Sports shorts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Aquatic Club
swimming class
Emporia Aquatic Club is offering a developmental swimming class through March 12 at the Emporia High School pool. Classes will run from 5:30 to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and will focus on developing technique for the competitive strokes. Swimmers are grouped according to ability level. Beginners have little or no swim lessons, intermediate swimmers have had some swimming lessons, and advanced swimmers have passed most swimming lessons. Cost is $60 for the six-week session and is due the night you register. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Melissa Williams at 341-0127 or Nikki Metz at 481-1346.
Lady Spartan Spring
Basketball League
Entry forms are being accepted through March 6 for the Lady Spartan Spring Basketball League. Entry forms are available at Emporia High School and at the other district schools. Age divisions include kindergarten through eighth grade. For more information, contact EHS girls basketball coach Bill Nienstedt at 341-2365.
American Legion
baseball
A preseason informational meeting for boys interested in playing American Legion baseball this summer will be held on March 8. Players must be between ages 14 and 19 as of Jan. 1, 2009. Parents and interested sons should attend the 3 p.m. meeting in the cafeteria of Timmerman Elementary School, 2901 Timmerman Drive. Anyone who is interested but unable attend may obtain the necessary form by contacting Gary Loucks at 794-5561 or by visiting http://emporia.americanlegionbaseball.com. Forms must be received by April 8. The March 8 meeting is not a tryout, but tryouts will be discussed.
Tae Kwon Do,
Tai Chi classes
Family Martial Arts Center, 1009 W. 12th Ave., is forming classes now for Tae Kwon Do and Tai Chi.
Tae Kwon Do classes will be held Monday through Thursday evenings and are open to all ages. Participation in the Tae Kwon Do classes doesn’t require physical sparring, but sparring classes are available for those who wish to participate.
Tai Chi is a low-impact, non-combat art form used to reduce stress and benefit the cardiovascular system. Classes are open to all ages and being formed for Monday through Wednesday. For more information, contact Master Troy Hobelmann at 343-7575, visit the center or e-mail to fmacinfo@yahoo.com.
Spartan Spring
Basketball League
Registration is now available for coach Rick Bloomquist’s Spartan Boys Spring Basketball League. The league will feature 12 to 15 games of transition basketball in a competitive atmosphere, concluding with a league tournament during the first week of May.
Games will begin March 30 and will be played on weekdays. The league will be divided into five divisions: first grade and under; second and third grade; fourth and fifth grade; sixth and seventh grade; and eighth and ninth grade. Entrants may play up one division, but not down. With permission, some entrants may play in two divisions; in case of schedule conflicts between divisions, the lower division will be given priority.
Registration costs $50 per individual, or a family rate of $20 for each additional son. T-shirt and uniform are not included. Registration will be held at the Emporia High School cafeteria commons from 6 to 8 p.m. March 2 and 3. You can also register by picking up a form at Mike’s Sporting Goods, 507 Commercial St., or Jock’s Nitch Sporting Goods, 912 Commercial St., or by visiting www.emporiabasketball.net. Forms can be mailed to Coach Rick Bloomquist, Emporia High School, 3302 W. 18th Ave., Emporia, KS 66801. For more information, contact Bloomquist at 341-2365 or 343-5102.
Turkey hunting clinic
The eighth annual Spring Turkey Hunting Clinic will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 28 at Camp Alexander in Emporia. The event is free and open to anyone interested in learning how become a safe and successful turkey hunter, especially youth.
The clinic will include sessions on turkey calling, scouting/roosting, shotgun hunting, safety and other topics. Bluestem Farm & Ranch will display the latest turkey-hunting equipment available at the store. Lunch will be provided, and Bluestem will sponsor a drawing for a fully equipped turkey vest. Other prizes will also be given away.
For more information on the clinic or to reserve a spot, contact Gib Rhodes at (620) 437-2012. RSVP by March 12 with the total number of children and adults attending, as well as T-shirt sizes. The clinic is sponsored by the Flint Hills Gobblers chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ Hunter Education Program.
Openings for
softball players
The Emporia Energy is looking for players for the 2009 fast-pitch softball season. The team is looking mainly for U-10 and U-14 players but would be interested in players of all ages. Winter practices started Jan. 6, so please call or e-mail soon to express your interest. You may contact the Emporia Energy by e-mail at emporiaenergy@yahoo.com or by calling Ron Olson at (620) 412-2552.
