Friday, May 6 - Update

The JV game canceled last night has been rescheduled for TODAY at 4:00 at Champion Fields #6. JV players are excused from their 2:00 classes at 2:40 and should be at the field - ready to begin warm ups - by 3:00.

Varsity will practice after school today - we just don't know where yet. Coach Sondgeroth will tweet the location of practice as soon as one has been secured.

JV Game Rescheduled for FRIDAY

Hopefully everyone made it back to their vehicles tonight before the rain really started falling! The heavy rains means that we will NOT be allowed to park on the grass for the remainder of the tournament. Please consider using the Normal West parking lots. As an added bonus, we will NOT be charging a gate fee Friday night.

The 1st round of the JV tournament has been rescheduled for TOMORROW night - Friday, May 6, at 4:00 pm at Champion Fields.All members of the JV team will be dismissed from classes at 2:40 so they can be at the field by 3:00 to begin warm ups. If your daughter will need a ride to the field, please contact Coach Pessman, Coach Doellman or Coach Sondgeroth (text 309-530-2297).

At this time, Saturday's schedule remains unchanged. However, the weather does not look good for Saturday morning. We were told this evening that we have three options if the fields are unplayable Saturday morning ...
1) move the start times for all games back as late as necessary and complete all varsity and JV games

2) cancel the JV portion of the tournament and delay the start of all varsity games

3) cancel the JV portion of the tournament and postpone the varsity portion of the tournament to Monday

Notice that in the first option, the start of games - especially JV games - could be pushed back well into the evening on Saturday. If this causes conflicts with previously scheduled events, please contact Coach Pessman or Coach Doellman immediately so we can plan accordingly.

Thank you for your support of the U-High Softball program!

Big Week in the Corn Belt Conference ...

Mon, May 2 - 4:30 pm - U-High vs Prairie Central @ Champion Fields
.......... (Var and JV)

Tue, May 3 - 4:30 pm - U-High vs Rantoul @ Champion Fields
......... (Var and JV)

Wed, May 4 - Practice - 3:30 - 5:30, rain or shine
.......... Location TBA

Thu, May 5 - Corn Belt Conference Tournament @ Champion Fields
.......... Var @ 4:30, JV @ 6:15

Fri, May 6 - Practice - 3:30 - 5:30, rain or shine - location TBA
.......... If tourney is postponed Thu, we move those games to Fri.

Sat, May 7 - Corn Belt Conference Tournament @ Champion Fields
.......... Varsity @ 10:00 and 1:30; JV @ 11:45 and 3:15
.......... (All times after 10:00 are tentative)

Wednesday, April 21 Update - GAME ON!

We have located umpires, so tonight's make up games w/ PC are on! Varsity and JV players should be at Champion - dressed and ready to warm up - by 3:30.

Regional/Sectional Assignments announced

The regional and sectional assignments have been announced by the IHSA. Go to: http://www.ihsa.org/activity/sbg/2010-11/3assign.htm

Monday, March 28

We are still planning to go out to Champion Fields for practice today from 3:30 - 5:30. Please dress accordingly!

Freeport Tournament Information

A note from Jeff Sands, Head Coach at Freeport High School:

We are excited and looking forward to having each of your teams join us for the 2011 Lady Pretzel Invite. It looks like the tournament field will boast another top caliber group of teams. We look forward to having you all here for our tournament and want it to be a fun and competitive experience for your teams.

