Uniform Fittings & Fees

The uniform fittings are now scheduled for Wednesday, January 7th from 7:00 pm until about 7:45 pm at the OYA Office located at 10649C West 163rd Place in Orland Park.

To make things a little more convenient, we will combine the uniform fittings with the OYA registration that night. The OYA registration deadline for the upcoming season is January 10th. So, we'll have the registration forms on hand at the uniform fitting session on January 7th.

Santo Sports Store will be conducting the fittings. Please be sure to check this website prior to going to the OYA Office that night just in case there is a change in the schedule. The uniforms will consist of the following:

• Red shirt
• White shirt
• Hat
• Pants
• Socks
• Belt

Players should bring a copy of their birth certificate as well as the first installment ($200) of the registration fee to the fitting. Checks should be made payable to the "Orland Youth Association".

Please do not hesitate to call me at home at 708-349-1467 with any questions or comments.

Thanks,
Glenn Nagel

Registration Fees

The resgistration fee for the 2009 Warriors is estimated to be $585 (including the $170 registration fee for the OYA recreational league). The portion of the $585 allocated to the Warriors is $415.

The $415 fee for 2009 reflects a moderate increase ($30) over last year's fee of $385. This increase was necessary given some of the higher costs:

• Two umpires for the 13 year olds vs. one for the 12 year olds
• A newly instituted Village charge for using the fields
• Less sponsorship donations as compared to last season
• Cost increases in general

So, where does the $415 registration fee go?

• Uniforms
• Umpires
• Tournament fees
• Field space rental
• Indoor workout fees

We'll need to collect the registration fees in time to meet our cost obligations. As a result, $200 of the fee is due upon placing the order for the uniforms (at the December fitting session)--of which $170 will be applied to the OYA recreational registration fee and $30 to the Warriors.

The remaining $385 will be due (payable to "Orland Youth Association") by March 1st (as the tournament fees and indoor workout space will have been paid for by then).

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

Pitching Grips

During tonight's practice, we talked about some things that our players can do over the next few months to improve their pitching:

1- Practice! It's important to keep your arm strong by throwing at least every few days. Try to find someone to play catch with. If you can't find anyone, take some chalk and draw a box on a wall and throw to the box.

2- Work on mastering at least two grips (a fastball and a change-up). When playing catch, throw change-ups at least a third of the time. It will take some time, but you'll want to be just as confident in throwing a strike with your change-up as you will be with your fastball.

There are two common fastball grips: the four-seamer and the two-seamer. CLICK HERE to see some photos of these two fastball grips. Ideally, you'll be able to throw both of them, but be sure to get very comfortable with at least one of them.

You will also need to develop an off-speed (i.e. change-up) pitch. Hitters at this level love fastballs. It's critical to keep them off balance.

For your change-up grips, you can click on the above link to view the three-finger and circle change grips. You can also CLICK HERE to view several other options: the three-finger fastball, the choke fastball, the OK change, the slip pitchfork grip or the split-finger fastball.

Just try some change-up grips to find out which one works best for you. Be sure to give it some time--it takes practice! You don't need to master all of them--one good one will be sufficient.

If you really want to be a good pitcher, you'll need to throw regularly and you'll need to develop an off-speed pitch.

Warriors to Workout on Friday!

The Warriors will be holding its first team workout on Friday, October 24th at 7:00 pm. This workout will be held indoors at the Batter-Up Baseball Academy at 7509 W. 99th Place in Bridgeview. Click here to access the facility's website. The workout will end no later than 9:00 pm.

This workout will be the only practice for the team for the remainder of 2008. The team will meet again for some indoor workouts (closer to home) in January. The workout will give our players an opportunity to meet their coaches and teammates--and provide some initial instruction for those who wish to further develop their skills during the off-season.

Participation in this workout is optional. However, please contact me at 708-349-1467 or at gnagel60@comcast.net if you are unable to attend. We would like to know in advance of the session if we have enough interest to hold our reservation at the facility.

Warriors Announce 2009 Roster

The 13U Warriors completed its second and final tryout on Sunday, October 12th. The Warriors would like to thank our 6 returning players and the 18 players who participated in these tryouts for their interest in the team.

