Shades Mountain Park

• Metro Coaches are encouraged to attend HHS Baseball Coach Rick Davis’ camp May 29-June 1 from 8:30am-noon. There will be a $20 discount. Details forthcoming.
• A reminder that registration for Hoover Youth football is ongoing. Visit www.hooveryouthfootball.com for details on both the competitive and recreational leagues.
• HHS Football Coach Josh Niblett will hold his football camp at the high school field on July 23-25. Cost to register is $100 by June 4th, $115 by July  9th and $125 thereafter. Call 396-6667 or email karonniblett@att.net for details.

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Congratulations to the 7 YO Yankees, 24-13 winners over the Cardinals last night, the Orioles, who defeated the Indians 11-4 in the 9/10 American finals, and the Dodgers, who claimed a dramatic 17-16 win over the Giants in the 9/10 National title bout.

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SMP will be rocking tonight as the 7 YOs and both the 9/10 YO leagues hold their championship games at 6 p.m.

• On Field #5, the No. 1 Cardinals will face the second-seeded Yankees for 7 YO bragging rights at 6 p.m.
• In the American League the No. 1 Orioles battle the 3rd-seeded Indians while the No. 1 Giants face the second-seeded Dodgers in the National League finals. Good luck to all the teams!
• And congratulations to Team Cottrell for claiming the 11/12 YO title with an exciting win over Team Norris Saturday on Field #4.

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Congratulations to the the 6YO Twins, 23-22 winners over the Reds for the league title last night. Also, congrats to the 8 YO Orioles, 23-11 winners over the Reds for last night’s championship.

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Here is an update on the league tournaments:

• 6 YO – Reds vs. Twins Championship Game tonight at 6 on Field #7.
• 7 YO – Quarterfinals continue tonight and Friday on Field #5.
• 8 YO – Reds vs. Orioles Championship Game tonight at 6 on Field #6.
• 9/10 YO American – Quarterfinal games continue tonight on Field #9.
• 9/10 YO National – Quarterfinal games continue Saturday on Field #1.
• 11/12 YO – Semifinals are tonight on Field #4.
• 13/14 YO – Quarterfinals continue tonight at SMP and other area parks.

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Be sure to come out to Field #6 Thursday for the 8 YO championship game. The Orioles will battle the Reds. In fact the O’s only blemish on their record this season is a tie with the Reds. The teams will face off again in the championship game tomorrow night.

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A Southern Linc phone was found at the park last night. Contact Chuck Cuppett at 281-3107 to reclaim.

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It’s Tournament Week at Shades Mountain Community Park, one of the best weeks of the year. Here are some brief updates on our leagues. Please post photos on our Facebook site (link at bottom right of this page). Good luck to all the teams!

• Tball – season ended this past weekend for our youngest players. Great season for these guys.
• 6′s – tournament began Saturday and continues tonight on Field #7. Come check out the action as the first-year machine pitch players battle for the league title.
• 7′s – Tournament begins tonight as the Cardinals and Yankees are the 1st and 2nd seeds on Field #5.
• 8′s – Perhaps the most exciting field at the Park, the Orioles are the No. 1 seed on Field #6 and play the Tigers tonight in one semifinal while the underdog Cubs (10 seed) and play the Reds on the other side of the bracket.
• 9/10 American – The tournament begins tonight. The top-seeded Orioles await in one of Saturday’s semifinals.
• 9/10 National – Begins tonight. Giants are the favorite in the National league.
• 11/12′s – Begins tonight. Coach Norris and Coach Cottrell’s teams are the favorites in the 11/12 YO league.
• 13/14′s – Playing a city-wide tournament that begins tonight in the big boy group. 

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Best of luck to all our teams as we head into the end-of-season tournaments next week! Here are some news and notes as we begin May on the mountain:

There will be an all star Team Mom meeting held on Thursday, May 10th from 6-8 p.m. at Coaches Corner.  Any ALL STAR Team Mom needs to attend!

