Ramon Cortines, superintendent for the Los Angeles Unified School District, announced Thursday that he is rescinding a request for a voluntary $24 donation from each student athlete to help pay for a $650,000 cut in transportation funding for the City Section sports program.
"After further review of the voluntary $24 per student transportation donation for high school sporting events this year, I have ordered this decision for a request for this voluntary fee be rescinded and have asked staff to go back and review other alternatives," according to the statement.
"Although this district is in a financial crisis, I am asking for other financial options to cover the $650,000 needed for the district's athletics transportation budget."
The City Section Athletics office sent an email to schools and coaches informing them of the decision.
Robert Alaniz, the district spokesman, said Cortines had been unaware of the $24 donation request and was concerned that students who could not or did not contribute would face a stigma.
Is he kidding? Two key words here: Voluntary and Request. If $24 dollars could save an entire districts athletic transportation needs (or help relieve the cost), why not try it. Coaches would find a way for their athletes to raise the money, if they could not afford the $24 dollars a year - and other options could be implemented as well.
LA Unified is not the only district facing cuts and refusing to consider minor athletic fees to keep their programs alive. In an era where most kids have at least one or more of the following items; cell phone, IPod, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3, PSP, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS video games - not to mention things like; skateboards, bikes, athletic shoes and equipment - a $24 dollar fee seems like a reasonable request. What do you think?
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Brewers Rosters Released for Area Code Games
Huntington Beach Edison left-hander Henry Owens has been busy pitching for the U.S. 18U national team, but that didn't prevent him from making the Milwaukee Brewers roster for the Blue team for the Area Code Games Aug. 5-10 at Blair Field in Long Beach. Also on the Blue team are Owens' Edison teammates Christian Lopes, Timmy Lopes and Eric Snyder. Lucas Giolito from North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake is one of only four juniors on the team.
The Milwaukee Brewers White team has 25 players with two coming from the 2012 class: Max Fried and Zachary Green. The pitching staff will be solid and this team will be led by Joseph Ross and Robert Stephenson. Both righties were in the low 90s consistantly at the tryout in Northern California and at the final tryout last week in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Tyler Goeddel makes this team as a third baseman. He follows in the footstep of his brother Erik, who played in 2006 for the Milwaukee Brewers Gray. That 2006 team was loaded with notable players including Michael Moustakas, Matt Dominguez and Mike Stanton.
Should be an interesting tournament.
The Milwaukee Brewers White team has 25 players with two coming from the 2012 class: Max Fried and Zachary Green. The pitching staff will be solid and this team will be led by Joseph Ross and Robert Stephenson. Both righties were in the low 90s consistantly at the tryout in Northern California and at the final tryout last week in Santa Barbara, Calif.
Tyler Goeddel makes this team as a third baseman. He follows in the footstep of his brother Erik, who played in 2006 for the Milwaukee Brewers Gray. That 2006 team was loaded with notable players including Michael Moustakas, Matt Dominguez and Mike Stanton.
Should be an interesting tournament.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Where's the Area Code Talent?
A blog from Baseball America about the Area Code tryouts for the Milwaukee Brewers Southern California team voices concern about the talent pool being on the "narrow side."
Well, that's no surprise, considering the best pitching prospect, Henry Owens from Huntington Beach Edison, is playing for the U.S. U18 national team, and several other players didn't try out because of commitments to other tournaments.
Among the players singled out were pitcher-outfielder Nigel Nootbaar from El Segundo, outfielder Aaron Brown from Chatsworth and third baseman Taylor Sparks from Bellflower St. John Bosco. -- Eric Sondheimer
Side note:
Pitcher Henry Owens from Huntington Beach Edison allowed one run on two hits in five innings to help the U.S. 18U National team defeat the Minnetonka Millers, 9-1, in an exhibition game Monday night in Minnesota.
Michael Lorenzen, a Fullerton grad, had three hits.
The U.S. team is preparing for the World Championships in Canada.
Well, that's no surprise, considering the best pitching prospect, Henry Owens from Huntington Beach Edison, is playing for the U.S. U18 national team, and several other players didn't try out because of commitments to other tournaments.
Among the players singled out were pitcher-outfielder Nigel Nootbaar from El Segundo, outfielder Aaron Brown from Chatsworth and third baseman Taylor Sparks from Bellflower St. John Bosco. -- Eric Sondheimer
Side note:
Pitcher Henry Owens from Huntington Beach Edison allowed one run on two hits in five innings to help the U.S. 18U National team defeat the Minnetonka Millers, 9-1, in an exhibition game Monday night in Minnesota.
Michael Lorenzen, a Fullerton grad, had three hits.
The U.S. team is preparing for the World Championships in Canada.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Composite Bats Banned for 2011
One of six new rules changes by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Baseball Rules Committee forbids the use of composite bats until they can meet the Batted Ball Coefficient of Restitution (BBCOR) performance standard. The changes, which were subsequently approved by the NFHS Board of Directors, will take effect with the 2010-11 school year.
After thorough testing by the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell, the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted to outlaw composite bats until they can produce consistent results through the life of the bat, be made tamper-evident and be labeled as a composite product. Under the new rule, bats with composite handles and tapers would still be legal. The stricter language applies primarily to the barrel of the bat.
A complete listing of all rules changes approved by the committee is available on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Athletics & Fine Arts Activities” on the home page, and select “Baseball.”
Baseball is the fourth-most popular sport for boys at the high school level, according to the 2008-09 NFHS Athletics Participation Survey, with 473,184 participants nationwide. The sport ranks third in school sponsorship with 15,699 schools sponsoring the sport.
After thorough testing by the Baseball Research Center at the University of Massachusetts–Lowell, the NFHS Baseball Rules Committee voted to outlaw composite bats until they can produce consistent results through the life of the bat, be made tamper-evident and be labeled as a composite product. Under the new rule, bats with composite handles and tapers would still be legal. The stricter language applies primarily to the barrel of the bat.
A complete listing of all rules changes approved by the committee is available on the NFHS Web site at www.nfhs.org. Click on “Athletics & Fine Arts Activities” on the home page, and select “Baseball.”
Baseball is the fourth-most popular sport for boys at the high school level, according to the 2008-09 NFHS Athletics Participation Survey, with 473,184 participants nationwide. The sport ranks third in school sponsorship with 15,699 schools sponsoring the sport.
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