The 2009 team roster is as follows:

• Bresingham, Dennis
• Brucki, C.J.
• Cardinal, Lance
• Carroll, Tim
• Knightly, Ryan
• Lauciello, Anthony
• Lebert, Jack
• Marc, Sam
• Maxfield, Robbie
• Novak, Ryan
• Prendergast, Tim
• Robley, Jim
• Tannebaum, Ryan
• Waner, Jason

Please call me at 708-349-1467 (home) or 708-846-1466 (cell) with any questions or comments.

Next Tryout is October 12th

The 13U Warriors conducted its first tryout on Sunday, September 21st. The Warriors would like to thank the players who participated in the tryout for expressing interest in the team and for giving a great effort on the field during the workout.

Based upon the tryout results, the team's roster stands as follows:

• Bresingham, Dennis
• Cardinal, Lance
• Knightly, Ryan
• Lebert, Jack
• Marc, Sam
• Maxfield, Robbie
• Novak, Ryan
• Poulos, Danny
• Robley, Jim
• Tannebaum, Ryan

A number of OYA players were unable to attend the first tryout session due to scheduling conflicts. As a result, the Warriors will be holding a second open tryout session. This tryout is scheduled for Sunday, October 12th at 3:00 pm on Centennial #5. Please check back as this date is subject to change.

The remaining roster spots will be finalized once the second tryout is completed. The tryout results for players who participated in the first tryout will also be considered in that selection process--although players are also invited to tryout again on October 12th if they wish.

Please call me at 708-349-1467 with any questions.

Tryouts Scheduled for September 21st

The 13U Warriors will be conducting a tryout for the 2009 season on Sunday, September 21st. The session will be held on Centennial #5 at 4:00 pm. Players must be 13 years of age or under as of May 1, 2009 to be eligible.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the team.

The roster will be announced on this website no later than noon on Thursday, September 25th. Players are expected to check this website for the tryout results (i.e, players will not be receiving individual phone calls).

Please do not hesitate to contact me at 708-349-1467 or at gnagel60@comcast.net with any questions or comments.

Thanks for a Great Season...

It has been my pleasure to coach this group of players and to have the opportunity to interact with their families during the course of the 2008 season. Six of our players also played with last year's team--so it's been a two year journey for several of us.

I've coached baseball for several years and every so often a special team comes along--and this team is certainly one of those. Our coaches (Gary Dietz, Dave Lewis, Matt Rafferty and Rich Tannebaum) have contributed a great deal to making this an enjoyable experience for everyone. Ron Drabeck also stepped in to help with the coaching--especially during the past two tourmaments.

With the introduction of Winter workouts and the Sunday League play, this has been one of the longest baseball seasons in OYA history. Yet, I'm disappointed that this season is now over. The only saving grace is that I can squeeze in a vacation before Fall Baseball starts in a few weeks!

I hope that each of our players walked away with some lasting memories of this summer playing baseball with the Warriors.

The players and their families will determine whether the Warriors will continue on into 2009 as a 13U team. Please CLICK HERE for more information about next year's team.

Thanks again for a memorable season...
Glenn Nagel

Warriors Take 4th Place in Home Tournament

Photo courtesy of Kim Lewis

The Warriors "placed" and finished fourth in its final tournament of the 2008 season in Orland Park. Eight teams participated in this tournament: Park Forest, Elmhurst, Richton Park, Westside Warriors, LaGrange, Darien, New Lenox and the Orland Park Warriors.

Our team opened the tournament against Park Forest on Tuesday with an 18-1 win. Elmhurst defeated the Warriors 14-3 in five innings on Friday evening. The Warriors then beat Richton Park by a score of 11-2 to "place" and to advance to the semi-final games on Sunday.

Elmhurst once again defeated the Warriors in the semi-final game on Sunday morning. The game was called after five innings of play with Elmhurst winning by score of 11-1. The Warriors then lost the consolation game to LaGrange by a score of 10-5 in seven innings.

Elmhurst went on to win the tournament championship by beating New Lenox in the final inning by a score of 3-2!

Next Season...

Now that the 2008 season has come to a close, it's time to start looking forward to 2009.

Any player who is interested in returning to the Warriors for next season should contact me (gnagel60@comcast.net or 708-349-1467). Players who commit to next year's team by August 15th will receive an automatic bye (see information below). Players who cannot commit by August 15th will be eligible to try out for one of the open spots at a later date.

I plan to manage the team if there is enough interest in forming a 13U Warriors team for 2009. Initial discussions indicate that approximately 9 players will return--and a tryout process would be used to fill about 4 remaining spots. As long as the vast majority of players wish to return, I will begin working on forming this team. We should have a much better idea about the future of this team after the August 15th commitment deadline.

