Warriors 17, Darien 3

CLICK HERE for team and individual statistics through Game #9.

The Warriors pounded out 13 hits and 12 runs in the final two innings of play to defeat Darien Demons by a score of 17-3 at Centennial Park.

The Demons took the early lead in the first inning after the lead-off hitter doubled to rightfield and later scored on a tapper back to the mound. Paco Lauciello threw a runner out attempting to steal second base--which minimized the damage and slowed Darien's running game for a few innings.

The Warriors failed to score in the bottom of the frame despite drawing two walks to start the inning after a runner was picked off second base followed by two infield pop outs.

Darien extended its lead in the top of the second inning after three consecutive hits. Once again, Paco Lauciello threw out a runner attempting to steal--and Ryan Novak struck out the lead-off man as Darien left two stranded to end the inning.

The Warriors had five consecutive hits to start the second inning and scored four runs to grab the lead. The Warriors would never trail again in this one.

Ryan Novak retired Darien quickly in the top of the third inning with a pop up and two strikeouts. The Warriors scored just one run in the bottom of the frame despite two hit batsmen and a walk. The Warriors were retired on three pop ups to the first baseman in the inning.

Darien scored again in the fourth inning after the lead-off hitter walked and scored on a base hit to rightfield. C.J. Brucki retired another Darien runner on a steal attempt. The Warriors failed to score in the bottom of the frame as the inning ended on a line drive double play to the first baseman.

Tim Prendergast struck out three Darien hitters in the fifth inning. The Warriors broke the game open in the bottom of the fifth with seven runs on six hits. Paco Lauciello doubled to deep leftfield to drive home two runs. And, Ryan Novak lined a single into leftfield to score another run. Ryan had three hits and 4 RBI on the day. Lance Cardinal also had three hits and 3 RBI in the game.

Ryan Tannebaum pitched a flawless sixth inning before the Warriors offense exploded with another five runs in the bottom of the inning. The game ended as the mercy rule was applied after six innings of play.

DARIEN: 3 runs, 5 hits, 2 errors, 6 left on base
WARRIORS: 17 runs, 20 hits, 2 errors, 10 left on base

Warriors 12, Barons 1

CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #8

C.J. Brucki with 3 extra base hits

The Warriors beat the Burr Ridge Barons by a score of 12-1 in seven innings on Mother's Day. The Warriors jumped out with an early lead after scoring two runs in the top of the first inning. C.J. Brucki smashed the first of his three consecutive extra base hits with a double to deep left-centerfield. He later scored on a base hit by Jason Waner. Ryan Novak hit a sacrifice fly to leftfield to score Jason. The Barons scored a run in the bottom of the frame after the lead off hitter singled to centerfield and later scored on a ground out to the second baseman.

The Warriors scored four runs in the top of the third inning. Ryan Tannebaum took a fastball in the back to get the rally started with a hit batsman. Sam Marc and Paco Lauciello both reached base on infield errors. C.J. Brucki then drove home two runs with a triple to deep rightfield. C.J. later scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jason Waner.

Jason Waner held the Barons scoreless in the bottom of the second and third innings. In the bottom of the second inning, Ryan Novak killed a Burr Ridge rally by hustling to back up first base from his rightfield position. When the ball was thrown past the first baseman, Ryan was there to field the ball and throw the advancing runner out at second base. The Warriors would go onto retire five Burr Ridge runners attempting to advance to an extra base!

The Barons did not score in the remaining four innings of the game as four different Warriors' pitchers threw shutout innings: Ryan Tannebaum, Jim Robley, Sam Marc and Robbie Maxfield.

The Warriors scored four more times in the top of the fifth inning. Paco Lauciello singled and scored on another extra base hit by C.J. Brucki. Tim Prendergast singled to centerfield to drive in two runs. Ryan Novak and Jack Lebert also had base hits in the inning.

The Warriors scored one run in the final inning of play when Ryan Tannebaum singled and later scored. Sam Marc also singled to rightfield in the inning.

WARRIORS: 12 runs, 11 hits, 2 errors, 5 left on base

BURR RIDGE: 1 run, 7 hits, 2 errors, 8 left on base

Time of Game: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Warriors Compete in OYA Pony Baseball

For the next six weeks, most of the Warriors' players baseball experience takes place within the OYA Pony League. OYA Pony baseball provides our players with an extra 16 to 20 games in the season. Every Pony team has at least one Warriors player. Most teams have two or three on the roster.

Earlier this evening, two Warriors players pitched at Centennial Park for the Diamondbacks in a game against the Phillies. I happened to be at the park with my camera and captured some photos of Robbie Maxfield and Tim Prendergast. CLICK on photo to view larger version of the image.

Robbie Maxfield (OYA Diamondbacks)

Tim Prendergast (OYA Diamondbacks)

Warriors Lose Another Close One

CLICK HERE to view team and individual statistics through Game #7.

The Warriors fell to the Jackie Robinson All Stars in extra innings tonight at Centennial #4.

The first four batters of the game reached base for Jackie Robinson on two hits and two Warriors' errors. Jason Waner retired the final three batters of the inning as Jackie Robinson stranded two runners. But, the Warriors trailed by two as the game entered the bottom of the first inning.