What a way to begin the 2011 season by playing against some of the top teams in the state! We return (7) teams from last years powerful field and invite one more to join us. Please meet the 2011 tournament teams:
- For the second year in a row we will have the 3A State Champions in our tournament field. Congratulations to Coach Deric Linder and Metamora High School on capturing the 2010 (3A) State Title.
- Congratulations are also in order for Morrison High School, who returns to the tournament field after a 3rd place finish at the 2010 (2A) State Tournament.
- Oak Forest High School will return to defend their 2010 Lady Pretzel Invite title and were the 2009 (3A) State Champions. They advanced to the Super Sectionals in 2010 where they lost to State Champ Metamora.
- Marengo High School will return to the field after finishing 2nd in the 2010 Lady Pretzel Invite to Oak Forest in a great championship game that went extra innings.
- Milledgeville , Freeport and Lena will all return from the 2010 field as well. Milledgeville beat Freeport in the Consolation Championship game in 2010.
- We have added one new team to the 2011 tournament field and would like to welcome University High School (Normal) to the 2011 Invite. U-High advanced to Sectional championship in 2010 where they fell to the 3A State Champions - Metamora.

All games will be played on the NW and SW diamonds at Read Park in Freeport, located at the corner of S. McKinley Ave and W. Empire St. The tournament will begin on Friday afternoon April 1st at 1:00pm with pool play:
- Teams in Pool A play their games on Friday at 1:00 and 4:00. Opponents in the 1:00 games are Milledgeville vs Oak Forest and Freeport vs U-High.
- Teams in Pool B play their games on Friday at 2:30 and 5:30. Opponents for the 2:30 game are Metamora vs Lena and Morrison vs Marengo.

Saturday, March 26

Practice at U-High from 10 - 12 - Sr, Jr, So only. Coach Sondgeroth is bringing Panera bagels!

Scheduling Updates

Thursday, March 24 - Practice 7-9 @ U-High

Friday, March 25 - Tentatively, practice 3-5 @ U-High

Saturday, March 26 - Varsity games have been canceled - practice TBA

Wednesday, March 23

As of 11:30 AM, the fields were soft, but usable. With an afternoon of sun and wind, they should continue to dry. We will continue with our plans to practice at Champion Fields from 3:30 - 5:30 pm.

Monday, March 21

At this time, the plan is to go outside at Champion Fields from 3:30 - 5:30 pm. Reminder - girls need to find their own rides to and from the practice fields.

Start at U-High ...

Too cold to start at Champion ... meet at UHigh at 9:30 ... be prepared to go outside later during practice.

Friday, March 18 - Practice INSIDE at U-High from 3 - 5.

Apparel Order Form now available online

My apologies ... the 2011 U-High Softball Apparel order form can now be accessed online through the following link:

2011 U-High Softball Apparel Order Form

Completed orders should be returned to Coach Sondgeroth in the Math Office by 8:30 on Tuesday morning.

Updated Spring Break Practice Schedule

Friday, March 4 - Practice 5 - 7 @ U-High - all players should attend; final cuts made at the end of practice

Saturday, March 5 - Practice 8 - 10 @ U-High - be prepared to run outside

Sunday, March 6 - Optional Practice 1 - 3, as follows:
- 1-2 - all pitchers and catchers report to large gym to throw
..........(dads are welcome to catch - not sure how many we'll have)

- 1-2 - all non-pitcher/catcher freshman and sophomores
..........report to small gym for hitting circuit

- 2-3 - all juniors and seniors and all fr/so pitchers and catchers
..........report to small gym for hitting circuit

If you will NOT be at practice on Sunday ONLY, please e-mail Coach Sellers at ljsell2@yahoo.com. All other absences should be reported to Coach Sondgeroth at SGrothfam@aol.com as soon as you are a ware of the absence.

Monday, March 7 - Practice 10 - 12 @ U-High - be prepared to go to the turf

Tuesday, March 8 - Practice 10 - 12 @ Horton Fieldhouse - be prepared to go to the turf

Wednesday, March 9 - Saturday, March 12 - No practices

Sunday, March 13 - Optional practice TBA
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Softball cuts ...

Pass the word ... All players should attend practice tonight ... We will talk with each player individually before she leaves the gyms.

If you will not be at practice tonight come see me in the math office (room 223) before you leave school.

Clarification ...

