Meeting Minutes

Meeting minutes for the 2008 Annual Meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Members present: Mr. Betker, Mr. Brehmer, Mr. Haffley, Mr. Kuball, Mr. Grimsley, Mrs. Wambeke, Mr. Neubauer, Mr. Kraft.

Members absent: Mr. Macemon.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

Mr. Haffley gave the Treasurer's Report to the membership and no questions or comments were offered.

2008 Review: Our In House League is growing steadily and the total participant numbers are at approximately 400 kids. The problem is that we are running out of fields to accomodate the membership. We are sharing fields with Girl's Softball and the other city Park and Rec teams so practice/game times are at a premium. We may have to utilize Fridays and Sundays more if the fields are less available. As a membership, we are to contact our city council members to let them know that we need more fields to accomodate our growing membership.

Travel Teams; The 12 and 13 year olds won their respective AABC State Tournaments. The 13 year olds decided to go to the AABC World Series in Battle Creek, Michigan where they won their first game and were eventually eliminated. The HJLBA hosted the 10 and 12 year old AABC State Tournaments as well as an MSF 10 and 11 year old tournament.

Fundraising: The compost bag delivery,sign advertising and the golf tournament went well this year.

Parent/coaching concerns: Members wanted to express their concern that it is going to be more difficult to find coaches because parents are getting more and more hard on them. The board will look seriously into redoing the Grievance Policy to reprimand difficult parents. Concerns were discussed regarding the numbers of players on the Mickey Mantle team and the VFW teams as well as possible rule changes in the Majors and Minors. The board will discuss and follow up on these issues. Concerns were raised about the need for coaches to correctly structure practices and to stress certain fundamentals for different ages. The board will discuss the possibility of having separate coaches clinics for the different age groups and determine the fundamentals to be stressed. The HJLBA website could be used to communicate the coach's clinics content.

Concessions: Discussion was about getting helpers for tournaments. John McRaith from Park and Rec. said his department would be willing to run the concessions without baseball help. This would improve setup consistency. The baseball membership would be responsible for the grill.

Election of Board Members: Three terms are set to expire this year so thank you to Bev Wambeke, Greg Haffley and Chris Kraft for your years of dedicated service to youth baseball in Hutchinson. Nominations from the membership included Mike Marquardt, Joel Sandeen, Earl Barnaal and Carol Arlt. Votes were counted and the new Board Members elected to 3 year terms are Mike Marquardt, Joel Sandeen and Earl Barnaal. Congratulations to all.

Mr. Betker adjourns the meeting at 9:30 PM. The next meeting is September 10th at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

Meeting minutes for the May 14,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Members present: Mr. Betker, Mr. Brehmer, Mr. Haffley, Mr. Kuball, Mr. Macemon, Mr. Neubauer, Mrs. Wambeke, Mr. Kraft.

Members absent: Mr. Grimsley.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

Mr. Haffley moves to approve the minutes of the April 16,2008 meeting. Second by Mrs. Wambeke. Motion carries.

The Treasurer's Report is given by Mr. Haffley. Mr. Brehmer moves to approve the Treasurer's Report. Second by Mr. Macemon. Motion carries.

Golf Tournament: Discussed which board members would contact hole sponsors. More plans were set in motion.

HJLBA/AABC State Tournaments: Discussed parent help for concessions and which board members were available to help. The board also discussed the option of having out of town teams help with concessions when they are not playing.

VFW Rosters: The Legion team will have 10-12 players only this summer. They are concerned that with conflicts such as work,vacations,injury etc. that they will have to forfeit games due to lack of players. John Arlt was present express these concerns and to answer any questions the board had. Mr. Haffley makes a motion to allow dual rostering the VFW and Legion teams under the following stipulations: 1) Motion is for the 2008 season only.2) Replacement by a VFW player will only be allowed if a rostered legion player is unable to play. 3) VFW players will not be allowed to pitch and catch. 4) VFW players must play in their own game if a Legion game is scheduled at the same time. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Mr. Neubauer called for a roll call vote. Mr. Macemon-no, Mrs. Wambeke-yes, Mr. Brehmer-yes, Mr. Kraft-yes,Mr. Haffley-yes, Mr. Kuball-yes, Mr. Betker-no, Mr. Neubauer-yes. Motion carries. Mr. Betker makes a motion that the 15 and 16 year old teams roster 2 teams and that the 16 year olds carry 16 players and the 15 year olds take all who registered for their team. Motion fails due to a lack of a second. Mr. Kuball makes a motion to roster the 2 VFW teams and the Mickey Mantle team with 13 players,13 players and 12 players respectively. Second by Mr. Macemon. Motion carries.

