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March 28, 2008 |  |
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Welcome to the March 28, 2008; edition of the MYAS Update In this Issue Pass it on Know anyone who might be interested in our newsletter? Click here to forward this email to up to 5 friends at once. |
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Our newsletter is designed to provide timely youth sports information to coaches, athletes, parents and administrators. This includes notes from the Executive Director, calendar reminders, new service announcements and special events. Contributions from our sponsors assist us in delivering high quality youth sports services at the lowest possible cost; contributions partially fund this newsletter and certain sponsors will be featured. Dan's Notes - from Executive Director Dan Klinkhammer CITY SLICKERS VS. COUNTRY MICE My dad used to refer to anyone who was not a farmer as a "City Slicker." At the age of eight I didn't really know what he was talking about, but I knew it was something undesirable because of the disdain in his voice when he referred to those city dwellers. I was a little confused about city slickers and one day I asked my dad what was wrong with the people who lived in the city. His response was clear and concise: "They think that they are better than us country mice and those sissies don't know how to do anything for themselves." Well, that certainly cleared everything up for me - except the part about us being country mice. Now before I go any further, you need to know that my dad had his own standards for judging a man. First of all, if you weren't a WWI, WWII or Korean War vet, you were a Nazi. Clean clothes just meant that you weren't working very hard. Any respectable farmer would get at least three straight days out of a pair of overalls. He used to say that cows gave more milk if you didn't smell like a barbershop. He also respected people who could "fix stuff." I think my dad may have been the person who coined the phrase, "Nothing is ever totally broken - it just doesn't have enough duct tape on it yet." And he hated golfers, mostly because he thought golf courses were a waste of good farm land and anybody who had that much free time must be a city slicker. My dad wasn't a big sports guy. In fact, he always thought that the purpose of sweat was to get some work done. Running around in circles, up and down the court or ball field was a waste of time in his mind. My mom was the sports nut in our house and I kind of found that out the hard way. Let's just put it this way - it was not a good idea to get between her and the TV when the Milwaukee Braves were playing in the '59 World Series. Who knew she could throw a spatula that far? My hometown of Bloomington, Wisconsin had a population of 735 people. The town had two feed mills, two hardware stores, a grocery store, a restaurant and three bars. We didn't have a movie theater, bowling alley, rec center or swimming pool. Since we didn't have a community pool, the town Board approved a bus trip to a neighboring community's pool every Tuesday afternoon during the summer months. One day my mom drove us to town and we got on the bus, but they made us get off because there were too many kids who wanted to go. Since the money for the bus came out of the town Board's treasury, the "country mice" were the first to be left behind. As the bus drove away I remember all those city slickers waving and laughing at us country mice standing by the curb. It was then that I knew what my dad meant when he said they thought they were better than us. I was boiling mad as they turned the corner and disappeared down the road. So mad that I accidentally let the air out of about 15 pairs of bicycle tires before my mom picked us up. A couple of years later we moved off the farm and my dad took a job at a cheese factory and my worst fear was coming true. We were leaving the farm and were going to become city slickers. It was devastating. Now we'd have to change clothes every day, smell like a barbershop and learn how to play golf. When we first moved to town we took some pretty good ribbing from the local city slickers. One of the first things I learned was that city slickers wore tennis shoes or loafers, not farm boots. Boots were a dead giveaway that you were a country mouse. And while it may be fashionable these days, holes in your jeans and shirts weren't cool back then. More evidence of my country mouse roots. We were eventually accepted by the rest of the kids in town, and the division between the city slickers and country mice wasn't as noticeable. But the real gap didn't close until we were on the basketball court, baseball diamond or football field. Sports is a great equalizer. When you are all wearing the same uniform, nobody can tell who wears loafers and who wears torn jeans. Nobody knows who has money and who doesn't. Nobody cares about any