Category: U17

Excelling Young Men: Herts Kites 2016

Once autumn fades away, baseball does not fade away. Instead it begins its awards season. For the Major League players in the US, this means the Cy Young award, the leagues’ Most Valuable Player, and Gold Gloves for the top fielders.

Well, things are no different at Herts baseball! Club-wide voting is under way for several awards, and teams will also give out gongs. First out of the blocks this year are the Herts Kites, the Under-17 team, who enjoyed a tremendously successful season. Their coach and spiritual leader Andrew Fulford here gives us his take on how it all went:

“Wow, what a season. It started off with a bunch of shy and intimidated 13, 14, & 15 year olds on a U17 Herts Baseball Club, and I believe we ended the season with confident and excelling young men. For some, it was their first year of baseball and for others it’s been a life long passion. Regardless, every single one of them improved in their individual performances and as a team.

U-17s in Herts Futures action

At the beginning of the year I selected two Captains, Adam White (Veteran) and Lucas Lebrato (Rookie) they both did a fantastic job in leading our team this year. These guys are natural leaders. We will miss Adam White as a player next season, but hope to see him back as a Junior Coach.

While on the topic, I want to give a huge thank you to Jeff Witter and Duane Badenhorst. Both of you were a huge help to me this season, and the quality of training and coaching would not have been near the same without your voluntary help. Thank you to all other parents who contributed this season, including Genevieve Chew, who did most of our scoring.

The fundamentals

This season we alternated games and practices. One Saturday was a double header, the next would be a 4 hour practice. There’s no doubt in my mind that these long and hard practices paid off.

At the beginning of the season I was pulling my hair out during the games, because not every player was familiar with the fundamentals of the game. At the end of the season, I swear we knew exactly what we were doing in any situation.

I was able to keep my hair, but not my beard unfortunately. After losing a bet to the team in one of our practices, (betting that out of an entire bucket of balls, no one would throw from centerfield into a bucket) my beard was in their hands.

The team wins, the beard loses

As Manager, I’ve had an absolute blast this season, and I hope all the players and parents feel the same way. This season being my first as a Manager, I took it easy on you guys. I played Mr. Nice Guy to make you all like me, but next season you’re gonna be pushed a lot harder. Why? Because we got unfinished business to take care of.

This season we were just getting on our feet, and we did more than that! Winning the Herts Future Tournament screams of the potential success we’ll have for next year.

Mental strength

But we need to work harder than ever before, we got to want the Little League Championship. We gotta crave that National Championship Trophy. Everyone’s heart has to be in it!

Whether you’re a starter or a sub, you are all a vital part of us being the best. Remember the theme of most my talks this season was about our Mental Game, its gotta be strong and must be positive, Mental Strength is what wins ball games.

To complete the recap, we have some award announcements – but before we get into that, there’s just one more thing to mention.

You all are at a very important age in life, I know you probably hear this all the time from your teachers in school, but it’s true. Take it from me, I’m not your parents’ age, I’m 25 years old and being your age is fresher in my mind. (No offense parents)

You guys will blink and before you know it you’ll have your independence and a whirl of responsibilities. Being 14, 15, 16 its now time to find a balance in your lifestyles. Yes, no matter how old you are, fun and social life should be on the priority list. But right now you’re shaping your futures, being your age feels invincible and you’re anxious to be a bit older so you can drive and have additional liberties.

Kites, with London Sports, taking on an Australian side

But hear me clearly when I say, you’re only this age ONCE. And that means two things, one, you better be having lots and lots of fun discovering who you are. And two, have some sincerity in choosing the course you want to take in your life. Learn from those older than you, seek advice and guidance in every step to adulthood. There’s lots of people around you who want to support and who really care. And as I’ve said before you all can speak to me about anything, even if I’m harder on you guys next year in practice. I’m still your friend off the field.

Now enough of the wishy washy stuff, without further ado, here is the 2016 Herts Kites Awards! Literally every single one of you deserve an award making it very difficult for me to choice one person per category.

MVP – Aaron Witter

Aaron is certainly deserving of this award. With his fantastic pitching performances, clutch at bats, and glove in the infield. He really carried his teammates when they needed him. Not only is he MVP but Adam White has passed on his Captain legacy to Aaron for next season.

Infield Golden Glove – Juon Oono

Anytime the ball was hit to Juon I would take a nice big sigh of relief because I knew it was a guaranteed out. He was also one of our strongest catchers this season. Not many people work harder and are more dedicated to the game than Juon.

