9U - State of the Team Message

Longhorn Parents,

I hope that you all have enjoyed this season and experience as much as I have. It?s been a tremendous amount of work and commitment, and I thank you all for your contributions.

I want to give you all an update as to what to expect for the next few weeks. Since we have gotten back from Omaha, I have had a lot of conversations with Zach, and the other 9U coaches and have come up with what I anticipate the July schedule to look like.

I had hoped to come back and find a tournament for the boys to play in between now and our try-out for the ?09 club, but it?s not going to work out for several reasons. So here is what the plan is:

Practice:

We will continue to practice through July in preparation for our last tournament of the year. We have always had the St. Peters Wooden Bat Tournament on our schedule and I plan to for us to play in it from 7/26 ? 8/3. The boys will have a blast using the wooden bats and it will be a chance for them to showcase their talents in front of a lot of people that have not seen them this year. I would like for everyone to be available for this tournament.

Practice dates are:

7/1, 6-8 PM at Josephville
7/8, 6 ? 8 PM at Josephville
7/15, 6-8PM at Josephville
7/19 ? ?09 Team Try-outs for 9/10/11U Teams ? Location: Josephville Time: AM TBD
7/22, 6-8PM at Josephville
7/26 ? 8/3 ? St. Peters Wooden Bat Tournament

Try-outs:

First of all, as many of you probably already know Zach and Cliff are cold-heartedly taking a portion of our roster(Joe and Cal) to start up a new ?09 9U Longhorns Team. We are going to all greatly miss Joe, Cal and Cliff in our dug-out, but I know that they are doing what?s best for themselves and the Longhorn?s Family as a whole.

Secondly, I want to welcome the Tasche Family to the Longhorns Family. They have really been a part of the family now for a couple of years, but they have decided to be ?full-time? now. Devon will be on our roster and Connor will be on the 11U Roster. Also, Cory has accepted the highly lucrative position as the 11U coach for the ?09 season.

With the addition of Devon, I am excited about the potential that exists for our current set of players. Of our 9 players, I believe that they all have the potential to have successful seasons playing at the level that we intend to play next year(AAA, Major), and I don?t feel like we need to have a major try-out to have a successful ?09. With this being said, I will be scheduling a Parent/Coach meeting with each of you prior to the 7/19 try-out with the goals of:

1) Review our ?09 Intentions for the team.
2) Explain the expectations for players and parents
3) Discuss development needs and areas to focus on during the winter months
4) Discuss your feedback from this past season

From this meeting, I will be expecting answers regarding commitments for ?09 as soon as possible following our meeting. It?s my hope that we will have nine strong commitments and I will then know that I need to look for two new players to round out an eleven man squad.

I will not be quick to offer a position to a new player unless I am certain that the coaching staff and I feel like it is a good all around fit for the team and family.

Parent/Coach Conferences:

I am going to have two blocks of time set aside for these meetings, thirty minutes each. Let me know if you have a conflict that will not allow you to make this time; otherwise, I?ll see you there. I would prefer that both parents be there, but I understand that may not be feasible in all cases.

Location: Deer Run Library in O?Fallon

End of year Party:
Finally, we have quite a bit to celebrate this year. I am very proud of our organization and what has been accomplished since we started this last year, and I?m happy to pass along to you all that the Thorp?s have been generous enough to offer their community?s Lake and Beach area for a big end of the year cook-out and swimming party. What we need from you all is to determine the most convenient date.

Our options are:
8/9, 8/16 or 8/23

Please reply to Sherry and I by 7/1 with all dates that your family would be able attend.

Thanks,
Russell