Downey Monthly Update

Below are updates provided by Coach Downey at the monthly Diamond Club Meetings

 

Diamond Club Meeting - June 3, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

 

New Field

Since the last Diamond Club meeting, Bob Madison attended a City of Arden Hills Planning Commission Meeting to address their questions, and the City of Arden Hills City Council Meeting was held recently where the field was approved.  Construction should begin shortly.

 

 

High School Season

The Minnesota High School Baseball Coaches Association's proposal to add a week of practice did not make it through the region committees.  Nine of the 16 regions are required to vote Yes for a proposal to send it further.  The proposal received 7 Yes votes.

 

 

Summer Baseball

SAYB registration and tryouts for 16-18 year-olds was held, and teams were formed: two 16 year-old VFW teams (MV and Irondale), a 3rd 16-year-old team, and 2 Senior Babe Ruth teams.  Much thanks to Craig Dickison and Mike Anderson for a great deal of work in providing high school age baseball opportunities through SAYB this summer!

 

Nine SAYB teams expressed interest in having some Mounds View High School players help with their teams.  Twenty players have volunteered to help.

 

 

Summer Fun Program

We have 60 kids signed up for the Summer Fun Program thus far; I expect more to sign-up in the next 2 weeks.  I'm guessing that we'll end up with 80 kids.  Jon Nuss will run the pitching portion of the program.  Dan Reichert and Seth Rosin will be helping out.  I may need to hire additional help depending on the final numbers.  I have a Citi Cargo storage shed for storage of the equipment throughout the summer; the Summer Fun proceeds will pay for this.

 

 

Panoramic Pictures

There are about 10 panoramic pictures yet to be picked up by the players who ordered them - they are in the Athletic Office at school.

 

 

Diamond Club

Raising the significant funds that the Diamond Club did this past year is an outstanding accomplishment!  Many thanks to all of you for the significant commitment of time, energy and money to make this happen! 

 

I will miss the senior parents.  Special thanks to Diamond Club President Randy Reichert - you are a great model of what you always say, "We all do this for every kid - not just our own kid."

 

Diamond Club Meeting - May 6, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

New Field

The first Steering Committee meeting was held to discuss priorities, timing and fundraising. A spreadsheet of all possible add-ons with costs will be discussed at the next meeting.  The neighbors to the south of the new field expressed concerns at the last City of Arden Hills City Council Meeting; they "tabled" the issue.  Concerns included potential traffic through their yards to the field, the fear of field lights longer term, and most significantly that they were not involved in the process.  Since then, Bob Madison has met with the neighbors to discuss their concerns and get them up to speed with the decisions and why.  Bob Madison will be attending the City Council Meeting tonight.  Home plate and the backstop are staked out on the field.

 

Summer Baseball

SAYB registration and tryouts for VFW (16 year-old), Senior Babe Ruth (17-18) and other high school age teams is this Sunday.

 

Bob Madison, myself and the Irondale AD met with Tri-City Legion to discuss the need for multiple Legion teams next summer.

 

Summer Fun Program

A reminder of the Summer Fun Program - The program runs concurrent with the Mounds View High School summer Weight Training program; thus those high school participants that are already at the High School can conveniently participate before or after the weight lifting as they choose.  It is intended to be flexible and unstructured - you show up on days that you want, when you want, and stay as long as you want.  We've added a program for 1st - 5th graders this summer as well as a pitching program once/week.  Brochures are available at Community Education and at the Baseball Bulletin Board at school.

 

High School Season

We've done the best we can to reschedule all the cancelled games; I think I've rescheduled close to 30 games.  With virtually no available dates remaining on the calendar to reschedule, the Varsity and JV will end up playing 19 games; the Sophomore and Freshman teams will play 18 games.  With the weather and the proximity of Kohler, the Varsity team has had 1 practice at Kohler. 

 

Cardell Poe has been unable to coach this spring as planned due to school internship commitments.  Bjorn Anderson has assumed the Freshman Asst Coach role partway through the season; Bjorn will be paid $300 (vs. the $500 planned for Cardell).

Working with SAYB, we hope to assign 2 Varsity/JV players to an SAYB youth team; have the MV players attend at least one practice of the SAYB team.  There's value to both the MV players and SAYB kids.  We can cover roughly 18 teams.