Voting for 2012 Board positions will be held this Saturday, May 5th, from 10-11 a.m. near the hitting facility between Field #1 and #2 (Cuppett Field). The nominees running for positionas on the board are as follows:

• Mike McCraw – Treasurer
• Steven Casey – Database Manager
• Ron Collins – Communications Coordinator
• Laura Jackman – Merchandise Coordinator

Fittings for all star uniforms will be as follows:

• 7&8 Year Olds – Monday, May 14th from 6-8 p.m. in the Coaches Corner
• 9&10 Year Olds – Tuesday, May 15th from 6-8 p.m. in the Coaches Corner

Metro Tournaments will be held at the following locations:

• 7 National – Hoover East
• 7 American – Mountain Brook
• 8 National – Homewood
• 8 American – Oak Mountain
• 9 National – Shades Mountain
• 9 American – Shades Mountain
• 10 National – Trussville
• 10 American -Vestavia Hills
• 11 National/American – Mountain Brook
• 12 National/American – Homewood
• 13/14 Combined – Hoover East

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Here are two key notes for this week:

• SMP is hosting the April Bash tournament this weekend – April 27-29th. No park games will be held during this event. This is a big fundraiser for our park each year and money raised goes DIRECTLY back to our kids and programs. Volunteers are needed, however, to help staff the event and run the gate (collect money). If you can volunteer, please contact Emily Sikes, Park Mom, at emilysikesSMP@gmail.com. Shifts run Friday night, Saturday all day and Sunday afternoon. Thank you for consideration.
• Please note the following open letter from SMP President Lee Mills:
• “I wanted to share a few things on one of the most exciting times for player at SMP ages 7 – 14 – Metro Baseball All Stars. This is an opportunity to play against and with some of the best baseball players in the Birmingham area. Every year in May and June we have the opportunity as a park to participate in All Stars with other parks in Metro Baseball, parks such as Homewood, Vestavia, Mountain Brook, Hoover East, Trussville and Pell City. Specific dates to commit to for practice and games are on the All Star Commitment Form available (link below) on our website. Any player age 7-14 wanting to be considered for an All Star team representing SMP must first complete a 2012 All Star Commitment/Consideration Form to begin the selection process. Please read the form and understand that, in order to be considered for the selection process, you must agree and commit to all the terms on the form including the financial and time commitments. If you can not commit to BOTH then PLEASE DO NOT complete a form or submit it. There will be no exceptions made for players for vacations and traveling during this time period including coaches wanting to be considered for coaching. If you have a vacation planned and can not change or cancel it; then please do not sign up for All Stars this year and plan accordingly next year. This is nothing new except for those new to All Stars and it is the only fair way for all involved. Why should one child/family be allowed to go on vacation while another does not because of their commitment to All Stars? If you look at some of the Metro rules (www.metrosportsbaseball.com) you will have a better understanding on this position. A portion of the All Star cost (stated on the Commitment Form) will be due at the 1^st practice and the other cost will be paid through donations, sponsorships and fund raising. Many All Star teams purchase additional items like new and matching bat bags and helmets, T-shirts, goodie bags, trophies ect., which are additional cost on top of the fee due at the first practice. A team mom will be in charge of coordinating this and keeping up with the monies. After committing and submitting the form, the head coaches will have an All Star Draft where they vote on teams from the players who submitted forms. This meeting will be head coaches only and only head coaches vote. In other words, Commissioners and Assistant Coaches do not vote in the draft. From the number of players available the coaches will vote on how many teams to have to represent SMP as there must be 12 players per team. For example, if we have 40 players from the 7-year-old league submit forms and the coaches vote for 1 National and 2 American All Star teams then 4 players will not make a team. By rule we can only have 12 players on a team, therefore if you submit a form you are not guaranteed to make a team or be selected. Once the number of teams and players on each team are voted on practice will begin as early as May 14th and the last game is “scheduled” for June 17^th. Play may extend past this date due to rain but is unlikely so please do not plan anything until June 20th just in case. This definitely does not include all of the details but hopefully gives more insight on All Stars and I hope you and your child have a great All Star experience and one which will last a lifetime. Here is a link to the All Star form on our website: http://www.quickscores.com/Orgs/Downloads.php?OrgDir=shadesmountainbaseball“

Good luck, Lee Mills

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