Softball Banquet

The Softball Banquet will be on Wednesday, June 22 at 6 pm.
Location: Spring Lake Christian Reformed Church (364 South Lake Avenue, Spring Lake). 
You are encouraged to bring the whole family.
Please plan to bring a dish to pass, Sherri Bradford-Royle will send out a sign up genius email for that.

Blessings,
Coach

Directions to North Muskegon

Today's game against North Muskegon is at the North Muskegon Waterfront Sports Park.  Below are directions from WMC.  Use whatever parts of these directions that are helpful to you.

Take Exit 116 off US-31.  Follow Bus-31 to the light at Holton Road (M-120).  Turn left onto Lake Avenue.  Follow Lake Avenue until you get to Ruddiman Drive.  This will be a 3-way stop at a Wesco station.  Turn left.  Follow Ruddiman Dr. to Second Street (police and fire stations will be on the right).  Turn left and follow Second Street right into the park.  Parking is past the softball field, closer to the lake and playground area.

Week at a glance - May 31 - June 4

This week:

Tuesday, single game @ North Muskegon, be at the field by 3:30, game is at 4:30

Wednesday, single game, be at Hile field by 3:15, I believe we start at 4 pm but not positive.

Thursday/Friday practice to prepare for districts

Saturday, districts
At Ravenna.  We play at 10am; please be there at 9am. 
WHEN we win, we will play in the finals at 2:30.

Week at a glance - May 23-27

Hard to believe we're in the home stretch...

Here's the schedule for this week.

Monday: Practice at MCC field - 3:30-5:30 pm

Tuesday: Doubleheader vs Tri-County @ MCC Field - 4:00 pm.  This is also SENIOR NIGHT!

Wednesday: Practice at WMC Field (Hile) - 3:30-5:30 pm

Thursday: Game vs Covenant Christian @ WMC Field (Hile) - 4:00 pm

Friday: NO PRACTICE! Enjoy your Memorial Day Weekend!

Tomorrow's doubleheader vs Fremont (@ Fremont) is on as scheduled.

The May 24 home game vs Tri-County will be at MCC's field for Senior Night.

Week at a glance - Week of May 15-21 + MORE

Good evening parents,

With the end of the school year drawing to a close, there is a lot happening. Please, please let me know if a conflict arises so I can plan accordingly. 

We finally were able to get a JV game in.  It went very well as our girls played very well. I'm hoping to do another if our schedule allows it. 

Speaking of our schedule:

This week (May 16-20)

Monday, home vs Hesperia

Tuesday, away vs Fremont, is either being RESCHEDULED OR CANCELLED. Fremont had something come up that Tuesday wouldn't work for them. Stay tuned via this blog and/or text alert system.

Wed-Fri normal practice; subject to change.

We have picked up a home game, and possibly one away game.  Here are the dates:

• May 31, away at North Muskegon, single game. NOT CONFIRMED YET
• June 1, home game vs Leroy Pine River.  I believe this will be senior night as well. This will be a single game. 

Advanced Notice:
Saturday June 4th, Districts at Ravenna.  We play at 10am. Come on out to the games and cheer us on as we are very capable of winning districts!!!! 

Ok I think this the last thing, for now, I'm looking at dates for our team banquet to not prolong it into summer. Stay tuned on this as well.

Ok, now one more item. I need to know soon, preferably by Wednesday, I want to put our team into a summer league. Games would be on Tues/Thurs starting mid June until end of July. Cost would be approximately $50. Games would be in the Muskegon area. The more we play together the better we will be. I already have 7/8th graders that want to play with us to be a part of our program 👍👍👍. Game times would start at 6pm and are DH. Again please talk it over with your daughter and let me know soon. 

Thank you for being patient,

Blessings, Coach

Week at a glance - Week of May 8

This week looks very wet so be prepared to be indoors at anytime. 

Practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Games Tuesday @ OV
Thursday JV game home vs OV

All players are expected to be at the JV game on Thursday.

