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Minor B Blue Jays

Posted by Kyle Kaechele at Feb 1, 2019 7:41PM PST ( 0 Comments )

Blue Jays team parents,

Thank you for attending the event yesterday. I’m sorry I was unable to make it but I want to thank Coach Sam for being there. I’m very excited about this year and I’m very happy that all of your kids are on my team. This is going to be a very fun and productive season and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to coach your children. I’m excited to watch them grow and learn. The goal of this season will be to advance the skills of your children and foster an appreciation for the game of baseball. We want the boys to look forward to every practice and game and be excited to come back to play next year. If we’ve accomplished those things I will be very happy. With that said, boys are competitive by nature and and it’s good to foster that competitiveness. I coached my son Cody in Minor B last year and I quickly learned that only the coaches and parents are keeping track of the score. It was common to hear the kids say “did we win” at the end of the game! We do want to win but it’s not our scorecard. I’m happy to say that every one of the boys I coached last year is back this year and our goal is that your boys will do the same next year!

Our scorecard will be our progress in five main areas:

1. Creating a deeper understanding of the functions of each position.

2. Proper fielding, throwing and catching.

3. Batting – proper stance and swing.

4. Base running – the beginning of strategic base running.

5. Creating a deeper understanding of the game.

This season is really about advancing the fundamentals, creating muscle memory, and becoming a smarter and stronger baseball player. We also want to foster a team spirit and camaraderie.

About me:

I grew up in Chicago and moved to Poway when I was 14 years old. I played in PALL before playing baseball at Poway High School. I graduated from PHS in 1994. I have three kids – daughter Quinn, 11, Cody, 8, and Jake 5 with my wife, Amy. I work for Oracle Corporation and travel a bit more than I’d like to.

Assistant coaches:

Coach Sam Brown. Sam also played baseball at Poway High (Second base, I think) and was two years behind me. Sam coached his son Sammy in Rookies last year and serves on the PALL board. Sam knows a number of the players and I’m happy to report that he was VERY happy with our draft. We’re fortunate to have Sam as a coach this year and his son, Slammin’ Sammy!

Coach Josh Kaechele. Josh is my brother. Josh also played in PALL and is a huge baseball fan. Josh is lucky enough to have three beautiful baby girls (a four year old and 19 month old twins). He’s very happy to (get out of the house) and coach his nephew Cody and your kids this season. I’m excited to coach with Josh again this season and I think your kids will enjoy having him as a coach.

Practices:

Preseason practice – we’ll be practicing on Saturdays and Wednesday at the Tierra Bonita fields. Wednesday practices will start at 4pm until 6pm (this will change as the daylight hours change). Our first practice is tomorrow (Saturday) at 12 noon unless it rains. There is no practice scheduled during ski week but we may have an optional practice (location/time and day TBD). Please let me know if your son can’t make a practice. If your son just needs a ride please let me know, I’m happy to help.

Please sign up for team pages – I’ll make announcements and schedule practices and games through this app. This will be our main form of communication moving forward but you can always call or text me. You can also download the app to your phone.

My plan and focus:

As I said, we’re going to focus on the fundamentals of the game. We’re also going to look at this from the individual perspective as well as a team. We’ll be tracking skills for each boy so we know where to focus our time with your child. We’ll measure our success on how your son’s skills advance.

Feedback:

I’ve been a coach, assistant coach, and a parent in the stands. I’m open to your feedback. These are your children and you’re their best advocate. We will have 12 kids between the ages of 6 and 9 on the team so there will be things I may miss (don’t tell my wife). I’ve been a parent in the stands and frustrated before. Don’t let it get to that point. These are good learning years. Please don’t let anything fester. If something’s bothering you – talk to me, email me, text me. I’ll fix it.

Help needed:

My career involves some travel so I’m going to my best to stick to this plan. Sam and Josh are committed to this as well but both work and have some travel demands as well. Inasmuch, we could really use your help…

Assistant coaches/practice support – this would be a huge help. Come as you are – work clothes, jeans, no glove, whatever – we can use your help. Please fill out the attached volunteer form and send that to the email below.

Scorekeepers: This is a critical role. Please let me know if you’re interested. Would really like to have two if possible.

Team mom: Critical role. Let me know who can help here.

Action items:

1. Team pages – please sign up for team pages – you should’ve gotten an email with this information.

2. Email safetyofficer@pallbaseball.org for volunteer link.

3. At practice you’ll need to sign a waiver for pictures.

4. Boys will have to be baseball ready at practice. They’ll need spikes, gloves, and a helmet. If you don’t have a helmet we will have one. If you have a little league approves USA bat please bring that as well.

5. We use rainedout.net to report rained out games. I’ll also do my best to report it when I get word as well.

6. If you haven’t already done so, you need to buy the pants, belt, and socks before our first game. A cup is recommended.

Please let me know if you have any questions. Here’s my cell – 858-531-5559 and personal email – kylekaechele@gmail.com.

Thank you and Go Blue Jays!!

Coach Kyle

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