The Bauerstown Blog

More Success, Fresh Ideas...

2009-08-31T06:47:00.000-07:00

Another successful BBA season has come and gone, next up fall ball. Oh, and we are going to have a new president.

My time at BBA started in 1998 when I signed my older daughter Alyssia up for t-ball. I was told there wouldn’t be a team if I didn’t manage so I jumped right in. It was my worst year at BBA. What a way to start. While complaining about it to my dad he said, "if you don’t like the decisions, become part of the decision makers." So the following year I became a commissioner and things got better.

After spending the last three years as president and two years previous to that as treasurer, I was fortunate to assemble and be part of a great team of decision makers that has led BBA into an era of unprecedented success. As we move ahead to 2010 and beyond, the team is still in place with one exception, and that is me. My youngest daughter Amanda is approaching her last year at BBA and I don’t want our time together to be interrupted by the issues that arise throughout the year. She has patiently and sometimes impatiently stood waiting to catch, pitch or bat while I handled complaints, issues or other impromptu surprises while up at the field. In 2010, she gets all my attention, she deserves it and I am not going to miss out on it.

So, I did not quit, I did not resign and I certainly am not leaving BBA. I am just refocusing my attention before she no longer wants it.

Opening Day

2009-04-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

The first thing to say about Opening Day is "what fantastic weather!" It was 85 and sunny. Once you have good weather, everything else falls into place, but not without a lot of help from a lot of people. We had record sales at the concession stand which seemed like a certainty at the time because things never slowed down. The BBA Grill went full blast from morning to evening. We are blessed with so many parents who sit on our board or just volunteer their time to make sure such an event is a success.

This was the first time I walked in the parade in a couple years. My daughter Amanda is older and the girls feel above doing a banner and walking. Enter my new t-ball team. As in every year, we had a lot of people calling late about registering for t-ball. It is hard to get out information to the families of younger kids. I ordered a new team of uniforms before we even had enough kids. It worked out good as I now have a full team. Since these parents are new to Bauerstown it was nearly impossible to find a manager. I volunteered and there I was with my new t-ball team at the parade. We had a great banner and there are some great kids and families on the team. They are certainly future BBA stars and the parents are future BBA managers and participants on our board.

We had Venture Outdoors give us a wonderful deal on a climbing wall which was available all day as well as a Moonwalk, a balloon guy and tattoo artist from Mike the Balloon Guy. Also returning was the PaintChick doing custom helmets and shirts.

It is always a pleasure to have Commisioner Duss and Township Manager Tim Rodgers attend. The township is an ardent supporter of BBA and does a lot to help us. The opening of our new Newland Street Parking lot is a perfect example.

One of the many charms at Bauerstown is the BBA pride. We are proud of our organization and it is evident by watching our members take the initiative to help out and keep our complex and organization running well. When you hear "We are BBA", it really does mean something.

And now on with the 2009 season.....

BBA 2009 Off to a Roaring Start!

2009-04-20T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday’s BBA Night at the Races was our first mark on the 2009 season. It was a tremendous success not only by exceeding our fundraising goal but also in just plain fun.

We began our preparations with registration in January, then drafts, ordering uniforms and a lot of planning but we are now on the fields practicing. All games have been scheduled and it is full speed ahead for our 2009 season.

Early weather forecast for Opening Day this Saturday is good! Let’s keep the prayers going for good weather. As in every year, we have a lot planned. There will be a rock climbing wall, a large moonwalk ride, a balloon guy, a face painter and temporary tattoo artist along with The PaintChick who will be there customizing helmets and t-shirts. There will also be tons of food and games not to mention our parade to kick off the day.

If you can’t have fun at Bauerstown, you just can’t have fun period!!!

Ghost Town BBA

2008-07-28T11:28:00.000-07:00

Our 2008 spring season is officially over. BBA will look like a ghost town for the next few weeks. Sure we have fall ball coming up in September but that actually falls under a new season and new board of officers. Our new board is installed and officially takes over at the September meeting.

The September meeting in 2007 is where it all began for the 2008 season. You start with planning, more planning, executing the plans, then making adjustments to the plans, more executing, more adjusting all while adding in hope, prayers and before you know it, we’re done.