Equipment at fields: Mr. Kuball makes a motion that the HJLBA Board of Directors purchase an "L" screen for the Riverside Park field for approximately 100.00 and that any coaches wishing to use the screen be responsible for locking and unlocking the screen to a fence between practices. Second by Mr. Kraft. Motion fails.

Mr. Macemon moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Brehmer. Motion carries. Mr. Betker calls the meeting at 8:30 PM. The next meeting will be June 11 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

Meeting minutes for the April 16,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Brehmer,Mr. Haffley,Mr. Kuball, Mr. Neubauer.

Members absent: Mr. Kraft,Mrs. Wambeke,Mr. Grimsley,Mr. Macemon.

Travel team coaches present: Joe Turner,John Arlt,Kurt Juergenson,Don Anderson,Scott Renning,Joe Smith,Kevin Ross and Irv Steenhoek. All policies and procedures were discussed. A question and answer discussion followed.

Discussion of the Vic Arlt Scholarships: All applications were read and discussed. Two 500.00 scholarships were awarded in the name of Vic Arlt.

The meeting was adjourned. The next meeting will be with the In House Leagues coaches at the Victorian Inn on April 26 beginning at 8:00 AM.

Meeting minutes for the April 9,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Board members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Brehmer,Mr. Haffley,Mr. Kuball,Mr. Kraft,Mrs. Wambeke,Mr. Grimsley,Mr. Macemon, Mr. Neubauer.

Guests. Scott Scheutte the middle school baseball coach and John McRaith.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30PM.

Mr. Haffley moves to approve the minutes of the March 12,2008 meeting. Second by Mr. Brehmer. Motion carries.

The Treasurer's Report was given by Mr. Haffley. Mr. Kuball moves to approve. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries.

Mr. Schuette is present to thank the HJLBA for donations made to the middle school program. Mr. Neubauer moves to donate up to 500.00 to the middle school baseball program for the purchase of new equipment at the Hutch Sports Shop and 1000.00 to the Hutch varsity program to use as needed. Second by Mr. Haffley. Motion carries.

John McRaith is present to verify the registration numbers and coaching assignments.

Registration: A total of 404 kids and 41 coaches have signed up. The board members will contact coaches this week to fill out the coaching rosters. Mr. Neubauer moves to use pitching machines the whole year in the Magor Leagues. Second by Mr. Kuball. Motion fails. Pitching machines will be used every other game as last year. In the playoffs, the pitching machine will be used until the championship game which will be kid pitch. Rules for all leagues will remain the same as last year except the Senior League tournament pithing rules. Mr. Macemon moves that in the Senior League tournament,pitching will be limited to 4 innings per game and 6 innings for tournament. 1 pitch constitutes an inning. Second By Mr. Grimsley. Motion carries.

Policies and Procedyres discussion: Mrs. Wambeke moves that all in house and travel teams wear black socks. Second by Mr. Macemon. Motion carries. Mr. Neubauer moves that the travel teams may put the uniform number in yellow on the back of the hats. Second by Mr. Kuball. Motion carries.

AABC update: Several teams will not be participating in the AABC this year. They are St. Michael,Big Lake,Becker,Buffalo and Delano.

Coaches meetings: The travel team coaches meeting will be April 16 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn. The Minors,Majors,Seniors and Big Leagues will be April 26 at 8:00 AM at the Victorian. Mr. Grimsley and Mrs. Wambeke will contact the 11-12 year old coaches to coordinate concessions while Mr. Brehmer and Mr. Neubauer will contact the VFW coaches to coodinate concessions.

Mr. Kuball moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Haffley. Motion carries.

Mr. Betker calls the meeting at 9:00 PM. The next meeting will be April 26 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

Meeting minutes for the March 12,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Board members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Brehmer, Mr. Haffley,Mr. Kuball,Mr. Neubauer,Mr. Grimsley,Mr. Kraft.