Outfield Golden Glove – Jamie Warren

Anyone who has watched Jamie play baseball, know they are watching a master at work. He is by far one of the most mechanically sound players I’ve seen. All around a fantastic player and was incredible to see some great diving catches in CF this season from Jamie.

Slugger Award – Felix Maldonado

Felix has some beastly at bats this season. Leading the team in extra base hits. We all hope to see more of that from him next year!

Rookie of the Year – Matthew Lister

This is a well deserved award. Matt showed up at the beginning of the season with little to no baseball experience at all. By the end of the season, he became a player I could rely on. Both at the plate, on base, and in the OF. Congrats Matt!

Cy Young Award – Tyler Badenhorst

Well, lets not toot his horn to much, but I think its safe to say Herts Baseball acquired one the best to ever play in British Baseball at the end of last season. Tyler is a phenomenal ball player, not only that, but a GREAT kid. His fastball never ceases to give me a nice breeze when coaching from the dugout. He really helped us out at the end of the season with some great pitching performances. Welcome aboard Tyler!

And to the rest of the team …..

Adam White; Giuseppe Basilea;  Michael Johnson; Tom Weatherilt; Plamen Georgiev; Matthew Benge; Maximilian Ixer; Oliver Durer;  Tobi Simmons;  Robert Wallace; Lucas Lebrato;  Thomas Garton.

…. you guys are all incredibly talented!”

 

20 teams heading to the Herts Futures Tournament this Saturday

20 teams will be in action at the 2014 Herts Futures Tournament (HFT) which will take place this Saturday, 17 September 2016.

UNDER-17

Three teams will play a league format facing each of their opponents. The team finishing top will be the U17 HFT champion.

U17 TEAMS
Herts Kites (U17)
London Mets (U17)
London Sports (U17)

UNDER-13

The seven U13 teams have been divided into two pools of 4 and 3 teams. They will play in a league format, facing each of their opponents in their pool. The teams which finish top of their pool will play in the Final for the U13 HFT Championship.

U13 (POOL A) TEAMS
Herts (U13)
London Mets (U13)
London Sports (U13)
Northampton Centurions (U13)

U13 (POOL B) TEAMS
Brighton (U13)
Essex All Stars (U13)
LYBL Bulldogs (U13)

UNDER-11

The six U11 teams have been divided into two pools of three teams. They will play a game against each of their opponents in their pool. The teams which finish top of their pool will play in the Final for the U11 HFT Championship.

U11 (POOL A) TEAMS
Herts (U11)
Leicester Blue Sox (U11)
London Sports (U11)

U11 (POOL B) TEAMS
Brighton/London (U11)
Forest Glade RedBacks (U11)
LYBL Bulldogs (U11)

UNDER-8

The four U8 teams will play each of their opponents in a league format. The team finishing on top of the standings would be the 2016 U8 HFT Champion.

U8 TEAMS
Herts (U8)
Leicester Blue Sox (U8)
London Mets (U8)
London Sports (U8)

The opening ceremony will take place at 10:30am. The first games begin at 9am and continue into the early evening. To view the games schedule click here.

“Herts Baseball Club welcomes new players at any time of the year” said club president, Aspi Dimitrov. “Any children aged between 4 and 16 who are interested to give baseball a try should contact the club. It is not too late to take part in this event.”

Traditional Baseball snacks will be on offer including hot dogs, chilli dogs, big league chew, Krispy Kreme Donuts and more. Imported baseball merchandise will also be on sale at the Herts Baseball shop.

The HFT has been held every year since 2008 and is now a permanent fixture in the British baseball calendar. It brings together youth teams of all age groups from across the country for a day of baseball at one of the best baseball venues in the United Kingdom.

For more information about the event visit the Herts Futures Tournament homepage.

Rain affects all Saturday YNBC semi-finals. Sunday games schedule revised.

After the cancellation of all YNBC games on Saturday the British Baseball Federation has published the revised games schedule for Sunday, 11 September, which is as follows:

U16 SCHEDULE

Sunday, 11 September 2016

8:00am, Semi-Final: Herts Kites (U16) @ London Mets (U16) (on Field 1)

10:o0am, Semi-Final: London Sports (U16) @ LYBL (U16) (on Field 1)

12:00pm, Final: SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner (on Field 1)

 

U13 SCHEDULE

Sunday, 11 September 2016

10:00am, Wild Card Eliminator: Brighton (U13) @ Herts (U13) (on Field 2)

12:30pm, Semi-Final 1: Winner of Wild Card Eliminator @ LYBL (U13) (on Field 3)

12:30pm, Semi-Final 2: London Mets (U13) @ London Sports (U13) (on Field 2)

3:00pm, Final: SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner (on Field 2)

Herts U16 and U13 baseball teams going for the National Championship this weekend

Since publishing this article Saturday’s games were cancelled due to rain.  We are expecting confirmation of the revised games schedule for Sunday.