Looking back, if I had the chance to do it all over again, would I have changed things? Oh most definitely yes I would. But no one has that kind of hindsight and I am truly humbled by our success as a team and organization this year. We had groups (teams) of members stepping up in all phases of our planning and during the execution of the plans such as the Monte Carlo Night, Opening Day, BBA Day and the tournaments. At BBA, we have people who want to get involved!

Being involved means you have to go outside your own comfort zone, take a chance by taking on a responsibility, and even adding a new worry to your life that sometimes seems to have too many already. Why on earth would you want to complicate your life even more by taking on a responsibility to a whole group? Why would you put yourself in a position to fail in front of a whole group?

We have answers to those questions. When you work in groups you develop friendships and your kids meet new friends. You develop a comfortable sense of belonging and knowing the you are not alone and there are people (friends) who you can count on to ensure there is no failure. BBA is your safety net. Is making new friends for yourself and your kids worth the complications it adds to your life? Hell yeah!

Oh, and by the way, I do and will, have a chance (opportunity) to do it all over again.

Time Flies When Your Having Fun

2008-06-23T13:07:00.000-07:00

Well, so much for my quarter season, half a season and three quarter season blogs. How about an end of season, before tournaments blog instead?

What a season it’s been! We have had some rain but nothing really to mess up the season for anyone; hey we play in the spring you know so we’re going get some. We had two BBA teams go UNDEFEATED and all playing very good baseball and softball.

There are many memories to look back on this year. Our BBA Day was a fantastic community day filled with ball games, food and fun, particularly the adult softball game in the evening. Afterward, through the teamwork of some BBA members, we were able to bring the Pens playoff game to the concession stand pavilion and not just on a small TV set, but to a big screen and projected to about 6 foot by 8 feet and in surround sound stereo! We had another great community day with the Victoria O’Neil Picnic in the Park that included more great food, a Chinese auction and all kinds of different games for the kids like volleyball, kickball, and contests like a homerun hitting contest, closest to the pin, and hit the bucket.

Nowadays, it seems our season is split into two seasons, the regular season and tournaments. There are also some playoff games left and on July 4th we host the Girls Slow Pitch All Star game. We began the season in April, had a busy May and June and now we gear up for a crazy July filled with tournament ball.

And before anyone can catch his or her breath, sign up for Fall Ball is just around the corner!

Opening Day BBA 14 – Rain 2 – Wind 1

2008-05-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Weather can be like a woman. Generally unpredictable and when you try to forecast a result, you end up making an ass of yourself. Those poor weathermen, I had been cussing them out all week. As last week progressed, the chance of rain increased to the point of 70%. Friday’s forecast was not much better. Well, Friday came and we got all the preparations finished. The evening ended with a cold beer and a gaze up into a clear night’s sky. Saturday morning was beautiful. We got the parade in and all our opening ceremonies. We also got all our games in, except one. An instructional game was started but not finished.

We had two rainstorms come through the complex, one at about 1:30pm and another about 3:00pm. The first rain lasted about a half an hour, just as our juggling act was starting. After it blew through, the games were completed and the juggling act performed on the grass next to the t-ball field. The second rain lasted about as long as the first one but we got the 4:00 game on and finished. That’s the parade, opening ceremonies and 12 games. Bauerstown scores 14. It rained twice, rain scores 2.

So how did the wind score 1? At about 10:58 am, I am a little full of myself with the success of the events leading up to the beginning of the 11:00 ceremonies. I am beaming with pride as Bauerstown members made our complex look absolutely spectacular. There were people here all day Friday working and on Saturday morning, members were arriving two hours before the parade started to help get everything ready. Then, just before I am ready to turn on the microphone, I noticed a voice mail message on my cell phone. Since our representative from Senator Jane Orie’s office had yet to arrive, I decided to take a moment to listen to the message. At that moment, I believe God had the need to send me his own little message. While listening to my voice mail (Orie’s rep was lost and couldn’t find our complex) a gust of wind picked up the two tents (we use for our executive board members and dignitaries to sit under) and brought them both crashing down on me. There I was with the phone still to my ear, completely covered and wrapped in canvas and bent metal. Stunned, I remember hearing people saying “don’t worry Jim we will get you out of there”. Within seconds our board members, and others along with Township Manager Tim Rogers and Commissioner Ed Duss, had removed the mess. Thank you God for the quick humbling before I was about to start.