Board members absent: Mr. Macemon,Mrs.Wambeke.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM

Review of the February Treasurer's report: Mr. Kuball moves to approve,second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries.

Discussion of new uniforms and equipment: Mr. Kuball makes a motion to change the 13 and 16 year olds to white and black pinstripe regular jerseys and the VFW hats will be black with a yellow H and Post 906 will be on the side of the hat. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries. Mr. Betker makes a motion to approve the purchase bats and baseballs for the upcoming season. Second by Mr. Kraft. Motion carries.

John McRaith is present to discuss the field assignments for the HJLBA,Girl's Softball Assn. and Park and Rec. teams.

Coaches were assigned for the Minors,Majors,Seniors and Big League.

Discussion of Travel Team Coaches Meeting: Items to discuss were prioritized. The Policies and Procedures Manual will be read to all coaches. Mr. Kuball makes a motion to have a board member present at each travel team tryout. Second by Mr. Haffley. Motion fails.

Mr. Neubauer makes a motion that the board give two 500.00 scholarships in the name of Vic Arlt. Second by Brehmer. Motion carries.

Mr. Betker moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Kuball. Motion carries.

Mr. Betker adjourns the meeting at 8:00PM. The next meeting will be April 9 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

Meeting minutes for the February 20,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Board members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Brehmer,Mr. Haffley,Mr. Kuball,Mrs.Wambeke,Mr. Grimsley,Mr. Macemon,Mr. Kraft,Mr. Neubauer.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM

Coaches to be interviewed tonight: Dick Fernholtz, Tom Smith, Greg Ewing, Joe Turner, Kurt Juergenson and Kevin Ross. All interviews are conducted with the exception of Kevin Ross who will be interviewed on February 25 due to scheduling conflicts.

Mr. Neubauer moves to approve Dick Fernholtz as the 13 year old head coach,second by Mr. Brehmer, motion carries. Mr. Macemon moves to approve Greg McCormick as the 15 year old VFW head coach,second by Mr. Haffley,motion carries. Mr. Grimsley moves to approve Joe Turner as the 15 year old Micky Mantle head coach,second by Mr. Neubauer,motion carries. Mr. Betker moves to approve Scott Renning as the 16 year old VFW head coach,second by Mr. Kraft,motion carries. Mr. Macemon moves to approve Kurt Juergenson as the 12 year old head coach,second by Mr. Haffley,motion carries. Mr. Betker moves to approve John Arlt as the 11 year old head coach,second by Mr. Kraft,motion carries.

Two requests from parents were made that all travel teams have equal playing time. Mr. Betker makes a motion that all travel teams, ages 10-16,have equal playing time. Second by Mr. Haffley. Motion fails.

Mr. Brehmer makes a motion that all changes made to the Policies and Procedures Manual for the travel teams be accepted as discussed. Second by Mr. Kraft. Motion carries.

Mr. Neubauer moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Kuball. Motion carries. Mr. Betker calls the meeting at 10:30 PM. The next meeting will be March 12 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

Meeting minutes for the February 13,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Board members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Kraft,Mr. Grimsley,Mr. Macemon,Mr. Brehmer,Mrs. Wambeke,Mr. Kuball,Mr. Neubauer.

Board members absent:Mr. Haffley.

Guest: John McRaith

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

The Treasurer's Report remained unchanged from last months meeting.

Travel Team Coach Interviews: Don Anderson was interviewed tonight with the next round of interviews to be held February 20th. Mrs. Wambeke moves to approve Don Anderson as the 13 year old Travel Team Coach. Second by Mr. Brehmer. Motion carries.

Registration 2008: Registration will take place February 25 and 26 from 5:30 - 7:30. The information to complete the flier is at the printer and the flier will go out soon.

Summer Tournaments in Hutchinson:: The 11 and 12 year old B tournaments will be held June 7-8.

The 10 and 12 State Tournaments will be July 12-16.

The In House League Tournament will be July 18-20.

Discussion with John McRaith from Park and Rec.: The Northwoods North field cannot be used this season because a new sewer line is being put in beginning May 1. Mr. McRaith would like the baseball association to assign the travel teams umps and the Big League umps. As of now,Park and Rec. is assigning the Big League umps but these umps usually do the travel teams. Mr. McRaith recommends that the Big League be put under Park and Rec. so the baseball association may have less liability expense. The board will will look into this and discuss further.

