Pre-season notes

13U Brownlee Lookouts

Tournaments:

I will be posting our schedule online soon. We are already registered for tournaments on the following dates:

May 8-10 Kent State-State Qualifier http://www.glbl.org/new/tourinfodisplay.asp?TournamentID=2971

May 22-25 Memorial Day Tournament (Mentor)

June 5-7  Battle on the Border (Youngstown) http://www.triplecrownsports.com/tourny_detail.asp?tournyid=3304

July 2-5 GLBL 34th Annual Firecracker Tournament (Mentor) http://www.eteamz.com/baseball/tournaments/tournament.cfm/1452950/

Pending tournaments:

April 3-5  Early Bird Classic (Kent)

June 18- 21 Nation’s Ohio State Championships http://www.nationsohio.com/state-championship/

July 9-12 Jackons Mid-Summer Classic http://www.eteamz.com/classic2008/

****

Each player will have their names embroidered on their baseball hats and I purchased the Brownlee “B” logo sticker for each player. Those that already bought the stickers let me know and I’ll reimburse you.

Please make sure that the players keep track of the wristbands. I have two spares which I will bring with me, but those stay with me. If a player loses the wristband they will be responsible for purchasing their own.

Practice at St. Vincent St. Mary’s H.S. football field on Saturday March 8 was a huge success. The turf is great and dries out quick. Even after heavy rain the field was dry. We will make an effort to continue practicing at that facility until the weather dries out enough to get on our own field. Special thanks to Matt Dehnke for getting this facility for us!!

While I’m doling out the thank you’s, Debbie Majoros did a great job for us with the fundraisers. Without her efforts I do not think it would have been possible to get SEVEN tournaments this season. Way to go Debbie!!

Attention all shutterbugs…we need material!! I have a software program that I use to make special music videos for the team. I would GREATLY appreciate it if parents would take the opportunity to bring digital cameras to all of our events, snap some action shots (practices, meetings, games, whatever) and email them to me. You will truly be amazed at how awesome these videos turn out just using still photos. The kids love ‘em and it really adds a dimension to our website.

Keep checking in, because we are gearing up for a busy, fun, and exciting time. We’ve been working really hard since October and it is going to pay off real soon!!

-Coach Birkbeck

Tryout Information for the 2009 13u Lookouts

13U BROWNLEE LOOKOUTS

 

 

 

TEAM AND PLAYER PACKAGE

What you can expect from one of our teams

 

FEES INCLUDE:

 

§  Player development, not just “pick the best players”

§  First class program with appropriate intensity including number of games, number of tournaments, and quality of games

§  10 TEAM WORKOUTS on Sunday mornings (8:30am-10:30am) at KSU field house in Kent.

§  10 personal training sessions with KSU baseball players, AS A TEAM, at KSU field house on Sunday mornings (immediately following team workouts).

§  First class program, well known and well respected

§  First class uniforms

§  Team insurance

§  4 tournaments-coaches discretion for additional tourneys

§  Umpire fees

§  Miscellaneous team equipment/balls

§  Great value for your dollar

§  Strong mentoring program

 

Tryout Date: 

Sunday September 21

1 p.m.

ERIE ISLAND BASEBALL COMPLEX
1532 PECKHAM ST.  AKRON 44320

From Coach Birkbeck…

Hello and thanks for visiting this site to learn more about the 2009 13 Brownlee Lookouts. If you are well travelled in the Northeast Ohio baseball circuit you are no doubt familiar with Brownlee’s baseball academy and the strong reputation of the Brownlee travel baseball programs. For those of you who are not familiar with this program, visit www.brownlees.com to learn more about the program and the academy.

Is this program right for me?

Travel baseball programs have exploded in Northeast Ohio over the past decade. For the most part, that is a good thing because now kids are learning how to play “real” baseball at a much younger age. Unfortunately, with the proliferation of “travel teams” comes the watering down of the caliber of play. The downside is that many of the truly gifted baseball players are spread out across many teams. The end result is that many of these so called travel teams are really nothing more than mirror images of rec ball teams. The result is that there are usually 2-3 (or less!!) top notch players carrying the team. These teams are rarely able to compete in the major tournaments against the top teams in the state. There simply isn’t enough depth or talent to go up against a stacked team.

Imagine taking the top players from the best of the local travel teams and compiling them onto a single roster. Then take those elite players and provide them with instruction from one of th areas premier baseball academies as well as, arguably, the top college baseball program (Kent State) in this part of the United States. Add to that a personal fitness program and workouts with the top college prospects at the high school level on the older Brownlee Lookouts baseball program and you have a truly elite program. Finally, you will be playing with teammates that are the very best in the region, if not the state.

Tryouts

Tryouts will be held in August. Please keep checking this site and the local newspapers for specific dates, times and locations. If you would like more information you can email me at birkbeck11@aim.com

-Matt Birkbeck