C.J. Brucki walked to start the inning and later scored on an infield ground out off the bat of Paco Lauciello.

Jason Waner retired the next six Jackie Robinson hitters in order during the second and third innings. The Warriors scored a run in the bottom of the second inning after Tim Prendergast reached base on an infield hit and later scored on a double to rightfield by Ryan Knightly.

The Warriors took the lead in the bottom of the third inning when Jim Robley reached base on an infield error and later scored. The Warriors extended its lead in the bottom of the fourth inning as Lance Cardinal singled to leftfield to score Jack Lebert. Lance was promptly retired on an attempted steal of second base to end the inning.

Tim Prendergast held Jackie Robinson scoreless in the fourth inning. But, Jackie Robinson scored twice in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game.

Ryan Novak entered the game in relief for the Warriors and held Jackie Robinson scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings. But, the Warriors failed to score. The Warriors left the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jack Lebert walked to start the bottom of the seventh inning, but was thrown out attempting to steal before Tim Prendergast lined a base hit into centerfield. Tim would be the last baserunner of the evening for the Warriors.

Two Jackie Robinson batters drew walks in the top of the eighth inning. Both of these runners would eventually score before the inning came to a close. The Warriors went down quickly in the bottom of the eighth inning.

After losing a close game to the Illinois Celtics on Tuesday and getting slaughtered by the Oak Forest Blue Demons on Wednesday, the loss to Jackie Robinson makes three straight for the Warriors. A lack of timely hitting, an unusual number of infield errors and some passive outfield defense has contributed to some difficult losses over the past week. The Warriors look to end this three game skid a week from Sunday in Oak Forest.

JACKIE ROBINSON ALL STARS: 6 runs, 6 hits, 2 errors, 6 left on base
WARRIORS: 4 runs, 6 hits, 3 errors, 6 left on base

Blue Demons Defeat Warriors

The Oak Forest Blue Demons defeated the Warriors by a score of 15-0 in five innings of play at Humphrey #3 on Wednesday night.

The Warriors faced the perfect storm in this game. First, the regularly scheduled opponent from the Chicagoland Metro League (the New Lenox Rebels) cancelled. In an attempt to schedule a replacement team, we sent an open invitation to a number of full-time travel teams. The Blue Demons were the first to respond. Only later did we learn that the Blue Demons are an elite travel team.

It's challenging enough for our Warriors to face an elite travel team at this stage of our development. But, increasing the playing dimensions presented an additional challenge that led to a season record number of throwing errors by our infielders. Finally, the bitter cold weather made the whole experience a miserable one.

I give all of our four pitchers credit for battling out there in the wind and cold. And, our hitters did a good job of putting the ball in play. Only two Warriors hitters struck out all night. But, the Blue Demons made nearly all the plays defensively.

Due to the combination of all these factors, this event is being classified as a scrimmage and none of the individual player statistics will count in the season totals.

For those that are interested, here are the box score totals for the event:

WARRIORS: 0 runs, 1 hit, 4 errors, 4 left on base
BLUE DEMONS: 15 runs, 9 hits, 1 error, 9 left on base

Celtics Edge Warriors 4-3

CLICK HERE for updated team and player statistics through Game #5.

The Illinois Celtics defeated the Warriors by a score of 4-3 in seven innings at Centennial #4 on Tuesday night.

The Celtics struck first with three runs in the top of the first inning. The damage could have been much worse as the Celtics had three hits, two walks and reached base on an error in the inning. But, Ryan Novak struck out the final hitter of the inning as the Celtics left the bases loaded to keep the Warriors in the game.

The Warriors scored a run in the bottom of the frame when Tim Prendergast drew a walk with the bases loaded. But, the Warriors did not take advantage of two hits and two walks--leaving the bases loaded to end the inning with just one run scored.

The Warriors' starting pitcher, Ryan Novak, settled in and did not allow an earned run over the next four innings of work. The Celtics pushed a run across in the top of the fourth inning when the Warriors committed an infield error.

The Warriors chipped away by scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning when Paco Lauciello doubled to deep centerfield to score Jason Waner. The Warriors scored again in the bottom of the fourth inning when Jack Lebert hammered a double to deep centerfield and later scored on Ryan Knightly's infield single. The score was 4-3 in favor of the Celtics after four innings of play.

The Warriors threatened in the bottom of the fifth inning when Robbie Maxfield started the inning with a single to leftfield. Jason Waner walked. Then, with one out and a full count with runners on first and second base, the Warriors called a hit and run play. As Robbie Maxfield approached third base on the steal, the Warriors' clean-up hitter drove a ball into centerfield which was caught--and the toss into second base easily doubled Robbie to end the inning.

Tim Prendergast was impressive again in relief. He held the Celtics scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings--and allowed just one hit in his two innings of work.

The Warriors once again threatened in the bottom of the seventh inning. With runners on second and third base and just one out, the Celtics' closer struck out the next two hitters to preserve the one run victory.

