What it Means to be a Part of the Southline Storm Tournament Team...
This team consists of the best 10U softball players that Southline Little League has. It should be considered an honor and a privilege to be selected to be a player on this team. We are representing all of Southline Little League, as well as ourselves whenever we put the uniform on. The players and the parents should always act accordingly.
Positions Played and Playing Time...
Please remember this is more about winning that it was during the regular season.
During the regular season, each girl was one of the best players on their regular season team. Each girl played a couple of positions, based on their abilities relative to the rest of the team. The same will apply to this team. But this means that the positions or roles played on this team will be the same as they were during the regular season.
So a shortstop during the regular season may be a second baseman on this team.
And depending on the rules of the tournaments that we will be playing in, there may be limitations to substitutions and/or pitching restrictions. And since everything in this sport revolves around pitching, playing decisions will be made from there within the rules of each tournament.
The team was selected based on the following criteria:
Hitting
Pitching
Defense
Role Players
Depending on the rules of the tournament, playing time may be directly correlated to the criteria used to select the team. So if we are up late in a game, I may pull someone known for their hitting out of the lineup for a more defensive oriented player. Or conversely, I may have to pull a defensive asset out of the lineup to put a bat in. It is important that the girls not "pout" about the positions that they are asked to play, or their playing time. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or problems.
Injuries, sickness, family vacations will also affect playing time and/or positions played. So players who find themselves as a role player at first should not give up. They should continue to work hard so that they can succeed when they get their chances in games and in practices.
And even though this is more about winning that the regular season was, I will not stray from my philosophy that the game should be fun, too. And fun means getting in the game. And winning is more fun than losing. I try to always respect the players and their families, and the game.
I try to be very accessible to my players and their families. So if you have any questions, concerns or problems, please feel free to see me. During a game or in the middle of practice is probably not the best time, but outside of that, feel free...
Team Contact Info...
You can reach me at:
716-310-9893 (Cell)
716-310-9893 (Home)
Realistically, the cell phone is your best bet. This time of year, I am not home much. During the day, I am generally able to answer my phone, but not when I am in meetings. I do try to return calls quickly, though.
At any time during our season, I would ask that you call me whenever you cannot make a game or practice, or if you are running late to a game, etc.
The Coaching Staff
The official coaching staff will consist of myself, Mike Borowiak, and Ken Fuerst. But I will still happily accept whatever help any of the parents are able to provide during practices. It's just that during the games, the rules only allow for one Manager and 2 Coaches.
The team web site is...
http://storm.sekuterski.com
The site has a lot of stuff from every Storm (Southline Tournament) team that I have been a part of. It will have our schedule, stats, diamond locations, team picture, etc. I would like to include pictures of the girls playing as well. So if you have a digital camera and take pictures during the game, I will be glad to post them on the site.
This weekend's tournament...
This tournament is a Little League (Williamsport, PA sanctioned qualifier) double elimination tournament with only 2 teams from our area (Southline and Grand Island). So if we win a best-of-three series with Grand Island, we go away to the state tournament.
The game schedule is for this weekend is:
Game 1 - Saturday, 7/7 @ 10:00 AM
Game 2 - Saturday, 7/7 @ 1:00 PM
Game 3 (If Necessary) - Sunday, 7/8 @ 1:00 PM
All of the games are at Grand Island Little League.
A map to the fields that we play on can be found at:
http://locations.sekuterski.com
I don't know exactly what diamond we are on yet, but I will try to get more on that before Saturday.
As per the rules of this tournament, 9 players are allowed in the batting order. There are limitations to substitutions. There are restrictions on pitching. Every player must play at least 3 consecutive outs in the field, and get at least one complete plate appearance.
Baserunners cannot leave the base until the ball reaches the batter, stealing and bunting are allowed, the infield fly rule is in effect, pinch runners are allowed, there is a re-entry rule, and a 10-run rule.
All players, coaches and umpires will be welcome to a free hot dog at snack stand after each game. Bathroom facilities available at snack stand.
Winning team in each division will receive victory pennant. Winning team and runner-up will receive Little League PINS.
Tournament Game 1 Pre-Game Info...
One of the things that I hated the most when I played was having the first swing of the day be in a live game situation. So I strongly believe in having some sort of batting practice before every game, even if it is just hitting off of a tee into a screen.
As a coach, I like it when I know that all of us are together early enough before the start of the game as possible. That way, the lineup can be made out and pitching decisions can be made so the pitchers can properly warm up.
And since we are not sure exactly what diamond we will be on yet, we will meet for BP at Southline starting at 8:25 AM on Saturday. We will leave Southline at approximately 9:00 AM and can go to the diamonds from there.
