2009 WHEELER WILDCATS 2009 SENIORS WHEELER WILDCAT BASEBALL PROGRAM Dear Wheeler Baseball Fans: Another baseball season is upon us. What an exciting time. We are all anxious to watch the 2009 Wheeler Wildcat Baseball Team get under way! The beginning of the baseball season usually means the temperature begins warming up, the azaleas start blooming, the crack of the bat is one of the great sounds in sports, and popcorn and peanuts work their way into our diets at the ballpark. Oh what fun! We all know that base- ball is the great "American Pastime" game. What a joy it will be during the 2009 season to watch the baseball team perform under the direction of Head Coach, Dave McDonald, and on the field named after the head coach, Dave McDonald Field. The coaching staff, players, and booster club parents have been working extremely hard preparing for the season. We all look forward to a wonderful spring of Wildcat Baseball! Sincerely, Ed Thayer Principal 375 Holt Road Telephone: 770-578-3266 Fax: 770-578-3262 Marietta, Georgia 30068 www.wheelerhigh.com 1 2009 WHEELER BASEBALL VARSITY HEAD COACH DAVID McDONALD 1980 Metro-All Dugout Club All Star Coach 1997 Region 6AAAA Baseball Chairman Spring 2009 High School B.C.A. District III Chairman 1981 Metro-Atlanta Dugout Club All Star Coach Coach of the Year Committee Field of the Year Committee 1982 Coach of the Year Dugout Club All Star Coach G.A.C.A. Committee of Ten Dear Wildcat Fans, Georgia Dugout Club/G.A.C.A. Clinic Chairman 1987 Metro-Atlanta Dugout Club All Star Coach Georgia vs. Alabama All Star Coach 1998 U.S. Junior Team Trials This season brings high expectations with many returning players working with a great staff of 100 WINS 2nd Vice President H.S. Baseball Coaches Assoc coaches. The Wildcats will once again have a schedule that will prepare us for State Playoff President Georgia Dugout Club/G.A.C.A. competition; Region 6AAAAA can be considered one of the best in the country. 1988 Coach of the Year – Cobb County Georgia Dugout Club/G.A.C.A. Clinic Chairman Franklin Life Select Circle Marietta Umpire Association Coach of the Year National Coaches Award (Bronze Medal) 300 WINS Under the direction of Mr. Randy Grachek the Wildcat Booster Club always functions as a professional organization. I would like to encourage all parents to be active participants in the 1989 Coach of the Year Metro-Atlanta Dugout Club 1999 1st Vice President National H.S. Coaches Assoc many duties the club performs. President Metro-Atlanta Dugout Club Clinic Director H.S. Baseball Coaches v- Tuscon, Arizona 1990 G.A.C.A. All Star Coach A special thanks to Dave, Sue, Andrew and Nick Klemm for the wonderful deck construction; A.A.U. Jr. Olympics Coach Tampa Florida 2000 President, National H.S. Baseball Coaches Association starting in July, many hours of hard work have been donated to the job. This will provide many Board Member, Team Georgia 1991 POP Adair Service Award, Metro-Atlanta Dugout Club USA Jr. National Team Asst. Coach, Gold Medal – years of enjoyment for all fans, not only for Wildcat baseball, but for baseball fans that enjoy our World Champions facility during the summer. 1992 Baseball Coaches Assoc., District III Chairman Cobb County Teacher of the Year – All-American Selection Committee Health/Physical Education Let's have a season full of fun and wins, and as always support all our programs at Wheeler. 200 WINS 2001 President, National H.S. Baseball Coaches Association 1993 G.A.C.A. Comm. Assoc. District III Chairman Sunbelt Classic (Juniors), Georgia National Champs, Thanks for your support. Coach of the Year Committee McAlister, Oklahoma Facility of the Year Committee All-American Selection Committee 2002 Induction into Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame Coach Sunbelt Classic, Shawnee, OK – 1994 Baseball Coaches Assoc. District III Chairman Team Georgia National Champs Eastside Baptist Church, Coach of the Year Baseball Diamond at Wheeler High School David McDonald Region 6AAAA Chairman renamed the David McDonald Field in his honor G.A.C.A. Committee of Ten Head Coach Georgia Dugout Club Clinic Director 2004 400 WINS ABCA National Coach of the Year 1995 Region 6AAAA Chairman Baseball Coaches Assoc. District III Chairman 2005- ABCA District III Chairman Coach of the Year Committee 2006 ABCA Lefty Gomez Committee Field of the Year Committee G.A.C.A. Committee of Ten 2007 ABCA District III Chairman Georgia Dugout Club Clinic Director ABCA Lefty Gomez Committee BCA National Ranking Committee 1996 Region 6AAAA Chairman Baseball Coaches Assoc. District III Chairman 2008 ABCA District III Chairman Coach of the Year Committee ABCA Lefty Gomez Committee Field of the Year Committee BCA National Ranking Committee Georgia Dugout Club – Clinic Director National H.S. Baseball Coaches "Hall of Fame" U.S.A. Jr. Olympic Trials Coach 2 3 COACH DAVID McDONALD Coach of the Year, and he presently is the District 3 NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL Representative to ABCA in addition to being on the BASEBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION Lefty Gomez Committee. 