Lancer Baseball Update - Tryout information enclosed

Date Posted: Feb 08, 2012

Lancer Baseball Community,

 

·         We are now a mere 12 days away from the first day of tryouts, February 20th.  We have utilized 10 of our 12 optional "green day" practices and am pleased to see that we had 24 athletes show up yesterday.  It was, in my opinion our best practice yet and left me both energized and excited for the season to start.  We have 2 more days we can practice, and plan on practicing on Friday February 10 from 3:30-5:30 in the auxiliary gym and Saturday February 11 from 8:00-10:30 AM in the main gym.  Should the weather turn and we can get outside we will, but it does not look promising.  Should severe inclement weather strike I will do my best to communicate as quickly as possible, but please be aware if FCPS cancels after school activities or closes schools on a weekend due to weather, we will be cancelled. 

·         With tryouts approaching, we will have our final information meeting this coming Tuesday, February 14^th after school in my classroom, #157.  Any and all student-athletes or managers that expect to tryout are encouraged to come as we will make a final check of who still needs to take care of medical forms/concussion programs and explain the procedures for tryouts.  Even if your son is sure he has all of his forms turned in, I encourage him to make every effort to attend.

·         In order to tryout all student-athletes must have a completed physical on file with the athletic trainer and an emergency care form on file with me (both are attached).  If you are unsure if the physical is completed for this year, please ask, and I’ll check.  Parents and students must also take separate concussion education courses online once a school year.  Details can be found at: http://www.fcps.edu/supt/activities/atp/concussioneducationfirst.htm .  Again, please ask if you are unsure if you have met any of these requirements to avoid issues at tryouts.

·         Tryouts will begin on February 20^th, which is a school holiday.  Our scheduled time for that day is 12:00-3:00.  While not ideal for those of you that have to work that day, we have to account for inclement weather and practice when our gym time is slotted for.  It is imperative that your son bring clothes/equipment for the possibility of both indoor and outdoor practice, regardless of what the weather looks like.  So far this winter, the weather has been fantastic, but I’m not going to try and predict what it will be doing 2 weeks from now.  Student athletes are also asked to bring a glove and protective cup.  Bats and helmets will be provided for those that do not own them. 

·         Next week’s lifting schedule will be altered to account for testing being performed by Coach Girton.  This testing will give our student athletes an opportunity to guage their growth since the beginning of the year, and offer a baseline to gauge future development.  Testing will be performed both Tuesday and Thursday beginning at 2:45.  For safety reasons, only student-athletes who have been working out with Coach Girton consistently over the past few months are asked to participate.  Those who are just getting into the lifting program are still encouraged to go to the Monday/Wednesday/Friday after school sessions.

·         We are excited to announce the hiring of a new coach, Coach Heard.  Coach Heard is a northern Virginia native having graduated from Hayfield High School.  He played his college baseball at DeSales University and spent the past 3 years on the Madison High School varsity staff.  We are pleased to have him on board. 

·         Some of your student-athletes may have talked about a new course offering for next year, Sports Leadership.  I am pleased to say that I have been granted the opportunity to teach the course and am very excited about it.  I have attached a pamphlet giving an overview of what can be expected.  Any interested student-athletes should plan on attending an informational meeting this coming Monday February 13^th at 2:15 in room 157.  If they cannot make the meeting they need to see me ASAP in order to get an application.

·         Finally, this coming Wednesday February 15^th is the 2^nd “Touching Bases” conferences for this school year.  If you have additional questions or would just like to say hello, feel free to stop by my table and introduce yourself. 

Thanks for your support,

 

John Dowling

Social Studies Department

Head Baseball Coach

Robert E. Lee High School

703-924-8300

 

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