So was there a moral to the wind story? A sort of epiphany realized? The canvas and metal wrapped around me can be a metaphor to running a volunteer organization. You sometimes get completely inundated. Standing there under the tents, I was stunned, overwhelmed and needed help. The help came in the form of our members, my friends and our township representatives to pull everything off me. And that is what made me the luckiest man in the world this past Saturday. We have a wonderful thing going on here in this organization because we have great people involved and a township that appreciates the work we do. I am honored to be President.

Soon, it will be time to step away for others to have this opportunity. Metaphorically, I will always look back at this little comedic event to remember that any time I get myself too overwhelmed, I always have my BBA friends who volunteer to help. I also would like to thank God for keeping my wife in the concession stand during this time. If she would have be witness to this, she would still be laughing at me.

No Rain on Opening Day…Pleaseeeeeee!!!

2008-04-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

Opening Day is four days away and the weather prediction is RAIN. I am currently on suicide watch.

Why Can’t I Just Snap My Fingers and Poof!

2008-04-10T13:34:00.000-07:00

Ten days into April and we have a zillion things to do to our fields and complex. That is about the norm every year but you just can’t get the image of the place in mid June as the way it is suppose to be now. Except for our awesome, once a year field guy, we rarely have a hired professional come up to work on our complex. It is usually an assortment of parents who try to volunteer some time to help out. Our volunteers are on different schedules and have different priorities. That is why I am patient and hope everyone else is, when it comes to preparing the complex. Sure we have issues that need to be taken care of, but one by one we have been knocking them off our list. The plumbing issues will be taken care of in a couple days, the stand will be open by this weekend, the fields are now being cut and new bases are being set. There are even more bleachers going up.

As I said in the past, if you are helping me, I appreciate it and your input and ideas are welcomed and used. There have been all kinds of creative ways parents have helped. If you have a suggestion or negative comment and it doesn’t include “I’ll help”, your words are falling on deaf ears. This Bauerstown community is growing in the “I’ll Help”s. More and more parents are helping and showing a pride in what WE can accomplish in providing a top notch association for our kids. Don’t be left behind in this wonderful sense of community pride and spirit. Ask your manager, “how can I help?”. If he doesn’t have an answer for you, I will.

Monte Carlo Night

2008-04-10T10:24:00.000-07:00

I have been referring to this as Monte Carlo Extravaganza in a tongue and check sort of way. As far as BBA is concerned, it IS an EXTRAVAGANZA! The effort and success from our MC committee was just outstanding. We had more donations from members and sponsors than last year and last year was amazing! As I said in my previous post, I needed a second wind. Looking around at the contributions of gifts, food and manpower (womanpower) was inspiring. It made me so proud, so appreciative, and so fired up to get the season moving along.

My wife, Anita, has been the reluctant chairperson of this committee. I needed to pass on the worries and since she is our events coordinator, she got stuck with the worries, the planning and the sometimes the chaos. By the end of the night, everything was under control, running smoothly and quickly cleaned up. She may think I do all the leading at BBA, even though I don't, but Monte Carlo Night was her time to shine and she was shining bright. I am proud of her and I love her. I just don’t tell her enough. (must be a man-thing)

I also want to thank everyone for his or her help in setting up, tearing down and soliciting contributions and donations. And how about all those gift baskets!!! Events like this bring our BBA community closer. (Proud to be BBA!) It gives us a fun setting to enjoy each other’s company and conversation. Kudos’ to all that helped and thank you to those that bought tickets, joined in on the fun and support Bauerstown.

Ready for my Second Wind…

2008-04-04T10:00:00.000-07:00

Right now, I’m tired. There is a lot that goes into planning for the spring season and most of it is done in March. As I said in the last blog we did a lot of work in March. Unfortunately it was not ALL the work. There’s still work that needs to be done to the fields, there are practice time issues with the teams, there are people still calling me to sign up their kids even though registration was in JANUARY.
April brings us the chores of getting the concession stand up and running, uniforms handed out, pictures taken, season schedules to be worked out and coordinated with field times, bleachers to build, more general repairs and of course, we have Opening Day April 26th. So…I’m ready for my Second Wind…

Spring is in the Air & there is Activity Everywhere!!!