of that...all they want is to play and to win. The real gap closer came in high school when the coaches were looking for big, strong, tough, solid kids to play football. All of a sudden those country mice turned into roaring lions with bulging muscles from tossing hay bales, shoveling corn, wrestling cattle and hauling milk cans. They didn't cry when they got hurt. They just wrapped the injury with a little duct tape and went back out for the next set of downs. Yep - us city slickers were darn glad to have them on our side of the ball and nobody was going to leave them standing by the curb when the bus left town. It's amazing how sports can bring people together who otherwise wouldn't give each other the time of day. It's amazing how one person can gain respect for another just by watching them execute their assigned duties on the field. All the social barriers seem to disappear and what you are left with is the raw human talent, dedication, respect and compassion of teammates. So it doesn't matter if you are a country mouse or a city slicker, black, white, brown, yellow or red. All that matters is that you respect the game, your coach, your teammates and your opponent. If you don't, you may be the next one pushing your bicycle home on two flat tires. Then And Now - by Larry Gallagher A Comparison of Three Baseball Rules - Part I Have you ever wondered how a rule came about, or how it evolved and what caused the changes? Over the next three issues of the MYAS Update, I am going to take you on a journey through the history of baseball by using three different rules that concern the batter. I believe by taking this journey with me you will have a greater understanding of the game of baseball and how to properly enforce these three rules. The rules that I am going to try to inform you about are:
In this issue we'll look at the dropped third strike rule (OBR 6.05c; FED 7-4-1b). The rule itself is stated in OBR this way: A batter is out when a third strike is not caught by the catcher when first base is occupied before two are out. I want you to imagine what could happen on the following play if we did not have this rule: The bases are loaded with no outs and an 0-2 count on the batter. The batter swings and misses, and the catcher intentionally drops the pitch. He then picks up the ball, quickly steps on home plate and throws to third base for the out there. The third baseman throws to second base for that force out, thus completing a triple play. As you can see, this would be a very "cheap" triple play. But that is what catchers were doing prior to 1887 when the rule was first put into play. There were four strikes for the batter at that time. In 1888 the rule went to three strikes for an out. In 1942 this rule was adopted to prevent the catcher from dropping the ball purposely to ensure a double play. As an umpire you will need to really sell this call by shouting and signaling, "The batter is out! The batter is out!" This alerts everyone that the base runners are not forced to advance and the catcher is not obligated to tag or throw the batter out at first base, as he is already out. Below is a play that could occur today and would be called as it is described here: There is a runner on first base with one out and two strikes on the batter. The batter swings and misses, and the catcher cannot hold onto the ball. The batter takes off for first base as the runner from first takes off for second base. The catcher throws to the second baseman who tags the runner from first. The batter ends up on first base. How many outs are there? RULING: There are three outs. The batter was automatically out because first base was occupied with fewer than two outs. The runner from first was tagged as the third out. Remember - as an umpire you need to use proper mechanics by clearly signaling and shouting that the batter is out. (However, even if you do not the batter is still out.) It makes you look ill-prepared if you do not use the correct mechanics. Also, the runner on first base is not forced to advance on this play so if the fielder merely steps on second base the runner is not out. Sources used in this study are as follows: 1. Jim Evans' Annotated Baseball Rules, published in 19942. David Nemec's The Official Baseball Rules, An Anecdotal Look at the Rules of Baseball, Lyons Press 1994 3. 2007 Official Baseball Rules (OBR), published by Triumph Books 4. 2007 National Federation Baseball Rules (FED), published by NFHS In the next issue of the MYAS Update: The Infield Fly Rule 
We are extremely excited to announce that the 2008 Midwest Regional Swim Meet will be the largest in the history of the event! An astonishing 1,076 swimmers from seven states will be competing on March 29-30 at the University of Minnesota Aquatic Center. If you would like more information on the Midwest Regional Swim Meet, please click here. You may also contact the MYAS office at 763-781-2220 with your questions. 
