Monday, August 15, 2005
Area Wiffle Ball tournament generates scholarship funds
By DALE MEGGAS
The News Sun
By day, Kelley Worden is the parish nurse at Lakewood Presbyterian Church on Detroit Avenue and her husband, David is an information technician at Fairview Hospital.
But one weekend a year in early August, the Wordens along with their 21-year-old son David, see their share of Wiffle Balls flying over temporary fences.
The fifth annual JAYBall Wiffle Ball Tournament took place at Brook Park Recreation with the winners being those from Midpark High School who will receive scholarship money from proceeds collected from the tournament, which honors Jayson Worden, who died in a 2000 car accident.
With five fields covering the outfield area of a regulation baseball field, the 2005 JAYBall tournament was played on the soft grassy area of the diamond from morning to evening on both Saturday and Sunday with nearly 40 teams vying for titles in four age categories.
We looked into golf tournaments and spaghetti dinners, said Kelley Worden, when asked how her family turned to the plastic ball version of baseball.
Jay and his brother, David, and their friends used to play in what was called Yardball, which was tournament played at Edgewater Park and was sponsored by Major League Baseball. We thought that would be something that Jayson would have liked, she added.
The JAYBall tournament is for teams of three or four players who play five inning games with modified rules clearly spelled out. One finds a ground ball is fielded by a defensive player inside the infield arc, the lead runner, if forced, is out. Another has defensive players able to get an out when a runner is trying to advance by hitting the runner anywhere below the head. Teams play with provided plastic bats and balls.
Those Midpark students who receive the scholarship money are not the typical students receiving aid to attend college through monies from the Jason R. Worden Character Foundation.
Jayson was one of those kids who would reach out to the last kid picked for a team or the new kid on the block, explained Kelley Worden. So when we decided to furnish scholarship money from the tournament, we decided that those who receive the funds be those kind of kids that Jayson reached out to.
We know that there are plenty of scholarships out there for athletes and the brightest students. We get help from the school counselors and look for the kids who apply for the scholarships that have shown great character or improved their academics the most from the time they started in high school, she added.
Five years later, the list of sponsors continues to grow. Companies or fraternal organizations are there to help supply time, services or funds to help the volunteer group stay focused on its mission to honor Jayson and give a helping hand to those who need a boost to attend college.
We didn't have enough fencing for the outfields and we were able to borrow some from the Brecksville Recreation Department and they brought it to us, said a thankful Worden, who acknowledged the outstanding support from the Brook Park Recreation Department.
While reverse raffles have their side bars, the JAYBall Tournament has a home run hitting contest for those who didn't finish on top in team play or were unable to participate or get a team together.
And for those who don't wish to swing a bat or tag a runner out by hitting him or her with the plastic ball from the shoulders or below, there were other ways to participate.
Many of our sponsors were able to give us prizes that we could give away by either a silent auction or raffle off, said Kelley Worden.
We've come a long way from that first year when we had nine teams, said Worden. We just want it to continue to grow each year.
While the list of those who help out is long, the elder David Worden said four families are very strong in their support.
When you are asked to mention those to thank you're afraid of leaving someone, he said. But I would like to mention a few families. The Gillissie, Tamas, DiRienzo and Mazza families have been a great help.
Those wishing to help or those looking forward to play in the 2006 tournament can contact the Wordens by e-mail at JAYBAll@sbcglobal.net.
© 2005 Sun Newspapers
© 2005 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.&nbs ¶ 3:15 AM
The News Sun
By day, Kelley Worden is the parish nurse at Lakewood Presbyterian Church on Detroit Avenue and her husband, David is an information technician at Fairview Hospital.
But one weekend a year in early August, the Wordens along with their 21-year-old son David, see their share of Wiffle Balls flying over temporary fences.
The fifth annual JAYBall Wiffle Ball Tournament took place at Brook Park Recreation with the winners being those from Midpark High School who will receive scholarship money from proceeds collected from the tournament, which honors Jayson Worden, who died in a 2000 car accident.
With five fields covering the outfield area of a regulation baseball field, the 2005 JAYBall tournament was played on the soft grassy area of the diamond from morning to evening on both Saturday and Sunday with nearly 40 teams vying for titles in four age categories.
We looked into golf tournaments and spaghetti dinners, said Kelley Worden, when asked how her family turned to the plastic ball version of baseball.
Jay and his brother, David, and their friends used to play in what was called Yardball, which was tournament played at Edgewater Park and was sponsored by Major League Baseball. We thought that would be something that Jayson would have liked, she added.