2008-03-31T12:49:00.000-07:00

This past weekend became the "unofficial" start of baseball and softball here at Bauerstown. While some managers may have had a practice or two before, this weekend really got things going. How exciting!!!

So what made this weekend the unofficial start? We had parents working hard preparing the complex and kids playing on the fields. The nets were hung in the batting cages and they were used throughout the weekend. We had a great number of people working and cleaning the concession stand. We even got it painted inside. We are building even more new aluminum bleachers for fields 1,4 and 5. The calendars were hung in the barn and managers are setting up their practice and game schedules.

Whew! Talk about your March Madness! We had three drafts, an equipment meeting, a coach’s clinic, three new bleachers ordered and delivered, a meeting with the photographer, a Monte Carlo meeting and our regular meeting. Teams were selected, kids called, uniforms ordered, equipment & game balls ordered, picked up and distributed. The concession stand was re-keyed, water was turned on and the garbage dumpster delivered. You know you are ready to start the year when the garbage dumpster gets delivered!

Get ready for April, starting off with the Monte Carlo Night extravaganza and ending with the “official” Opening Day.

T-Ball, the Good Ole Days

2008-03-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

I miss T-Ball. You can’t get much simpler than T-Ball. No frustrating drills on hitting the cut off man. No pounding your head off the fence post when they swing at a 3-0 pitch in the dirt. Just simple, here is how to throw, be careful swinging the bat, make sure the person you are throwing to is paying attention. I know it wasn’t all as wonderful as I remember it. You always forget the little stuff that used to drive you crazy. Uncertainty is probably the most interesting of all feelings. Where are we going to go from here? What is it like in the older leagues? How successful are some of these kids going to be? How successful is my kid going to be? Maybe the biggest challenge is to keep the kids from being bored in field and board sitting waiting to bat. That’s one thing that never changes no matter how old they get. The T-Ball teams are drafting this week, that is probably why I have T-Ball on my mind. I miss T-Ball.

You Can’t Please All the People All the Time

2008-03-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

At the last board meeting I fielded one of the most hilarious comments so far for 2008. “How come the girls get to pick their field nights first?” The comment was immediately followed by a resounding sound of silence. The silence represented the fact that the comment was completely off base. Both girls and boys commissioners work together to set the practice schedule for their field while the prime game nights have never been an issue with any managers for at least the last few years I have been on the board. What the comment did for me beside providing for some good ole’ “from the belly style” laughter, was remind me of comments I have heard throughout my ten years at Bauerstown.

ALL THEY CARE ABOUT IS THE BOYS/GIRLS. Choose the last part, boys or girls. It usually is determined by whatever team the President is managing. Although this may have been true many, many years ago, it certainly has not been the case with the two Presidents (covering 7 years) that were before me. They managed, at separate times, both their son’s team and their daughter’s team. Essentially being on both side of the fence. For me, I have only daughters but I rely heavily on our boy’s commissioners for input and assistance in any decision-making. Safe to say, no one has been bold enough to make that comment about me in my presence. If anybody does feel that way, I certainly invite his or her input.

IT’S ALL POLITICAL! This was said to me last year. While I certainly admired the person’s willingness to share their ignorance with me, the reasoning amazed me. Anybody that would refer to the dealing and decision making of an organization like ours as political is just giving us way too much credit. We are moms and dads, laborers, office employees, salesman, mechanics, engineers and other professions and no one has time to be a politician or play any political games. We simply don’t have the time or the energy.

After my first year at Bauerstown in which I was my daughter’s t-ball manager, I was sitting with my Dad and complaining and probably using the above comments when he said, “If all of that is true, what are you going to do about it?” Simply put, if you don’t like the process that makes the decisions, then get involved in the process and become one of the decision makers. My loving Dad then added “If not, then shut your lazy mouth and respect those who are putting in more time that you”.

So the next time your watching your child play ball and you are stuck listening to someone ranting about the “problems with Bauerstown”. Turn to them and ask them, “So what are you going to do about it?” Oh, and make sure you give them my number; I have a lot of work for them.