Thank you to everyone who participated in the inaugural season of Gopher State Volleyball! We had a great time and look forward to building our program in 2009. We have already added two events to the calendar and will have those dates posted early this summer. Also, don't forget about the Gopher State Fall Championship! This tournament is scheduled for November 2, 2008, and we have expanded it to include 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade divisions this year. For complete information, please visit the volleyball portion of the MYAS website. If you are interested in hosting or have other questions, please contact Jessica Christopherson at 763-781-2220 x 1733 or jessica@myas.org. In our ongoing education mission, we will highlight various playing rules in the MYAS Update. This section features three basic basketball rules. (See later in the issue for a baseball rules section.) 1. Is it a charge if the offensive team player with the ball runs into a defensive player standing on or touching the out of bounds line? 2. An offensive player attempts a try after ending his/her dribble. The try does not touch the backboard, rim or any other player. He/she runs and is able to catch the ball before it strikes the floor. Is this traveling? 3. Player A1 catches the throw-in pass with one foot on the floor in A's frontcourt and the other foot not touching the floor. The non-pivot foot then comes down in A's backcourt. Is this a violation? The answers to these rules questions are posted later in the e-letter (see "In this Issue" for the link). Good luck! If you have questions about other basketball playing rules, please contact Buddy Hemric at 763-781-2220 x 1717 or buddy@myas.org. MYAS Grade State Basketball Championships 
Minnesota March Madness once again swarmed into the metro area with mass hysteria during the 2008 MYAS Grade State Basketball Championships. A total of 447 girls' teams and 577 boys' teams migrated to courts all over the metro on two consecutive weekends in March. These teams poured their heart and soul into every game to determine who would be crowned state champion in their respective grade and division. It truly was a shining moment for Minnesota basketball. We'd like to congratulate the top teams from the 2008 Grade State Championship. Please click on either girls or boys to view results from all divisions of play. A huge thank you goes out to all the participating teams, and especially our tournament hosts - we can't do it without you! We are already looking forward to the 2009 Grade State Championships and hope that you will participate in our version of March Madness once again. Next year's tournament will be held on March 6-8 (girls) and March 13-15 (boys). MYAS Rec State Basketball Championships 
The 2008 Rec State Basketball Championships had another remarkable year! The tournament expanded this year to 148 teams competing for the in-house state championship in Cottage Grove, Edina and Inver Grove Heights. A record of 28 high school teams and 37 fourth grade teams participated this year. Thank you to all the players, coaches and parents who took part. Please visit the Rec State web page for a list of all our champions! We'd like to thank the Cottage Grove Athletic Association, Edina Basketball Association and the Inver Grove Heights traveling basketball program for an outstanding job of hosting our event! MYAS Gopher State Spring Basketball 
The 2008 spring basketball season is off and running. We have 120 boys' and girls' teams that will begin play on March 29-30 and more than 200 teams on the April 5 weekend. We want to thank all of you for your continued participation with us, and we will continue providing high quality tournaments for your young athletes. One of the issues we face each spring is the placement of teams. At the start of the season we place teams into the various divisions of play based upon the team rankings provided to us by the coaches. Unfortunately, many teams sign up in the wrong division and the result is games that are not competitive. As we continue through the spring season you will see teams moving up and down divisions of play; there will also be movement within each division. In order to accomplish our goal of having competitive games, we will delay scheduling tournaments so that we can monitor the games played two weeks prior to an upcoming tournament weekend. For example, on Monday, April 14 we will use the results from the April 12-13 tournament to place teams in the April 26-27 tournament. By doing so, we hope to provide a competitive balance in future tournaments. We would like to once again sincerely thank you for your participation in MYAS events and we wish all of you good luck in your upcoming tournaments. Remember to have fun, and we look forward to seeing you in the gym! Answers to Basketball Rules of the Month The answers below are derived from the National Federation of State High School Associations 2007-08 Basketball Rules Book, Basketball Case Book and/or Rules by Topic publication. 1. No. It is a blocking foul because the defensive player may not be out of bounds and obtain or maintain legal guarding position (NFHS 4-23-2 & 4-23-3a page 34; Rules by Topic 4.23.3 page 191). 2. No. When the player recovered his/her own try, they could either dribble, pass or try again. A player is trying for goal when the player has the ball and in the official's judgment is throwing or attempting to throw for goal. There was no team control after the ball was released on a try (NFHS 4-12-3 page 30; 4-41 page 39; Case Book 4.44 Situation B pages 34-35). 3. Yes. Team control was established in A's frontcourt when A1 catches the throw-in pass. The violation occurs when A1 subsequently touches the backcourt with the non-pivot foot (NFHS 4-12 page 30; Case Book 9.9.1 Situation A page 71). If you have questions about other basketball playing rules, please contact Buddy Hemric at 763-781-2220 x 1717 or buddy@myas.org. 
