Active Team Sports : 2008 : April

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May 2008 Snapshotz Winner

Posted by Trish18 Apr 28, 2008

We are a TEAM!
This was taken before the first pitch on opening day. The boys were so excited to be together for their first game.

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0 Comments Permalink Tags: snapshotz, trish-oberhaus

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Bringing Baseball Back to New Orleans

Posted by mikeyactive Apr 22, 2008

Pitch In For Baseball™, the youth baseball charity that has partnered with Little League International since 2005, is taking on its biggest project to date.

Even though Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans more than two years ago, many schools in that region have yet to see baseball return to their community. As a result, Pitch In For Baseball is partnering with the Recovery School District to help restart youth baseball and softball at 25 middle school and high school programs in the city.

Allen Woods, Athletic Director for the Recovery School District in New Orleans, shared his perspective on the project. “I am constantly looking for opportunities for our students to participate in wholesome athletic programs. When Pitch In For Baseball contacted me about their plan to help the children of New Orleans I was elated. The help being provided by Pitch In For Baseball will allow our students to train, learn and play one of Americas favorite past times again. In New Orleans we will be saying ‘Batter's Up!’ this spring.”

“This is a very important project and a huge challenge for our organization,” said Pitch In For Baseball Executive Director, David Rhode. “We have a strong desire to see the kids of New Orleans get all of the opportunities they so richly deserve. Having a chance to play baseball is just one small piece of that equation.”

The effort to provide equipment and uniforms to the public schools is just part of a broader program to help the kids of New Orleans. Pitch In For Baseball is helping to arrange coaching clinics and is also working closely with local politicians and Little League’s Urban Initiative to expand Little League’s impact on the storm-ravaged community.

Pitch In For Baseball, a 501(c) 3 charity, will need the continued donations of equipment and financial support to make this project happen. “We have a January 19th deadline to collect and ship this equipment. We will need a lot of assistance from a lot of generous donors to help make this project a reality,” said Rhode.

To find out more about how to get involved in this project, contact David Rhode at 215-371-2841 or drhode@pitchinforbaseball.org

4 Comments Permalink

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Recruiting Realities

Posted by Michael Husted Apr 18, 2008

There were some good articles in the New York Times recently about college recruiting and scholarship money. The series of articles definitely highlighted the somber tails that some
student-athletes experience. Like anything else, we usually only get to hear or
read about the top 1% who have success.

I believe that there needs to be a shift of thinking in the college recruiting
process, both by parents and student-athletes. As athletes we have pride. Sometimes
that pride serves us well and other times it can hurt us. Most of us expect or
hope for scholarships to play in college. Parents definitely hope for it and
think that we are the next best player since Tom Brady (Coincidently, he was a
6th round draft pick.)

Yes, college tuition is getting more expensive every year. Therefore, we feel that it is important to
get a scholarship. I know that I was looking to get one to help my parents. (I
was also hoping that if I got a scholarship out of high school, they would buy
me a Suzuki Samurai with wood paneling on the side.)

Neither happened. I ended up "walking on" at the University of Virginia and driving a beat up Ford
Pinto with no A/C. The summer after I graduated high school, I received a call
from Liberty University with an offer for a “full
ride.” I respectfully declined.

It should not be about “show(ing) me the money.” I understand
that there are some people that cannot go to college for financial reasons
unless they get an athletic scholarship.

However, for this discussion, the shift in mind set should be focused on the benefits of playing
college sports. Athletics offer more
long term benefits then tuition alone.
Pursuing sports in college can increases acceptance opportunities. Once there, just a few of the traits you
learn are:

Time management
Discipline
Team work
Self-Motivation
How to deal well with pressure

Those skills and a college
degree will ultimately land you with a great job when you graduate.
Many employers look first to student-athletes for the above mentioned
traits when hiring.
If fact there is even a website geared towards hiring student-athletes
out of high school: http://www.athletes4hire.com.

Read the series of articles in the NY Times.

Good luck!

4 Comments Permalink

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Sports Weekly - 4/11/08

Posted by Active Sara Apr 11, 2008

Who doesn't love a good t-shirt? I know I do. ESPN recently published some of the t-shirt slogans that didn't make the cut in the MLB online team shops. My two favorite slogans just so happen to be from the two teams I love to watch play each other the most - the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Check out Rejected T-shirt slogans to view some of these hysterical MLB rejected t-shirt slogans.

Do you refer to the sport as soccer or football? Well, no matter what you call it you will love this video of the top 50 goals.

How extreme is extreme? Well, a recent photo essay by TIME will show you just what it means to push the limits. The North Pole Marathon, which is run entirely across the frozen Arctic Ocean, is just one of the 13 most Extreme Marathons in the world.

Andy Roddick has the fastest serve recorded in pro tennis at 155 mph. Watch this Active video...

Anyone else thinking, "I wish I could serve like that?" These 10 Tips for Faster Serves from Active will help you be more like the legend himself.

I would assume everyone has at least some knowledge of the protests going on regarding the Olympics and Torch Relay, but have you played the video game in which your goal is to "navigate the Olympic torch away from angry protesters." It is an interesting way of handling the situation to say the least, brought to you by ESPN. Play Torch Run and let us know your thoughts on the game and the situation.

Have you found anything interesting recently? Share it!

1 Comments Permalink Tags: sports-weekly, sara-allen, active-sara, sports, tennis, andy-roddick, olympics, marathons, marathon, running, soccer, football, espn, t-shirt-slogans, slogans

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NBC Invades Little League Game

Posted by mikeyactive Apr 9, 2008

Every Little Leaguer dreams of what it's like to play in the bigs. For the 20- some members of the Mudcats and Lugnuts of Hermosa Beach, California they actually got the chance.

The comedy troupe Improv Everywhere--famous for its staged musical number in a food court--recently transformed a typical Southern California Little League game into a dazzling spectacle of face-painted fans, costumed mascots, Jumbotron highlights and even a flyover from the Goodyear Blimp.

Best of all, none of the participants had any idea beforehand what was to occur. With a little help from the Hermosa Beach Little League commissioner, Improv Everywhere was able to create programs with detailed player information and provide in-depth play-by-play coverage from NBC Sports broadcaster Jim Gray, without a single player, parent or coach in on the joke.

Any doubt about the lasting effect this theatrical event may have had on the teams can be summed up in an e-mail sent to Improv Everywhere from one of the parents involved.

I believe you guys are behind the “Hermosa Beach Little League” taping that took place Saturday, March 10th, 2007. The parents will be talking about this for a long time… the kids even longer. My son was a pitcher on the Lugnuts. We had a long/tough season last year. Saturday made up for everything. I want to sincerely thank you for making Saturday so unbelievable. It was like a birthday, Christmas, and New Years Eve captured in a few amazing hours. Thanks a million for a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Video of this brilliantly- executed improvisation can be seen at the Improv Everywhere blog.

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One Shining Moment

Posted by Trish18 Apr 8, 2008

The NCAA crowned the men's basketball national champion last night when the University of Kansas overtook Memphis State in overtime. Memphis, ranked 339th of the country's 341 teams with 59 percent free-throw shooting, missed four of their last five shots from the stripe to allow Kansas to force overtime. The Jayhawks emerged victorious, 75-68, on the 20th anniversary of their last NCAA championship win.

I want to take a moment to display the highlights of one of the greatest single-elimination tournaments of all time. That's right, here is One Shining Moment, where you can see the best of three weeks and 64 games' worth of college basketball:

Quite possibly the best three minutes in sports.