 

We'll do the Senior "Youth Memories" Day again this year.  On Wednesday, May 21st; following practice, the Section Playoff team will go to Sitzer Park, sit in the grass and the seniors will have the opportunity to talk about some of their favorite youth baseball memories.  We will then go to DQ for dinner; just like the good old days.

 

I plan to put together some kind of season-in-review booklet with rosters, pictures, newspaper articles, etc. after the season; I am currently collecting articles, etc.  If you have anything that would be nice to include, please feel free to pass it along to me.

 

Looking ahead to 2009, the Metrodome is the site of NCAA Division I Basketball first and second round games the week of our Spring Break and first week of practice; thus utilizing the Metrodome for any practices will not be an option.

 

 

Diamond Club Meeting - April 1, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

 

 

Spring Trip

 

Players had a memorable and worthwhile experience in my opinion.  Much thanks to Ben Gallagher and the other parents that did so much in support of this trip.

 

Hamline worked well from all accounts for the players in Minnesota during Spring Break.

 

 

 

New Field

 

First Steering Committee meeting scheduled for April 2nd to discuss priorities, timing and fundraising.

 

 

 

Summer Baseball

 

Tri-City Legion registration is this Saturday and next.  Two legion teams will be sponsored.

 

SAYB will sponsor VFW (16 year-old) team, Senior Babe Ruth (17-18) and other high school age teams.

 

 

 

High School Season

 

Doing the best we can right now with the weather; the Shoreview Ice Arena is not ideal, but very helpful. 

 

The hope is to be outside on the MVHS practice fields by the end of the week.

 

Scrimmages will be rescheduled late this week if field conditions permit.

 

First games are scheduled for Monday next week.

Diamond Club Meeting - March 4, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

Spring Trip

 

Our "scrimmage" with St. Anthony on Friday was changed to an "unofficial game" so that  we will have umpires and an extra 30 minutes.  We were moved to 9:00PM to accommodate this.  We will make the 7:00AM Batting Cage session the next morning optional.

 

 

 

Informational Meetings

 

Two alternative meetings to provide information on the upcoming baseball season were held for students today.  A total of 20 students attended the 2 meetings.

 

 

 

Clinics

 

Ninety-two kids attended the 2 day baseball clinic at MVHS this past weekend.  Unfortunately, we had to turn down close to 20 additional people that wanted to sign-up; we just could not accommodate more kids indoors at MVHS.  In addition to the 2 gyms, we also used the wrestling room, the stage and some hallways.  Funds raised were donated to MVHS Baseball.  Equipment purchased for the clinic was donated to MVHS Baseball as well.

 

The "Summer Fun" programs mentioned before are finalized, and brochures are available.  We added a new program for 1st - 5th graders, as well as a structured pitching program on Tuesdays for 6th - 12 graders.

 

 

 

Captains Practice

 

Some players have expressed an interest in an opportunity to have additional gym time to throw next week.  Wednesday and Friday, 8:30PM-10:00PM, are available if the Captains want to schedule those time slots with Bob Madison.  The time before school is always available as well.

 

 

 

New Field

 

A Steering Committee that will meet regularly to pursue raising funds for additional field components is being formed.  This will be a working group, with up to a 2 year commitment, that will raise the funds.  Randy Reichert has agreed to join Bob Madison and Mark Downey on the committee.  Additional committee member spots are available to help with this effort.  Items to raise funds for include batting cages, bullpen mounds, scoreboard, bleachers, outfield windscreen, storage, and many other items.

 

 

SAYB Sponsorship of 16-18 Summer Baseball

 

Tri-City Legion Baseball Director Jeff Larson has stated that Tri-City will sponsor 2 legion baseball teams this summer; one for Mounds View school district students and one for Irondale students.  Private school players in the districts are eligible to play on these teams as in the past.  Irondale students that played on Tri-City Red last summer will have the option this summer to play on either team ("grandfather" provision).  This will enhance the opportunities for youth in the area to play legion baseball in the future.  That said, the Senior Babe Ruth program that SAYB will be sponsoring remains a critical component of providing development opportunities for Mounds View High School baseball players.  With college players returning, private school players, high school graduates playing, and "grandfathered players," the legion team will continue to have limited opportunity; most of our returning Mounds View High School baseball players each year will not be on the legion team.