The MYAS baseball staff is currently gearing up for the 10th season of the Gopher State Baseball League. We are very proud of this league, and we're excited to report that since its inception in 1999 it has become one of the largest traveling baseball leagues in the Upper Midwest. Each year more teams join the "Gopher State Nation" due to word of mouth. Because of recent commitments from Becker, Big Lake, Buffalo, Delano, Monticello, Princeton, St. Michael/Albertville and Zimmerman for the 2008 season and increased participation from existing member communities, the GSBL boasts the largest representation of communities in a traveling league in the Midwest. The preliminary count for the 2008 season is nearing 400 teams. We are looking forward to serving as league administrators for the GSBL and we're confident that you will be completely satisfied. With the updated policies and current league enhancements such as online rosters, team websites, online score reporting and rescheduling as well as awarding Gopher State Tournament of Champions and USSSA World Series berths through league play, the future of the GSBL is very bright. Dates to remember for 2008 GSBL League Directors and Coaches: The entry deadline for Associations to enroll their 10-15U teams into the GSBL is March 28, 2008. If you would like more information about this traveling baseball league, please contact Dawson Blanck at 763-781-2220 x 1719 or dawson@myas.org. Gopher State Baseball Umpire Training Clinics 
All umpires are welcome and encouraged to attend the Gopher State Umpire Clinics. They are designed to allow umpires of all abilities an opportunity to enhance their skills and/or become educated in the finer points of umpiring. We are pleased to welcome back the instructors from last year's clinics - Shawn Vellek, Andre Lanoue, Brandon Jackson, Mike Cantone, Mike "Bugsy" Segal and Jeremy Barbe (MYAS). All these instructors are dedicated to teaching and are excited to share their wealth of knowledge to Minnesota's up and coming umpires. Student instruction will include philosophy, mental approach and attitude toward baseball, including appearance and equipment. The clinics feature on-field training for the 1- and 2-man umpiring system, which includes proper positioning duties of the plate and base umpires. Every umpire will have the opportunity to participate in live drills where you will see the play and make the call. The clinics also cover handling game situations, balks, ejections, etc. We will do our best to have you ready for opening day 2008! Every umpire who attends a clinic will receive an additional $4 per game during the 2008 Gopher State baseball season. Umpires with MSHSL registration will receive another $1 per game. This per game bonus only applies to the Gopher State Spring Training Series, the USSSA State Tournament, the Gopher State Tournament of Champions, MYAS Rec State Baseball, the Gopher State Baseball League and the Gopher State Fall Baseball League. Please click here to access the Umpire Clinic web page and view instructor bios and clinic dates, sites and registration forms. For more information on the 2008 Umpire Clinics, please contact Jeremy Barbe at 763-781-2220 x 1731 or jbarbe@myas.org. In the following quiz (courtesy of Referee magazine), you are presented with situations that each have at least two possible answers. Decide which answer(s) is correct per National Federation of High School rules. Use the following key as a reference for abbreviations used in some of the situations: B1 = Player batting first in lineup, B2 = player batting second in lineup, etc. 1. In the top of the first inning, the home coach comes out to the mound to visit the pitcher. After a brief chat the coach departs, making it halfway to the foul line before turning around and attempting to return to the mound for further discussion. 2. With the bases loaded and the score tied in the bottom of the last inning, B1 receives a two-out walk. B1 runs down to first as R3 scores, but R1 goes off to celebrate. 3. B1 asks for and receives time to talk to his third base coach. While they are conferring, the defensive coach motions for the pitcher to meet him at the foul line. As the offensive conference breaks up, the defensive coach returns to his dugout. 4. In a game in which the designated hitter is not used, "Bubba" pinch hits for B8 in the bottom of the second inning but does not take the field in the top of the third inning. In the fifth inning, Bubba comes to bat again in the same spot in the order. 5. With a runner on second, B1 singles and R2 tries to score. F2 blocks the plate in anticipation of F8's throw. When R2 slides into F2, the ball is about a foot from F2's glove. F2 tags R2 and then throws out B1 at second. The quiz answers can be found later in the e-letter (see "In this Issue" for the link). Good luck! If you have questions about other baseball playing rules, please contact Jeremy Barbe at 763-781-2220 x 1731 or jbarbe@myas.org. Gopher State Spring Training Series Baseball Tournaments 