We may also have some who want to double up on rides and we players who may need a ride.
If you cannot be there for BP, or if there is some other reason as to why you would not be leaving from Southline, let me know.
When we get to the diamonds, we will unload our equipment, throw and catch to loosen up, and hopefully take infield warmup before the game starts.
Rainout Info...
Keep in mind that this sport is subject to rainouts. If I hear that a game is postponed or moved or changed, I will call you. If you don't hear from me, proceed to where ever it is that we are scheduled to be.
Uniform Info...
The league is supplying the girls with visors. They should wear them. The sun can be brutal.
The league has ordered jerseys for the 10U team. The jerseys are similar to the jerseys that the girls wore for their regular season team. The jerseys are mainly red with black and white down the sides (where the white stripe is on their regular season jerseys). These new jerseys will be owned by the league and the girls will sign out the jerseys for use during our tournament season. They will turn in the jerseys when our tournament season is over.
Having said that, the league ordered the jerseys on Monday (7/2). They expect the jerseys to be in on Friday. Fortunately, I ordered jerseys for us 2 weeks ago (when I first heard about our first tournament was this coming weekend). The jerseys that I ordered are ready and I will pick them up tomorrow. They are the same as last years (red with black t-shirts, which most of the girls used a black piece of cloth to tie up at the shoulders giving the "sleeveless" look). The girls will keep these jerseys after the season is over.
If the league jerseys are in on time, we will wear them for the first game on Saturday. And then we will change into the jerseys that I ordered for the second game. If the league jerseys are not in on time, we will obviously wear the jerseys that I ordered for both games.
To make it easier, the league jerseys will be referred to as "no sleeves" or "sleeveless." The jerseys that the girls will keep after the season is over will be referred to as "sleeves."
The girls should always have both jerseys at every game (once they get both jerseys, that is.
Since the uniform numbers normally go from low to high as the sizes go from small to large, there is no guarantee that we will have all of the girls get their favorite number. So, to prevent any squabbling over uniform numbers, the girls will choose their numbers based on seniority/birth date.
As a coach, I would recommend that the girls wear pants as opposed to shorts, mainly to prevent brush burns from sliding. I know that most high school and some college teams wear shorts, but more and more college teams are wearing pants these days. Given the fact that it gets pretty warm, I don't have a problem with leaving the choice of pants or shorts up to the girls. But if everyone could wear black/dark shorts/pants, I think we will look as good as I think we are capable of playing.
As far as the rest of the uniform goes, the girls will wear the black tie-dyed softball socks. Some of you have a pair from last year. If those are still good, you do not have to buy new ones. I have a few pair for those that are new to the team. I need to know how many pairs that we need total, so please let me know as soon as possible.
Other Equipment Info...
I will have ice packs and a first aid kit at every game.
I will also have a water cooler and cups at every game. I expect that the girls will use one or two cups throughout the game, as opposed to taking a new one every time that they go to get a drink. If they prefer gatorade or some other drink, they are more than welcome to bring that on their own.
I have catcher equipment, a couple of helmets and some bats. If the girls have their own helmet or bat, they are free to use them.
The league pays for all of the tournaments that we are currently entered in, umpire fees, etc. So, to cover the cost of the uniform parts, cups/ice/water, first aid, etc., the "fee" to play on this team will be $21 if you need socks, and $14 if you don't. (The "sleeves" cost a little over $13 each, and the socks are $6 per pair and $1 for cups/ice/water, first aid, etc..)
What's Next...
If we win 2 games this weekend, we will play in the state tournament on the weekend of 7/28 and 29, in Union Falls, NY.
Also scheduled for the weekend of 7/28 and 29 is the start of the Crabapple Tournament. So if we don't win this weekend, we will play in the Crabapple. If we do win this weekend, I will try to move the start of the Crabapple so that we can play in both.
The Crabapple Tournament is a bat-the-bench tournament where everyone is in the batting order and substitutions are allowed. So it is easier to get everyone some plying time in this one.
Practice Info...
All practices will be at 6:30 to approximately 8:00 PM (probably closer to 8:15 PM). If for some reason someone cannot make practice or has to leave early, let me know. While I will never take practice lightly, I understand that there is a life off of the diamond as well.
All practices will be on one of the diamonds behind Depew High School (accessible from Transit Road or Como Park Boulevard).
Our next practice is on Friday, 7/6 at Depew. It could be on any of the 3 diamonds there. If we are not able to get a diamond, we can usually be found on the soccer field.
As a team, will practice on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
We will NOT practice on days that we have games.
Since we all still have playoffs with our regular season teams, it is possible that we would have a practice scheduled for the same time as you have a playoff game. Go to the playoff game.