Draft Days

2008-02-26T10:48:00.000-08:00

Our draft days are coming up, girls this week, boys next week. The draft is when the managers pick their team. Some age groups don’t draft because there are only enough players to make one team. That means players are stuck with one manager and that manager is stuck with those players. In most divisions there are several teams. After the managers are chosen, they are required to come to the draft and pick their team. While I have them as a captive audience, I first hit them with all the BBA events and activities they have to help promote. This year, they will also be hit over the head with Safety Issues and programs. After some research, I have found that there is an enormous amount of information available about safety. Not only basic first aid but there is also information on how to prevent injuries and dealing with health issues. Our goal this year is to have our managers updated on important safety issues. You will also hear more about this later.

Now, on to the drafting. Each manager has his or her own style and strategies when picking a team. As a manager for many, many years I can tell you some of the variables.
- Pick the best available player at all costs.
- Pick the kids who behave and are team players.
- Pick the kids with the best, most cooperative parents.
- Pick the kids whose parents request you.
- Pick your kid’s friends to make him/her happy.
The opposite holds true on the strategies of not picking certain kids. There are probably also variables I fail to mention because I want to believe our managers focus on what is right and fair. The priority of these variables is at the discretion of the manager based on his/her personality and goals for the season.

Shortly after the draft is over, the managers make the calls and the kids start talking in school, I start getting the phone calls. I will be right up front and say that my patience on getting phone calls from parents not happy about who drafted their child is very, very, very low. We specify on the registration form that we do not guarantee that one’s child will be placed on the team he/she wants. That means making new friends and learning to get along with others will be valuable lessons learned for the year. It is also called growing up.

I hope this year I do not get many calls and parents give their managers a chance. We have very good managers who I believe have the team’s best interest in mind. This is a team sport and children need to learn how to be a contributing part of a team. And when I do get a call from an unhappy parent, I pray for God to give me enough patience to explain why we will not assist in the spoiling of a child, but we will assist in teaching the child about teamwork.

Anticipation….It’s keeping me wai a a a a ting…

2008-02-15T10:34:00.000-08:00

The time between registration and the first warm up throw in practice can be excruciatingly long. And the weather…the weather always seems to get worse right when we want it to get warm enough to catch a ball without it stinging your glove hand. But nooooooooo…not yet, the waiting period has begun. So what do you do while you wait? Some have found ways to practice inside in gyms by signing up for clinics and organized practices. Some just fret about who is going to be the manager and who is going to be on the team. As I explained in previous blogs, the commissioners and us board members spend this time scrabbling to get enough kids to make fair and even teams. We are also planning for the parties and other events like Opening Day and BBA day that makes for a fun season. But until then, there is going to be some more snow, more cold and more anticipating before we get out the rakes and mowers and start priming the fields. Either way, I stay busy, but I prefer to be busy outside with the hustle and bustle of field preparations, kids playing ball and the smell of concession stand popcorn in the air.

Meetings and more meetings

2008-02-11T12:34:00.000-08:00

This is the time of year when I am going to have meetings coming out of my… you know what. It’s planning time. We have to plan for the Monte Carlo night, Draft Nights, Field Days, Picture Day, Opening Day, BBA Day, take your child to work day, okay…I made up the last one. You get the idea. Tonight is our monthly meeting of the membership. We hold it at the local pub and restaurant called the Little Brown Jug. They are very good to us there and give us the back party room for our meetings. Meetings can be a lot more tolerable when you can eat a little and sip on a beer or two. Also I try to make sure the meetings move along quickly. Cover what we need to and keep it moving. One hour is my goal for the meeting time. Sometimes we go over, but not much. Although only the Board votes on issues, the meeting is open to the whole membership. If you want to know what is going on with the organization then come to the meeting, eat, sip on a drink and take in all that is happening. Although I keep the formal meeting to about an hour, many people stick around afterward. This offers new members a chance to network and meet others. If you haven’t been to a BBA meeting, keep an eye on our website for dates (they are usually on a Monday) and join us.