The Herts Hawks brought the Single-A League National Championship trophy back from Farnham Park last Sunday. This weekend it’s the turn of the Herts youth teams as they go into the Under-16 and Under-13 National Baseball Championship.

HERTS KITES (U16)

The Herts U16 team has been given the toughest draw possible as they face the London Mets U16 on Saturday in the Semi-Final. Back in 2013 Herts were in exactly the same situation facing the London Mets in the Semi-Final with the odds stacked heavily against them, but they overcame the Mets in an unforgettable 6-4 win. In 2013 the name of the Herts U17 team was the Herts Harriers. This year the age groups were realigned from U17 to U16 and manager Andrew Fulford and his team have just announced that they will enter the National Baseball Championships with the team name Herts Kites, named after the bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which can be seen regularly flying over Grovehill Ballpark, the home of Herts Baseball Club.

If the Herts Kits win their semi-final on Saturday they will face either LYBL or London Sports in the final later on the same day.

U16 SCHEDULE

Saturday, 10 September 2016

9:30am, Semi-Final: Herts Kites (U16) @ London Mets (U16) (on Field 1)

11:30am, U16 Skills Competition

1:30pm, Semi-Final: London Sports (U16) @ LYBL (U16) (on Field 1)

4:30pm, Final: SF1 Winner vs SF2 Winner (on Field 1)

HERTS (U13)

The Herts U13 team also has a difficult task if they are to reach the National Final. They will face London Sports and London Mets in the qualifying round on Saturday. From the five teams in that round the team finishing last will be eliminated and the remaining four will go through to the Semi-Finals on Sunday, with the Semi-Final winners facing each other to determine the 2016 U13 National Champions.

Manager Mike Wakelam and the rest of the Herts U13 coaching staff know that this is going to be a major challenge for the team, but they know that the team is capable of beating any of the top seeds this weekend.

U13 SCHEDULE

Saturday, 10 September 2016

Qualifying Round

12:00pm Herts (U13) @ London Sports (U13) (on Field 3)

2:30pm U13 Skills Competition

4:30pm, Herts (U13) @ London Mets (U13) (on Field 3)

 

Sunday, 11 September 2016

9:30am, Semi Final: 4th seed @ 1st seed (on Field 2)

12:00am, Semi Final: 3rd seed @ 2nd seed (on Field 2)

3:00pm, Final: Lower seed @ Higher seed (on Field 2)

VENUE

All games will be played at the Farnham Park National Baseball and Softball Complex in Slough (Beaconsfield Road,Slough,SL2 3BP).

 

Gary Lineker-like gamble backfires on Herts U17 baseball manager


Football and non-football fans will be glued to their TV screens this Saturday evening as Match of the Day returns for the start of the new Premier League season. The reason is something which happened in the first few weeks of last season when 5000-to-1 outsiders, Leicester City, found themselves top of the table. At the time this was seen as something which can happen in the early weeks of the season and everyone assumed that order will quickly be restored by the big spenders taking their places at the top. When Leicester-fan Gary Lineker said at the time that he would present the first Match of the Day show of the new season in his underpants if Leicester become Premier League Champions, everyone accepted it as one of those throw-away remarks that people say sometimes to illustrate just how improbable a scenario is. 10 months later and the nation is waiting to see if Gary Lineker will deliver on his promise.

At the weekend the manager of the Herts Under-17 baseball team, Andrew Fulford, found himself in a similar predicament. A few weeks ago, in an effort to give his players an incentive, he promised to shave his beard if they manage to throw two balls into a bucket all the way from centerfield. A bookmaker would probably give such an outcome odds of around 5000-to-1, so, like Gary Lineker, Fulford must have felt that the odds are on his side. The improbable happened and on Saturday his players were looking forward to shaving his beard as the main event of a barbeque party at Grovehill Ballpark.

Coach Fulford had written off his beard but in an effort to salvage at least his sideburns, he included a gentle warning for his players in one of his weekly emails. The message read: ”I wasn’t sure if we won the Little League World Series or if Babe Ruth got resurrected, but being able to shave my beard got you guys a little excited. As agreed, you guys threw 2 balls into the bucket from centerfield, and now my beard is in your fragile little hands. If you guys even get close to my sideburns, you’ll be doing 100 push-ups while you eat your hot dogs.”