There is still room available in all divisions of the 2008 Gopher State Spring Training Series. This season we are offering 10AA, 11AA, 12AAA, 12AA, 13AAA, 13AA, 14AAA, 14AA, 15AAA and 15AA divisions of play. Information about all tournament dates and sites is available by visiting the tournament website. All Spring Training Series tournaments are qualifiers for the Gopher State Tournament of Champions, so get signed up today! Gopher State Baseball Tournament of Champions Preregistration is now open for the 2008 Gopher State Tournament of Champions. You can send in your registration now and we will hold your entry fee until you qualify for the tournament either through the Gopher State Baseball League or an invitational tournament that has been designated as a 2008 GSTC qualifier. All 2008 dates, sites and other pertinent information are available on the GSTC web page. We are looking forward to another exciting year! USSSA State Baseball Tournament (Gopher State Midsummer Challenge) 
The Minnesota USSSA State Tournament is an excellent way for teams to advance to a USSSA World Series event and travel around the country. You do not need to pre-qualify for this tournament. USSSA baseball is an avenue for Minnesota teams to compete against the top teams in the state and across the country. The USSSA State Tournaments also serve as Gopher State Tournament of Champions qualifiers for teams that are not interested in traveling to a USSSA World Series event. Please click here to access the USSSA State Tournament web page. Gopher State Winter Baseball Camps 
Another successful season of Gopher State Winter Baseball Camps has come and gone. A big thank you goes out to the Minnesota Baseball Academy and the Lovdahl Pitching Academy for their hard work and the great instruction they provided to our young baseball talent. We have received several positive comments from parents of our participants regarding the great one-on-one instruction. If you would like to submit feedback about our Winter Camps please email them to jbarbe@myas.org. Look for summer camp opportunities with the MYAS and Gopher State Baseball. We welcome you to stay up to date with the latest camp information during the season on the Winter Camp portion of the MYAS website. If you have questions about our camps, please don't hesitate to contact Jeremy Barbe, Baseball Camp Director, at 763-781-2220 x 1731 or jbarbe@myas.org. Minnesota Youth Baseball & Softball Conference 
The fourth annual Minnesota Youth Baseball & Softball Conference will be held on Saturday, April 12 at the HHH Metrodome in Minneapolis. The conference, presented by Play Ball! Minnesota and the Twins Community Fund, is an opportunity for coaches, administrators and volunteers to hear top instructors talk about various aspects of the game. Former Minnesota Twins, members of the Twins front office and Play Ball! Minnesota members will be on hand to present and lead breakout sessions. Among those scheduled to take part in the conference are Twins alumni and National Baseball Hall of Fame members Rod Carew and Paul Molitor. The conference registration fee is $10 for all MYAS/Gopher State coaches (normally $25) and includes breakfast, lunch, beverages, gift bag and tickets to a future Twins game. Conference registration is limited to the first 300 people. Click here to download the brochure/registration form. Group rates for 20 or more people are available. For group rates or other information, call 612-375-7510 or send email to info@playballmn.com. Answers to Baseball Rules Quiz Baseball Rules Quiz answers, along with the 2008 National Federation of High School Rules Book references: 1. a (NFHS 3-4-3) If you have questions about other baseball playing rules, please contact Jeremy Barbe at 763-781-2220 x 1731 or jbarbe@myas.org. MYAS Latest News (as of 3/27/08) Spring Basketball Openings - April 5-6 St. Paul Saints Baseball Club - new MYAS sponsor Gently Used Molten Volleyballs For Sale 2008 U.S. Women's Open Golf Tournament Junior Poster Contest - Win a $5,000 college scholarship! MYAS TRAVELING BASKETBALL GUIDELINES Calendar Updates (as of 3/27/08) Friday, Mar. 28, 2008 Saturday, Mar. 29, 2008 Saturday, Mar. 29, 2008 Sunday, Mar. 30, 2008 Monday, Mar. 31, 2008 Friday, Apr. 4, 2008 Important Association Services That Work! The Minnesota Youth Athletic Services offers three important services: 1. Association and Player Sports Accident Insurance Coverage The MYAS has partnered with J.A. Price Agency, an insurance company which has access to dozens of other insurance companies and can handle any type of business or personal insurance needs that your association/board of directors may require. The insurance provides options for all types of needs within your association/community. This coverage is an advantage no amateur sports organization should be without! Examples of coverage include but are not limited to:
