet at the beginning of the season, and they return them at the end of the season. Similar to how the football program helmets work. MVHS would continue to buy helmets; there would be a one-time requirement to purchase about 50 helmets to create a sufficient inventory of helmets for all players. I would need approval from MV Schools for this significant one-time expense that is not currently budgeted.

Option C: Each player is provided their own helmet which is theirs to keep. As with other items that stay with the participants, this would be funded by the Diamond Club (just like caps and socks are now).

C1: As with socks and caps, the Diamond Club funds a helmet for each player that is theirs to keep; no charge to the player. Players are issued a helmet when they make a team as a Freshman. If a player outgrows their helmet before graduating, or it becomes unusable/breaks (very unlikely), the Diamond Club would need to determine if there would be a charge (or not) for the replacement helmet.

C2: The Diamond Club charges players for helmets; they are theirs to keep.

Financial (Cont’d)

MV Baseball Stationary: We are out of MV Baseball stationary (Regular Envelopes and Thank You Cards/Envelopes). With the Fundraising Dinner upcoming, I think it would be beneficial to purchase some reasonably priced stationary.

Fundraising

Fundraising Dinner:

  • Tom Kelly is interested in being our featured speaker if we schedule for January 28.
  • Last year we had a MV Baseball Alum, Seth Rosin, speak briefly in addition to the featured speaker. I believe this was received very well, and I would plan to arrange for another Alum to speak again this year if the Diamond Club supports this.
  • A follow-up item for October is discussion on the scheduling challenge this year with TwinsFest, NFL Football Playoffs, Super Bowl, and Venue availability considerations.

Field

Bullpen: The bullpen is an awesome addition that was provided last spring by the Diamond Club. A challenge with it is maintaining the grass inside of it. District mowers cannot get to all the small area spaces in it. Options include covering with ag-lime or old football turf. I am discussing with the District. Either option would require some labor on our part to enhance the bullpen.

Schedule / Baseball Season

Non-Conference Schedules: The non-conference games for all 4 teams have been finalized:

Varsity: Osseo, ParkCenter, Centennial, Irondale

JV: Irondale, Osseo, ParkCenter, Centennial

B: Irondale, Osseo, Anoka, Centennial

Freshman: Centennial, Irondale, St. Anthony, Totino-Grace

Senior Day: The final Varsity home game is Friday, May 18 vs. Roseville. I would propose this as our Senior Day game.

Teacher Appreciation Day: The second to last home game is Friday, May 11 vs. Park. This might be a good date for the Teacher Appreciation Day.

Discussion Items From Above

  • Batting Helmets
  • Plans for Using Diamond Club Funds
  • Fundraising Dinner – Date, Featured Speaker, Alumni Speaker
  • MV Baseball Stationary