No open gym on Sunday this week ... open gym TODAY, Sat, Feb. 26, from 10 - 12 at U-High.

2011 BNGSA Summer Softball UPDATE

It looks like the 19U roster is full.

However, Jamie Kunde's dad approached me after the meeting on Wednesday and said that he currently has a 15U team with several openings. If you are eligible for this level and interested in playing, I would encourage you to consider joining this team.

Simply list "Kunde" as the coach and "Jamie Kunde" as the preferred player on your BNGSA registration form. Send me an e-mail if you do this so I can inform Mr. Kunde of any players he should be expecting on his team.

Remember, the final walk-in registration is today from 12:00 – 2:00 pm at Coleen Hoose School. Registrations submitted in person or post marked by Feb. 28 pay a $65 registration fee. Registrations postmarked from March 1 – 14 pay a $75 registration fee. Registrations postmarked March 15 or later will not be accepted. For more information or to obtain registration materials, go to the BNGSA website - http://www.bngsa.org/intown/registration.html.

2011 BNGSA Summer Softball

If you are not part of a travel team for Summer 2011, I strongly encourage you to play on an in-town team. Last year, we organized a team in the 19-U division that ended the season in 2nd place. If you played on this team last year, please contact Coach Fritz as soon as possible to let him know if you want to play on the team again this year. If you are interested in playing at the 19-U level, contact Coach Fritz at richard.l.fritz.a0hk@statefarm.com to determine if he has any spots left on that team.

BNGSA made one significant change for the upcoming season – the 14-U division has been changed to 15-U. As a result, most freshmen are still eligible to play in the 15-U division. At this time, we do not have a team organized at this level. If any parent (mom or dad) is interested in working with a team in this division, let me know asap. I will contact the BNGSA and help get things organized.

These decisions need to be made quickly, as the final walk-in registration is scheduled for this Saturday, February 26, from 12:00 – 2:00 pm at Coleen Hoose School. Registrations submitted in person or post marked by Feb. 28 pay a $65 registration fee. Registrations postmarked from March 1 – 14 pay a $75 registration fee. Registrations postmarked March 15 or later will not be accepted.

For more information or to obtain registration materials, go to the BNGSA website - http://www.bngsa.org/intown/registration.html.

Reminder ...

NO OPEN GYM TODAY! This week we are scheduled for ...

Monday, Feb. 21 from 4 - 6 pm in the large gym
Tuesday, Feb. 22 from 3 - 5 in the small gym
Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 3 - 5 in the small gym
Saturday, Feb. Feb. 26 from 10 - 12 in both gyms

Spring Sports Parent Meeting

The University High School Athletic Department will host its annual Spring Sports Parents Meeting on Wednesday, February 23, from 6 - 7:30 pm. The evening will begin with an assembly in the Large Gym and then break up into smaller meetings by sport.

Athletes interested in trying out for a spring sport are highly encouraged to attend this meeting with their parents. If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact Coach Sondgeroth.
.

February Open Gyms

We are in full preseason mode, holding 2-3 open gyms each week. For the latest info on practice times at U-High, go to the U-High practice schedule - http://www.uhigh.ilstu.edu/athletic/practiceschedule.pdf

Our tentative schedule for the next three weeks ...
Sun, Jan. 30 - Both gyms, 2 - 4
Mon, Jan. 31 - Small gym, 7 - 9
Wed, Feb. 2 - Open House, 6 - 9

Sun, Feb. 6 - Both gyms, 2 - 4 (Yes, I know this is Super Bowl Sunday)
Mon, Feb. 7 - Small gym, 7 - 9
Thu, Feb. 10 - Small gym, 7 - 9

Sun, Feb. 13 - Both gyms, 2 - 4
Tue, Feb. 15 - Small gym, 7 - 9
Thu, Feb. 17 - Small gym, 7 - 9

No Practice - Sunday, Feb. 20
No School - Monday, Feb. 21 - Open gym TBA