Our Week in Cooperstown, NY!

Last weekend we returned home from our baseball tournament at the Dreamspark in Cooperstown, NY. What a trip! We had a blast!!

My son pitching!

For the very first time, my son pitched an entire game--all six innings! We were proud. :) Also, one of his teammates tied for third place in the King of Swat (home run) competition! Only one kid from each team could compete and there were 104 teams!

As mentioned in a previous post, we opted to tent camp to save money. With most of our team's parents staying in cabins at the campground, it was a wise decision!

Positives of camping:
- A two-mile drive to the baseball diamonds.
- Plenty of room for the boys to hang out when not practicing or playing.
- Outdoor pool, laundry room, and small store.
- Bonfires, cookouts, and relaxation with our baseball family.

Negatives of camping:
- We were overly optimistic about the weather. It rained four days. Every night the temps dropped to the fifties, and we were very cold at night.
- Every bird in North America sang a serenade over our tent each morning at sunrise. I did not sleep much that week.
- Did I mention the weather?
- Packing up a tent in a downpour is not fun.

Verdict on camping:

If you're headed to the Dreamspark for a baseball tournament in June, definitely camp, but get a cabin! It's too cold for tenting. We recommend camping because you're not stuck in a teeny hotel room, and it's so close to the baseball diamonds. It was simple to bring the boys back whenever they had downtime. They were able to play wiffle ball, run around, and have a few cookouts with us, and it was fun!

Large area for boys to run around and have fun at the campground!

On to the actual baseball tournament...

Opening ceremony--every team comes in with their banner!

The Dreamspark is AMAZING! We had a wonderful time! It's an incredible experience for any twelve-year-old baseball player. Now that we've been there, I have some recommendations.

Parents: What to Expect

- Free parking and everything is very organized. The staff is helpful.

- Inexpensive concessions--a plus! Definitely buy the souvenir cup as refills are only $1.50.

- Small seating areas to watch games, but they're partially covered.

- The short fields make the game quite different from what you're used to at home. It doesn't matter how good your defense is, if you're not hitting at least one home run per game, you probably won't win. Home runs win these games. Also, many of the teams are put together specifically for Cooperstown. Don't be surprised if you're playing against BIG players who are closer to thirteen. There are plenty of community teams too, but your pool play might not reflect that.

- Not much time for sightseeing. The week is packed with baseball, so expect to spend a lot of time at the park.

- Souvenirs are pricey, but some are unique and worth it. The souvenir bat is very cool. All of the boys on our team purchased a bat with their name and the team roster engraved on it. Also, if your son hits a home run, you can have the game ball engraved. Cool! The photos are very overpriced. Cheapest is $8.00 for one 4x6. I recommend taking plenty of your own pictures and skipping theirs.

- If you want a bat, order it early in the week. It takes up to 48 hours to process.

- If you opt to buy pictures, select and pick them up before the last day. The lines were obnoxious the final day of the tournament.

- Some of the fields are quite a hike from the parking lot. If your team is playing on one of the back fields, leave an extra fifteen minutes for parking/walking.

- If your team opts to tour the Baseball Hall of Fame, they might get there on an empty stomach. No food is sold on site. There are several diners in town, but you have to leave the Hall of Fame to get to them. Also, the train ride is very slow and not worth it.

- Parking downtown Cooperstown can be tricky. Digital parking meters are interspersed, but it's easy not to realize you have to pay for parking. Officials were handing out tickets constantly. If you don't want to deal with the two-hour limit and high fees, park in one of the city lots and take the trolley into town ($2/person all day ride). Or park near Doubleday Field and pay roughly $10 for the day.

- Cooperstown boasts a few breweries, but our favorite was Ommegang. You can tour the brewery, eat gourmet food for lunch, and stroll around the pretty grounds.

Birthplace of baseball! A must see!

We'll always remember the great time we had, and we left Cooperstown with a renewed team spirit, unique souvenirs to display in our son's room, and hundreds of snapshots.

 Have you camped in a tent when it was raining or cold? Any questions about Cooperstown? 

Have a fun weekend!

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Playing Baseball in Cooperstown!

The kids and I are heading out to Cooperstown, NY for my son's baseball tournament! This is the tourney we spent months fundraising to cover the costs. It's finally here! We're pretty excited.

My teenage daughter is not excited about the prospect of camping and non-stop baseball for a week, but I'll sweeten the deal with plenty of short trips to the adorable downtown, and we'll take swim breaks. And do some fun girl stuff. 

One thing I'm extremely grateful for? All the terrific parents. My son has played for two competitive baseball teams, and both had wonderful parents. Spending a week with people we like makes the experience that much nicer!

If you're looking for ways to raise money for a youth team or organization, check out my article on how we raised over $20,000 for this tournament, "Fundraising Methods for Youth Sports Teams." (Huge shout-out to our generous community!!)

