Athletics

Our Opening Day Celebration will be this Sunday, February 8, at Mishcon Field. Players should meet their Managers in uniform in the left field area no later than 12 noon. The procession onto the field will begin at 12:30 sharp, so don't be late!! We'll have fun, games and food for all, and maybe a special guest or two, so come on out and have a good time!

By Sunday evening, January 18, the teams for the 2004 North Miami Beach Optimist Little League will have been selected. Those of you that registered early and went to tryouts can expect a call early next week from your new manager. Those of you who signed up late, or missed all three days of tryouts may be placed on a waiting list. We will let you know what your chances are of being placed on a team. Of course, if you do not want to wait, you will receive a full refund of your registration fee. Remember, it doesn't matter how good you are; everyone makes a team, and everyone plays every game!

Our registration days on December 6 and 7 were a huge success, with close to 200 baseball players coming by Mishcon to register. If you missed it, you've still got time to register, until our evaluations on January 10 and 11. See the story below for more info on specific times. If you can send your registration in before December 31, you'll save ten bucks, so hurry!

Our second set of fall clinics is scheduled for the next two weeks. As you know, we have arranged for several clinics this fall designed to help you keep sharp during the off season. The clinics are open only to kids who were registered with us last year, and will be free of charge! The focus this time will be on pitching and catching, so if you’re interested in playing there, be sure to come and learn something new about those tough positions. (Remember, anyone who is interested in practicing at catcher MUST be wearing a cup. There will be no exceptions, no excuses.) The Clinic for all kids who will be eligible for minors and majors in 2004 (that is, who will be between 9 and 12 on July 31, 2004) will be on Thursday, November 13, at 6:00 at Mishcon. The Clinic for all kids who will be eligible for juniors and up in 2004 (that is, who will be 13 or older on July 31, 2004) will be on Wednesday, November 19, at 6:00 at Allen. Any questions, please contact Brian Adams, who has done a great job in setting these up. His number is 305.528.4765. Hope to see you there!

The special meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 2, 2003, at 7:00 p.m. at the Silver Youth Center, 17091 NE 19th Ave., North Miami Beach, FL. could not go forward for lack of a quorum. The purpose of the meeting was to decide whether to amend the NMBOLL Constitution to increase from 3 to 10 the number of Board members needed for a quorum. Whether the meeting will be rescheduled is undetermined at this time.