If there is enough interest to proceed, a current roster (along with next year's coaching staff) will be announced by August 20th.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments.

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OYA entered teams into the Chicagoland Metro League for the first time in 2008. The experience during 2008 has been very positive, so OYA has approved a 13U Warriors team for next season.

The OYA Board asked me if I would coach a Warriors team again--and if my preference was for the 13U or the 12U team. I've enjoyed this year's experience so much that my preference is to coach this group of players through the 2009 season--and hopefully the 2010 season with the 14U Warriors.

Although it seems early to be thinking about 2009, it was important that OYA made the commitment to a 13U team right now. Our team's success has attracted attention and there is no doubt that some of our players will be recruited by full-time travel teams. Many of these teams have tryouts scheduled within the next month or so. There is also some interest from within the team to create a new full-time travel team.

In my opinion, the Warriors schedule provides an appropriate level of competition for most of our players. Certainly, the Warriors have a few players on the team who could benefit from a higher level of competition. But, our team batting average of .270 after 25 games is not extraordinarly high and indicates that the the level of competition is just about right for most of our players. We have a couple of players hitting for a much higher average who may benefit by facing more dominant pitching.

Please keep in mind that the recreational experience within OYA should become more challenging as players move from the Bronco to the Pony level. A high percentage of players stop playing baseball after Bronco. The Pony League is typically made up of a smaller number of players who are more serious about playing baseball.

As you know, the Warriors offer players an opportunity to experience many of the benefits of full-time travel baseball--without some of the drawbacks. Players can supplement their in-house OYA recreational experience with more competitive playing opportunities, including: indoor workouts, Chicagoland Metro League games (about 12), various scrimmages, and five tournaments (another 20-25 games) at a lower cost than the alternatives. The cost for 2008 was $360 ($285 for Metro and $75 for tournaments). If you add in the 22 games that a player will play as part of the Pony recreational league, the total cost will approximate $500 for nearly 60 games!

The most important benefit, however, is the opportunity to play on a team that strives to enjoy the game, learn more about the game of baseball and compete in a way that shows respect for the game and all who participate in it.

It wouldn't be fair to expect a commitment from a player for next season without providing a roster spot for that player in advance. So, just like most of the local full-time travel teams, the Warriors will show loyalty to its existing players. Any player who has played with the Warriors throughout the 2008 season and who wishes to return to the team in 2009 would receive a bye. This bye will entitle a player to return to the team with his 2008 status (e.g. alternate, part-time, full-time) without having to tryout. Alternates and part-time players will also have the opportunity to try to change their status (e.g. move from alternate to full-time) during the tryout.

Others who cannot make the decision whether to return or not would be welcome to tryout for the team later in the Fall. The deadline for determining automatic placements will be announced soon--as set to provide sufficient time for each family to make the best decision for the player.

In the end, the concept of a 13U Warriors team is not something that I wish to try to sell. I love to coach youth baseball, but I have other options available to continue doing that. The feasibility of a 13U Warriors team is a choice that must be made by our players and parents. I've made my choice to coach the team again--provided there is enough interest (i.e., the vast majority of players elect to play with the Warriors again).

I encourage you to call me at 708-349-1467 with any questions. I am interested in your thoughts about a 13U Warriors team.

Thanks
Glenn Nagel

Photos From Richton Park Game

Thanks to Kim Lewis for submitting the following photos:

The Warriors faced elimination against Richton Park on Saturday, but an 11-2 win assured the team of another two games and another tournament placement...
Mike Rafferty pitched four innings and allowed just one run on one hit...
Jack Lebert started the game off right with a base hit to rightfield...
Sam Marc went with the sunglasses to help battle the sun at third base...

Danny Poulos came up with a big two out hit to drive in two runs early in the ballgame...
Shawn McHale drew a walk and scored in the early innings...
Ryan Novak closed the game with three strong innings to earn the save...
The Warriors shake hands with the Richton Park players after a good game at Centennial Park...

Warriors Survive to Play Another Day

The Warriors defeated Richton Park by a score of 11-2 in seven innings to advance to the semi-finals of the Orland Park tournament. As a result, the team is guaranteed to play two more games--the first at 9:30 am and the second at 2:30 pm on Sunday. This is the third time that the Warriors have "placed" in July tournament play. Other placements include Hickory Hills (champions) and Oak Lawn (4th place).

