Game 2: We Win, 11-6!

Another exciting win for Mill Valley this time over West Marin, with great offense and great, error-free defense. Danny Kennedy pitched 4-1/3 innings and went 3 for 4, with 2 RBIs at the plate. Quincy Karp continues to be the most consistent hitter of the tournament with a combined game batting average of .833! Jay Hopelain's 2-run homer was pretty exciting, too. And what a spectacular and key catch Connor made at shortstop with the bases loaded.

Overall, the team is hitting .426 with a .550 OBP. Wow!

Our next game is Monday, 7/6 at Redwood at 5:30.

Pictures from Game 1 on Flickr

I sent out an invitation to team parents and coaches to join Flickr so we can use it to share pictures. I think you need to simply accept my invitation and set up a free account.

Here is the link to the pictures I've posted so far. Photography by Ken Wachtel. You can upload them to the MVLL Juniors All Stars Group, or get them to me on DVD and I'll upload them for you.

Enjoy!

Game 2 Logistics

Players need to be at Love Field by 4:30. Game starts at 5:30. To make things a little easier, Leslie Wachtel and Judy Hopelain will be at the Community Center from 3:15-3:30 to pick up your son. We have room for all 13 kids.

We'll be the big black Suburban and the Light Blue Chrysler Minivan near the circle. Drop your son off before 3:30 and we'll get him to Love Field by 4:30. Then you can plan to arrive just in time for the start of the game.

We're leaving at 3:30 sharp, so if you don't see our cars at the Community Center, you'll have to drive your player up.

We'll bring blankets for the fans and a cooler of lemonade for the dugout. If you think of other things we might need, feel free to bring them, too.

Go Mill Valley Juniors All Stars!

Game 1: We Win 13-2!

Great game today! The team as a whole hit exceptionally well with a .419 batting average and had a remarkable OBP of .548! Wow!

Centerfielder Quincy Karp led the hitting fest with 3 hits including 2 singles and a double, and 2 RBIs. Chris Hayman and Sam Raffa each had 2 RBIs, and Jay Hopelain added 3 RBIs with his 2 doubles. Catcher Harry Spilman scored all 3 times he got on base. And the bullpen of Michael Brewer, Danny Kennedy and Jonathan Wachtel allowed no runs and no hits.

Great game all. Let's keep it going!

Go Mill Valley Juniors All Stars!

P.S. Send me pictures unless you want to look at these guys all season! I'm going to figure out how to show multiple pictures per game - maybe a collage, maybe on Flickr. Stay tuned.

Get Ready for Game 1 - Sunday, 6/28 - Be There By Noon

Our start time has been moved up to 1 pm. Coach wants all players to be there by noon.

Here are DIRECTIONS TO LOVE FIELD from the West Marin Little League Website:
From Fairfax, go West on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard 13 miles to Olema. At Olema stop sign (bottom of the hill), turn Right (north) onto Highway 1. Go north on Highway 1 (which is also called Sir Francis Drake on this stretch) about 2 miles. Before you get to the town of Pt. Reyes Station, take a left onto Sir Francis Drake as if you are going to Inverness. This is just before Highway 1's Green Bridge. Go approximately 500 yards on Sir Francis Drake. Love Field will be on the left. There is a yellowish orange vertical flag at the field. Park alongside the road.

Jerseys were handed out today. We can't get rosters laminated by game time, but will do that during the week. Meanwhile, we'll bring handouts to the game tomorrow. Here's a digital version:
















Go Mill Valley Juniors All Stars!

Games Schedule & Uniforms

Ok. Weird title to this posting. But it's about the game schedule and the team's uniforms.

We have six All Stars games scheduled at this point:

• 6/28/09 - 4:00 PM vs. Dixie-Terra Linda Little League @ Love Field ( Pt Reyes)
• 6/30/09 - 5:30 PM vs. West Marin Little League @ White Hill Field (Fairfax)
• 7/2/09 - 5:30 PM vs. Ross Valley Little League @ Redwood High School
• 7/6/09 - 5:30 PM vs. Twin Cities Little League @ Redwood High School
• 7/8/09 - 5:30 PM vs. San Rafael Little League @ Vallecito Park
• 7/10/09 - 5:30 PM vs. San Francisco LL @ Benedetti Field (USF)

This same information is posted on the right side of the homepage for easy reference.