Mr. Klabunde from Brownton requests that Brownton players be able to play in Hutchinson. Mr. Grimsley makes a motion that a player must be enrolled in a Hutchinson school or must reside in the Hutchinson School District in order to try out for any AAA association travel teams. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries. Brownton players may play in the In House League.

AABC update: Delano may want to return to the league.

Travel Team Recommendations: Tournament numbers:

10,11,12 year olds- total of 3 tournaments

13,14,15,16 yr. olds- total of 4 tournaments

13,14,15,16 yr.old AA-1 tournament

Mr. Macemon makes a motion to limit the number of games and scrimmages to 45 and any more games or scrimmages that want to be scheduled must have board approval. Second by Neubauer. Motion carries.

Team warmups: Coaches will be told that if a team wants to purchase their own warmups, the warmup jerseys cannot be worn during gametime. Only HJLBA jerseys are to be worn during gametime.

Mr. Kuball moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries. Mr. Betker calls the meeting at 9:00PM. The next meeting will be February 20 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn to conduct coaches interviews.

Minutes from the January 9,2008 meeting were reviewed and a motion to approve the minutes was made by Mrs. Wambeke and seconded by Mr. Brehmer. Motion carries.

Meeting minutes for the January 9,2008 board meeting of the HJLBA Board of Directors.

Board members present: Mr. Betker,Mr. Brehmer, Mr. Macemon, Mr. Haffley, Mr. Neubauer, Mrs. Wambeke,Mr. Kuball, Mr. Kraft.

Board members absent: Mr. Grimsley.

Guest: Hutchinson High School Head Baseball Coach, Scott Renning.

Mr. Betker called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM

Minutes from the December 12,2007 meeting were reviewed and a motion to approve the minutes was made by Mrs. Wambeke and seconded by Mr. Kraft. Motion carries.

Discussion of the 2008 Travel Team Coaches and registration: All age levels have had inquiries and interviews will be conducted on Wednesday,February 20,2008. The cutoff date for any others who are interested is January 31,2008. Discussion of the interview format followed and the interview questions were reviewed so that the process will be as fair as possible. Registration dates and times were reviewed and the board decided the dates of February 25 and 26 would remain but registration will be from 5:30PM -7:30PM instead of 8:00PM and the fee for registering late would be 35.00 instead of 25.00. The late fee will imposed after April 4. Mr. Haffley will revise the 2007 flier to reflect the changes and Mrs. Wambeke will disperse the fliers to the schools and Mr. Kuball will take a flier to Channel 10 to see if they will run it. Coach Renning said he would put on a coaches camp this year with the date to be determined. Mr. Neubauer will help coordinate this. Coach Renning also stated that the head baseball coach at St. Cloud State, Pat Dolan, would be interested in speaking in Hutch to promote baseball-possibly at our golf tounament.

Discussion of the 15-16 year old teams: The board felt that the participation numbers will be high enough at these ages to create 3 teams in 2008 so discussion followed as to ways to split the teams. Mr. Neubauer makes a motion that the 3 teams be split into an equal number of players per team and the teams will be split at the coaches discretion into 2 VFW teams with the remainder of the players being placed on the AA Mickey Mantle team. Second by Mr. Haffley. Motion fails. Mr. Brehmer makes a motion to create one 15 yr.old VFW team,one 16 yr.old VFW team and one AA Mickey Mantle team if registation numbers allow. Second by Mr. Kraft. Motion carries.

Discussion of the Treasurer's Report in conjunction with the projected 2008 budget: Mr. Neubauer makes a motion to approve the 2007 year end report. Second by Mr. Macemon. Motion carries. The 2008 projected budget was prepared by Mr. Haffley using year end budget numbers from several preceding years. Mr. Kraft moves to approve the 2008 budget. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Motion carries.

Discussion of the high school baseball field: Coach Renning thought that 2 more baseball fields would be started this spring between the high school and the middle school with the current high school field eventually being eliminated. Current soccer fields and football practice fields will be put where the current high school baseball field is. Hopefully 2 batting cages will be constructed. Volunteers will be needed to complete these projects.