Pizza Party (and Batting Practice)

The Warriors will have a team pizza party on Thursday, July 24th at Fox's Pub (located at 9655 W. 143rd Street). All players (including our 11 year olds and alternates) are invited to attend.

We will have a brief batting practice session prior to the pizza party. This session will be held from 5:00 pm until 6:15 pm at Doogan Field. The Village would not allow us to reserve this field, but I was told that it is open during this time slot. All players are also invited to this session. Players can then go over to Fox's Pub after the practice.

Thanks to Kim Lewis, Ann Bresingham and Anne Lebert for volunteering to assist with Thursday's activities.

Batting & Pitching Stats - FINAL

BATTING STATISTICS

To be eligible for the leaderboard for Batting Average and On-Base %, a player must have at least 40 at-bats.

Batting Average (Team, .273)

1. Grant Lewis (.459)
2. Mike Rafferty (.404)
3. Jayson Lenzen (.388)
4. Ronny Drabeck (.362)
5. Matthias Dietz (.325)

On-Base % (Team, .389)

1. Grant Lewis (.531)
2. Ronny Drabeck (.526)
3. Jayson Lenzen (.474)
4. Mike Rafferty (.454)
5. Robbie Maxfield (.392)

RBI (Team, 207)

1. Grant Lewis (40)
2. Mike Rafferty (36)
3. Matthias Dietz (25)
4. Jayson Lenzen (17)
5. Ronny Drabeck (16)

Runs (Team, 266)

1. Jack Lebert (36)
2. Matthias Dietz (31)
3. Ronny Drabeck (31)
4. Grant Lewis (28)
5. Mike Rafferty (18)

Walks (Team, 156)

1. Ronny Drabeck (18)
2. Ryan Novak (16)
3. Ryan Tannebaum (15)
4. Jack Lebert (15)
5. Danny Poulos (14)

Hit By Pitch (Team, 14)

1. Jayson Lenzen (3)
2. Robbie Maxfield (2)
3. Ryan Novak (2)
4. Ronny Drabeck (2)
5. Mike Rafferty (2)

Doubles (Team, 36)

1. Mike Rafferty (9)
2. Grant Lewis (5)
3. Matthias Dietz (4)
4. Jayson Lenzen (4)
5. 2 players tied with (3)

Triples (Team, 7)

1. Matthias Dietz (5)
2. Ronny Drabeck (1)
3. Matt Taylor (1)

Home Runs (Team, 10)

1. Grant Lewis (5)
2. Ronny Drabeck (3)
3. Mike Rafferty (1)
4. Jayson Lenzen (1)

PITCHING STATISTICS

Earned Run Average* (Team, 5.47)

1. Grant Lewis (3.19)
2. Mike Rafferty (4.91)
3. Matthias Dietz (5.07)
4. Sam Marc (7.88)
5. Ryan Novak (8.17)

*With at least 8 innings pitched

WHIP* (Team, 1.72)

1. Grant Lewis (1.41)
2. Mike Rafferty (1.43)
3. Matthias Dietz (1.84)
4. Sam Marc (2.13)
5. Ryan Novak (2.17)

*Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched

Strikeouts (Team, 263)

1. Matthias Dietz (81)
2. Grant Lewis (77)
3. Mike Rafferty (60)
4. Ryan Novak (22)
5. Matt Dahlgren (5)

Innings Pitched (Team, 190.7)

1. Matthias Dietz (58.0)
2. Grant Lewis (41.7)
3. Mike Rafferty (41.3)
4. Ryan Novak (24.0)
5. Sam Marc (8.0)

Wins (Team, 18)

1. Matthias Dietz (8)
2. Grant Lewis (4)
3. Mike Rafferty (3)
4. Matt Dahlgren (2)
5. Ryan Novak (1)

Saves (Team, 8)

1. Mike Rafferty (3)
2. Grant Lewis (2)
3. 3 players tied with (1)

Record:

Chicagoland Metro League: 7 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie and 1 incomplete game (rain)

Tournaments: 11 wins, 10 losses

Hickory Hills Tournament Champions!

Oak Lawn Tournament 4th Place Finish!

Orland Park Tournament 4th Place Finish!

Overall: 18 wins, 11 losses, 1 tie and 1 incomplete game

You Make the Call (Part VIII)

Q #8: With a runner on first base and one out, the pitcher (while on the rubber) fails to come to a set position before attempting to pick the runner off of first base. Is this a balk?