CELTICS: 4 runs, 6 hits, 1 error, 8 left on base

WARRIORS: 3 runs, 8 hits, 2 errors, 11 left on base

A Few Photos From Grant Park

Last Sunday, I captured the following photos during my drive to Grant Park. Click on any picture to view a larger version of the image:

And, here are a few from past trips to the area:

Warriors Split Doubleheader at Grant Park

CLICK HERE to view the team and individual statistics through Game #4.

The Warriors split a doubleheader at Grant Park on Sunday afternoon.

In the opening game, the Warriors jumped out in front of Grant Park in the first inning. After Robbie Maxfield walked to lead off the game, Jason Waner lined a triple into leftfield to put the Warriors on the board. Sam Marc, Lance Cardinal and Tim Prendergast each singled in the inning. But, with two runs in and the bases loaded with just one out, the inning promptly ended on a double play ground ball back to the pitcher.

The Warriors would continue to leave runners stranded throughout this game--mostly as a result of some bad baserunning decisions and a lack of timely hitting. Grant Park scored 6 runs on only 4 hits, while the Warriors scored only 4 runs on 11 hits! The Warriors left 11 runners stranded compared to 6 runners left stranded for Grant Park.

The Warriors bounced back to win the second game of the doubleheader behind some strong pitching performances and more timely hitting. Ryan Novak continued to baffle opposing hitters--holding Grant Park to one run in his three innings of work. One of our newly implemented defensive plays led to a timely pickoff play which resulted in a well executed rundown in the second inning.

Tim Prendergast was impressive in both games of the doubleheader. Tim pitched 2 2/3rd innings in Game #1 without allowing a run--and then returned to throw three innings in Game #2 with just one run allowed. He struck out 10 hitters on Sunday including striking out the side in the sixth inning of Game #1.

Jason Waner returned to pitch the seventh inning of Game #2. He held Grant Park scoreless to record the team's first save of the season.

Offensively, C.J. Brucki and Lance Cardinal had breakout games. C.J. had four hits and a walk--including two extra base hits (a double and triple). C.J. elevated his batting average and on-base percentage to team leading totals of .700 and .769, respectively. Lance Cardinal had five solid hits on the day--including two doubles. And, Paco Lauciello had three hits on the day--including a triple to the opposite field. Paco drove in three runs on the day to bring his total for the season to 10 (a team leading total). Sam Marc also had three hits on the day--going to the opposite field twice for base hits on pitches on the outside corner of the plate.

I hope everyone enjoyed the day as much as I did. I was able to get to Grant Park earlier in the morning to look around and do some photography. I always enjoy spending time in the smaller towns in rural Illinois. Once I have some time to process my images, I'll probably share a few of them on this blog.

Warriors Impressive During Scrimmage

C.J. Brucki with 3 hits and 4 RBI in scrimmage

The Warriors played a nearly flawless game in this afternoon's scrimmage against the other 14U Warriors team.

The Warriors used four pitchers during the five innings of play. All of the pitchers threw scoreless innings. Lance Cardinal retired the side in order on just 11 pitches in the first inning. He completed a second scoreless inning before Tim Prendergast threw only 6 pitches to retire the side in order in the third inning. Ryan Tannebaum completed the fourth inning without yielding a run. And, Jack Lebert pitched the fifth, and final, inning of the game without allowing a run.

The Warriors offense exploded for 15 runs in the first four innings. C.J. Brucki had three hits and four RBI from the lead off spot. Ryan Novak had three hits from the #2 spot--and was retired only once on a line drive back to the pitcher. Sam Marc also had two hits in the contest.

Since this was a scrimmage and not an official game, none of the statistics count in the season totals.

Warriors Shutout Midlothian 14-0

Robbie Maxfield makes play of the game for final out

CLICK HERE for team and player statistics through Game #2

The Warriors won its second consecutive slaughter--beating Midlothian by a score of 14-0 in five innings.

The Warriors scored early and often in this one. The score was 10-0 in favor of the Warriors in the top of the first inning with just one out. Midlothian's pitchers settled in after that, allowing just four more runs in the next 4 2/3rds innings of play.

Notable hits in the game included three extra base hits: Anthony Lauciello (double), Jack Lebert (double) and Tim Prendergast (triple). Four players had multiple hits in the game: Anthony Lauciello (3 hits), Sam Marc (2 hits), Tim Prendergast (2 hits) and C.J. Brucki (2 hits).

Ryan Novak was the starting pitcher for the Warriors. Ryan pitched two scoreless innings and recorded the win. We struck out three hitters in this outing. Ryan Tannebaum also threw two scoreless innings. And, Jack Lebert retired Midlothian in order in the fifth inning with the assistance of a spectacular play by Robbie Maxfield at second base to end the game.

WARRIORS: 14 runs, 13 hits, 0 errors, 3 left on base
MIDLOTHIAN: 0 runs, 3 hits, 2 errors, 3 left on base

Seven Pitchers Throw in Scrimmage

Lance Cardinal gets game winning hit

The Warriors scrimmaged for seven innings against the other 14U Warriors team. The scrimmage was very competitive. The game ended when Lance Cardinal singled to leftfield with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to score Jason Waner and Paco Lauciello with the winning run.

