Put the bats and gloves away and put the Christmas stockings up!

Hey folks

Thanks for an awesome first half season finale down at HP T Ball central this morning.  It has been a wonderful first half of the season, with a couple of learning opportunities for all of us here and there, but know that all your coaches and assistants are working hard to give the kids the best HP Hawks T ball experience we can.

I'd like to thank everyone who has helped the kids out in any way for their efforts this year.  Thank you also go to you parents for making sure the kids are there each week to help out their teams and improve their skills.

It was great getting to catch a small portion of each of the Sluggers games this morning and it was great to see the effort, hustle and great attitude of all the players.  You should all be proud of how your children have progressed over the season to date.

The Junior Sluggers also looked great out on the diamond - we've hardly had anyone running to third base after hitting the ball, and the throws to first base are getting better and better.  Everyone is hitting the ball hard, running hard and looking more like superstars of the future every week.

Here's wishing all of you and your families the very best, safest and satisfying Christmas and New Years, and we'll see you all on 6th February for the first training of 2015, ready to put the Sluggers and Junior Sluggers skills to the test.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

IIIIIIIITTTT'SSSSS CCCCHHHHRRRRRIIISSSSTTTTMMMMMAAAAASSSSS!!!!

Hi folks and Merry Christmas!!!

We're now in our final week of T ball before we break for the Christmas holiday, and as a special treat the lovely folks at the Club's tuck shop have a whole bunch of yummy treats for all of our T ball superstars and their support crew's to appreciate after the game on Saturday!

Please get out and support the Club by buying some tasty post game treats - and make sure to give these awesome volunteers an extra hearty "MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!" when you see them!

Friday night Club night and T ball game - 14th November 2014

Hi folks

Our Club night and T ball extravaganza is upon us!  This Friday night sees our first ever Friday night T ball game, and coincides with our HP Hawks Club night

Details are:

Venue - Pakuranga United Rugby Club rooms, Lloyd Elsmore Park, from 5pm.  Parking is available in the car parks around the club rooms.

T ball practices to start at 5pm, games to start at 5:30pm - parents and supporters please park at the rugby club rooms.  Game locations to be confirmed but will either be on the grounds immediately surrounding the club rooms, or if unavailable we'll setup over at the baseball diamonds.

While the T ball rocks on outside the Club rooms, on the inside the bar will be open, as will the kitchen.  We invite everyone in the HP Hawks family to come down and spend some time getting to know the other families, and for the Senior teams to get in a little of that all important team bonding.

This event goes ahead RAIN OR SHINE!!! Obviously if it's raining, we'll have to curtail the T ball games, but we'll still be able to get together and enjoy each other's company.

Take care all,

Paul.

T Ball T shirt maintenance

The T ball tee shirts are awesome, and should give plenty of wear - BUT...

The HP Hawks logo is applied via heat transfer, which means -

DO NOT tumble dry.
DO NOT iron.

Any heat applied to the logo runs the risk of the glue melting and the logo becoming detached.

For the Friday practice night, the kids can wear any shirt (and pants) they like along with their Hawks cap, so that their shirt is crispy clean ready for Saturday's game.

Weather policy - the game must go on (unless it's really persisting down...)

Hi folks

Here is a copy of the weather policy around the next couple of days events, and around the season going forward.  Note I've added a little about Friday night training's weather policy as well.

You may be wondering about the weather and how that impacts on our upcoming events.  As a default, please ALWAYS check the blog at http://www.kiwisluggers.blogspot.co.nz as cancellations and other late breaking notices will be posted here first.  If you hear nothing from me, the game is on!

Anywhom, here are the details:

Tonight's (Thursday) parents meeting at 7pm goes ahead no matter what.  There are dugouts on our No. 1 diamond that we will use for shelter if needs be.  I anticipate that this meeting will be no longer than 10 - 15 mins + question time + gear hand out time so we'll get through it nice and quick.  For those I've communicated with, the coaches meeting will also go ahead no matter the weather.

Friday's muster and parent's meeting/gear handout goes ahead no matter what, but may be modified depending on conditions.  We'll start with a refresher for those who missed Thursday's meeting and cover off any other points or questions, hand out gear to those who missed on Thursday, and get together with coaches.  If the grounds are too wet we'll shelve the practice, but I'll make that decision as late as possible so come prepared for a run around!

For future Friday practices I'll make sure to make a call to cancel by 4pm so those that are leaving work get a chance to see it before they go.

Saturday pre game gear handout 8:00 - 8:20am will go ahead no matter what, so if you've still yet to collect your gear you can do so then.


Saturday's game will be weather dependant.  As a basic rule I don't cancel anything until as late as possible, because there is nothing worse than cancelling at 7am when it's pouring, then watching beautiful sunshine and conditions at 8:30am.  I will always go to the grounds and update the blog from there by 8am at the latest if the game is to be cancelled, and try and get an email out as soon as possible thereafter.  If you hear nothing from me, assume we're playing!  Note, we will play in light drizzle, make sure the kids are dressed for the conditions with singlets/extra t shirts or jackets if needed.

Okay, that's a lot of words so here's a picture of a the sun playing baseball:

T ball starts this week - WOOHOO!!!

Hi folks

Here are the details of the email I sent out today about important dates and times this week.

Don't forget all details of the T ball program can be found in an earlier post (ie scroll down this page!).

And the diamonds can be found here!: Lloyd Elsmore Park baseball diamonds map

Please make sure you have either made payment or contacted the club Treasurer to arrange payment jackshill@xtra.co.nz.

Here are the important dates and times for this week:
Thursday 30th October, 7pm (for approx.30 mins) - preliminary parents meeting, gear issue
Friday 31st October, 5pm - 6pm, - Parents/players meeting, gear issue, team muster Saturday
1st November, 8am - 8:20am - gear issue Saturday
1st November, 8:30am (sharp!) - 10am Opening day!

Details

Thursday parent meeting:
Please attend if you can. This is an information evening to go over the format of the season and an opportunity to ask questions. We'd like to issue as much of the players gear as we can so if you can attend with your child we can issue their shirts, pants, etc in advance of the season start.

Friday meeting and muster: 
We will cover off the info from Thursday's meeting, issue gear then get into our teams. The players will get a chance to meet their coaches and team mates and have a throw around or swing a bat.

Saturday gear issue: 
If you haven't yet had your gear issued, please get down early! Once practices start we often aren't available to issue gear so please make the effort to get down early if you've still to get your playing kit.

Saturday Opening Day! 
We'll have a brief welcome at 8:30am sharp and then split onto our diamonds, have a quick warmup and get ready for games to commence at 9am.


If you know of anyone thinking about playing, please note we are still taking registrations so it's not too late to get in on the action!

I look forward to catching up with you this week.

Kind regards,

Paul Wansbone

Because it's ladies night...

Hi folks,

Just to let all the husbands / male significant others know, you're on baby sitting duties on Sunday 9th November, because it's the HP Baseball Club fundraiser - LADIES NIGHT at the Monterey cinema.

Movie: 'This is Where I Leave You' - a comedy starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and others, including my wife's favorite, Timothy Olyphant.

'This Is Where I Leave You' trailer

When: Sunday 9th November 2014 at 7:10pm

Where: The Monterey Cinemas, 4/2 Fencible Drive, Howick

Cost:  The paltry sum of $20 which also gets you a glass of wine or a soft drink and popcorn.

RSVP: Lisa Nepia, klnepia@xtra.co.nz