Friday, July 15, 2005
Wiffle Ball tourney in Kenly, NC
The 17th annual N.C. Wiffle Ball Tournament will be held July 23-24 at the Kenly Community Park.
The entry fee is $60 for each four-person team. For more information, contact Jeff Davis at (919) 284-1522 or Stevie Edwards at (919) 989-7723.&nbs ¶ 1:47 PM
The entry fee is $60 for each four-person team. For more information, contact Jeff Davis at (919) 284-1522 or Stevie Edwards at (919) 989-7723.&nbs ¶ 1:47 PM
Charity Wiffle ball tournament July 30
Calling all Wiffle(r) ball players! The New England Wiffle Association is holding its annual Wiffle ball tournament on Saturday, July 30 at the West School Athletic Complex in Stoughton. All net proceeds from this youth event, for ages 11-15, will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts.
The event is one of several tournaments that have taken place around New England, culminating in the New England Wiffle Association's Championship Playoffs, which are set to take place in Worcester during late August. The top finishing teams from each tournament receive bids to compete in the regional Championship. Typically, players travel from all over the Northeast to play in these events, which are designed to have a fun, relaxed and competitive atmosphere.
Like baseball, the game is played with pitching, hitting and fielding, but with no baserunning. Pitchers throw at a strike zone to determine balls and strikes, fielders catch fly balls and stop grounders, and batters try for singles, doubles, triples and homeruns, all marked by field lines and the fence. Double plays and sacrifice flies add to the action.
The tournament is open to anyone who wants to enter. Youth teams may consist of two to six players with a tournament entry fee of $60 for a team of three, plus $5 for each additional player. Fee includes bats, balls and a minimum of three full games. Teams can sign up online at www.newazone.com. All net proceeds from the youth tournament will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts, whose mission is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. For more information on NEWA, including complete rules, pictures, and video, go to www.newazone.com, call the 617-824-GAME hotline, or e-mail staff@newazone.com.&nbs ¶ 1:45 PM
The event is one of several tournaments that have taken place around New England, culminating in the New England Wiffle Association's Championship Playoffs, which are set to take place in Worcester during late August. The top finishing teams from each tournament receive bids to compete in the regional Championship. Typically, players travel from all over the Northeast to play in these events, which are designed to have a fun, relaxed and competitive atmosphere.
Like baseball, the game is played with pitching, hitting and fielding, but with no baserunning. Pitchers throw at a strike zone to determine balls and strikes, fielders catch fly balls and stop grounders, and batters try for singles, doubles, triples and homeruns, all marked by field lines and the fence. Double plays and sacrifice flies add to the action.
The tournament is open to anyone who wants to enter. Youth teams may consist of two to six players with a tournament entry fee of $60 for a team of three, plus $5 for each additional player. Fee includes bats, balls and a minimum of three full games. Teams can sign up online at www.newazone.com. All net proceeds from the youth tournament will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts, whose mission is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. For more information on NEWA, including complete rules, pictures, and video, go to www.newazone.com, call the 617-824-GAME hotline, or e-mail staff@newazone.com.&nbs ¶ 1:45 PM
Edwin A. Keach memorial Fund Wiffleball Tournament
A Wiffle Ball tournament in honor of Edwin Keach will be held at Miltia Park in North Easton, MA on Saturday, July, 30. All proceeds will help to benefit the Edwin A. Keach Memorial Fund. The deadline for registration, which is open to people of all ages, is July 26. A maximum of five players are allowed per team. A home run derby will be held as well.
For a registration form and information regarding the rules of play, visit www.edwinkeach.com.&nbs ¶ 1:43 PM
For a registration form and information regarding the rules of play, visit www.edwinkeach.com.&nbs ¶ 1:43 PM
New England youth Wiffleball Event info for July 30th
Sign up for Wiffle youth tourney
The New England Wiffle Association is holding its annual Wiffle ball tournament on Saturday, July 30, at the West School Athletic Complex in Stoughton.
All net proceeds from this event for ages 11-15, will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts.
The event is one of several tournaments that have taken place around New England, culminating in the New England Wiffle Association's Championship Playoffs, which are set to take place in Worcester during late August.
The top finishing teams from each tournament receive bids to compete in the regional championship.
Youth team may consist of 2 to 6 players with a tournament entry fee of $60 for a team of three, plus $5 for each additional player. Fee includes bats, balls and a minimum of three full games.