The Warriors used seven pitchers, one per inning, in this scrimmage. Lance Cardinal pitched the first inning and loaded the bases before striking out the side to complete his one inning of work. Ryan Tannebaum pitched the second inning and yielded a lead off walk before getting the next three hitters in order. Jack Lebert allowed four runs in the third inning, but continued to throw strikes throughout the inning. Tim Prendergast allowed three runs in the fourth inning despite striking out three hitters. Jim Robley retired the side in order in the fifth inning with some help from the outfielders on two fly balls. Sam Marc allowed one run in the sixth inning and Paco Lauciello pitched the seventh inning for the Warriors.

On offense, Jason Waner scored three runs. Paco Lauciello had two RBI. Lance Cardinal had two hits and four RBI as the clean up hitter. Sam Marc drove in two runs. C.J. Brucki had two hits and a run scored. Tim Prendergast doubled. And, Robbie Maxfield had two base hits.

Scrimmages are not official games and therefore do not count in the team or individual statistic computations for the season.

Warriors Slaughter Patriots 27-2

CLICK HERE for team and player statistics through Game #1.

The Warriors opened its season with a 27-2 win over the Chicago Ridge Patriots on Sunday morning. This was the most runs scored in a single game in the history of the Warriors program.

Jason Waner was the starting pitcher for the Warriors. Jason held the Patriots scoreless through the first two innings. He allowed just one baserunner despite throwing from a longer distance (a Major League mound) for the first time in his career.

The Warriors scored three runs in the top of the first inning when Paco Lauciello singled sharply to rightfield to score Robbie Maxfield and Jason Waner. Jack Lebert then hit a long single to leftfield to score Paco. The Warriors would never trail in this one.

The game remained at 3-0 in favor of the Warriors until the third inning. The Warriors broke the game wide open with 14 runs in the top of the third inning. In a game reminiscent of last season's game at Jackie Robinson, the Warriors scored 14 runs in the inning despite recording just three hits (with just one ball hit out of the infield). A series of walks, hit batsmen and infield errors put the game out of reach for the Patriots.

Tim Prendergast was impressive in his two innings of work. Tim threw two shutout innings without allowing a hit. He walked two batters and struck out three.

The Warriors failed to score in the top of the fourth, but tagged on another ten runs in the top of the fifth inning. This time, the ten runs were scored after three hits--including a hard hit single up the middle by Sam Marc to score two runs. Ryan Novak also lined a single into leftfield to score another run. And, C.J. Brucki hammered a base hit into centerfield to score yet another run.

C.J. Brucki retired the Patriots in the fifth inning after allowing two runs. The game ended as a result of the slaughter rule after five complete innings of play.

WARRIORS: 27 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors, 7 left on base
PATRIOTS: 2 runs, 2 hits, 3 errors, 5 left on base

Attendance: 39 people and one small dog

Warriors Add New Plays on Defense

The Warriors covered a variety of defensive positioning strategies during this evening's practice. Those defensive plays cover bunt situations, various relays, cuts, double cuts and first & third strategies. I won't review our plays on this website as opposing teams have been known to learn our signals/signs in past seasons by stumbling across this information while doing a Google search!

The Warriors implemented the defensive strategies that are used by many high school, college and professional teams. I had to consult my notes to remember all the player responsibilities as it's been many seasons since I coached a team that was capable of executing these plays. We've usually designed alternative plays that made it easier for players to remember their responsibilities and easier for players lacking strong arms.

I've been coaching since I was in my early 20's--and it seems that every five seasons or so a special team comes around. One of those special teams was the 1990 Royals of the Santa Clara Pony League (the last team that successfully executed all of these plays). But, no team has been more enjoyable to coach than our current Warriors team.

1990 Santa Clara Royals (click to enlarge)

Switch Pitcher

CLICK HERE to view an interesting video that shows pitcher, Pat Venditte, thowing both right and left-handed in a Spring Training game between the Yankees and the Braves. Venditte is the only professional pitcher capable of throwing with either hand.

Warriors Announce Preliminary 2010 Schedule

The Warriors have announced its preliminary schedule for the 2010 season. CLICK HERE to view the current schedule. We will most likely be adding some games as the season goes along.

Sam Marc Wins Final Indoor Fielding Contest

Sam Marc edged out Robbie Maxfield in this morning's ground ball fielding contest. This was the last fielding contest which will be played on indoor turf.

Grant Lewis Pitches in Sandburg Opener

Click on photo to enlarge (photo by Glenn Nagel)

I had the pleasure of watching Grant Lewis pitch for the Carl Sandburg Eagles in its opening day game at Marist High School. Grant was impressive in his High School debut--throwing just 56 pitches to complete four scoreless innings!

Grant played two (2007 and 2008) seasons with the Warriors. He led the 2008 team in batting average, on-base % and runs batted in. Grant also led the pitching staff that season in earned run average as well as WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched). More importantly, he was one of our team leaders and was always a positive influence for the team. Grant continues to make significant progress as a baseball player. The Warriors are proud of Grant Lewis and wish him the best of luck in his High School career and beyond.

Other notable players on the Sandburg roster include two other former Warriors--Matt Hellmich and Brendan Conlon. Additionally, Omar Aqel, an OYA Pony League player last season, is on the Sandburg roster. Jimmy Smith, another OYA Pony League player from last season, appeared in the game for Marist High School. And, Jimmy is scheduled to pitch for Marist this afternoon.