Blessings, Coach

GMAA Tournament on Saturday

Saturday we are participating in the GMAA tournament.  We play at 9 and 11 at Holton High School.  Our first game is against Ravenna and our second game is against Oakridge.  Please be at Holton High School at 8 am.  There is rain in the forecast so hopefully we can get our games in.

Week at a Glance - May 2-7

Good Sunday morning,

This week we transition to WMC's field. Please remember to not drive back to the field, You may park by the baseball field or in the parking areas to the north or east of the concession stand.  I have preliminary approval for me to drive back there as I have all the equipment in my truck but am waiting on access to the lock.

Practices will be on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
Tuesday we play at Fruitport.
Friday we play home vs Ludington.
Saturday is the GMAA tournament which will be at Holton. We will play at least two games, maybe three. More info on times will come.

Blessings, Coach

Midweek message

Good afternoon parents,

With having 19 girls on the team it's very hard to get playing time for everyone. Please know that it pains me to not be able to get them all in more frequently. 

I have been asking for 2-4 JV games to get playing time for the underclassmen. We are waiting to hear back from some schools hopefully yet this week.

I still have to be careful to not add too many games as it is a very good possibility that we could play a double header at Norte Dame stadium and that there is a game limit that I have to make sure we don't go over.

Thank you for your patience.

Blessings, Coach

Week at a Glance - April 25-April 29

The weather looks a little iffy this week.

On practice days (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday), be prepared for both indoor and outdoor practices.

Scheduled games this week:

Tuesday @ Spring Lake (doubleheader) 4:00
Friday home vs Fremont (at MCC - doubleheader) 4:00

On Tuesday, WMC students have early dismissal (no school for seniors).  All players: Please meet at Spring Lake High School at 3:00 for our pre-game warmup.  If the game is cancelled due to weather, we will send out a text alert and there will be NO practice.

Please note that the softball field is behind the school on the east side of the building.  Please use the high school entrance off Leonard Road, not the entrance off 148th Avenue.

Blessings,
Coach

The following information is from Mikahla Koehler and her mom, Maria Secord.

MiKahla is working on a fundraiser for the group she volunteers for.  She has already completed her Senior Service Project but continues to volunteer as time and schedule permits.  This Friday MCC is earning a dress down day if they bring in 2 items on the list but I thought I would send this out to you coaches to see if the team would like to get involved.    I've attached the flyer. 

-Maria

I could not attach the flyer; however, the content (minus the pictures) is pasted below.

 Help Me Help Heaven Can Wait
For my Senior Service Project I chose to work with Heaven Can Wait who fosters and adopts out cats and kittens. Every Saturday and Sunday this great group of volunteers can be found at Petco hoping to find homes for their foster kitties. All cats and kittens are fostered in private homes. We are now approaching “kitten season.” During my spring break, my family took in a pregnant cat and her kittens. They needed and continue to need round the clock care. We currently have numerous cats and kittens in foster and the numbers are rapidly growing. Please help by donating any of the items on the wish list! Any student who brings in 2 items gets a dress down day Friday April 22nd! Thank you for your help!
Wish List
-Dry Cat Food (Purina brands, Rachel Ray)
-Wet Cat Food
-Kitten Food (Purina Brands, Rachel Ray)
-Litter
-Litter Pans
-Litter Scoops
-Dish Detergent
-Laundry Detergent
-Chlorox Bleach
-Chlorox Spray
-Catnip Toys

Week at a glance - April 18-23

Here's the plan for the week...

Monday / Wednesday, practice at MCC 3:30-5:30

Tuesday, game @ Ludington, early dismissal at 2 pm leave at 2:15.  Coach Jeff is looking into some transportation options as we do not have a school van available.  If we need parent help with driving, we will let you know.

Thursday, home game vs OV.  I believe game time is 4pm

Friday, no practice

Saturday games

Good evening parents,

Saturday's games are at 11am and 1 pm at Davenport University. This is a beautiful facility to play at; we are blessed to be able to play there this year. 

