NEW 11.12.19 Coach Message

Subjects: Spring 2020 Spring Break Trip and Voluntary, Preseason Workout Plan

Reference is made to earlier coach messages, most recent was dated 10.20.2019. Messages are posted to our website too under the dropdown Coach’s Corner. We are working hard to improve communications and using our website as the main platform.

I invite you to access our EHS Cougar Baseball website and our EHS Baseball site on MaxPreps Colorado to see our Spring 2020 schedules for Varsity and our JV (minus our Spring Break games). In Colorado, Varsity teams are limited to 23 games and 2 scrimmages while JV teams are limited to 19 games and 2 scrimmages. Please keep in mind that any information listed on “roster” pages or links are not rosters but placeholders for information that helps us plan for uniform sizes. Rosters are not set until after Spring try-outs which are scheduled for 3/2-3/2020. Try-outs are open to all interested student-athletes.

As described in our last message, we did our research on evaluating Spring Break options for games and on-field practice time. These opportunities were discussed with interested players and coaches at a voluntary meeting today in the indoor cages/baseball locker-room. They will be discussed with parents at a parent meeting this Thursday 11/21 in the EHS Library 6-8PM. Rest assured that we have landed on the most cost effective option – we will be returning to AZ and the V and JV will play in the Greenway Festival. We will not be taking a chartered bus but players, coaches will be responsible for their own transportation. Our V, JV Team Hotel is the Hampton Inn & Suites, 8408 West Paradise Lane, Peoria (right across the street from the Padres/Mariners complex). Four players will be assigned to a room. Two or three coaches will be assigned to a room. The Hampton Inn offers a free breakfast, outside pool and is located in a safe area, walking distance to restaurants, suitable entertainment and the Padres/Mariners practice and game fields. Players will be asked to report to the Hampton Inn Saturday 3/21 and they will be released for return anytime Sunday 3/29. I am still working with the Greenway H.S. coach on scheduling but here is what I know so far. Games will be played at the following high schools: Greenway, Moon Valley, Thunderbird, Shadow Mtn., Paradise and Raymond S. Kellis. Game start times each day are 10:00AM, 1:00PM, 4:00PM; and under the lights at 7:00PM at Moon, Thunder or Greenway since they have lights. V and JV joint team practices will be held starting on Saturday 3/21 and will be held on days when we are not playing a game (Sunday exempt). We will be renting 2 twelve person passenger vans for local transportation. One van will be dedicated for each team V and JV. These vans will transport players and coaches between the Hampton and game or practice facilities. Parent POVs will be used to augment local transportation.

At the request of parents and players, this year we will offer an opportunity where families can rest and enjoy the AZ weather on either Sunday since as CHSAA coaches we are under CHSAA By-laws that do not allow Sunday contact. There are a number of options for players and families to include MLB and MiLB Spring Training games; golf (to include TopGolf); pool time; etc. If a parent elects to drive down to AZ we may ask for help in transporting some of our gear like baseballs, our pitching machine, medical kits, coolers.

The C-team will play at the Red Mtn Complex in Mesa, AZ. As a “club” team they are not limited in the number of games or scrimmages that they can play. We are looking at scheduling 4 games for them. Access to a practice field is a work-in-progress and a challenge. C-team lodging will be addressed in a message from our Evergreen Cougar Baseball Club in conjunction with their Head Coach.

As mentioned in our voluntary player meeting today, our uniform and gear online stores will be closing this Friday 11/15/19. We extended it by one week at your request. We hope that players, parents and friends of Cougar Baseball have found these sites helpful. We identified items as required and optional. Player safety and injury prevention is a high priority so we offered elbow, shin, wrist/hand guards; batting helmets with a C-flap; compression shorts and tights with cup; cold weather gear; and j-bands. We also reviewed our Home and Away Spring 2020 uniform requirements today!

Special thanks to:

- Scott Sarkisian for his hard work in renovating our concession stand. We had to address a number of building, safety related issues and he has been “driving nails” building our new external stairs. It is a big job and we cannot thank him enough. He has also been working with the School District and State regulatory agencies.

- Todd Schiro and his team on our new 10 inning scoreboard. This has been another big project and we are looking forward to finally having a scoreboard this Spring where players in the field can see “the count.” This scoreboard by design will also allow us to fundraise by selling advertisement to local businesses.

- To all the parents and players that helped us winterize Cougar Field last weekend. We could not have a vibrant program and the success we have experienced without volunteers. It was a beautiful weekend and we all had better things to do but we worked together and competed a lot of tasks that will allow us to play on Cougar Field early Spring. We are a community based high school program and I want to personally thank the volunteers for their time and commitment to Cougar Baseball and EHS!!

Pre-season Workouts:

We discussed our options with student-athletes today. All workouts are voluntary until 3/2/2020. I encouraged players to work out on their own, to focus on nutrition, academics and family over the upcoming holidays. After the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, we will open up the cages for voluntary preseason baseball workouts. One thing that I am working on is ways to improve strength, conditioning and flexibility. To that end, we will be scheduling 2x/week yogi sessions. I am looking for parent yogi instructor volunteers. Yogi sessions will be held in the indoor cages on the turf, are voluntary but will be limited in number due to space constrictions.

I hope this note helps update you and answer any of your questions.

Coach Lipka