Pick Off Move to 3B

Although we rarely attempt to pick a runner off third base, I think this pickoff move would be an effective one for our pitchers.

Jason Waner Wins Fielding Contest

Jason Waner edged out Ryan Knightley in this morning's ground ball fielding contest. This is Jason's second time winning the fielding contest during the Megaplex workouts.

Paco Lauciello Wins Ground Ball Challenge

Paco Lauciello was this morning's champion of the ground ball fielding competition. This was a notable achievement for two reasons. First, he competed against both of the 14U Warriors teams in the contest. Second, it's not easy for a catcher to win this challenge.

The Wilbur Wood Story: "Old School"

In my view, telling a player that he is "old school" is a high compliment. To me, it means that the player is strong enough to overcome adversity. Nearly every player on the Warriors is "old school." For example, Paco Lauciello exhibits an "old school" attitude when he resists resting an inning after catching six innings on a 90 degree plus day. Ryan Novak demonstrates his "old school" attitude by coming back to pitch the second game of a doubleheader after getting knocked out of the first game on a line drive back through the box. There are many examples of this mental toughness from our players.

When I was a kid, Wilbur Wood was a professional player who regularly exhibited this attitude. While pitching for the Chicago White Sox in 1973, Wood pitched five innings for the win over the Cleveland Indians in a suspended game. He then started the regularly scheduled game that same night and went on to win another game after pitching a four-hit shutout!

Two months later, Wood became the last pitcher in the history of baseball to pitch BOTH games of a doubleheader! He had a ridiculous 44 decision in 1973 (posting a record of 24 wins and 20 losses). He did this at the age of 42 (although the fact that he was a knuckle ball pitcher helped his endurance a great deal).

When Wood was 45 years old, his knee cap was shattered into a billion pieces after a line drive was hit directly back at him. Nearly everyone assumed that his career was over. Yet, he recovered enough to play two more seasons--although he lost his effectiveness on the mound after that injury. Wilbur Wood was definitely "old school".

We don't expect our Warriors to play while injured. But, we also do not expect them to give up easily--or to use excuses such as a hot day as a reason for not hustling. One of the lessons to be learned as a player on the Warriors is how to overcome adversity.

Jack Lebert Wins Ground Ball Challenge

Jack Lebert is now the reigning champion of the team's ground ball competition. Jack edged out Sam Marc in the finals of Saturday morning's competition at the Megaplex.

Warriors Enter a Fourth Tournament

The Warriors will be returning to the Oak Lawn Westside tournament this summer. The Westside tournament runs from June 24th through June 30th. The Warriors are now registered for four tournaments in 2010: Metro Memorial Weekend, Oak Lawn Westside, Lombard and Palos. The dates for all of these tournaments is documented in the "Schedule" link on the right side of the team's website.

Depending upon our budget situation moving forward, the team may register in a fifth tournament during the second week of July (potentially Frankfort, New Lenox or Worth).

March 1st Development Sessions

The team's sixth, and final, player development session which is scheduled for Monday, March 1st at Junior Diggins. Following are the assigned time slots:

6:00 - 7:00 pm
Robbie Maxfield & Ryan Tannebaum

7:15 - 8:15 pm
Paco Lauciello, Jim Robley, Ryan Novak

8:30 - 9:30 pm
Tim Prendergast, C.J. Brucki, Sam Marc & Jack Lebert

Warriors Add Palos to Tournament Schedule

The Warriors added a third tournament to its schedule. In addition to the Memorial Weekend and Lombard tournaments, the Warriors will now participate in the Palos July Rumble tournament. The Palos tournament will begin on Wednesday, July 14th and continue through Monday, July 19th. This tournament will conclude the Warriors' 2010 season.

The Warriors are attempting to schedule one more tournament earlier in the summer. One possibility is to return to the Oak Lawn Westside tournament in late June. However, before committing to this tournament again, we are awaiting announcements from Frankfort, New Lenox and Worth on its tournament dates.

One Last Registration Fee to Go

Thanks to everyone for getting the second installment of the registration fee to me on a timely basis. Now, there's just one final installment left.

The third and final installment of the registration fee represents the amount due to the OYA Pony League for recreational play. That amount is $205 and is due on Saturday, February 27th.

If a player makes his High School baseball team, we will refund the third installment as well as half of the second installment of the registration fee.

Shoes

OYA has negotiated a discounted price for matching baseball shoes with SportsStation. I received the following message this morning:

"Rather than having everyone go to Dicks and buying mismatched shoes, we've arranged for special pricing at SportsStation. Fitting will be all day Feb 13 and 14 at SportsStation. All the spiritwear will also be on display and availble for purchase. There will be two types of Mizuno shoes available: a low top shoe for $28 and a mid top shoe for $32."

If you need new shoes and haven't yet purchased them for the upcoming season, you might want to take advantage of this offer.

Warriors to Travel to Lombard

The Warriors will travel to Lombard to participate in the Lombard Baseball Tournament from Friday, July 2nd through Sunday, July 4th. This will be the first time that the Warriors will play in Lombard.