The JAYBall tournament is for teams of three or four players who play five inning games with modified rules clearly spelled out. One finds a ground ball is fielded by a defensive player inside the infield arc, the lead runner, if forced, is out. Another has defensive players able to get an out when a runner is trying to advance by hitting the runner anywhere below the head. Teams play with provided plastic bats and balls.
Those Midpark students who receive the scholarship money are not the typical students receiving aid to attend college through monies from the Jason R. Worden Character Foundation.
Jayson was one of those kids who would reach out to the last kid picked for a team or the new kid on the block, explained Kelley Worden. So when we decided to furnish scholarship money from the tournament, we decided that those who receive the funds be those kind of kids that Jayson reached out to.
We know that there are plenty of scholarships out there for athletes and the brightest students. We get help from the school counselors and look for the kids who apply for the scholarships that have shown great character or improved their academics the most from the time they started in high school, she added.
Five years later, the list of sponsors continues to grow. Companies or fraternal organizations are there to help supply time, services or funds to help the volunteer group stay focused on its mission to honor Jayson and give a helping hand to those who need a boost to attend college.
We didn't have enough fencing for the outfields and we were able to borrow some from the Brecksville Recreation Department and they brought it to us, said a thankful Worden, who acknowledged the outstanding support from the Brook Park Recreation Department.
While reverse raffles have their side bars, the JAYBall Tournament has a home run hitting contest for those who didn't finish on top in team play or were unable to participate or get a team together.
And for those who don't wish to swing a bat or tag a runner out by hitting him or her with the plastic ball from the shoulders or below, there were other ways to participate.
Many of our sponsors were able to give us prizes that we could give away by either a silent auction or raffle off, said Kelley Worden.
We've come a long way from that first year when we had nine teams, said Worden. We just want it to continue to grow each year.
While the list of those who help out is long, the elder David Worden said four families are very strong in their support.
When you are asked to mention those to thank you're afraid of leaving someone, he said. But I would like to mention a few families. The Gillissie, Tamas, DiRienzo and Mazza families have been a great help.
Those wishing to help or those looking forward to play in the 2006 tournament can contact the Wordens by e-mail at JAYBAll@sbcglobal.net.
© 2005 Sun Newspapers
© 2005 cleveland.com All Rights Reserved.&nbs ¶ 3:15 AM
Wiffleball tourney set for Sandown
By Mike Smith
sports@seacoastonline.com
Complete Sports Index
It may not be as large as Woodstock, but SandownÕs Mitch Mencis is hoping that "Wiffle Stock" will one day carry the same legendary aura as the 1969 music festival that was held in upstate New York.
Actually, that may be stretching it a bit, but Mencis is attempting to establish the "Wiffle Stock" Wiffleball tournament at his home field in Sandown, with the first tournament scheduled for Aug. 20 and Aug. 21 at Mencis Field, located at 56 North Road in Sandown.
Mencis, who recently attended a 165-team tournament in Hopkinton, Mass., is hopeful tournaments in the coming years can see the same type of response in southern New Hampshire as people flock to play the game many youngsters grew up with in their back yards on and the street.
"ItÕs a growing thing," said Mencis, a Timberlane Regional High School graduate who played soccer for the Owls and continues to play for the Kingston Braves. "But itÕs not that big in New Hampshire and there was nothing around here. We only started planning this about six weeks ago. WeÕre hoping for 50 teams and weÕre going to make it an annual event."
The entry fee is $100 per team and the team winning the tournament will take home a $1,000 prize. Teams can be from one to five players and hits are determined by lines on a field measuring approximately 60 feet between the foul poles and home run distance is 75 to 80 feet. There are no base runners so the tournament is open to all ages and mixed gender teams are common.
"A friend of mine was going to play in a tournament and I thought he was kidding," said Mencis. "Then I saw how many teams there were and players were of all ages. ThereÕs no running. ThatÕs why my dad likes it. IÕm trying to get him to play, but I think heÕs more interested in running the concession stand.
"You donÕt have to have an organized team," added Mencis. "Call a couple of buddies and come down and play."
The tournament is set to begin Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. Those interested in entering a team should contact Mencis at mencism@comcast.net or register prior to 9 a.m. on the day of the tournament.
The tournament is open to players of all ages and doesnÕt require any equipment, as it will be provided. There is also no running as base hits are determined by lines on the field of play or by how the defense handles batted balls. A radar gun will be used to make sure pitches are thrown within the 35 mph limit.&nbs ¶ 3:13 AM
sports@seacoastonline.com
Complete Sports Index
It may not be as large as Woodstock, but SandownÕs Mitch Mencis is hoping that "Wiffle Stock" will one day carry the same legendary aura as the 1969 music festival that was held in upstate New York.