 

Diamond Club Meeting - February 13, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

 

Season-End Banquet

 

The regular season ends on Friday, May 16th.  On Monday, May 19th, I have the Conference Season End Coaches Meeting.  Section playoffs start that Thursday, May 22nd.  Tuesday, May 20th is likely the best option for the season-end Banquet.  To try to do it during the Section playoffs is risky due to potential rain-outs (like we had last year).  To do it later than that is difficult because we're into June and all the summer team conflicts come into play.

 

Spring Trip

 

Our schedule from Disney has been received.  We have 6 practices on the field, 5 in the batting cage, and 3 scrimmages.  We have 5 days of significant blocks of time (6+ hours) for the players to visit theme parks, visit the Braves Spring Training site, relax by the pool, etc.

 

I am meeting with Ben Gallagher and Randy Reichert tomorrow (Thursday) to finalize the plans in preparation for a meeting with parents and players on February 18 at MVHS at 7:00PM.

 

 

Let's Play Ball Meeting

 

A reminder that the Pre-Season Informational and Mandatory Chemical Awareness Meeting for players and parents is scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th at 6:30PM in the MVHS Gymnasium.  This is the same night as the Diamond Club Meeting - thus moving the Diamond Club Meeting back to 7:30PM.

 

Web Site - History

 

I was provided 2001 stats recently; the history/records on the website have been updated.  I now have stats from every year since 1998 except for 2004.  Any information to enhance this MVHS baseball history can be sent to me, and I'll update the web site.

 

College Baseball

 

For anyone interested in watching college baseball, the Minnesota Gophers offer free ticket vouchers for the DQ Classic games on February 29 - March 2.  The vouchers (worth 2 free tickets each) can be found at the baseball bulletin board at MVHS.  Most all of the upper Midwest DI, DII and DIII colleges play games in February/March in the Metrodome as well.  Consult any team website of a school you may be interested in seeing for their game schedule, or visit the Metrodome's Event Calendar at http://www.msfc.com/events.cfm.

 

 

Summer Fun Program

 

The Summer Fun program that we did last year at MVHS will occur again this summer.  In addition, we will add:

-         a program for younger kids (grades 1-5) - more supervision and structure

-         a structured pitching program once/week on Tuesdays with Jon Nuss

These programs are being finalized, and brochures will be available shortly.

 

Winter Youth Clinic

 

The winter youth clinic is coming up on March 1 and March 2.  We have 35 kids signed up thus far.  I will be asking senior baseball players to help out.  If there are not enough seniors, then I will ask juniors.

 

Coaching Staff

 

Ryan Wahlund, MVHS Special Education Para, will join the coaching staff and be an assistant coach with the sophomore team.  This gives us 2 coaches for each team in 2008.

 

New Field

 

The School Board approved the construction of a new baseball field at Mounds View High School last evening.  Construction will begin in April, 2008, and the field will be ready for high school play in the spring, 2009.

 

SAYB Sponsorship of 16-18 Summer Baseball

 

Irondale Coach Chris Fink, Totino-Grace Coach Mike Smith and I are meeting with SAYB tomorrow (Thursday) to further discuss plans for SAYB's support of 16-19 age baseball this summer.  One outstanding issue remains the Legion team - the Legion Baseball President and Tri-City are currently in disagreement on the interpretation of new Legion regulations regarding the school(s) that can feed Tri-City Red.

 

Captains Practices

 

The option to add Saturdays, 1:00PM - 3:00PM, still exists if people are interested in it.  A couple of people have asked me about this.  It may be something the players have interest in after this Monday's Spring Trip Meeting?

 

Dinner and Silent Auction

 

Obviously this event was a huge financial success as a result of the Diamond Club member's significant efforts.  Equally important for me is the community and school enthusiasm for Mounds View baseball that this event helps foster.  Thank You!

Diamond Club Meeting - January 8, 2008

Coach Downey Comments

 

 

Coaching Staff

 

Cardell Poe (last year's Freshman Asst. Coach) feels that he cannot commit to being the Freshman Head Coach this spring due to 2 internships.  He would still like to help out again with the freshman team.  

 

Tim Flaherty has accepted the opportunity to be the Head Coach for the freshman team.  He is currently in school at Dunwoody. 