We understand that, while the sideburns are still intact, the beard is gone. Gary Lineker, over to you.

Fulford appointed as Herts Under-17 Manager

Herts Baseball Club has confirmed that Andrew Fulford has been appointed as the club’s Under-17 Team Manager.

In an interview Fulford expressed his excitement at being appointed and provided more details about how he plans to approach this project. He said: “The most important thing for a baseball program for children and young adults is having an absolute blast and nurturing the maturity developing within youth players. To achieve this goal, I believe acquiring strong fundamental baseball skills is key. And it’s my aim to impart my baseball knowledge in a fun, creative, and effective way.”

A few weeks ago the club announced that they plan to invest in a new business model. This will involve investing in high quality coaches for the club’s youth programme. The aim of the experiment is to see if the investment would bring sufficient growth over the next 10 months. If the experiment is successful, the next step would be to adopt this new business model across most of its teams in time for the expected arrival of MLB to London in 2017.

“It was good to receive so many applications from coaches” said club board member, Aspi Dimitrov. He added that “the club is delighted to appoint Andrew. He already has so many fans at the club after joining as a player in 2012 and in just a few weeks he has become an integral part of the coaching staff in our youth programme. We very much hope that this new approach will succeed and Andrew’s appointment gives us a really good chance to do so”.

Fulford comes from Tampa, Florida, and he moved to Hemel Hempstead in 2012. He started playing when he was 4. After spending his early years in the Citrus Park Little League, Fulford went on to play for the varsity team at Sickles High School and later with Cambridge High School finishing as Florida Sate runners-up in 2009. During his career he has played under former MLB players Jody Reed, who played as second basemen for the Boston Red Sox, and Sam Marsonek who was a pitcher with the New York Yankees. He is 25-years-old and he will have the opportunity to pass on his many years of playing experience to the Herts boys and girls. As a player his primary position is catcher and he has also played in second base and pretty much in all other positions on the field.

“Growing up in Baseball, nothing was more empowering to my self-esteem than coaches who affirmed the abilities I possessed and encouraged me in my weaknesses” said Fulford. “At the same time nothing was more detrimental to my self-esteem than coaches who did the opposite. So it’s with great enthusiasm and a heart full of empowerment that I take on the role of Herts U17 team manager”

The club confirmed that they are continuing discussions with some of the other applicants with a view to considering them for other coaching projects which may come up this season or future seasons.

 

Hiche signs contract to play in Austrian top league. Expected to return to Herts at the end of the season.

The Herts Falcons will go into the 2016 NBL season without one of its most valuable players over the last four seasons. Centerfielder Cris Hiche has signed a contract with the Dornbirn Indians in the Austrian top league. The contract is for one season only and Hiche is expected to rejoin the Falcons after the end of the Austrian baseball season.

Cris Hiche joined the Falcons for the start of the 2012 season and it is not a coincidence that his four seasons with Herts proved to be among the best in the club’s history and included reaching the NBL playoffs in three out of these four seasons. That included finishing as NBL runner-up in 2012 and reaching the NBL Playoff semi-finals in 2013 and 2015.

His outstanding performances were recognised with the award of the NBL Outfield Gold Glove in 2012 and 2013 when he did not commit a single error. In 2013 he was also the team’s home run leader.

The Chilean has also been instrumental off the field for Herts. He joined the club’s executive board as the head of the Under-17 and Under-19 programmes. In 2013 he led the Herts Under-17 team to the National Final finishing as runners-up which is the club’s best position in that age group.

The club has already started the search for a new head of the Under-19 and Under-17 programmes, but as club president, Aspi Dimitrov, pointed out “Cris has played a massive role at the club on and off the field and it will be difficult to replace him, but it is great news for the club that he plans to be back with Herts after the end of the Austrian season”.

Hiche joined Herts in 2012 after arriving from the USA where he played at the high school, college and semi-professional league level as well as at international level representing Chile at Under-12, Under-16 and now at senior level with the National Team. In 2002 he joined the International Baseball Academy in Brazil where he played alongside the legendary Cuban player, Lazaro Vargas, who won the Olympic gold medal with the Cuba National Team twice, in 1992 and 1996. Hiche then went on to play for Glendale Community College in Arizona, followed by two seasons (2005-2007) with the Athletics in Liga Valle del Sol. Between 2008 and 2010 he played for the Sahuaripas in the Mesa Semi-Pro League alongside former or injured Minor League players trying to work their way back into the pros, as well as former MLB players such as pitcher Omar Daal, who played for the LA Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Arizona Diamondbacks and ended his career with the Baltimore Orioles in 2003.