Directions: 

I-96 east to US -131 south to M-6,
M-6 east to Beltline (M37); take Beltline south to 68th street,
Go east on 68th for about a mile,
The facility will be on the left.

The address that came thru Mr. VandenBrand's WMC sports emails is for the college itself I believe. I got the above directions from Davenport's website. 

Please be there at 9:45 am as I'm not sure how to get into the field.  We will be in the third base dugout I believe also. 

Any questions please contact me.

Blessings, Coach

Week at a Glance - April 11-16

Good afternoon everyone,

I hope that you had a relaxing spring break wherever you were.

This week starts out wet and cold so be prepared for both indoor and outdoor practice for Monday and Tuesday at MCC. Wednesday looks pretty good for being outside, also at MCC.  All practices will be from 3:30-5:30.

Double header Thursday AT Godwin Heights (US-131 and 36th Street).

Plan on practice on Friday from 3:30-5:00 at MCC.

Saturday is our round robin at Davenport University with Traverse City St. Francis and Traverse City Central.  More details on times will be coming later for this.

Blessings, Coach

Week of March 28 - April 1

Week at a glance...

Monday - Doubleheader at Covenant.  MCC does not have school; WMC students will be dismissed at 2:45 with a 3:00 departure time.  In the event of a cancellation, watch text alerts for practice location.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday - Practice at MCC from 3:30-5:30.  Plan on indoor practice if there is inclement weather.

Friday - No practice.  Enjoy your Spring Break.

Stay tuned for optional Spring Break practices.

Good afternoon, Team,

It looks very good to get our games in Monday @ Covenant.

MCC students will be meeting the team at Covenant since they are off from school.

For WMC students, we have the school vans available for us to use. One van can carry up to ten athletes. I can carry 4 in my truck which I will still drive because of all the equipment. I'll have Coach Drew drive the other. You can pick your daughter up at Covenant or back at school just please let us coaches know who your daughter will be riding home with.

There will be more info coming from Sherri Bradford-Royle if you haven't received it already.

Blessings, Coach

Thursday March 24

For Thursday, March 24, our doubleheader vs Hart has been postponed due to weather.  Because gym space is limited, we will have our practice at Ferrysburg Community Church, 17785 Mohawk Dr, Spring Lake, MI 49456 from 3:30-5:00.

Week of March 21-26

Monday Scrimmage cancelled

After talking with the Ravenna coach we have decided to cancel our scrimmage due to the fact that the temperature will only be about 40-45 and windy. Tuesday is about the same. We didn't want to take a chance of one our players pulling a muscle in this colder weather. 

We will have practice at MCC 3:30-5:30. We may still be outside so the girls need to be prepared for both indoor and outdoor practice.

Field Clean-up Day - Saturday

Part of the contract we have with the Hile Rec club to use their fields is that we have a clean up day each spring.

The baseball team is doing theirs this Saturday, March 26, so I'm planning it for the same day from 9-12. The more people we have the sooner we can get done and out of there.

MCC had a clean up day yesterday at their field so they don't need to come to ours. Please send me an email or text if you can make it. 

We have brand new dugouts built so there is some clean up from that, plus normal spring cleaning.

Please bring your own shovel and/or rake. I will have my wheel barrow there and I'll bring some water. 

Any questions please contact me.

Blessings, Coach

Week at a Glance

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: Practice at MCC from 3:30-5:30.  Be prepared for both indoor and outdoor options.

Thursday: Doubleheader at Hart.  Watch for departure time.

Friday: No practice

Saturday: Field clean-up at Hile for WMC students (9 am - 12 noon)

Ice Cream Friday

Families, 

With tomorrow's weather forecast being iffy for rain and temperature, it will be a decision that we as a coaching staff will make tomorrow by noon. We really need to be outside so we told the girls to be prepared with clothing and shoes for both indoor and outdoor. IF we are outdoors we will be at MCC. If rides are needed back to WMC we will make it work. 