 

Aaron Moberg, previously involved with the baseball program as the umpire for all home freshman games, has agreed to be an assistant coach for one of our teams; sophomore or JV.  He will continue to be the freshman umpire (10 home games).  Aaron is currently an assistant girls hockey coach at South St. Paul, and he will be student teaching this spring.  He currently also does some site management (e.g. hockey) for MVHS.

 

I continue to seek one additional assistant coach.

 

 

SAYB Sponsorship of 16-18 Baseball

 

SAYB is planning to support the 16's (VFW) and 17-18's (Senior Babe Ruth) this summer.  An outstanding issue is that of the potential sponsorship of a Legion team as well - information received from the Legion Baseball President and Tri-City is inconsistent; current efforts are in progress to clarify/reconcile the different messages.

 

 

Youth Clinic

 

A youth baseball clinic for ages 9-14 (grade 8) (SAYB Junior Minor League, Little League and Big League) is finalized for March 1st and 2nd.  Registration information was sent to all MVHS Baseball parents and SAYB parents.  Community Education will also promote through the schools.

 

We will want some players to assist in this clinic.  We will provide the opportunity to seniors first.

 

 

 

8th Grade Information Night

 

I had a table at this event last evening.  I talked to 20 people who have 8th grade baseball players planning on attending MVHS next year.  I have all their email addresses.  A few people took a flyer on the Diamond Club Dinner event, but most people had already seen it from one source or another - a good sign.

 

 

 

Minnesota Baseball
I attended the American Baseball Coaches Association Convention in Philadelphia last week.  John Anderson, Minnesota Head Baseball Coach, was inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame.  Two years ago, Mankato State Head Coach Dean Bowyer was also inducted.  I mention this only because sometimes people think that baseball in Minnesota can't be very good because of the weather.  The fact is that we have very good coaching and very good baseball in Minnesota, as evidenced by the national recognition of these 2 people.  There are several other Minnesota baseball coaches in the coaching hall of fame as well.

 

 

Baseball Field

 

The school board is waiting on Ramsey County to approve utilizing the upper fields; amending the previous agreement with them regarding soccer fields.  Once this occurs, they can then proceed with further action on the proposal for a new on-campus baseball field at MVHS.

 

In working a Twins Youth Clinic over the Holidays at the Metrodome, I was able to talk to the Twins head groundskeeper about infield clay (mound, batters boxes).  He offered to sit down with us to discuss the clay options and any other field surface matters once a new field is approved.

 

 

Spring Trip

 

Our schedule from Disney is scheduled to be provided to us the week of February 4th.  With that, we can then define a detailed schedule for each day.

 

A meeting for parents and players going to Florida is scheduled for February 18th.

 

 

Captains Practices

 

I am working with Bob Madison to determine if there are some better dates for Captains Practices in the future in light of the times when we can only have the back gym on Tuesday or Thursday night.  One option for us to consider immediately is to add Saturdays, 1:00PM - 3:00PM; they are available most Saturdays if the Diamond Club is interested.

 

 

                                                                     

Diamond Club Meeting - December 4, 2007

Coach Downey Comments

 

-         I am meeting with SAYB President Mike Anderson and Irondale Coach Chris Fink on Wednesday evening to talk further about SAYB's intention to provide summer baseball opportunities for the 16-18 year-old age group.

 

 

-        Off season conditioning concepts and routines were provided to any players interested last week.  Players can see me anytime if they have questions or were unable to attend the meeting.  Off-season conditioning is optional; there are no coach led workouts.  Captains practices will begin in January.  The Captains are working with Bob Madison re- schedule.

 

 

-        A youth baseball clinic for ages 9-14 (grade 8) (SAYB Junior Minor League, Little League and Big League) is planned for March 1st and 2nd.  Sign-up will be done through Community Education.  Further information will be communicated shortly on the specifics. 

 

 

-         Mounds View High School and Mounds View District administration continue to investigate options for the future of a Mounds View High School home baseball field - all believe having a field on campus would best suit our needs.  The school board has given approval to work with Ramsey County to seek approval for utilizing the upper fields.  We are currently waiting for the Ramsey County Board to act upon this.

 

 

-         Pre-Season Informational and Mandatory Chemical Awareness Meeting: Tue March 4th?  Same night as Diamond Club Meeting.