Herts Baseball Club experimenting new business model

Herts Baseball Club has made an announcement which may not hit the headlines, but is something which will be followed with interest by the front offices of other British Baseball Clubs over the next 10 months.

In 2015 Herts Baseball Club grew by 21% and had over 150 members, which is more than at any point in its 19-year history. The club’s board has been considering ways to grow the club further and has identified the need for more coaches who can bring value to the youth teams, inspire a new generation of players and give them a great experience which the families would be happy to recommend to others.

As an experiment, the club has decided to invest in improved financial terms for youth team managers of the club’s Under-15 and Under-19 teams this season. The aim of the experiment is to see if the investment would bring sufficient growth over the next 10 months. If the experiment is successful, the next step would be to adopt this new business model across most of its teams in time for the expected arrival of MLB to London in 2017.

Below are links to the advertisements to appoint U15 and U19 team managers, where interested candidates will find details of these roles including financial terms.  The majority of coaches in British baseball are not paid for the work which they do, so it will be interesting to see if the financial reward offered by Herts will attract a good number of candidates.

If you are interested in any of these coaching roles, follow the links below for details how to apply.

U15 Team Manager

U19 Team Manager

For more information, contact us.

4 Herts players get GB U19 team call-up for European Championships

Great Britain under-19 National Baseball Team Head Coach Will Lintern and the BBF have announced the roster of 17 players that will represent GB at this summer’s European U19 Championships. The squad includes four players from Herts – Conner Brown, Carlos Casal Jr, Zack Longboy and Will Zucker.

The week-long 10-team tournament will take place from 13-19 July in Ostrava, Czech Republic, where Team GB have been drawn in a pool with the reigning U19 European Champions Italy, as well as Spain, France and Germany. This will be the first time in 10 years that Great Britain has competed in the European U19 Championships. GB booked their place in the tournament with a silver medal finish at last summer’s European U19 Championship Qualifier in Croatia.

The 2015 GB U19 team has to be one of the most well-prepared national teams that GB has sent to a summer competition. The past winter included both Academy and National Team practices, and the second year of the High Performance Academy (HPA). The HPA programme, which is funded by Sport England and supported by Major League Baseball, enabled eligible athletes in England to receive greater levels of support during the off-season. A second HPA venue was added, with practices taking place in Worthing and Wembley, and with players who lived farther afield were supported through a distance learning programme.

Efforts by the GB programme and by BSUK (which runs the HPA and Academy) to develop talent have been noticed by others, as two GB players were selected to play on the European All-Star team in the MLB Academies Tournament earlier this year: Jacob Dean, an outfielder/pitcher from Horsham and Johnny Fretheim, a catcher/outfielder from the London Mets.

Finally, a training camp will be run in the Czech Republic immediately before the European U19 Championships, with half of the players at the camp and the other group in Kutno, Poland representing the UK in the European Little League Big League Qualifier.

SCHEDULE

GB’s round-robin schedule at the European U19 Championships will be as follows, with the home team listed first:

Monday 13 July – GB v Germany (5.00 pm)
Tuesday 14 July – France v GB (3.00 pm)
Thursday 16 July – Spain v GB (11.00 am)
Friday 17 July – GB v Italy (5.00 pm)

Semi-finals will be played on 18 July and the final on Sunday 19 July.

GB Head Coach Will Lintern said, “We have a very strong team. This is the one of the most prepared group of young men we have ever had, and their commitment and dedication puts us in a great position to perform well.”

ROSTER

The players selected for GB for the European U19 Championships are:

PLAYER

POSITION

CLUB

Luke Armstrong

P / INF

Cartmel Valley Lions

Elliot Berger

IB / P

Zurich Barracudas

Conner Brown

C

Herts Baseball Club

Dexter Bohn

OF

London Mets / LYBL Bulldogs

Rich Brereton

INF / P

Darien (Conn) High School, USA

Carlos Casal

UTIL / P

Herts Baseball Club

Rory Chandler

OF

Leicester Blue Sox

Jacob Dean

P / OF

Bracknel l/ LYBL Bulldogs

Johnny Fretheim

C / INF / P

London Mets / LYBL Bulldogs

Eli Hackney-Rose

P / OF

London Mets

Laura Hirai

P

London Mets

Andrew Lee

IF / OF

LYBL Bulldogs

Zack Longboy

P

Herts Baseball Club

Fred Mosier

UTIL / P

London Mets

Miguel Rodriguez

INF / P

Bracknell / LYBL Bulldogs

Matteo Sollecito

P

London Mets

Will Zucker

P / INF

Herts Baseball Club