I'll share plenty of pictures when I get back. See you on Wednesday, June 18 with a very special guest for Writer's Life!!

Baseball screams "summer" to me. What screams "summer" to you?

Have an amazing week!

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What's New with Jill May 2014 Vlog

Welcome to another webisode of What's New with Jill! Not sure why my eyes and shirt are purple in this beauty, but, hey, it's kind of fun!




What's new with you?

Have a terrific day!!

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Fundraising Methods for Youth Sports Teams

Our son's baseball team has been raising money to send the boys to Cooperstown, NY for a week long baseball tournament.

It's been a lot of work, but it's been worth it. Since we're raising a substantial amount of money (five figures), we've had to do several different fundraisers.

If you're interested in how to raise money for something like this, here are some of the avenues that worked for us. The best thing you can do is plan ahead and start early.

- 50/50 tickets. We sold these for five weeks this fall. One parent was in charge of this fundraiser and handled all the tickets and money. We made up forms for each parent to write down the names of people who bought tickets, how many they bought, and how much money the parent collected.

The parents then turned in the stubs, money, and their forms to the one in charge, who counted the money and double-checked it against the form. (Trust me you want the form AND the tickets. You'll have no way of knowing if you collected the correct amount if you don't have the form, especially if you have different prices. We sold one ticket for five dollars or three tickets for ten.)

- NFL Squares. You have to sell exactly 100 squares for this to work. Each square costs the same amount (we charged $25). One NFL game each week was selected in advance, and we paid out for halftime and the final score of each game. Again, one parent needs to be in charge of selecting the games, assigning the numbers, scrambling the boards, collecting the money, and paying out the winnings each week.

- Concessions. We contacted a fall sport in our area where we knew the concession stand was idle. We were able to negotiate a deal where we ran the stand for the fall soccer season and we could keep a large percentage of the profits. All of the parents were responsible for selling concessions two shifts (or one full day). Two moms headed this up, and it was a big job. They had to purchase our supplies, get there early to set up the trailer, and come back that night to lock up. We all felt this money raiser was worth it even though it meant a substantial time commitment from each parent. Low pressure, good payout, and finished in six weeks.

- Corporate sponsors. We contacted businesses for cash donations. Again, this was lucrative, especially for parents whose employers generously gave money. We could not meet our goal without corporate sponsors. We made a handout with sponsor levels of $100, $250, $500, and $1000. You'd be surprised at how many businesses helped out.

- College football rivalry game squares. The Ohio State/Michigan game will always be a money maker!

- Our biggest fundraiser is coming up. We're holding a reverse raffle night. People who buy tickets get a steak dinner. We have a deejay, pay-to-play games, and silent auctions. Each parent was responsible for donating one gift basket for the silent auction. Several parents asked for donations from local businesses, and we were blessed with fantastic items. We made a flyer, contacted the newspaper, and badgered co-workers and family members to purchase tickets.

Fundraisers I've done in the past:

- Harvest party for church. For a low ticket price, kids played games run by parents, had a costume contest, and trunk-or-treated. We also asked parents to paint pumpkins which were raffled off. Since the prizes and candy were donated, this was a low-cost, super fun night.

- Auction night. At our old school, we held an auction every other year to raise money for classroom needs, sports uniforms, and such. All of the auction items were donated. Classrooms came up with huge baskets by having parents donate theme items. We also had a potluck lunch. For this to work, hire a professional auctioneer and have a wide array of items to auction off. These events are tons of fun, too!

- Selling magazines/pizza kits/you-fill-in-the-blank. These are my least favorite money makers. It's hard on the parents to try to drum up sales.

Fundraising is a lot of work, but if you have committed parents, a plan, a financial goal, and patience, it pays off. And this summer when I'm watching my son play baseball in Cooperstown, I'll be thrilled we took the time and effort to raise the money for them!

What fundraisers are you familiar with? I'd love to hear how you do it!

Have a terrific weekend!

*Update 03/14/2017: If you'd like to create a corporate fundraising letter but aren't sure where to start, I've created a sample letter you can download and use to type your own. Go to my website, http://jillkemerer.com/books/game-on/, and scroll down until you see the Free Printables section!

A GAME PLAN FOR CHRISTIAN PARENTS

For years I couldn't escape the anxiety that came with my children’s sports. The competitive atmosphere prevalent among parents often left me anxious, upset—even  bitter. But all that changed when I defined why I wanted my kids playing. Instead of fretting about their performance, I saw opportunities for them to grow. Now I enjoy watching them play without letting politics, other parents, or my own unrealistic expectations get in the way.

Join me in exploring the realities of sports, the reasons parents get caught up in unhealthy competition, and strategies to keep the big picture in mind when we're too close to the game. We can be composed and confident while our kids are in sports.