Actually, that may be stretching it a bit, but Mencis is attempting to establish the "Wiffle Stock" Wiffleball tournament at his home field in Sandown, with the first tournament scheduled for Aug. 20 and Aug. 21 at Mencis Field, located at 56 North Road in Sandown.
Mencis, who recently attended a 165-team tournament in Hopkinton, Mass., is hopeful tournaments in the coming years can see the same type of response in southern New Hampshire as people flock to play the game many youngsters grew up with in their back yards on and the street.
"ItÕs a growing thing," said Mencis, a Timberlane Regional High School graduate who played soccer for the Owls and continues to play for the Kingston Braves. "But itÕs not that big in New Hampshire and there was nothing around here. We only started planning this about six weeks ago. WeÕre hoping for 50 teams and weÕre going to make it an annual event."
The entry fee is $100 per team and the team winning the tournament will take home a $1,000 prize. Teams can be from one to five players and hits are determined by lines on a field measuring approximately 60 feet between the foul poles and home run distance is 75 to 80 feet. There are no base runners so the tournament is open to all ages and mixed gender teams are common.
"A friend of mine was going to play in a tournament and I thought he was kidding," said Mencis. "Then I saw how many teams there were and players were of all ages. ThereÕs no running. ThatÕs why my dad likes it. IÕm trying to get him to play, but I think heÕs more interested in running the concession stand.
"You donÕt have to have an organized team," added Mencis. "Call a couple of buddies and come down and play."
The tournament is set to begin Aug. 20 at 10 a.m. Those interested in entering a team should contact Mencis at mencism@comcast.net or register prior to 9 a.m. on the day of the tournament.
The tournament is open to players of all ages and doesnÕt require any equipment, as it will be provided. There is also no running as base hits are determined by lines on the field of play or by how the defense handles batted balls. A radar gun will be used to make sure pitches are thrown within the 35 mph limit.&nbs ¶ 3:13 AM
A Whiff of Sportswriting
This story didn't make the online edition for some reason. And got severely lobotomized in the printing/editing process. So here it is in its entirety.
By RICK HARRISON
STAFF WRITER
SOUTH PLAINFIELD: Steve Cavico of the Kane Park professional whiffle-ball team in South Plainfield heard more than he saw. Standing stolid, 48 feet from the mound and gripping the wooden handle of his wide plastic blue-barreled bat, he last saw the hollow, hole-filled ball leave the pitcher's hand near his ankles, whipping the grass with a sputtering whistle until it quickly rose and smacked the sheet- metal striike zone, almost at his neck. Cavico could only freeze in admiration.
"Oohh, nice pitch," he said. "Whoa!''
If you haven't heard of Kane Park, it is likely you have never been in Kevin Kane's backyard, which bears that stadium-like nickname and which is where the team had its humble beginnings. And you likely haven't heard of the FastPlastic professional whiffle ball league, which had its last regional qualifying tournament of the season yesterday at Veterans Park in South Plainfield. Kane and Cavico's teammate Kris Nagy is the Northeast regional director.
"What you can do with a whiffle ball simulates high competition baseball, and the guys are great,'' said Nagy, 25, who is from South Plainfield but currently lives in The Bronx, N.Y., and works for an environmental engineering firm in Manhattan. "It's all see-the-ball, hit-the-ball with this game. Half the battle is seeing the ball.''
And this sport, moving from backyards to the big time across the country, is something to see.
Yesterday morning, Kane Park, whose four-member team wear matching blue-and-orange jerseys, battled mightily in a 2-0 loss against the pitcher from The Old School Risers, a Maryland team that traveled the farthest for this 16-team all-day tournament. In addition to that wicked rising fastball, the Maryland pitcher throws an evil split-fingered something that looks like a beautiful meatball before dropping clear out of sight.
"If you've never seen a pitcher before, he's very tough to hit and see what he's doing," said Cavico, 34, a technology salesman from Brick. "But we've hit guys like this before. Sometimes it's early in the morning, and you're barely awake."
Rather than wake before dawn, Nagy and Kane, 27, who teaches history and law at Woodbridge High School, set up the eight fields Friday, taking five hours to erect the carefully measured orange construction netting and PVC pipe that mark the backstops and outfield fences. Kane said that the materials cost about $1,500, which includes insurance to use the park, and comes out of each team's $100 entrance fee.