2. Criminal Background Checks In addition, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reports that $50 billion is lost annually due to employee theft and fraud. Youth sports associations must protect themselves from this threat as well. Don’t put your association at risk! Fortunately, youth sports associations now have a simple and inexpensive tool to avoid some of society’s worst fears. The MYAS, with its partner RHR Information Systems (RHR), has designed a criminal background check system that offers three affordable options to youth sports associations. RHR, a local Twin Cities company, incorporates a “user-friendly” process combined with flexible information delivery to make this system easy and inexpensive for your organization. For more information, please contact Mike DeWane at 952-393-1929 or mike@myas.org. 3. Coaching Education ProgramThe MYAS has partnered with the American Sport Education Program (ASEP) to offer youth sport associations and their coaches the Coach Youth Sport education program designed specifically for youth coaches. It provides coaches with a solid foundation in coaching principles, sport first aid and sport-specific techniques and tactics. These courses are available for baseball, basketball, football, soccer, softball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling and can be delivered in the classroom or online. For more information, please contact Mike DeWane at 952-393-1929 or mike@myas.org.
Recovery After Practice and Games To meet the demands of strenuous exercise, you need to fuel your muscles with high carbohydrate foods before practice and games, as well as afterwards. Choose carbohydrate-rich foods and fluids after rigorous training and competitions to recover faster and minimize chronic fatigue. Use these tips: 1. Focus your recovery meal on carbohydrate-rich foods. Your muscles rely on carbohydrates (carbs) for glycogen (energy). For example, choose pancakes (carbs) rather than eggs (protein/fat) or choose pasta over a steak. Limit going for fast food after practice or games. Fast foods are typically high in fat and low in carbohydrates; eating such foods can do more harm than good and reduce your ability to recover and play hard in future games. 2. Eat or drink carbohydrate-rich foods as soon as tolerable after a hard workout or game. Your muscles are most able to replace glycogen within the first two hours post-exercise. Eating is important to do for back-to-back practices or games. Drink fruit juices or sports drinks for fluid and carbohydrates. If you choose to re-hydrate with water, be sure and eat something too. Foods can include pretzels, breads, fruit, breakfast bars or granola bars. 3. Eat wholesome fruits, vegetables and juices, which contain potassium, a mineral you lose when you sweat. Some excellent potassium and carbohydrate-rich foods include oranges, bananas, raisins and apricots. 4. Drink LOTS of fluid! Drink enough to quench your thirst, then drink more. Often it takes 24-48 hours to totally replace fluid you lost through strenuous exercise. Thirst is a poor indicator of whether or not you have had enough to drink. You need to drink until your urine is clear-colored and of a significant amount. Re-hydrating with sports drinks provides you both fluid and electrolytes (sodium and potassium) lost during sweating. 5. Rest your muscles. Rest when you can to give your muscles the opportunity to store, rather than burn, glycogen. Rest is an important part of your training and recovery program. By resting when you can, you are investing in your future performance. To find a qualified sports medicine physician, visit www.mnsportsmed.org. Minnesota Sports Medicine (MSM) is a network of sports and orthopedic physicians who treat athletes at medical clinics throughout the Twin Cities metro area. For more information about MSM, call 612-273-4800.
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MYAS membership meetings are held at our offices (4111 Central Avenue NE, Columbia Heights 55421) on the last Tuesday of each month at 9:00am (unless notified otherwise). All MYAS members are welcome to attend. |
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