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Play Ball, (April 17th 2006)
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I know many of you have patiently waited for the schedule. Well the time has come and
baseball seasons is upon us. The 2006 Minor A Pirates coached by Joe
Cambria, Tom Paul, Robert Stachowiak and Kevin Pratt are excited to get this
very talented group of young men on to the field. We've had 4 or 5
practices, and we look good. This year is the first year most of the boys
will face another player at pitcher. We began playing mini games in
practice this week and our pitchers look solid, though some more game-time
experience will be helpful.
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All in all we had a good draft, got some great players, and look to have a
fun and successful season. Our games will be played at Dunbar School (731 Dunbar
Rd, Tallmadge) and Lutheran Church (759 East Ave, Tallmadge). Weekday
games are at 6:00pm, players will be there 1/2 hour earlier for autographs, and
weekend game times vary. I'm going to try to improve the newsletter from
last year by adding in some photographs, so if you take photographs during the
games, email them to me |
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We're excited to get this great group of kids on the field and playing ball.
We hope you can come, as well as aunts, uncles, grandparents, neighbors, etc.
Where can you have this much fun, sit this close to the field, park and watch
for free, and get autographs from the players so easily? We look forward
to seeing everyone there. |
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GO PIRATES!!
Coach Pratt
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To Parents and Players, (March 2006)
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My name is Kevin Pratt and I will be the manager of your child's MINOR A team for 2006. Our team is the "Pirates". This is my fourth year managing a team so I hope everything will continue to go smoothly. Joe Cambria has graciously agreed to help coach this year, but I will need one or two more coaches to help with score keeping, umpiring, helping the boys on the bench, and when one of us is missing. If anyone is interested in helping coach, I would greatly appreciate the assistance. Also, we need to buy or make a banner for the kids to carry in the parade. If anyone is handy at sewing and would like to make a banner, that is great. Otherwise, I'll ask everyone to pitch into buy the banner, which may cost around $100. |
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I like to have a team meeting before the season starts so the kids and parents have a chance to get to know each other before the season gets into full swing. My wife Deanna and I invite you and your child/children to our house for the team meeting on Thursday, April 6, 2006 at 6:00pm. We will supply the pizza and drinks, and we sure hope you can make it. Please RSVP so we know you are coming. |
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I look forward to the season and I know it will be a lot of fun. I plan to make this an enjoyable experience for everyone. I ask that we handle any criticism, complaints, or frustrations away from the kids so as not to pressure them or taint the fun. Lastly, please remember Minor A is still an instructional step so please refrain from coaching from the sidelines, yelling at the kids, or getting angry over. We will teach the kids the fundamentals, reinforce discipline and teamwork, and have a bunch of fun doing it. My intent is to keep the kids interested in baseball by making it fun. The last three years we have had very successful teams, so I think this formula works well. |
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I do not have a practice or game schedule yet, but Picture Day for the players and coaches is Saturday April 29, 2006 at the Ritchie Center located at "The
Hole". Our time is not set yet, so I'll have that for you at the meeting as well. The Little League Parade is Sunday, April 30, 2006. Lastly, the Little League Reverse Raffle is schedule for Saturday, May 13, 2006 at 5:30pm at the Tallmadge Community Center. This is a great event and I encourage you to attend and have a great time. The tickets are $70 a couple, and I have tickets if you are interested. I will pass along information pertaining to the game and practice schedule, locations and times of games and practices, and other useful information when we meet on Thursday, April 6. After each game, I send out a fun summary of the game, and they have been wildly popular. If you would like to receive these recaps and other information, please give me your email when we meet or e-mail me at:
prattmandu@yahoo.com. |
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Deanna and I look forward to meeting all of you on the 6th. We're excited about the new baseball season and hope you are too.
GO PIRATES!!
Kevin Pratt
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