The next meeting will be Wednesday,February 13 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn with Travel Team Coach interviews on Wednesday,February 20. Interview times are to be determined.

Golf Tournament: The board discussed who would contact hole sponsors. More tournament plans were set in motion.

MSF/AABC State Tournaments: The board discussed the need for parent help and which board members would be available to help. The board also discussed the the option of having out of town teams help with concessions when they are not playing.

VFW Rosters: The Legion is requesting to roster players from the VFW teams because they have 10-12 players this summer and are concerned that conflicts with,vacations,work,injury etc. will cause them to forfeit games. John Arlt is present to discuss the Legion situation and answer any questions the board may have. Mr. Haffley makes a motion to allow dual rostering of the VFW and Legion teams under the following stipulations: 1) Motion is for the 2008 season only. 2) Replacement by a VFW player will only be allowed if a rostered Legion player is unable to play. 3) VFW players will not be allowed to pitch and catch. 4) VFW players must play in their own game if a Legion game is scheduled at the same time. Second by Mr. Neubauer. Mr. Neubauer calls for a roll call vote. Mr. Macemon-no, Mrs. Wambeke-yes, Mr. Brehmer-yes, Mr. Kraft-yes, Mr. Haffley-yes, Mr. Kuball-yes, Mr. Neubauer-yes, Mr. Betker-no. Motion carries.

Mr. Betker makes a motion that the 15 and 16 year old teams roster 2 teams and that the 16 year olds carry 16 players and the 15 year olds take all who register for their team. Motion fails for lack of a second.

Mr. Kuball makes a motion to roster the 2 VFW teams and 1 Mickey Mantle team with 13 players, 13 players and 12 players respectively. Second by Mr. Macemon. Motion carries.

Mr. Macemon moves to adjourn. Second by Mr. Brehmer. Motion carries. Mr. Betker calls the meeting at 8:30 PM. The next meeting will be Wednesday, June 11 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.

2008 review was given by Mr. Betker. Our In House League is growing steadily and the total participant numbers are approximately 400 kids. The concern is that there are not enough fields to go around. The fields are shared with Girl's Softball and the other city Park and Rec. teams so fields and practice/game times are at a premium. If more fields are not provided, Fridays and Sundays will have to be used much more often. As a membership, we are to contact our City Council Members to voice our concerns that more ballfields get made so we can continue to accomodate our growing membership.

Discussion of Travel Teams,Tournaments and Fundraising. The 12 and 13 year olds won their respective AABC State Tounaments-congratulations! The 13 year old team decided to go on to to the AABC World Series in Battle Creek, Michigan where they won their first game and then were eventually eliminated. The HJLBA hosted the AABC State Tournaments for the 10 and 12 year olds as well as an MSF Tournament for 11 and 12 year olds. Our In House League Tournament had alot of interest as well. Fundraising through our compost bag delivery,sign advertisements and golf tornament went very well this year.

Discussion of parent/coaches concerns. Members present expressed concerns that coaches are going to be more difficult to find in the future because too many parents are hard on coaches. The board will look hard into redoing the Grievance Policy to reprimand parents who are disruptive. Several other concerns were raised regarding tryouts for travel teams and rule changes for the Majors and Minors. Concerns were raised about the Mickey Mantle team and the VFW teams as far as the number of kids on each. A further concern was that coaches may not know how to structure practices consistently and stress basic fundamentals for certain age levels. The board agreed that we would discuss and follow up on these concerns as well as try to conduct coaches clinics for each age level so that coaches will know what fudamentals to stress. Concession help was then discussed. John McRaith from Park and Rec. said that his department would be willing to run the concessions alone without baseball help so that setup would be more consistent over the summer. The only part the HJLBA would be reponsible for would be the grill.

Election of new officers. The terms of three board members expire this year. Thank you to Bev Wambeke, Greg Haffley and Chris Kraft for you hard work and dedication to youth baseball in Hutchinson. Nominations were taken from the membership for Mike Marquardt, Earl Barnaal, Joel Sandeen and Carol Arlt. Votes were counted and the three new board members are Mike Marquardt, Joel Sandeen and Earl Barnaal- congratualtions.

Mr. Betker called the meeting at 9:30 PM. The next board meeting will be September 10 at 6:30 at the Victorian Inn.