A reader from northern Ohio wrote to share that summer high school baseball in the state of Iowa is alive and well and no one seems to have suffered adversely.
I could not believe my eyes when I opened an email over the weekend from a reader in Northwest Ohio…who took the time to shake hands and write the following:
To the Press Pros Editors: I’ve read your articles in the past on how to play high school baseball in cold, wet weather and your suggestion that Ohio’s high school baseball season be pushed back a month. I wanted to write and share that I just got back from the Iowa State Baseball Championships in Carroll, Iowa. A good friend’s son played on one of the semifinal teams and I can tell you that summer baseball seems to be going very well in Iowa. The weather was great, the spectators were good and I didn’t hear anyone complaining about conflicts with other sports or any inconvenience. It seems to be working really well. I’ve thought more than once about Press Pros and what a difference for kids in Iowa compared to kids at play in Ohio. I thought you’d like to hear from an eyewitness. (Doug King… Toledo, oh)
Well, after reading Doug’s email, I went to the Iowa High School Athletic Association’s website to find out that the state playoffs were July 18-22 and the games were being played in two different locations — Iowa City and Carroll.
And ironically, one of the state champions this year was a team from Van Meter, Iowa, hometown of former Cleveland Indians Hall of Famer Bob Feller.
As we’ve written many times, Iowa has been playing high school baseball May through July for years, and for all the protests and reasons why it just wouldn’t work in Ohio, no one seems to let down the obvious arguments of cost, supervision, school schedules, and alternative priorities of the Children get in the way. That doesn’t seem to be a problem.
What you’ll hear if you ask the people of Iowa is that it makes sense!
conflicts?
The general consensus among Iowans is that anything can be bypassed as long as it’s good for the kids. And where have we heard that before… except for high school baseball?
Doug, we appreciate you taking the opportunity to write and let your words be your final words on how baseball could be improved for children playing baseball in Buckeye State. If only we would take the time to do it.
Pla-Mor Alleys proudly sponsors bowling coverage on Press Pros Magazine.com
About strikes of a different kindColdwater High School bowler Keaton Bruns had a fantastic week last week competing in the 18u division of the United State Bowling Congress Junior Gold Championship in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Bruns competed against 1,200 other high school bowlers and after three days he was playing well enough to advance to what is known as the “advanced round,” where the top 172 bowlers went to compete for the matchplay round and the final title.
Bruns played well for the first three days but it’s a devastating game both physically and mentally and he didn’t make the match work. However, he was ranked 51st out of 1,208 bowlers of the week and averaged 198.8.
Incidentally, the tournament was won by a youngster named Brandon Bohn, the son of Parker Bohn III, a Hall of Famer with 30 career titles on the PBA Tour and 9 more on the Senior PBA Tour.
Bruns will be a senior at Coldwater this fall, undoubtedly making the Cavaliers a favorite to win their fifth OHSAA Division II bowling title. They finished second to Mechanicsburg last season.
Phoenix Bats proudly supports amateur baseball at Press Pros Magazine.com.
Source: pressprosmagazine.com