Teams can sign up online at www.newazone.com. For more information on NEWA, visit the Web site, which includes complete rules, pictures and a video or call 617-824-GAME hotline or email the staff at @newazone.com&nbs ¶ 1:40 PM
The New England Wiffle Association is holding its annual Wiffle ball tournament on Saturday, July 30, at the West School Athletic Complex in Stoughton.
All net proceeds from this event for ages 11-15, will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Massachusetts.
The event is one of several tournaments that have taken place around New England, culminating in the New England Wiffle Association's Championship Playoffs, which are set to take place in Worcester during late August.
The top finishing teams from each tournament receive bids to compete in the regional championship.
Youth team may consist of 2 to 6 players with a tournament entry fee of $60 for a team of three, plus $5 for each additional player. Fee includes bats, balls and a minimum of three full games.
Teams can sign up online at www.newazone.com. For more information on NEWA, visit the Web site, which includes complete rules, pictures and a video or call 617-824-GAME hotline or email the staff at @newazone.com&nbs ¶ 1:40 PM
Thursday, July 14, 2005
Stanton Island Wiffleball League Update
YBN- Stanton Island Commish settin' it out the table to the remainder of the league. Click ithttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif&nbs
¶ 10:40 PM
New Wiffle League forming
Upstart league looking for some input on rules and more. Hit the post on the blog of Bill Colrus.com. They say a new Wiffle Blog will be coming.&nbs
¶ 10:34 PM
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Sad but true reality of no more pickup baseball games.
The Following article is by Kirby Arnold from the http://www.heraldnet.com
Children play baseball on their computers, not with bats and balls
News flash: Kids don't play baseball on their own anymore. I don't mean the youth league programs where the kids practice once a week, play twice and call it a busy schedule. PlayStation doesn't count, either.
I mean the summer morning pickup games at the neighborhood parks and schools, where Mom always knows where the kids are and lunchtime happens when the last good baseball falls apart or flies into the woods.
Kids don't play ball on their own anymore.
I've heard that line so many times the past several years - from coaches at the high school level to major league executives - that I decided to check for myself the other day to see how true it is. I took a two-hour drive to ballfields in Snohomish County - school fields, church fields, city park fields - to see just how many kids were playing a kid's game.
The answer: none.
On the most beautiful July morning you'll get around here, 65 degrees and blue skies, there wasn't a bat or ball to be found. OK, one. A group of men and women were playing softball.
Oh, there were kids outside doing things.
One group was playing soccer at a high school. Another took part in a tennis clinic at a park. One kid found the perfect place to fly his model airplane, an empty baseball field. Another shredded his way around a skateboard park in complete peace next to a deserted ballfield. Others were waiting for busses at the mall.
Twenty fields, and the only people on them were those twenty-somethings playing softball.
The emptiness of the diamonds spoke loudly.
Kids aren't playing ball on their own like they once did and - whether the reason is video games, MTV, the Internet, laziness, Mom joining the workforce or all of the above - the impact is apparent at all levels of baseball.
Jim Waller, who has coached baseball at Oak Harbor High School for 27 years, sees a difference in the talent at his level just like the pro scouts do at theirs.
"I don't see the depth in the players we're getting anymore," he said.
The best players are better than they were 10 years ago because of private instruction and year-round programs, he said, but after them the quality drops.
"For a high school team, the middle to the bottom kids who fill out your lineup, they aren't as well-rounded," Waller said.
Why? Because kids aren't outside on beautiful July days banging the ball around and having fun with their buddies, not realizing that in the process they're learning how to push an outside pitch the opposite way or short-hop a topspin grounder.
"I also help coach basketball, and I don't think kids are as intense or as passionate about athletics as they used to be," Waller said.
Like so many of us who grew up in the 1950s and '60s, Waller spent his days outside playing whatever sport was in season, baseball in the summer, football in the fall and basketball in the winter.
He has three sons, the oldest 24, and has seen each of the younger ones spend less time playing sports on their own than the older ones.
"They used to play WiffleBall in the back yard, but the younger ones are more into video games and just hanging out," Waller said. "I don't know if that's necessarily bad. If you're a baseball person, I guess it is.
"But this is an electronic age and it has engaged kids in other ways. They play baseball on their video games, and they can pretend to be Barry Bonds or Randy Johnson on the video screen."
