Welcome to the Scrappers!!!!!

We're glad baseball is back in the Turner household and I'm sure we're going to have a great season this fall. I'll use this page to update you on things going on, as well as for posting pictures. I will also send emails, but thought this may be easier for some folks and if we get enough pictures then at the end, you can print the blog to a blurb book, which will make for an easy keepsake. Great first practice and the team will not be lacking personality, that's for sure. Thanks again to all the dads for their help with the practice. In case you missed practice today or can't remember everything we talked about, here are a handful of items of interest:

• Without even having to ask, Carrie has volunteered to be the team mom. Thank you very much Carrie! Last year, we had a couple of team moms and that seemed to work out really well. If you're interested in helping Carrie out with the responsibility, shoot Carrie or I a message and let us know. Carrie will be coordinating the snacks, team basket for carnival, assigning dug-out parents, etc. My wife has done this the past couple of years, so I know its not always an easy job, so I really appreciate Carrie stepping up to help out.
• For the current year, equipment requirements include a glove and helmet (helmet is required to have a strap). Cleats and bats are optional (we have enough bats to go around).
• We should have practice and game schedules by the end of this upcoming week. The one thing I do know, is that we will have a game the first Saturday of fall break. If you will not be able to make it, please let me know (just shoot me an email). If we don't have enough kids, I would like to go ahead and let the other coach know and maybe we can try to make it up during a practice time that has been scheduled.
• Please discuss with your sons that they should only pick up a bat if one of the coaches/parents has told them it is ok to do so. They love to pick these up and swing them and often times are not careful to make sure there isn't someone behind them. Also, when they walk around with the bat, they should hold it by the barrel and not the handle.
• This year I'm going to hand out reward decals that can go on the back of the kids' helmets (parents, if you would prefer to not do that you can put the stickers on something else). If your kid plays in a game, then the next practice they are guaranteed a sticker. It will be a bone, since we're Scrappers. These stickers can be pulled off the helmet at the end of the season and if any adhesive is left, goo be gone can be used to remove it (you can get it at wal-mart for $3). If a kid does a great job hitting, playing defense, being a great teammate, etc. he will get a bone. I will let you provide them to them and tell them why they deserved it. It will be a great way to reinforce how proud each of us are of our kids. The goal is for all of the kids to have approximately the same number of bones (i.e., this is not a contest to show who is the best player.)
• Each game I will hand out a game ball to at least one of the players. In the past, I have written the date of the game and teams that played. Other than the snacks, the game ball is the kids favorite thing. By the end of the season, each player will have received a game ball.
• Next Saturday is hat day. If you're not familiar with that, its the day we get our hats! I know, hard to figure that one out. We will also get socks and pants. Not sure when our practice will be, but I'll get these prior to practice, so we can hand them out to the kids.
• Opening day is September 9th. Carrie should have our jerseys on September 6th, so if its similar to prior seasons, we'll put the jerseys on right before the game.

We're missing Big Train in the picture above, so I'll have to get another photo of everyone, but thought you all would enjoy it. Alright, I think that's it for now...I'll update you on items throughout the season through email or through the blog, so please take the time to check email and check the blog out from time to time.