The Smoke Rise and Kinnelon Blog: Kinnelon Tigers, Rookie League Softball Team #4, Undefeated!

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Kinnelon Tigers, Rookie League Softball Team #4, Undefeated!

After having the last three games of the season washed out [i.e., 6/11, 6/13 and 6/18/09], the Kinnelon Tigers - aka Kinnelon Rookie League Softball Team No. 4/Teal - met today against Team No.1/Columbia Blue and won, making them undefeated for the season. Hurray!

As much as the girls liked winning, what we saw taking place, since all four teams started meeting on April 16th, was having fun, learning eye/hand coordination skills and understanding teamwork. Everyone's skills improved significantly, too. For many on the teams [including Emma], this was the first softball league, a step up from T-ball.

Our Coach - Paul Ramirez [pictured here with from left to right Erin Ahart, Susie Ramirez, Sarah Dougherty in the back row, Emma Whittemore, Kylie Staamler, Laila Raful and Emma Dougherty in the front row; missing are Kelsey and Jackie Thompson] - was outstanding! Patient, supportive, enthusiastic. He encouraged all of us to focus on the fun aspect of the game. He also got the girls to hit the ball and catch it, too!

Thanks to him, we had the Teal Tigers banner you see above.

Thanks, too, to Assistant Coach Frank Thompson who constantly encouraged and guided the girls.

After each game, the girls chanted either:

Two, four, six, eight. Who do we appreciate?

or

Potato chip, potato chip. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Who is the one that's the mighty fine bunch?

filling in the name of their opponent team:

Purple Panthers or Green Machine or Blue Jays.

For the record, the Kinnelon Recreation 2009 Rookie League Softball teams consisted of:

+ Team No. 1, Columbia Blue aka the Blue Jays, coached by John Bjornson.
+ Team No. 2, Dark Green aka the Green Machine, coached by Mike Handzo.
+ Team No. 3, Purple aka the Purple Panthers, coached by Dana Jacko
+ Team No. 4, Teal aka the Teal Tigers, coached by Paul Ramirez.

We had a blast and regret that the strange wet weather prevented us from meeting an additional three times.

However, we squeezed the last game in -- before the next downpour -- and at least ended the season playing [and winning, too!].

Thanks, Coach Paul Ramirez and Assistant Coach Frank Thompson.

Thanks to the other team coaches for a fun season.

And thank you, also, to the Borough of Kinnelon, for providing this wonderful facility, the Kinnelon Recreation Park on Boonton Avenue, with beautifully maintained fields, a snack bar, and great bathrooms, and to the Kinnelon Recreation Department for organizing it all.

Congratulations Blue Jays, Green Machine, Purple Panthers, and Teal Tigers!

Go, Teal Tigers!