Archive for the ‘Bret’s Blog’ Category

Spring Season Going Well

04/16/2019

Our spring season with the 9U-14U teams has been successful thus far. We have been pleased at the amount of quality California teams signed up for tournaments up here, which allows us to play even stronger competition in our local tournaments. As we head into the summer season we are hoping that is a trend that continues. Have to keep working to get better while helping teach our players to enjoy the grind.

Gearing Up For The Central Valley

02/27/2019

We have the opportunity in about ten days to travel over to the Manteca area to participate in a very high level tournament. The field of teams is extremely competitive, which will be a good test for our teams. We are fortunate to have such competitive baseball environments like these so close to wear we live. It’s an exciting time as we head into the spring.

Everyone Stayed Safe This Weekend

02/17/2019

We learned a hard lesson this week about trying to rely on Northern Nevada weather to cooperate with us in February.  It is good our players and families were able to stay safe this weekend.  We will get back after it this week with practices and individual work, as we prepare for our next tournament March 9-10 in the Central Valley.

Back To Work After A Successful Weekend

01/25/2019

Last weekend down in Manteca our teams played extremely competitive baseball. Our 9U, 10U, 12U and 14U teams won the gold bracket championships and our 11U team lost in gold bracket championship game. The competition was fierce, but our players and coaches grinded. It was a great way to start off the new year, but we have to continue to work.

Big Weekend Of Baseball Ahead

01/16/2019

Our 9U-14U teams are heading down to the Central Valley this weekend to face some stiff competition. We are hopeful the weather holds and are excited about staying at our host hotel down there, Residence Inn Modesto North. Will be good to knock some rust off and play on some nice fields, against competitive teams.

Excited For The New Year

01/08/2019

As an organization we are extremely excited heading into the new year.  We took some time off to spend with our families and are getting back after it.  Our winter camp is approaching and our 9U-14U teams are playing in a couple of weekends.  Our 16U-18U teams are playing the weekend after that.  We will make good use of our indoor facility while it is cold outside.

Preparing For A New Year

12/18/2018

We are getting near the end of this year, which has been an extremely productive one for our organization.  Our coaches and families will take some much needed time off this next week and a half from our team practices.  We will all need to recharge our batteries in preparation for another exciting year ahead.

Getting Ready For The Weekend

11/29/2018

We have our 9U-14U teams headed to Manteca this weekend, and our 16U-18U teams are headed to San Jose. Should be a lot of good baseball with us seeing some talented teams and players. The way we continue to get better is by playing elite competition in tournament formays. Grinding every pitch and learning as we go will be a fun weekend.

New Battling Cage Nets Installed

11/13/2018

Our new batting cage nets have been installed at the facility and the feedback we have gotten has been overwhelmingly positive.  The netting makes things more safe in the cages and we won’t have balls shooting out of them any longer.  We are replacing the holes in the drywall the balls caused previously, which should complete our 18-month facility renovation project.  Of course there are still things to stay on top of, and we will continue to strive to provide our families with a top-notch indoor facility.

New Batting Cage Nets Being Installed

11/02/2018

We have our new batting cage nets in and they are currently being installed at the facility.  The material they are made of is strong and the synthetic coating they have been dipped in will help make sure holes don’t form.  This upgrade is an exciting one and our players and coaches will benefit from it.  Have to keep working on improving both on and off the field.

Fall Season Going Strong

10/10/2018

All of our teams played last weekend, kids got a ton of reps and our teams were successful.  We are pleased that our coaching staff and organizational philosophy continues to improve.  It is great to have buy-in from our players and families, with most of them understanding how important culture is to us.  Pumped to get on the field again in a couple of weeks.

Momentum Building

09/18/2018

We are having a productive fall as an organization and are pleased with the progress our teams are making.  The buy-in from our families is strong and our coaching staffs are really starting to gel.  This weekend will give us an opportunity for our 9U-16U players to get some good reps.

Excited to get the new batting cage nets installed at our indoor facility over the next 90 days.  All of the material we ordered is industrial grade, 66 gauge netting that is twice dipped in wax.  Just another improvement to an already upgraded facility!

Labor Day Weekend Tournament

08/31/2018

We have ten teams playing this weekend, six local (9U-14U) and four over the hill (16U Red, 16U Black, 18U Red and 18U Black).  It was good that our players all got to rest their arms during our no-throw period between mid-July and mid-August.

We are excited about the evolution with the organization in terms of the way we are running and coaching our teams.  It is always important to assess the way things are done, and find better ways to serve our players and families.  Looking forward to a good tournament season, starting off with this weekend.

Lot Of Positives

08/18/2018

Our new season has started off with a bang.  Our coaching staff has been assembled and they are working well with their new teams.  Under Armour gear is flying off the shelves as players, coaches and families up their swag game.

