KLOUTER NEWSLETTER September 2014 “Do What You Can, with what you have, where you are, and when you are there…!” 2014 Baseball Has Come and Gone…What’s Next? What’s Next? Meetings Engraved inside the Seahawks The Parent Orientation Meetings will Championship ring is the eternal soon be announced and take place in question, “What’s Next?” mid-October. We will have just one 9U The same two words are very relevant team and add an 8U team in 2015. We for Klouter baseball as well. We have will continue with our 10, 11, and 12U just closed out our 10th season and look teams. forward to the 2015 year with great The first off-season camp will be in optimism. either early November or mid It will be very hard to duplicate all the December. This year it will be achievements of the Klouter players, mandatory for the 8 and 9Us to attend. coaches, and families of 2014…the We are trying to schedule it to best avoid crowning one being the many conflict in schedules. Klouter’s and Coach Corsi’s ascent to the Little League World Series. How cool! This showed us that you can get to the top…it just takes a lot of hard work, diligence, perseverance, and teamwork! Hopefully, we will improve in all these areas as an organization and realize more individual and team success. This goal is not limited to the ball field but extends to school, community service and family activities. Each Klouter needs to set his or her personal goals Mission Statement: for the coming year to include ALL The mission of FirstSwing is to areas of life! KWTP! empower young athletes and Review Dream Catchers and evaluate your goals now. students in order that they may actively participate and grow ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ within conventional guidelines. GREAT JOB!! If you just take 20 good swings a day, On the diamond, the Klouters every day, with a focus on proper experienced an outstanding 2014 summer mechanics, you will improve a great season. In each tourney, we exhibited deal and will create the muscle growth and improvement despite playing memory necessary to perfect your without a number of key members. The swing. The other two important areas 12U team was unbelievable in that they needing vast improvement: Going to played with many “guests” and won over the ball on defense and pitching to 80% of their games!! Coaches and contact. We will address all of these parents are to be commended for their in the winter camps/workouts and strong support and hard work in getting hopefully, each Klouter will work on teams ready to play and compete. Each them individually! GAGPTH of the six teams improved in the mechanics of the game and are beginning to understand the fluency of the game. We still need to work very hard on our deficiencies as pointed out in each tourney recap. The same issues have appeared and must be addressed. The Last Licks Tourney most obvious flaw is in our inability to Following the “Last Licks” tourney adjust to the situation when at bat. we sent our tourney review and Hitters must make changes prior to going hopefully you took time to read it. to the plate, while at the plate, and after These reviews are written to point out each game. Two strike hitting has been a areas where we need work and will big problem in that hitters are not help guide players to the essence of adjusting and are failing to swing with a baseball. As mentioned above, we are quick, short swing…making contact is still making the same mistakes and key as is hitting the ball with runners need to rectify these with individual (RISP) on. In each Klouter loss, albeit and teamwork. Please do, and assess few in number, the games were decided your game and what YOU need to do because men struck out with runners on to improve your game. Also, in the base or with 2-strikes. Instead of just last 3 tourneys, you may have noticed making contact, many revert to out- that we had two women umpires. swinging the pitcher with a long and hard These umps are an excellent mother- swing. PLEASE read the attachment daughter team that love the game and entitled ZEQ. It simplifies hitting for exemplify how baseball can increase young ball players. Hitting is very hard family bonding and provide an but ZEQ gets it down to “see ball, hit opportunity for anyone to take part in ball, run!” It does take many repetitions America’s game! They will be back (most with a tee), diligence and focus to in 2015, and Jacoy (daughter) will be a become a proficient hitter! camp counselor as well. Heroes of the Month Evan Graves (11U) for his inspiring work on the diamond and off. Evan helped us by playing for the “No Names” and this allowed a group of kids the opportunity to play. Patrick McCullough (9U) for his donation to FirstSwing kids. Kemper Michael (10U) for “playing with the enemy” in Last Licks. Jake Brandvold (12U) for helping the 12Us field a team Last Licks. Davis Franklin (11U) for his team leadership and writing a letter to the Snohomish coach regarding alleged Two Klouters head into battle! unsportsmanship like conduct. As it turned out, there was not an issue but he wrote it without being told. Drill of the Month Hayden Iacolucci (alum) and Evan Take 20-30 perfect swings EACH and McCleery-Brown (12U) for their EVERY day for the next 30 days. Focus trip to Williamsport to root on PLL on a perfect swing with emphasis on and the Klouters on the team. Very balance and visualization. Between each cool! swing, stop, and go through your routine. Quinn Iacolucci (11U) for his Grip the bat lightly and swing “inside the school participation and travel to ball”(knob to ball), while keeping your Japan. front shoulder in place. By doing this Spankie Schmidt (Coach) for all his drill every day and not facing a pitcher, hard work this summer at both the your swing will improve and later, in camps and tourneys. THANKS!! games, you will be able to “trust your Sid Johnson (alum/coach) for his swing”. GAGPTH! help with the 12U team in the last two tourneys. We hope your arm is recovering from surgery GO SID! “Baseball may not change the world, BUT it may change a youngster’s life!” Profile of the Month ***Ted Williams***Hall of Fame*** The last .400 hitter. Nicknamed the “Splendid Splinter”, “Teddy Ball game”, “The Kid” (before Griffey, Jr.). Ted Williams only goal in life was to be the best hitter that ever played the game…he may have accomplished that dream! Ted played for the Boston Red Sox his entire pro career. He won six batting titles and four HR titles. His career average was .344 and he hit 521 home runs. The list of his baseball feats is *After being hit during a Korean combat lengthy but would be even greater if mission, Ted Williams crash landed his he had not served his country in two Panther Jet* wars (WWII and Korean) as a Marine pilot, and taking almost five years away from the middle of his baseball career. Moreover, Ted was a strong believer in community and was instrumental in starting the Jimmy Fund in Boston. As Stan Musial did, Ted returned part of his paycheck one year because he did not feel he had earned it! Wow...a true American Hero!! ***Monthly Special*** Quote of the Month: “NO baseball, NO life; Know Baseball, Know life!” The lessons of baseball are the lessons of life and vice versa. Factoid of the Month: Both Smead Jolly and Tommy John made three (3) errors on a single play in a MLB game…YEOW! Book of the Month: Quantum Golf, Kjell Enhager (1992). This short work is basically concerned with golf but has the insight into preparing your mind to be successful as a hitter. Short and sweet. Quantum Vision is the key to any hand eye sport. Movie of the Month: “Kid Danny”. This documentary is part of ESPN’s 30-in-30 series and is the story of Danny Almonte. Danny was the kid who lied about his age and pitched a perfect game in the LL World Series. Compelling and an excellent example of how adults can ruin a youngster for life! Baseball Talk of the Month: “Hitting Shoes”— the reference to “magical footwear” that a player is wearing when he/she is raking/hitting the ball. Jones went 4-4 with his “hitting shoes” on! Baseball Rule of the Month: There are NO ties in baseball on calls at a base...NO tie goes to the runner!! The runner is either safe or out…an umpire must make a call! NEVER: Never give yourself a nickname!!! ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Celebrating Women in Baseball & Softball Softball originated in Chicago, with the first official women's team being organized in 1895, approximately eight years after the game was created for Jackie Mitchell signed a contract to play with the men. The first women's team was Chattanooga Lookouts. Her chance to prove herself formed at Chicago's West Division came on April 2, 1931, during an Exhibition game High School. against the New York Yankees when she pitched against Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, striking both out before walking Tony Lazzeri. BASEBALL TALK FUN FACTS Women have been playing baseball since 1866. The first official baseball game was held in 1846.