My hope was to return to the Hickory Hills Tournament during this time frame--the site of our 2008 tournament championship. But, Hickory Hills has just one Pony field without lights--which causes its tournament to span over ten days. If our team were to block out ten days of prime tournament dates to participate in a three game tournament--we would lose all flexibility to participate in a host of other tournaments and likely lost at least four of five games from our overall schedule. So, Lombard it is!

We are still seeking two more tournaments. Another distant tournament looks interesting (four game guarantee for our final tournament): Wheaton runs from July 15th through the 18th. Also, we are waiting for announcements from Palos, Frankfort and Worth on their tournament dates. Information will be posted on this site as soon as it becomes available.

Tournament Update

The Warriors will participate in its first tournament of the 2010 season on May 28th through May 31st. This is the Chicagoland Metro League 14U tournament. The site has not yet been announced, but past locations have included Midlothian and Frankfort.

Hickory Hills announced its tournament dates as June 29th through July 7th. I have not yet registered our team for that tournament. Hickory Hills has just one Pony field without lights, so the tournament extends over several days. If a team does not proceed through pool play, it will be idle for a week in July (prime tournament season). Lombard is also hosting a tournament within this time frame--and that tournament looks very promising.

After two decades, Orland Park stopped hosting a tournament last season. Now, two other towns that hosted some of my favorite tournaments over the past several years have decided not to continue: Oak Lawn Baseball for Boys and Homer Athletic Club. They point towards the decimation of their recreational in-house programs from full-time travel baseball as the reason for ending their tournament involvement. I talked with the tournament director from Homer and he pointed out that it didn't make sense to coordinate a tournament in which the host town does not have a team participating!

Now, I'm searching for replacement tournaments. I've called the Chicagoland Metro League director for assistance. Most towns will not announce tournaments until March. I'm expecting to see Lockport, Palos and New Lenox host tournaments--just to name a few. I've also placed a call to an OYA Board member to see if it's possible for us to host a 14U eight team tournament at Centennial Park. If that happens, I'll be looking for some volunteers to help me run it.

Another strong possibility is that our Warriors team will end up playing in at least one tournament with full-time travel teams. Tournaments with full-time travel teams will generally be more competitive--and the field dimensions increase (to 90 feet bases and 60' 6" pitching). Maybe that's a good thing as it would really stretch our players and force us to step up our level of play to remain competitive. Until our tournament schedule is set, I plan to practice the team at both the 80 and 90 feet field dimensions.

Please contact me with any questions or comments.

Jim Robley Wins Fielding Competition

For the second consecutive week, Jim Robley was the last player standing in the team's ground ball fielding elimination contest at the Megaplex. This morning, Jim beat Jason Waner in the finals. Last time, Jack Lebert was the runner-up. Winning this competition requires making some outstanding plays and consistently accurate throws.

For the Love of the Game: Andre Dawson

Major League Baseball recently announced that Andre "The Hawk" Dawson will be the next player to enter the Hall of Fame. Dawson was just one of three players in baseball history to record over 400 homers while stealing over 300 bases (along with Willie Mays and Barry Bonds).

People sometimes wonder how great Dawson might have been if it wasn't for his bad knees. He had 11 knee surgeries and two knee replacements. For years, he played in constant pain.

Dawson believed that getting away from the articifical turf in Montreal would prolong his career. He always had a desire to play for the Chicago Cubs. After the 1986 season, Dawson became a free agent and expressed his desire to play for the Cubs. Dallas Green, the Cubs' General Manager, did not wish to spend the money on Dawson--thinking that it was going to take a lot more than an expensive free agent signing to turn the Cubs around (the team had lost 91 games in 1986).

So, Dawson did something very unusual to make his wish to play for the Cubs come true. He handed the Cubs a blank contract--and asked the Cubs to fill in the amount! Eventually, the Cubs decided to pay Dawson $500k--an amount far below market value for the future Hall of Famer. Dawson went on to win a MVP with the Cubs--but the team still finished last that season.

Dawson declared that he loved the game so much that a major league team would have to "tear the uniform from his body" before he would quit. But, increasing pain from his knees forced him to reconsider while he was with the Boston Red Sox. Dawson said, "It's best that I walk away from the game while I can still walk myself."

Coaching Clinic with Sandburg Coaches

I was fortunate enough to attend a baseball clinic conducted by the Sandburg coaching staff earlier this evening. The Sandburg coaches did an outstanding job presenting the materials and were very patient in answering questions. They were more than willing to respond to all of my questions afterwards as well. I greatly appreciate that the Sandburg coaches volunteered to spend a couple of hours interacting with coaches from all of the OYA Warriors teams.

Despite having coached for a long time now, I almost always walk away from a baseball clinic having learned some new things. Even when familiar concepts are explained during a clinic, often times these concepts are communicated in a different way--using different terms--which can be very useful when trying to determine the best way of teaching the idea to a variety of players who have different learning styles.

I found it very interesting that much of the pitching fundamentals originate from Tom House--one of the premiere pitching coaches in the Major Leagues who worked closely with Nolan Ryan for a number of years. In the early 1990's, House conducted a similar clinic for the league that I was coaching in back then. And, most everything that I know about pitching originates from House's teachings.