2009 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE Coach McDonald has received many honors: be- ing selected as the Cobb County Coach of the David McDonald became the Head Baseball Coach Year three times; the Cobb County Teacher of the at Wheeler High School in Marietta, GA in 1979 Year; the Pop Adair Service Award from the Geor- and continues in that role today. His teams have gia Dugout Club; being a Metro Atlanta Dugout appeared in six Georgia State Playoff appearances, Club All-Star Coach three times; Georgia Dugout which include seven Regional Championships. His Club Coach of the Year twice; and the AAU Junior over-all record at Wheeler, as of the 2008 season, is Olympics Coach in 1990. He was inducted into 480 wins and 286 losses. In addition to his coach- the Georgia Dugout Club Hall of Fame in 2002, the ing at Wheeler, Coach McDonald has been involved same year that the Wheeler Baseball Field was re- with USA Baseball serving as the Trials Coach from named “David McDonald Field.” McDonald takes a 1997-1999, and strong interest in not only his own players but also was the 2000 those on opposing teams and will do anything to Coach of the help these players advance to college or the profes- Gold Medal Team that traveled to Taiwan. sional ranks. Coach McDonald's service to baseball is extensive, In March 1995, President Bill Clinton presented the as he has been the President of the Georgia Dug- Bronze Star with “V” (Valor) and the Purple Heart out Club, the Georgia Clinic Director, and speaker to Coach McDonald at an awards ceremony in at the Atlanta Braves Fan Fest. Coach McDonald Marietta, GA. is a Charter Member of the National High School Baseball Coaches Association (BCA), and was the District 3 Chair on the BCA Executive Board from 1992-1997. He was President of BCA in 2000 and has been a vital member of the All-American, Field of the Year, Coach of the Year, and National Ranking Commit- tees. The American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) named Coach McDonald the 2004 National 4 5 2009 WHEELER BASEBALL 2009 WHEELER BASEBALL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS COACHING STAFF We, the graduating seniors of 2009, want to say thank you to the coaches and our parents for the time and effort spent teaching us the game of baseball and allow- ing us to play at the highest competitive levels for our age. We also challenge the Wheeler underclassmen to work hard and raise the bar for those players who follow in your footsteps. We wish to pay special tribute to Coach Mac. It has been an honor playing for a legend in high school baseball. Thank you for serving our country and preserving our freedom so that we may enjoy sports and our way of life. L-R: Shane McFayden, David McDonald, Jeff Milton, Jason Borcherding Not pictured: Bryan Portnoy The Wildcats would like to 2009 WHEELER BASEBALL thank the following: TEAM MANAGERS Our Booster Club President Randy Grachek. Don Davis for serving as our Treasurer, and Tommy Birdsong for all his fundraising efforts with the poinsettia sales. Kathy Davis and Sally Mitchell for coordinating ads and this program. Sue Klemm for organizing the banners and working with Signs & Graphics by Roman. Robert Drukenmiller for running the scoreboard. Tami Drukenmiller and Pearl Gordon for coordinating our concession stand. The Careys, Missy Korwan, Sheri Ritsick, and Sally Mitchell for organizing our preseason banquet, and Williamson Brothers Catering, who partnered with us. The Klemms for undertaking the deck project and the Gordons for the concession stand renovation. Leah Hansen for spirit wear. We also wish to thank all the families who donated items for concessions and who helped on cleanup day. A special thank you goes to Angie Wallace for donating her time and expertise in designing this program. The epi Companies for the program printing. Steve Smith for the donation of the paper. And Lifetouch,who took our official team and individual photographs. As always, thanks to Melissa Cunningham, our gatekeeper; Lisa Beville, WHS Head L-R: Bailey Hasbrouck, Sarah Dobbins Custodian; and Rob Adams, our announcer, for their continued support of Wheeler Baseball. Not pictured: Courtney Sutter 6 7 2009 WHEELER BASEBALL VARSITY ROSTER Number Name Position Height Weight B/T Grade 1 Drew Davis SS 5' 9" 160 R/R 12 2 Evan Mitchell P/OF 6' 1" 155 R/R 11 3 Danny Ungaro 2B/P 5' 8" 140 L/R 11 4 Sam Bragg P/OF 6' 1" 175 R/R 10 6 Jordan Lenning C/P 5' 11" 170 R/R 12 8 Evan Ritsick OF 6' 4" 175 R/R 12 9 Emmett Gregory 1B/P 5' 10" 150 R/L 10 10 Ryan Drukenmiller P/3B 6' 0" 180 R/R 12 11 Drew Hansen C 6'