The top prize for this tournament was $400, with second place worth $200. But the real prize is in accumulating enough points over the season to qualify for the playoffs, and a chance to win travel expenses and the honor of representing the region at the national tournament in Austin, Texas, this Columbus Day Weekend.
Last year, The Swingers from Middletown blew through the field of 40 teams from 14 regions across the country, riding a 9-0 record to the national championship and a $3,500 cash prize. With the sport's growing popularity, this year's prize is expected to be $5,000.
FastPlastic plays six innings of whiffle ball, in which teams of two to five players compete in a game with imaginary runners. Three strikes are an out, and four balls are a walk. A pitcher and two fielders can field ground balls for outs if they catch them on a fly or handle them cleanly in front of a line painted on the ground and then make a smooth throw to the backstop. Balls that stop rolling before a fielder or that pass them are singles. Balls that roll to the outfield fences are doubles; those that hit them on a fly are triples. And over the fence is a home run.
Hits advance imaginary runners much as real runners would in a baseball game. A single scores a man on second. Doubles clear the bases. There are other peculiar rules, but mostly they adhere to those of Major League Baseball.
The average age of players hovers in the mid-20s, though Kane said that they had a 45-year-old play in a previous tournament. And although one-time San Francisco Giants pitcher Chuck Hensley played in Texas last year, these are not world-class athletes.
The Niffs, a team from New Hyde Park in Long Island, N.Y., swig from Budweiser cans at 9 a.m. and smoke cigarettes between at-bats. Does this cause them any trouble with, say, eye-hand coordination? "Right now, no,'' said Nick Tullo, who said he was "20...um, 21."
But, as The Wiffled Wonders from South Plainfield are learning, it takes some considerable skill. Playing against the Hit Men from Vineland, Wonders pitcher Jimmy Quartuccio was feeling his age: 15.
"I thought I'm gonna play people my own age," Jimmy said of his first pro game in April. "And I come here and people are driving their cars and bringing their kids. I'm the youngest guy around here."
Jimmy, who plays baseball for Colonia High School, was on the mound against the Hit Men in his green-sleeved baseball shirt and green kneesocks. As sweat fell from his brown moptop and scraggly facial hair, he slid into his wind-up again and again, throwing hard, but throwing many more balls than strikes.
After the game, Elvin Cortez, 33, of the Hit Men told Jimmy: "You've got to take your lumps. Throw strikes. If you overthrow all the time, you're gonna get hurt."
Which is just what happened to Jerry Riso, 31, of the defending champion Swingers. "I threw too much last year, and it was doctor time," he said. "I never thought I'd have to go to the doctor for whiffle ball."
But the ball itself requires doctoring to achieve that insane movement. "You've got to scuff up the ball the right way," Kane said. "You can't take it out of the box and throw.''
Dan Erhardt, 17, of the Wiffled Wonders said he buys a dozen balls at a time. "I have a two-hour ritual," he said. "I sit in my driveway and rub them against the pavement in the blazing sun and number them. One time we used a cheese grater."
As the sun receded and the Mud Ducks beat the Swingers 3-0 to win the tournament at 7:30 p.m., almost everyone agreed their sport was ready for primetime.
"This should be on ESPN," Dan "Neif" Ennis of the Niffs said between drags on his cigarette. "They have hot-dog eating contests, Scrabble and Foosball tournaments. Why not whiffle ball?"
The answer was easy to see.&nbs ¶ 3:11 AM
By RICK HARRISON
STAFF WRITER
SOUTH PLAINFIELD: Steve Cavico of the Kane Park professional whiffle-ball team in South Plainfield heard more than he saw. Standing stolid, 48 feet from the mound and gripping the wooden handle of his wide plastic blue-barreled bat, he last saw the hollow, hole-filled ball leave the pitcher's hand near his ankles, whipping the grass with a sputtering whistle until it quickly rose and smacked the sheet- metal striike zone, almost at his neck. Cavico could only freeze in admiration.
"Oohh, nice pitch," he said. "Whoa!''
If you haven't heard of Kane Park, it is likely you have never been in Kevin Kane's backyard, which bears that stadium-like nickname and which is where the team had its humble beginnings. And you likely haven't heard of the FastPlastic professional whiffle ball league, which had its last regional qualifying tournament of the season yesterday at Veterans Park in South Plainfield. Kane and Cavico's teammate Kris Nagy is the Northeast regional director.
"What you can do with a whiffle ball simulates high competition baseball, and the guys are great,'' said Nagy, 25, who is from South Plainfield but currently lives in The Bronx, N.Y., and works for an environmental engineering firm in Manhattan. "It's all see-the-ball, hit-the-ball with this game. Half the battle is seeing the ball.''