After the clinic, I thought once again about the value of education. When one isn't educated, things tends to be viewed in black & white. That is, things can be usually be explained simply and easily. Baseball is particularly susceptible to this--as nearly every American man assumes that he is an expert in all aspects of the national past-time. Yet, those that make their living coaching the game have a greater appreciation for its complexity--and soon begin to specialize in just one aspect (pitching, hitting, etc.) as assuming much more than that becomes overwhelming!

The value of education isn't so much what we learn. It's real value is teaching us how much we don't yet understand--and still need to learn! And, that realization is what then prompts us to seek more knowledge--which leads to development.

"Education is learning what you didn't even know you didn't know." -- Daniel Boorstin, Historian

"Education is the progressive discovery of our own ignorance." -- Will Durant, Author

Season's Greetings from C5

Happy Holidays to all the Warriors players and their families.

Image captured from rightfield of Centennial #5:

Warriors Announce Megaplex Workout Schedule

The Warriors 2010 Megaplex workout schedule is now available for viewing. CLICK HERE or click on the "Schedule" link located on the right portion of the team's website to access the schedule. Please continue to monitor this site as the schedule is subject to change.

Warrior "Summit"

Here's a recent message from OYA President, Brian Gaspardo:

Hi Everyone,

The practice shirts and hats are finally in, and it's time to have our first summit of all the Warrior teams! All players along with at least one parent are asked to attend a meeting next FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27th AT 4 PM to receive the practice gear, meet the Board, discuss questions and plans for the upcoming season, and purchase Warrior gear for the coming season! The meeting will be at the Orland Park Civic Center adjacent to the Village Hall.

If you have a conflict and cannot attend, please let your coach know. If you have any specific questions in advance, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at oyawarriorsbg@gmail.com. We expect the meeting to last approximately an hour, and we will be covering a lot of ground, so please arrive at 4 PM sharp!

Thank you.

Remembering Walter Payton

November 1, 2009 marked ten years since the great Walter Payton passed away. So, why am I am I posting something about a football player on a baseball team's website? I think our players (or anyone for that matter) can learn much from how Walter Payton defined a winner:

“If you ask me how I want to be remembered, it is as a winner…a winner is somebody who gave his best effort, who has tried the hardest they possibly can…who has utilized every ounce of energy and strength within them to accomplish something. It doesn’t mean that they accomplished it or failed. It means they’ve given it their best. That’s a winner." – Walter Payton

As a tribute to Payton, the Chicago Bears prepared a video which you may view by clicking HERE. The extraordinary effort that Payton gave on the field is evident in many of these highlights.

Warriors Announce Preliminary Off-Season Schedule

The Warriors have 21 off-season events scheduled at this time. Please CLICK HERE or click on the "Schedule" link located on the right portion of this website to access the current schedule.

This schedule is preliminary and subject to change. As always, please be sure to check the website on a regular basis for revisions to the schedule.

The off-season events are optional. If a player experiences a conflict (e.g., other sports, school activities, homework assignments, etc.), he is expected to prioritize those things over these workouts. However, players are expected to notify me if they are unable to participate in a team event.

Please note that the registration fees will be collected in three installments. The first installment ($200) is due by Friday, November 20th. Checks should be made payable to "Orland Youth Association."

Parents' Meeting

Our team's parents meeting will be held on November 20th at the Leberts house. You have probably already received an invitation from Anne Lebert to attend a team gathering at her home for that night. The gathering will start at 7:00 pm.

As long as we will have most of the parents together that night, I would like to gather at 7:30 pm for a brief (15 or 20 minutes) meeting to get everyone's input on some open matters. If you are unable to make the meeting, please be sure to call me so that we can discuss the items outside of the meeting.

Roster Change

The Warriors have made an adjustment to its 2010 roster. James Ullrich has left the team to play for his hometown Orland Hills Timberwolves. C.J. Brucki will return to the Warriors to fill that open roster spot.

Grant Lewis

I had the pleaure of watching Grant Lewis pitch for the Orland Park Magic at Bremen High School in Midlothian this afternoon. Grant played two (2007 and 2008) seasons with the Warriors. He led the 2008 team in batting average, on-base % and runs batted in. Grant also led the pitching staff that season in earned run average as well as WHIP (walk and hits per inning pitched). More importantly, he was one of our team leaders and was always a positive influence for the team.

Grant continues to make significant progress as a baseball player. His performance this afternoon was impressive as he held High School players (including Seniors) scoreless in this outing. The Warriors are proud of Grant Lewis and wish him the best of luck in the upcoming seasons. Click on any photo for an enlarged view:

Baseball's Hall of Fame

My father and I visited the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York last week. This was my first visit to Cooperstown. You may CLICK HERE to view my photos from the trip. You can also click on any of the photos below to view an enlarged image.

I captured this photo of Doubleday Field. Legend has it that baseball was invented on or near this site.