Safety

2008-02-08T11:13:00.000-08:00

Last year my daughter was pitching when someone lashed a drive right past her head. With the age of new bats, the speeds that a ball can shoot through the pitchers mound are terrifying. My daughter acted like it was just another play. After some coaxing, she did admit it shook her up a bit. As a dad, it scared me to death! It not only shook me up but it took the game away from me. As the manager, I had a hard time functioning the rest of the game. The next inning, I struggled to give signals to the batter from third base and simple strategies were being ignored. Of course by that time my daughter had forgotten about it and went about the game. I couldn’t do that. I could not help thinking about how a matter of a few inches could have changed her life.

Now I want to go out and buy every item of protective gear there is. Put her on the mound with some sort of pitcher’s version of catcher’s gear. It is easy to want your child to wear safety apparel but the real challenge is to get them to want to wear it. I am afraid of my little “baby” getting hurt and she is afraid she may not look “cool”. Guess who is going to win that battle.

This year we have a plan to put forth an effort both financially and through instructions to promote safety. Fielder’s facemasks and chest plates are becoming more common. Wearing this equipment is also becoming more accepted. We will have this equipment and apparel in the equipment bags and available to purchase. Many kids like mine will want her own facemask. We will have them available and on hand to purchase at the same cost we get them for. We are also investing in new bases that fold on impact when sliding into them. This will reduce ankle and leg injuries.

I am just about positive that every time my daughter struggles on the mound this year, it will be because of that “stupid” face mask her dad and manager (same guy) is making her wear. I’ll take the complaints and nasty looks over seeing her get hit, and deal with the kind of pain she would be in, if she wasn’t wearing that “stupid” face mask.

Managers

2008-02-06T10:07:00.001-08:00

Now is the time when our board reviews our sign up lists and determines manager prospects. My first thought is always, why in the world would someone want to do this? Or if we are looking at a new prospect, do they really know what they are getting into? This, comes from someone who, by my last count, managed 17 teams.

A manager must be a glutton for punishment. They have to be a sounding board for parents who think their kid is the next great major leaguer. They have to have organization skills to take care of picture day, uniforms and scheduling. They have to be a promoter for such events as Monte Carlo Night, Opening Day, All Star games and tournaments. They have to be a disciplinarian when dealing with unruly kids who want to run the team. They have to have the patience of Jobe to deal with parents who think they know how to run your team. Why? Why put up with all this?

Because it is one of the most rewarding experiences you could have in a lifetime! Not just winning. If you win, great! It is about taking the enormous responsibility of molding a child’s brain into a positive mind set. What?!?! Sports, is a microcosm of life. It is a privilege to have the platform to teach kids how to win with humility and lose with dignity. To understand teamwork is more than just playing with your friends, it is playing with kids you may not particularly like in school, but have to root for on the field. It is about teaching that if you do not give your best effort, you are cheating your teammates. When Bobby steals second base, what is more important a few days later, was he out or how did he handle being called out?

Managing a team is a privilege accepted by men and women who should be blessed with support, encouragement and a little bit of sympathy.

Registrations

2008-02-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

After registrations come the logistical nightmare of putting them in order and making sure each age group is correct. We have to do this in a hurry to prepare for late registrations that always come in. This is a difficult time for BBA officers and coaches. We need to determine how many teams we are going to have, then make the most difficult decisions of all. When do you stop accepting late registrations? In a perfect world everybody signs up on time and each team has 11-12 players. Obviously this doesn't happen. What if we get 17 kids to register for a particular age group? That is too big for one team and not enough for two. This is where the work comes in. Our group has to call families to see if there are more sign ups coming. We want everybody to play but what happens when you have 12 kids sign up for the age group and then as time progresses 6 more want to play. Do you close the age bracket at 12 and deny kids an opportunity to play? Do you accept the late sign ups thus penalizing the kids whose parents signed them up on time because now they are going to play less innings? There is not correct answer. This is the stress of registration time, hoping all teams are filled to a manageable level and no one is denied a chance to play.

Ya Gotta Start Somewhere...

2008-02-04T13:23:00.000-08:00

So this is the first posting of the Bauerstown Blog. Be ready for some insightful readings on all the happenings of what goes on in a community baseball and softball program. As President, I find myself in the middle of everything. There are issues, problems, success stories, new programs we are pushing and there are also the same situations different year senarios. What's new this year? I am going to blog about it. And you thought I had no life...