And this sport, moving from backyards to the big time across the country, is something to see.
Yesterday morning, Kane Park, whose four-member team wear matching blue-and-orange jerseys, battled mightily in a 2-0 loss against the pitcher from The Old School Risers, a Maryland team that traveled the farthest for this 16-team all-day tournament. In addition to that wicked rising fastball, the Maryland pitcher throws an evil split-fingered something that looks like a beautiful meatball before dropping clear out of sight.
"If you've never seen a pitcher before, he's very tough to hit and see what he's doing," said Cavico, 34, a technology salesman from Brick. "But we've hit guys like this before. Sometimes it's early in the morning, and you're barely awake."
Rather than wake before dawn, Nagy and Kane, 27, who teaches history and law at Woodbridge High School, set up the eight fields Friday, taking five hours to erect the carefully measured orange construction netting and PVC pipe that mark the backstops and outfield fences. Kane said that the materials cost about $1,500, which includes insurance to use the park, and comes out of each team's $100 entrance fee.
The top prize for this tournament was $400, with second place worth $200. But the real prize is in accumulating enough points over the season to qualify for the playoffs, and a chance to win travel expenses and the honor of representing the region at the national tournament in Austin, Texas, this Columbus Day Weekend.
Last year, The Swingers from Middletown blew through the field of 40 teams from 14 regions across the country, riding a 9-0 record to the national championship and a $3,500 cash prize. With the sport's growing popularity, this year's prize is expected to be $5,000.
FastPlastic plays six innings of whiffle ball, in which teams of two to five players compete in a game with imaginary runners. Three strikes are an out, and four balls are a walk. A pitcher and two fielders can field ground balls for outs if they catch them on a fly or handle them cleanly in front of a line painted on the ground and then make a smooth throw to the backstop. Balls that stop rolling before a fielder or that pass them are singles. Balls that roll to the outfield fences are doubles; those that hit them on a fly are triples. And over the fence is a home run.
Hits advance imaginary runners much as real runners would in a baseball game. A single scores a man on second. Doubles clear the bases. There are other peculiar rules, but mostly they adhere to those of Major League Baseball.
The average age of players hovers in the mid-20s, though Kane said that they had a 45-year-old play in a previous tournament. And although one-time San Francisco Giants pitcher Chuck Hensley played in Texas last year, these are not world-class athletes.
The Niffs, a team from New Hyde Park in Long Island, N.Y., swig from Budweiser cans at 9 a.m. and smoke cigarettes between at-bats. Does this cause them any trouble with, say, eye-hand coordination? "Right now, no,'' said Nick Tullo, who said he was "20...um, 21."
But, as The Wiffled Wonders from South Plainfield are learning, it takes some considerable skill. Playing against the Hit Men from Vineland, Wonders pitcher Jimmy Quartuccio was feeling his age: 15.
"I thought I'm gonna play people my own age," Jimmy said of his first pro game in April. "And I come here and people are driving their cars and bringing their kids. I'm the youngest guy around here."
Jimmy, who plays baseball for Colonia High School, was on the mound against the Hit Men in his green-sleeved baseball shirt and green kneesocks. As sweat fell from his brown moptop and scraggly facial hair, he slid into his wind-up again and again, throwing hard, but throwing many more balls than strikes.
After the game, Elvin Cortez, 33, of the Hit Men told Jimmy: "You've got to take your lumps. Throw strikes. If you overthrow all the time, you're gonna get hurt."
Which is just what happened to Jerry Riso, 31, of the defending champion Swingers. "I threw too much last year, and it was doctor time," he said. "I never thought I'd have to go to the doctor for whiffle ball."
But the ball itself requires doctoring to achieve that insane movement. "You've got to scuff up the ball the right way," Kane said. "You can't take it out of the box and throw.''
Dan Erhardt, 17, of the Wiffled Wonders said he buys a dozen balls at a time. "I have a two-hour ritual," he said. "I sit in my driveway and rub them against the pavement in the blazing sun and number them. One time we used a cheese grater."
As the sun receded and the Mud Ducks beat the Swingers 3-0 to win the tournament at 7:30 p.m., almost everyone agreed their sport was ready for primetime.
"This should be on ESPN," Dan "Neif" Ennis of the Niffs said between drags on his cigarette. "They have hot-dog eating contests, Scrabble and Foosball tournaments. Why not whiffle ball?"
The answer was easy to see.&nbs ¶ 3:11 AM