The Hall of Fame is a "shrine" to baseball. Hopefully, this photo conveys the almost church-like environment inside the building:

Finally, I spent quite a bit of time reading the plaques for the individuals inducted into the Hall of Fame. CLICK HERE to view photos of some of my favorite individual plaques--including the First Class (the first five players inducted into the Hall of Fame): Babe Ruth, Christy Mattewson, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. I also included photos of the plaques of three of the players who we discuss often during practices: Fergie Jenkins, Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson. I pulled three of the plaques from the Chicago Cubs' famous double play combination and combined it with a popular poem from the times into Photoshop to create this poster:

A Visit to PNC Park

On September 8th, I visited PNC Park in Pittsburgh to watch the Chicago Cubs play the Pittsburgh Pirates. The following photo captured the first pitch of the game. You may click within the photo to see a larger version.

The Cubs lead off hitter, Ryan Theriot, started the game with a base hit. Then, the next seven Cubs batters also reached base safely on hits before the ninth batter of the inning, Ryan Dempster, was retired on a sacrifice bunt. The Cubs tied a Major League record with eight consecutive hits to start a game!

CLICK HERE to if you would like to view the rest of my photos from Pittsburgh from that day.

Warriors Announce Roster for 2010!

The rosters have been finalized for the 2010 season. We’ve decided to go with two Metro teams—both of which will have a mix of 13 and 14 year old players.

Tim Swiontek has already confirmed commitments from each of his 13 players. Please contact me at gnagel60@comcast.net or 708-846-1466 (cell) to confirm your commitment to next year’s Warriors team. Note that we are going with a reduced roster size this season to allow for fewer deactivations. All players will hold full-time roster spots with the exception of Jim Robley who once again prefers the part-time option this season. As I mentioned in some earlier blog postings, the registration costs for the travel team will increase somewhat (from $415 last year to approximately $500 this season). That increase will be dedicated to more playing time (fewer players on the roster) as well as more indoor professional development sessions this winter. Like last year, players will also incur the regular OYA Pony League registration fee.

The creation of this second team was very important as it allowed for more players to play baseball—and it allowed for us to allocate most (all but one) of the returning Warriors to one team. If only one team had survived, 13 less players would play baseball and at least four of the returning Warriors would have been replaced with new players based upon the independent tryout evaluations. But, the creation of the second team was a challenge. First, there was the issue of identifying a qualified coach. Then, the roster needed to be populated with enough quality players—even after some of the top performing players at the tryouts were approached by other full-time travel teams.

The first two steps of this process went forward with relative ease. Then, we were faced with a barrier. Tim Swiontek was unable to identify an assistant coach to help with the team! As you know, having success with one of these travel teams takes considerable time—and this requires assistance from other qualified coaches. After calling the parents of each of the 13 players, the team still only had one coach! This lack of an assistant coach was going to be a deal-breaker for forming the second team.

I approached Dennis Bresingham (the coach) to see if he would be willing to assist Tim with the other Warriors’ team. Dennis has the coaching experience—and more importantly a shared philosophy regarding coaching youth sports—to be a valuable addition to that team. More significantly, Dennis then had to ask his son if he would be willing to move to the other team for the benefit of both Warriors teams.

As most of you would agree, last year’s season was a very special one for the Warriors. As a second-year Warrior, Dennis Bresingham was an important part of that. At considerable sacrifice, Dennis has agreed to move from our team to play with the new team. His sacrifice (along with his father’s willingness to coach) resulted in the creation of this second team, keeping the remainder of Warriors playing together, and allowing us to keep our existing coaching staff (Jim Waner, Paul Lebert and Rich Tannebaum) in place. Please join me in expressing appreciation to Dennis for his decision.

I’m really looking forward to coaching this group of players for another season. I’ll be in touch soon regarding an optional Fall workout/scrimmage session for our Warriors!

Here are the rosters:

13/14U Warriors- Tim Swiontek

Bresingham, Dennis
Davis, Justin
Dempsey, Tyler
Giron, A.J.
Gurgone, Matt
Guitierrez, Julian
LeVigne, Matt
McHale, Shawn
Murphy, Matt
O’Connor, Patrick
Sichelski, Trent
Struzik, Zach
Swiontek, Scott

13/14U Warriors- Glenn Nagel

Cardinal, Lance
Knightly, Ryan
Lauciello, Anthony
Lebert, Jack
Marc, Sam
Maxfield, Robbie
Novak, Ryan
Prendergast, Tim
Robley, Jim (part-time)
Tannebaum, Ryan
Ullrich, James
Waner, Jason

Please do not hesitate to contact me at 708-846-1466 (cell) with any questions or comments.

"The Summer of 2009"

As always, we went into this season with three goals for this team: to learn more about baseball, to have fun and to develop a positive attitude and respect for the game and all of its participants. This group of players not only accomplished these initial goals--they went beyond them. They developed a sense of confidence and poise.

There was an overriding goal which went unstated, but which helped set the tone for this season. That goal was to create an environment where players can create lasting memories--memories that they can draw back upon in the future that instill a sense of confidence and help build character.

In the end, I like to think of the whole approach as "The Summer of 2009". By that I mean that this is a special period in the lives of our players that only comes around once--and will never be repeated. There will only be one Summer of 2009. Coaches and parents are fortunate to be a part of it. I'm pleased that all of our coaches shared this philosophy and always acted in a positive manner to maximize each player's experience.

I want to thank all of our players, parents and coaches for your support during this season. Everyone came together to make this a special season--and it is one that I will never forget.

Glenn Nagel