Our first tournament of the new season is less than two-weeks away.  After resting everyone’s arms, we are now throwing again in practice.  Administratively we have gotten stronger making some positive tweaks to travel roster structure and overall policy.  Have to keep grinding.

Excited For New Season

08/05/2018

We had our semi-annual meetings this past week and our coaches training today.  Practices start tomorrow for our 9U-18U teams.  Our facility improvement plan is now complete with our new roof being completed last week.

We are extremely excited to get the boys practicing again and see how our new players gel with the existing group of players.  Labor Day Weekend is rapidly approaching, we need to be prepared.

Summer Heating Up

06/06/2018

Our 17U and 19U teams are heading into the meat of their schedule starting with this weekend.  A lot of our 19U players are being placed into some quality colleges which is really exciting.  Recruiting for our younger teams is going extremely well.

Our indoor facility, which already has one swamp cooler unit installed, will have two more brand new swamp cooler units installed by the end of this week.

Our 9U-14U teams are benefiting from some good in-town reps during June and July.  Should be a fun summer.

Swamp Cooler Units Being Installed At Facility

05/16/2018

We recently added one swamp cooler unit to the facility and are in the process of purchasing two more units.   We are working currently with an HVAC expert who will help us position the swamp cooler units within our facility that will help with cooling down the building during the summer months, while also helping with air flow.

We are excited for this upgrade which should allow players, coaches and parents to help feel more comfortable in the building, when it is warm outside, moving forward.

Spring Season Going Well

04/13/2018

Last weekend our 9U, 11U and 12U teams got to play in some highly competitve tournaments and faired well. We are finally able to get back outside for practices, which should aid our teams in being even more competitive.

Our 10U, 13U and 14U teams get to play in a tournament out at Golden Eagle, which should be a great opportunity for our guys to get some good reps in. Have to keep grinding as we head into the late spring months. Should be fun.

Outstanding Weekend For The Organization

03/26/2018

This weekend our teams battled the elements and some quality competition.  Four of our age groups won gold bracket championships, with the 9U, 10U, 11U and 14U teams winning their respective age divisions.  The 12U and 13U teams had close losses in the gold bracket semi-final games too.

It’s important that we continue to work, as we have a big tournament in the greater Sacramento area in a couple of weeks.  Having a big, nice indoor facility has really helped our kids keep their skills up during the winter months.  Excited to get back outside and practice out at Golden Eagle this weekend.

Have To Keep Grinding

03/02/2018

As we head into the spring we have to continue to push towards our organization’s upward development.  Our customer base appears happy with the movement towards smaller roster sizes as well as the acceptance of our flex practice schedule plan.  Our coaching staff is more committed than ever to improving how we run our teams.  It’s an exciting time for everyone involved.

Gearing Up For President’s Day Weekend Tournament

02/13/2018

We had a great semi-annual meeting with our 9U-14U parents, players and coaches.  Excited about all of the enhancements we are making to the way we run the organization.  We have a lot of momentum as we head into the tournament this weekend.  Hoping that we can play some good baseball.

Upgrades To Indoor Facility Complete!

12/28/2017

After a lot of hard work by a lot of individuals we are pleased to announce that our indoor facility renovation is now complete.  We are excited to have it all done as we head into the new year.  We will post pictures to our website and social media shortly after the first of the year.  Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen.

Heading Strong Into The Winter

11/25/2017

We are close to being done with the new gates and netting that will make our batting cage area really look clean.  The office build is going steady and we are hopeful to be done with it here in a couple of weeks.  The last upgrade for the year will be the painting of our floors.  Super excited to get pictures posted on social media once it’s all done.  Already we have seen these upgrades help with both customer retention as well as aiding in the recruitment of new players.

Next weekend we will have nine of our teams travel over the hill.  Our 9U-14U teams will travel to the Central Valley and our 16U-18U teams will travel to San Jose.  Should be some great baseball for our guy’s, which is how we get better.  Last weekend was an extremely successful weekend for the organization as our teams continue to be very competitive every time we step on the field.  Let’s hope that trend continues.

Facility Improvements Nearing Completion

11/6/2017

Things are continuing to progress with our facility improvements. The new LED lights are in, the new field turf is in, the bathrooms have been re-done, and our batting cage nets have been enhanced. By the end of the month we are hoping to have our office build complete. We are also working on new steel frames for all of our batting cages, gates and for parts of the bullpen. After both of these upgrades are done, our final upgrade for 2017 will be painting the floors. Thank you for your patience while we get all of this completed.

Indoor Facility Improvements Close To Being Done

10/18/2017

It’s been a whirlwind trying to get all of our indoor facility improvements done.  We are hoping to have them all done before Thanksgiving.  We appreciate everyone’s patience as we have our projects going.  It’s a very exciting time to know all of the enhancements will make for a greater experience for our families, players and coaches.

Joe-Wieland

Lightning Sister Organisation 2