Sunday, May 01, 2011

Take me out to the ballgame

Showing off one of the new uniforms.
The Xtreme 8U Baseball team opened play this weekend with the Queen City Preseason Tournament held at Mill Creek Park in Independence.  They played two games on Saturday and will finish the tournament with one more game this afternoon.  It was a real eye opener to see where the team stacked up to other competition in the area, and it gave the coaches a chance to see our strengths and where we need some real attention.
Shortstop keeping an eye on the pop-fly.
Winding up to throw to first for the out.
The first game was very lopsided as they played the A's and they are obviously a veteran team that has played together for a couple of seasons.  We spent most of the game moving our key players around on defense to cover for their big bats. 
Perfect day at the plate - got on base every time at bat.

Took a bad hop and then off the knee.
The second game ended in a one run loss, even though they had a tough defensive outing they were at least able to rattle some bats and score some runs.  We look forward to seeing some improvement over the next week before the regular season starts.  Keep up the hard work and it will get better...

Sportsmanship Winner

Recently Lizzy wrote a very nice essay about Sportsmanship for the MSHSAA (Missouri State High School Athletic Association) and it was submitted by her Language Arts teacher in a state contest.  On Friday she found out that her essay had won 1st Place at the Regional Level and had been forwarded to the State Level where she placed 4th in the State. 

We are very proud of her accomplishments both athletically and academically. With this award it shows that she has become one of the best at both, not only is she a star athlete and a great cheerleader - she has also learned some very valuable lessons and is a great leader.  We look forward to watching Lizzy over the next few years as she made the Varsity Cheerleading Squad at Blue Springs High School for her upcoming freshman year.  Keep up the good work!