The team will provide uniform shirts and players are responsible for their pants, socks, and belts. The shirts are white with red pin stripes. Still no decision about the color of socks or belts - could be red or blue. You may be able to find matching white pants with red pinstripes (maybe from last year's players). If you're interested in buying a pair, click here and the link will take you to the page on a baseballsavings.com where you can purchase them for $19.95. Once you choose the size, you'll be able to select the color combination (White/Scarlet). Right now, they appear to have all sizes in stock except Small.

Go Mill Valley!

Still Missing Eligibility Info for Several Players

Below is the updated player eligibility status. There are 5 players for whom we have none of the information needed to be certified: Finkelstein, Gillis, Hayman, Jordan and Wallace. A few others have partial information submitted at this point: Barnett, McGuinness and Spillman. Please, get this stuff to us to ensure your child will be allowed to play!

Team & Player Eligibility Info Updates

A few members of the team have indicated that they will not be playing this season. They are Carl and Phil Otto and Nick Urban. We'll miss them.

Meanwhile, we have collected a bunch of forms from many of you. Thanks for getting us the information!

The chart below is the status by player: green means the item has been handed in and is complete, yellow means it's partially complete, and red means the item has not been handed in.

Reminder: we're aiming to have the files complete by Wednesday. If you need forms or have questions, call Rick at 272-0787, email me (jhopelain@yahoo.com) or post a comment on the blog.

Next week's practice schedule is now posted on the site.

Go Mill Valley All Stars!

Proof of Eligibility for Juniors All Stars Players

To keep track of all the required documentation, we put together a spreadsheet for the team. There are three sets of documents we need for every player:

1. 3 different forms of proof of residence (only 1 of each type is allowed - see description in the table below for what qualifies)
2. original plus one copy of birth certificate (Ned has to verify the original "officially"; we will keep the copy and return the original to you)
3. medical release form
   

We are unsure exactly when the certification meeting with Ned will be, but it's before our first game, which is currently scheduled for 6/28. To be safe, we are asking you to submit all of this material by 6/24, which is Wednesday. If we need it sooner, we'll let you know.

Here is the status of what we have so far. Note that "x" in any column means we have what we need. Blanks mean we don't.






















Thanks for your help in getting this stuff to us! Feel free to call Rick (272-0787) if you have any questions about this.

Go Mill Valley!

Welcome Email from Coach Gamboa - 6/17/09

Hello Everyone- Welcome to the 2009 Junior All Stars.

Now that school has ended for most everyone, it's time to practice. Practice times and locations have already been a challenge. We will be utilizing Alto Field until they begin renovations and then Tam High's facilities when available.

Practices for this week: Thursday & Friday 2:30-4:30 Saturday 12-2:00 and Sunday TBD.

I want to thank Judy Hopelain and Leslie Wachtel for handling the administrative paperwork to get the team certified. Please make sure you provide them with medical release forms and birth affidavits. We would like to have everything in order to get the team certified by early next week.

I also want to thank Judy for putting together a blog page for the all star team to help keep everyone informed.

Here is a link to your personal Player Dashboard. You can use it to view or change your Registration info / Waiver, check your team roster and contact info, check the schedule, etc. This is your personal link. Do not share it with others.

To save the link, click on it and when your Dashboard page comes up in the browser use the browser's "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" feature to store it.

Call or email me if you have any questions.
302-2113 cell

Martin Gamboa

Welcome Juniors All Stars, Families & Friends

Monday afternoon the Juniors All Star Team received their hats, and began the process of coming together as a team. This year's Juniors All Stars are:

Andy Barnett, Seth Gillis, Jay Hopelain, Kevin Jordan, Quincy Karp, Danny Kennedy, Phil Otto, Carl Otto, Sam Raffa, Harry Spilman, Jonathan Wachtel, Andrew Harrison, Jonathan Finklestein, Chris Hayman, Tommy Wallace, Connor Clark, Nick Mcginnes, Nick Urban, and Michael Brewer

They will be led by coaches Martin and Mike Gamboa and Rock Raffa.

The 19 players will work out together for the next week or so, and the travel team of 12 players will be named once the coaches have a feel for the combination of players that forms the most competitive team.

A team practice schedule has not been set yet, and will probably change from day to day based on field availability. Most practices will be at Tam. To keep up with schedules, keep email to a minimum, and let our families and friends follow the team, we're trying something new. The coaches will use this blog to communicate with the team and parents, and we'll also use it to share pictures and highlights from the team's experience.

At the top of the page, there's a place to sign up to have these blog posts emailed to you. Be sure to do that so you'll receive all team news and info.

Go Mill Valley Juniors!

Shown below are: Coach Gamboa giving All Stars hat to Chris Hayman as Andy Barnett, Seth Gillis and Jay Hopelain look on