Also tomorrow is our first "ice cream Friday" a fun tradition that we started a couple of years ago to talk over things that we did during practice and discuss upcoming games etc.

Any questions get in touch with me

Blessings, Jeff

Update on practice locations for March/April and May

Hello families,

I’m sorry to do this to you all but for a number of reasons I feel like it is the best thing to do. All practices and home games will be at MCC during the months of March/April and at WMC for the month of May.

I will do my best to accommodate everyone as best as possible and still get a full practice in.

Here are the reasons I’m making the change:

A)      MCCs field drains better than ours and we also have a few maintenance issues that need to be resolved on our field so it is safe to use.  There has been a change in our field maintenance department and this change will give them the time to do the repairs necessary to make the field safe.

B)      I’m trying to ease the confusion of “where are we at this week”. The softball team blog will help with that but at the same time I believe it will be easier to remember the locations on a month to month basis instead of weekly.

It will out work out in the end as both schools will be traveling the same amount of times. Please get in touch with me regarding any concerns at all. Like I said in the parent meeting, the logistics will be the biggest challenge of this CO-OP.

Thank you again for your patience as we get this worked out.

Blessings, Coach Jeff

Handout from practice on 3/14

March 14, 2016

To: WMCC Softball Players and Parents

From: WMCC Coaches

Subject: WMCC Communications

Welcome to the 2016 WMCC Softball season!  We are excited about starting a new season and look forward to all that this season holds.  The purpose of this note is to let you know about how we will be communicating with you throughout the season. 

We will be communicating with parents and student-athletes using two methods.

First, for weekly communications we will be updating our newly created WMCC Softball blog each week.  You may access our blog using this link: http://wmccsoftball.blogspot.com/

We will be collecting email addresses so that you can get a notification when a new post has been added to the blog.  There is some delay in those emails going out; therefore, we encourage you to make a habit of checking the blog every Sunday evening to get an idea of the week ahead.

Second, for time-sensitive and last-minute communications (e.g. cancellations, re-schedules, location changes), we will be using a texting/email system called Rained Out (seriously, that’s the name!).  There are two ways to subscribe:

1.     Use the following link and register your email and your mobile number: https://www.rainedout.net/team_page.php?a=ccae881b4a6330c0f568.  You will need to register each mobile number and email address separately.

2.     Use the following TEXT instructions.  Please sign up for both.  Please note that this will only register your mobile number.  If you wish to also receive emails, you will need to use #1 above.

·       Text WMCCSOFTBALL to 84483 to receive alerts from WMCC Softball 2016.

·       Text WMCCTEAM to 84483 to receive Team alerts from WMCC Softball 2016. 

If you experience any problems signing up for these alerts, please contact Coach Drew Sweetman (drew_sweetman@yahoo.com; 616.485.7192) and he will help get you signed up.

Copy of email from Coach Nestell from last week

WMCC SOFTBALL

                                  PRACTICE SCHEDULE AND LOCATION

March 14-18

            WMC auxiliary gym, 3:30-5:30 pm

March 21

            Practice with Ravenna, 4-6pm, location TBD

March 22,23,25

            MCC gym, 3:30-5:30

March 24

            1^st game vs Hart, away. Weather and field condition permitting.

 March 28

            2^nd game vs Covenant Christian, away, weather and field condition permitting

March 29-April 1

            Practice, WMC auxiliary gym / Hile field, weather permitting

April 4-10

            Spring Break

April 11-13,15

            Practice, MCC field 3:30-5:30

April 14

            3^rd game vs Wyoming Godwin Hts, away

We will continue the alternating PRACTICE SCHEDULE between WMC and MCC fields.

Home games in APRIL will be at MCC

Home games in MAY will be at WMC

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, continue to watch your emails / texts as this schedule may change at a moment's notice due to weather.