*

Interested in Game On? Click HERE for purchase links, free printables, and reviews!

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Tigers, Lions, and Wolverines

What a weekend for sports!

My beloved Detroit Tigers are pushing through the ALCS series with mixed results. It's frustrating to watch games that should be in the bag get lost in the final innings. Yes, I'm a little bitter this morning. :)



On a higher note, my somewhat beloved Detroit Lions are 4-2! They look more disciplined this year, and I am very happy with the addition of Reggie Bush. I still watch with one eye open and one eye shut, but it feels good to win some games.

Unfortunately, my beloved University of Michigan Wolverines have struggled all football season, and Saturday broke their winning streak. *sigh* Unless the offensive line gets better, I don't see us winning key games.

Autumn is my favorite time for sports. This year both my kids are involved in fall sports too, and they had a great weekend. We've been blessed with incredible weather this year. No sitting out in pouring rain for this mom. :)

Right after Halloween my brain switches to all things Thanksgiving and Christmas, so for now, I'll embrace baseball and football. And who knows? Maybe this year will the be year one of my teams wins the big championship!

Do you watch fall sports? Who is your favorite team?

Have a fabulous Monday!

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Conditioning. Not Just For Athletes.

My son plays baseball, and this year he's pitching. After the first game he pitched, his shoulder was sore. Naturally, I went online for remedies.

Whenever I go online for a "quick solution" to a problem, I get caught up in tangents. One interesting article might feature a link slightly off-topic that I have to read. Before I knew it, four hours had gone by. Yes, I had options to treat his sore arm, but even better, I found ways to prevent it from happening again. Yay!

What I learned did not surprise me. Baseball players need to condition regularly--almost every day--if they want to improve their skills and avoid injuries. Conditioning doesn't guarantee a pain-free season, but it reduces the odds of soreness, and it improves the player's overall performance.

My son and I came up with a workout plan for days he doesn't have games or practices. It's easy to follow, his arm hasn't hurt since that first game, and his pitching continues to improve.

This is what we do on off days:

1. Walk and jog for thirty minutes. We have a great route that allows us to walk 1.25 miles and jog 0.75 miles.
2. Five minutes of "form" exercises to improve balance and overall accuracy.
3. Play catch for twenty minutes.
4. Once or twice a week, my husband or I will have him pitch twenty to thirty pitches to us.

Why am I willing to give up an hour of my day three-four times a week?

Easy! My son and I now have a regular exercise routine that has a larger purpose.

1. In the past when I said, "hey, let's go exercise," I did not get an enthusiastic, "okay!" in return. But my son actually comes to me now with, "Mom, we need to run and play catch." I don't have to nag about watching too much television or playing video games. He's motivated because he wants to be the best and knows it will improve his performance.

2. I spend hours every day sitting and typing on my computer. I need to get out and exercise! Our jog/walk relieves stress, keeps me in shape, and gives me much-needed fresh air. Tossing the ball forces me to develop muscles I'm sure I've never used. Plus, my eye-hand coordination has improved.

3. Making this a non-negotiable part of our day has helped me organize my time.

4. I've always loved being with my kids, and working out with my tween son is a way we can stay connected. As he grows older, I'll continue to look for ways to spend time with him.

5. It's helped me overcome my childhood fear of getting hit by a ball. Two years ago, I could NOT play catch. I was scared of the ball, didn't understand the mitt concept, and cowered when a ball came my way. But I decided I had to get over that--my husband can't be the only one in our house to play catch with our son. My hubby and son taught me how to throw, how to catch, and toned down their laughter at my pitiful attempts. Just this week I got clipped in the knee by a ball, but I shook it off. I've had several nasty bruises due to failed catching attempts. I do not let that stop me.

My son will continue to train and condition off-season. When you get to a higher level in sports, you can no longer afford to take months off between seasons. He understands that winter means hopping on the treadmill and tossing the ball in our basement. The workouts will be less intense, but they will be regular.

I also condition myself for writing.

Every weekday I do writing related tasks. I either write, revise, plot, or study a book on the writing craft. I do this because I know it will improve my performance.

When you get to a higher level in writing, you can no longer afford to take months off between books. A handful of times a year I'll take a week or two off. Christmas, our summer vacation, when I'm feeling burned out--we all need true vacations. But even if I took a longer period off of writing or revising, I would be reading books in my genre, studying craft books, jotting down and exploring story ideas.

Just like my son conditions for a higher purpose, I keep everything writing-related a top priority in my life so I don't fall into a slump or lose the hard-earned writing muscles I've honed. I want to be my best, and that means consistency, dedication, and focus.

What motivates you? Do you condition for anything in your life?

Have a fabulous Wednesday!!

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