Buddy Baseball February 2020 Newsletter

Hello Buddy Baseball Fans,

I am ready for the season to start! Are you? This will be our 22nd season. A big welcome to all of our new players, buddies and coaches to the league. I look forward to meeting you. Welcome back to all of our returning families, it will be good to see you again. Our Meet and Greet luncheon will be on Saturday, February 15th (More information below) and the season will start on Saturday, February 22nd. The season schedule is on our website.

This season we will award at least two Buddy Baseball scholarships. High School seniors who have played a minimum of three seasons are eligible to apply for this $1000 scholarship.

If you collected any parade beads at Gasparilla and don't know what to do with them, we are here to help. Bring your beads to a game this season and we will toss them out at the 4th of July parade later this year.

Russ Oberbroeckling

Executive Director

Link to our website

Meet and Greet

Meet and Greet - Saturday, February 15, 2020

Our Meet & Greet is where the players, buddies and coaches have a chance to meet each other. McDonalds will be catering a light lunch. We will also be serving deli sandwiches, salad, fruit, cookies and drinks for Session 1 and 2. Ice Cream and cookies will be served for Session 3.

Session 1: 11:15 am - 12:00 pm
Blazers, Bulldogs, Cobras, Cyclones, Coyotes, Hornets, Pirates

Session 2: 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm
Bombers, Jaguars, Mustangs, Ravens, Thunder, Tigers, Wildcats

Session 3: 2:45 pm - 3:30 pm

Bobcats, Hawks, Hit Squad, Rockets, Scorpions, Sharks

Location:

Omar K. Lightfoot Recreation Center
10901 N. 56th Street

Temple Terrace, FL 33617

The Lightfoot Recreation Center is on the corner of 56th St. and Whiteway Dr. There is a Bank of America drive through north of the Lightfoot Center, a 7-11 to the south and a Dairy Queen diagonally across from the location.

Buddy and Coach Training

Buddy Training - Saturday, February 15, 2020

Buddy and Coach Training

We will have our buddy training for all of the new buddies and new coaches in between the three Meet and Greet Session. This is for the buddies and the coaches only, not for the players. Please check when your training session will start.

Training Date: Saturday, 2/15/2020

Training Time: 12:00 - 12:40 pm

Blazers, Bulldogs, Cobras, Coyotes, Cyclones, Hornets, Pirates

Training Time: 1:45 pm - 2:25 pm

Bobcats, Bombers, Hawks, Hit Squad, Jaguars, Rockets, Scorpions, Sharks, Mustangs, Ravens, Thunder, Tigers, Wildcats

Sarah Otteson Buddy Scholarship

Our Sarah Otteson Buddy Scholarship is available to graduating seniors who have played at least three seasons of Buddy Baseball. An independent panel of judges will select at least two winners. Each winner will receive a $1000 scholarship. Application deadline: Saturday, March 14th at 6:00 pm.

Click on the link to apply. Good Luck!

Scholarship Application

Rays Fan Fest

Thanks to the Tampa Bay Rays for inviting us to their annual Fan Fest. We had a great time talking with all the people who are interested in our program and supporting our favorite Major League Baseball team.

Player Spotlight

Kingston Nathan

King is 12 years old, attends Liberty Middle School and his mom calls him "King Bean." His most prized possession is his iPad and his favorite food is pepperoni pizza. No surprise, his favorite restaurant is Cici's Pizza. King's special talent is snorkeling and his favorite ice cream is vanilla.

Buddy Spotlight

Kathy Matos

Kathy attends Steinbrenner High School and is 18 years old. She loves to volunteer. Her favorite breakfast is Eggs and Ham. If Kathy had a $1000, she would buy a phone. Her favorite subject is school is science and she wants to be a Researcher.

C oach Spotlight

Richard Birdsong

Richard (pictured with his son Alex) was born in Cooperstown, New York. He grew up on the east coast of Florida in Satellite Beach. Richard has been married to Sheryle for 38 years. They have three children and two grandchildren. He has been involved with Buddy Baseball for six years (12 seasons). Richard was a high school football official for 20 years and retired in 2012 after 35 years of employment with the state of Florida.

Parent Spotlight

Nicholas and Kay Givens

Nicholas is from Manhattan, NY and Kay is a Tampa native. They have been Buddy Baseball parents for the past six years, starting with the Hawks and now they are on the Tigers! Together they make up a family of seven with the youngest being three years old.

They own a janitorial service that's run at night and Kay is also a mortgage underwriter during the day, "but don't worry time management is the key!" As for hobbies Kay loves to paint and Nick collects comics. Their favorite Buddy Baseball memory is when Devyn made his first home run and received the game ball. He was so excited that he told everyone and anyone. "We were so proud of him because he had always felt nervous and shy when it was his turn hit. From that day forward he's been up and ready to play ball!"

Sponsor Spotlight

Clearshine Window Washing Service

Kenny Eastman of Clearshine Window Washing Service has been a team sponsor of the Bombers for three years and has been a volunteer for eight years. Clearshine Window Washing Service specializes in commercial window cleaning and still does some residential work. Kenny's contact information: 813-727-8448