A #8: The pitcher is not required to come to a set position before throwing to a base. The pitcher is required to come to a set position (a stop) before delivering a pitch from the stretch--or it is a balk.

Orland Park Tourny Results - Day 1

The Warriors opened up the Orland Park tournament in impressive fashion--slaughtering Park Forest in five innings by a score of 18-1. In the second game of the evening, Elmhurst defeated Richton Park by a score of 11-5 in seven innings. Elmhurst and Orland Park are now on top of the Pool A standings with records of 1-0 and will face off against each other under the lights on Friday.

Pool B gets underway with two games on Wednesday night. Darien will play New Lenox on Centennial #6 at 5:45 pm, followed by the LaGrange versus Westside game at 8:00 pm.

St. Joe's 6, Warriors 2

St. Joe's beat the Warriors by a score of 6-2 in the final game of the Lockport tournament.

Sam Marc threw three innings as the Warriors' starting pitcher and Zach Struzik gave the team two quality innings in relief. But, the offense was not able to generate enough runs. The Warriors had just six hits in the contest--Ryan Novak (2), Grant Lewis (2), Mike Rafferty (1) and Sam Marc (1). The Warriors also had a couple of runners thrown out on the basepaths--which was costly in a low scoring game.

The Warriors open up its final tournament (Orland Park) of the 2008 season on Tuesday.

Warriors Play St. Joe's on Sunday

The Warriors play St. Joe's on Sunday in the fourth and final pool play game of the Lockport tournament. The game will start at noon. Players should be at the field by 11:30 am for this one.
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Five teams have entered the Lockport tournament this season--New Lenox, Homer, St. Joe's, Lockport and our team. There will be four pool play games--so every team will play each other once. The top two teams will face off for the championship game on Monday, July 21st at 5:30 pm.

Here's our team's schedule for the tournament:

Thursday, July 17th vs. Lockport (Warriors 1, Lockport 12)
Friday, July 18th vs. New Lenox (Warriors 4, New Lenox 8)
Saturday, July 19th vs. Homer (Warriors 7, Homer 1)
Sunday, July 20th vs. St. Joe's (Warriors 2, St. Joe's 6)

Active players for Sunday include: Bresingham, Drabeck, McHale, Lebert, Lenzen, Lewis, Marc, Maxfield, Novak, Poulos, Struzik, and Rafferty.

All games are held at Dellwood Park. CLICK HERE for a map of the area.

Warriors Bounce Back Against Homer!

Ryan Novak threw a complete game on Saturday night to get the Warriors' back on track!

Just when it seemed that the team was starting to run out of gas, the Warriors bounced back to improve its Lockport tournament record to 1-2 in one of the better played ballgames of the season.

The Warriors beat Homer by a score of 7-1. Ryan Novak pitched an absolute gem. He threw a complete game and allowed just one run in six innings of work. Complete games are unheard of for this age group in recent years. Yet, Ryan paced himself and mixed speeds and locations all night. He managed to keep his pitch count in the low 90's. Ryan was awarded a game ball for this incredible accomplishment.

Every Warriors' player made contributions to this effort. Dennis Bresingham was also recognized with a game ball for his defensive contributions in the outfield. Homer left two runners stranded early in the game when Dennis made a nice catch in rightfield to retire the side. Later in the game, he made another catch with one out and fired the ball into the plate--forcing the runner on third base to hold. That run never scored.

Robbie Maxfield made several nice defensive plays at second base. Ronny Drabeck hustled down the line to beat out a routine tapper to the pitcher--which ultimately resulted in two Warriors' runs! Shawn McHale made a nice catch in leftfield. Both Mike Rafferty and Jayson Lenzen did a nice job behind the plate in this one.

Grant Lewis had two doubles and a single. Mike Rafferty had two hits--including a double. Jayson Lenzen also hammered a shot to deep leftfield that rolled all the way to the wall.

Zach Struzik reached base and used his great speed to steal second and third base before scoring on a passed ball.

This was a fun game to be a part of--and it was a thrill to watch such a gutsy pitching performance!

Game photo by Kim Lewis

Lefties

CLICK HERE to access an interesting article from Newsweek about the advantages that lefthanders have when playing baseball. Thanks to Coach Dave Lewis for bringing this article to my attention.

The Warriors have had just one lefthanded hitter (T.J. Andrews) and one lefthanded thrower (Matt Dahlgren) in the last two seasons!