Mineola 12U Fall Intramural Team Holds 2013 Baseball Awards Dinner

The following article was submitted by the Mineola Athletic Association

On November 20, the Mineola 12U fall intramural baseball team celebrated their fall season and tournament championship with a pizza party/awards dinner. In addition to celebrating a great fall season and tournament championship, the boys were treated to a wonderful and inspirational talk by coach Ken Conrade, the 2013 New York State High School Coach of the Year.

Conrade, the Kellenberg Memorial High School Assistant Principal for Academics and Girls Varsity Softball coach, was the keynote speaker for the awards dinner. Conrade presented a very creative and inspirational talk about baseball and youth sports. His talk was framed around each inning of a baseball game. He used stories and examples from the first to an extra “10th inning” to drive home both a sports and life lesson. For example, as part of the 7th inning “stretch,” he had each player stand up, stretch their legs and then go and thank their parent’s for their support and commitment to their baseball playing. The boys and their parents were very engaged as Ken made them laugh, tear up, think and learn.

The awards program continued with a “game ball” presented to each player on the team. Each player received an MAA “game ball,” stamped with the official MAA logo inside a protective ball cube. As each player was introduced, the coach mentioned a funny anecdote, nice play or positive contribution that the player made to the team.

The players receiving “game balls” were Kenny Solosky, Patrick Solosky, Kieran O’ Gara, Phil LaPierre, Andrew Geager, Sean Hembach, RJ Hazelton, Ryan Burke, Jack Dwyer, Thomas Tugander, Patrick Lanigan, Timmy Franz, Joshua Sandoval, Tino Frey, Kevin Pusey, Dennis Peitler, Robert Egan, Alan Nanu, Christian Duarte, Blake Klein and DJ Ward.

The next award presented was to the players that are graduating from the Mineola Little League program and “moving up” to the Pony Leagues. Mr. Frank Giordano, the MAA President, presented the graduation awards to RJ Hazelton, Christian Duarte, Robert Egan, Timmy Franz, Jack Dwyer, Patrick Lanigan and Phil LaPierre.

In late fall, the Mineola 12u team participated in the first annual Manhasset “Brawl in the Fall” fundraiser tournament and helped raise almost $4000 for the AHRC. The boys not only helped raised money for a great cause, they played a great tournament and took home the championship.

The players from the tournament team were recognized for their efforts and included Kenny Solosky, Patrick Solosky, Kieran O’ Gara, Timmy Franz, RJ Hazelton, Phil LaPierre, Sean Hembach, Thomas Tugander, Jack Dwyer and Christian Duarte.

The final player award presented was the “Hank Aaron Home Run” award. This award is given to any player that hit a home run during the fall season. The “Hank Aaron Home Run” Award winners were Kenny Solosky, RJ Hazelton (4), Sean Hembach, Thomas Tugander, Kieran O’Gara and Jack Dwyer.

The Mineola Intramural team Head Coach Ken Solosky then presented his fellow coaches, Sean Burke, Dave Dwyer and Mauricio Duarte with a Starbucks® gift card as a small way of saying thanks for all their help during the season. Ken wanted them to have a “cup of coffee” as a very small thank you for their support. 

Finally, for putting up with a baseball crazed house and enduring all the talk about baseball at the dinner table, Susan Solosky, wife of head coach Ken Solosky, was presented with a bouquet of roses.

The boys and their parents finished off the evening with some great desserts. All players have their sights set on some winter baseball training and an eagerness to hear those beautiful words next spring; “Play Ball”!

The Mineola 12U Intramural baseball team is a developmental team that stresses fun and learning. Players are assigned to different positions and challenged to try pitching and catching. The players periodically go to the “batting cage” to develop their hitting skills.

The team has weekly clinics with guest instructors that develop their pitching, hitting and fielding skills. The clinics have featured a unique, “catcher’s station” at which an older travel team catcher works with the boys on this unique position. They also feature “guest instructors” that focus on a particular aspect of the game. 

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