 

Diamond Club Meeting - October 2, 2007

Coach Downey Comments

 

 

Game Schedule

 

The 2008 game schedule is almost complete; there are a few games yet to schedule to complete a 20 game schedule for all 4 teams.  Suburban East games were moved to 4:15PM (they used to be 4:00PM) for the coming season.  The schedule is available online, and will be updated as it is finalized.

 

 

Summer Tri-City Legion Baseball Program

 

Irondale Coach Chris Fink and I met with Jeff Larson from the Tri-City Legion.  At present, there is no plan to add additional Legion teams beyond the Tri-City Red Legion team.  Jeff Larson is open to SAYB taking ownership of the 16-18 programs for those players that do not make the Tri-City Red Legion team.

 

 

SAYB

 

Mounds View coaches and senior players conducted a 2 hour clinic for the SAYB Fall Big League Baseball Program on September 15th.  Approximately 30 SAYB players attended.

 

 

Field Update

 

The proposal for an on-campus field was finalized last week.  Information on the progress to date is expected to be shared next week.

 

 

Miscellaneous

-        Spring Trip - other players in Orlando cannot be accommodated

-         Bethel SRC status

-         November Meeting Date Options

o       Tue, Nov 6 - after 8:00PM

o       Thu, Nov 8

o       Tue, Nov 13

-         Diamond Club Documentation Manual

-         Game Announcer: opportunity requested

-         Fox 9 Online video clips

 

Coach Comments - Diamond Club Meeting - September 4, 2007

 

 

 

2007/2008 Budget

 

See attached for initial consideration/discussion.

 

 

Web Site

 

The index page was updated periodically throughout the summer with various post-season awards and other information.

 

I have added some archive pages for the Index and Diamond Club pages.  I will do a complete review of all pages and update for the 2007/2008 school year in September.

 

As always, suggestions are welcome for content enhancement and changes.

 

 

Summer Tri-City Legion Baseball Program

 

Jon Walsh and I coaching the Tri-City VFW team (16 year-olds) provides the benefit of spending an entire summer with the 16 year-old MVHS group.  The downside is that the commitment required precludes my involvement with any other team.

 

The Tri-City Red is a great opportunity for some MVHS players.

 

The Tri-City Senior Babe program does not provide the opportunity for MVHS players to develop their skills and have a positive summer baseball experience.  I believe this must change.  Irondale Coach Chris Fink and I are in agreement on this; we will be pursuing additional Legion teams to fulfill the need for additional opportunities.

 

 

SAYB

 

I will be conducting a brief 1-day clinic for the SAYB Fall Big League Baseball Program on September 15th.

 

I would like to conduct a winter youth clinic, and will be looking at options that would include MVHS and Bethel.

 

 

Summer Baseball Fun Program

 

Over 40 students in 6th - 12th grade participated.  The program ran 4 days/week from June 18th - July 31st.  On any given day, 20 or more of the participants attended.  The program was unstructured; with students able to come and go as they chose.  They were able to utilize several different hitting stations, as well as the significant acreage of the MVHS practice field area.  Many of the High School students came daily for 20 minutes to take some batting practice following their weight lifting at the High School.  Other participants stayed 1-2 hours/day.  The regular attendees received "5000 Swings" t-shirts for their committed efforts to improve their hitting over the course of the summer.  All proceeds went to the Mounds View High School Baseball program, and were used to purchase some storage equipment and batting screens.  I plan to continue the program in 2008, with thoughts for expanding the program to incorporate a pitching component.

 

 

Field Update

 

Randy Reichert organized a meeting of people interested in pursuing a new field(s) for the MVHS baseball program over the summer.  All agreed that priority #1 would be to pursue an on-campus facility.  If that was not feasible, then alternative options could be pursued, but that an on-campus facility should be pursued first. 

 

In my follow-up with MV District personnel following that meeting, they were committed to evaluation of an on-campus baseball field.  I have been involved in several meetings with District personnel that have been very positive towards the goal of an on-campus baseball field.  I have been told that these discussions need to be confidential until such time as some definitive direction is established.

 

I expect to have more definitive information to share in early October.

 

 

November Meeting Date

 

The first Tuesday In November is an election night, and no school activity is allowed until after 8:00PM.  We need to select a different night or meet at 8:00PM.