Emporia Baseball
Academy
The new Emporia Baseball Academy was formed as an extension of the Emporia Recreation Commission’s summer baseball program. The academy will provide six weeks of high-level instruction for youth in the Emporia area. Participants will develop their skills and learn the game from highly qualified instructors and will play in the ERC league and some weekend tournaments.
The academy will be divided into three age groups: 8-and-under, 10-and-under and 12-and-under. Practices will be held four days a week at Trusler Sports Complex starting on June 1.
An informational parents meeting will be held at 7 p.m. March 5 in the social hall of the Lee Beran Recreation Center, 313 W. Fourth Ave. The registration fee will be $125 for one child, and $100 for each additional child. Payment plans will be available. The full amount must be received by June 15.
Emporia Thunder
baseball clinics
The Emporia Thunder will sponsor three upcoming baseball clinics on March 14, 21 and 28, covering hitting and fielding.
Each clinic will be held at Emporia Fitness, 2812 W. 12th Avenue from 8 a.m. to noon. The March 14 clinic will be for 9- and 10-year-olds; the March 21 session will be for 11-year-olds; and the March 28 clinic will be for 12-year-olds.
The cost will be $20 per player. For more information and to register, contact Joe Silva at 412-3733, Jason Silva at 481-1558 or Bob Gifford at 340-3312.
Jeff Boschee
Basketball Clinic
Former Kansas basketball player Jeff Boschee, now head coach at The Barstow School in Kansas City, Mo., will have a basketball clinic in Emporia on July 21-22 for players entering Grades 3-9 in the fall of 2009.
The clinic will emphasize shooting, passing and dribbling in a fast-paced, educational and fun environment. A current KU player will assist with the clinic; past Jayhawks who have helped out include Mario Chalmers, Darrell Arthur and Russell Robinson.
Entry into the clinic costs $75 per player, which includes instruction, a backpack, a T-shirt, a basketball and an autograph session with players and coaches. Maximum capacity will be 65 players. To receive an application or more information, contact clinic director David Devaney at (816) 941-2623, or go to www.jeffboscheebasketballclinics.com. Those interested in sponsoring the clinic may also contact Devaney.
All-star
basketball camp
Applications are being accepted for the Ten-Star All-Star Summer Basketball Camp for boys and girls ages 10-19. Past participants at the Ten-Star camp include Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse, Grant Hill and Antawn Jamison.
Players at the 2008 Ten-Star camp came from all 50 states and 11 foreign countries. Camp locations include: Champaign, Ill.; Phoenix; Babson Park, Fla.; Gainesville, Ga.; Glassboro, N.J.; Ithaca, N.Y.; Marietta, Ohio; Lebanon, Tenn.; Commerce, Texas; and Blacksburg, Va. Ten-Star also has a summer camp available for boys and girls ages 9-18. For a free brochure on these camps, call 704-373-0873. You can also visit www.tenstarcamp.com.
Youth essay contest
Attention young hunters: Write a story and win a guided two-day spring turkey hunt and a new turkey shotgun. This is the seventh year of this contest, and past winners have all been successful at harvesting a gobbler. To commemorate the seventh year of the contest, the Flint Hills Gobblers Chapter will provide a new shotgun to the author of the winning essay.
Participants must write in 500 words or less an answer to the question, “If you could introduce one person to hunting, who would it be and why?” In order to participate, the writer must have completed a hunter safety course, be available to hunt during the 2009 spring turkey season and, upon being chosen as the winner, must purchase a state spring turkey-hunting permit. The winner will also receive a turkey-hunting vest and other hunting items. Submit your essay by March 14 with your name, age, address and phone number to Gib Rhodes, 1643 360th St., Madison, KS 66860, or to Shelley Sparks, 1789 Road B5, Emporia, KS 66801. Youth 16 years old and younger from Chase, Coffey, Greenwood, Lyon, Morris, Osage, and Woodson counties are eligible to participate. For questions, contact Rhodes at (620) 437-2012.
The contest is co-sponsored by the Flint Hills Gobblers Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, The Lyon County Hunter Education Program, Bluestem Farm and Ranch Supply of Emporia and the Conrad Carlson Charitable Foundation.
High school baseball
showcase games
The Satchel Paige All-Stars baseball team and the Sports TV Network will cohost six televised showcase games this spring and summer for high school baseball players looking to make themselves known to college coaches and pro scouts.
Registration is being accepted from high school players across the country who feel they have the talent and ability to play college or professional baseball. Registration will continue until all teams are full.
For questions or to register, contact Coach Mayden at (888) 833-7688, Ext. 6, or visit www.whsn.org.
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