Major league teams notice it, too.
Two years ago, in the midst of the Jeff Cirillo flop, I asked former Mariners general manager Pat Gillick why it's so difficult to find a quality third baseman.
His short answer: Kids aren't playing baseball.
The long answer: "More of the best athletes are playing basketball and soccer now, not baseball. The pool is smaller, and when a team has a good one they hold onto him."
And when the good ones become available as free agents, they get huge contracts.
That's why Adrian Beltre cost the Mariners $64 million over five years, and why their search for a left-handed power-hitting left fielder is now in its trillionth year.
So kids, round up a few buddies and get out your bats, balls and gloves - those dusty things way back in the closet - and spend your mornings at the ballfields.
Nobody else is on them.
By Kirby Arnold&nbs ¶ 2:30 PM
Children play baseball on their computers, not with bats and balls
News flash: Kids don't play baseball on their own anymore. I don't mean the youth league programs where the kids practice once a week, play twice and call it a busy schedule. PlayStation doesn't count, either.
I mean the summer morning pickup games at the neighborhood parks and schools, where Mom always knows where the kids are and lunchtime happens when the last good baseball falls apart or flies into the woods.
Kids don't play ball on their own anymore.
I've heard that line so many times the past several years - from coaches at the high school level to major league executives - that I decided to check for myself the other day to see how true it is. I took a two-hour drive to ballfields in Snohomish County - school fields, church fields, city park fields - to see just how many kids were playing a kid's game.
The answer: none.
On the most beautiful July morning you'll get around here, 65 degrees and blue skies, there wasn't a bat or ball to be found. OK, one. A group of men and women were playing softball.
Oh, there were kids outside doing things.
One group was playing soccer at a high school. Another took part in a tennis clinic at a park. One kid found the perfect place to fly his model airplane, an empty baseball field. Another shredded his way around a skateboard park in complete peace next to a deserted ballfield. Others were waiting for busses at the mall.
Twenty fields, and the only people on them were those twenty-somethings playing softball.
The emptiness of the diamonds spoke loudly.
Kids aren't playing ball on their own like they once did and - whether the reason is video games, MTV, the Internet, laziness, Mom joining the workforce or all of the above - the impact is apparent at all levels of baseball.
Jim Waller, who has coached baseball at Oak Harbor High School for 27 years, sees a difference in the talent at his level just like the pro scouts do at theirs.
"I don't see the depth in the players we're getting anymore," he said.
The best players are better than they were 10 years ago because of private instruction and year-round programs, he said, but after them the quality drops.
"For a high school team, the middle to the bottom kids who fill out your lineup, they aren't as well-rounded," Waller said.
Why? Because kids aren't outside on beautiful July days banging the ball around and having fun with their buddies, not realizing that in the process they're learning how to push an outside pitch the opposite way or short-hop a topspin grounder.
"I also help coach basketball, and I don't think kids are as intense or as passionate about athletics as they used to be," Waller said.
Like so many of us who grew up in the 1950s and '60s, Waller spent his days outside playing whatever sport was in season, baseball in the summer, football in the fall and basketball in the winter.
He has three sons, the oldest 24, and has seen each of the younger ones spend less time playing sports on their own than the older ones.
"They used to play WiffleBall in the back yard, but the younger ones are more into video games and just hanging out," Waller said. "I don't know if that's necessarily bad. If you're a baseball person, I guess it is.
"But this is an electronic age and it has engaged kids in other ways. They play baseball on their video games, and they can pretend to be Barry Bonds or Randy Johnson on the video screen."
Major league teams notice it, too.
Two years ago, in the midst of the Jeff Cirillo flop, I asked former Mariners general manager Pat Gillick why it's so difficult to find a quality third baseman.
His short answer: Kids aren't playing baseball.
The long answer: "More of the best athletes are playing basketball and soccer now, not baseball. The pool is smaller, and when a team has a good one they hold onto him."
And when the good ones become available as free agents, they get huge contracts.
That's why Adrian Beltre cost the Mariners $64 million over five years, and why their search for a left-handed power-hitting left fielder is now in its trillionth year.
So kids, round up a few buddies and get out your bats, balls and gloves - those dusty things way back in the closet - and spend your mornings at the ballfields.
Nobody else is on them.
By Kirby Arnold&nbs ¶ 2:30 PM
