Alex Preston of Kincaid has again volunteered to print our GameDay tickets for this spring. As step- dad to two former Mohawks, Craig and Tyler Neighbours, he stepped up to offer his services 10 years ago, and now, it seems, has the job permanently. The GameDay promotion enters its 10th season this spring and has been a staple for Mohawk players to supply game equipment. We'll plan on a Mid-February kick-off so we can complete ticket sales prior to the start of the season. We'll start with our 1,000 tickets and hope to match last year's success (the Mohawks sold all 1,000 tickets for the only time). Alex has continued to support the Mohawks long after his direct connection was gone...if you know Alex, let him know how much his help is appreciated...for now we send a virtual hug.

For most of our personal equipment needs, we'll use Kesslers Sporting Goods as our supplier. These items will all be ordered through their online processing center, but payment will be made by the school. Players will be responsible for the items they order, but may use portions of their GameDay ticket sales to off-set some of the expense (so players will pay the school and the school will pay Kesslers rather than parents making direct online payments). Here's a LINK to the items that will be available. Online ordering will take place February 12th thru March 1st. We will place an order with Akadema for batting gloves and sunglasses once practice has started on March 1st.

Several players indicated an interest in the long inseam uniform baseball pant which has become the fashion style. Players who are keen on style are welcome to purchase their own personal pair this season and make their fashion statement to the world. A sample pair from Victory Athletic is available in Coach M's room. The cost will be $60 and will be custom made to waist and inseam...the pants will be gray with a red pipe on leg. There is no reason to purchase these pants other than personal preference. Click HERE to get a look at the pants and their specs. These pants are of considerably better construction than our uniform game pants.

We will be placing our order for personalized Jerseys on Friday of this week to insure plenty of time for delivery. All new players MUST order a jersey. The cost for the jerseys will be $75 and the expense MAY be covered by GameDay Ticket sales. Players need to determine the uniform size and may choose any number not already in use by another player. Contact Coach M as soon as you know size and number.

The summer of 1995 saw an important improvement to the Mohawk baseball playing surface...the addition of the current infield sand-clay mix. During the first infield renovation, enough material was placed on the diamond to raise the infield nearly 5 inches. Over time, wind and water took their toll on the material, and much of it was blown or washed into the grass surrounding the infield. Although our infield mix was a good as it could be, the lip created a bowl that held water on the "skin" part of the infield. The build-up had reached 4 or 5 inches in some places. This created havoc on rainy days and demanded plenty of drying material and and an extraordinary amount of labor, most of it by Steve Brown.

The first step in correcting this was completed this summer when Steve Brown engineered the installation of well over 100 ton of infield mix. The work was completed by Steve with some assistance from Jack Christian (I'm missing someone that I'll add later). Two full days were devoted to spreading and leveling the material to make it ready for the Jr High season. The infield was raised over 3" and shed water quite well throughout the fall Jr High season, but the lip still remained

Steve Brown and Eric O'Brien planned throughout the fall and the project to eliminate the lip began the day after the final Tomahawk home game vs Little Flower. The lip consisted primarily of the clay-sand infield mix, so the area behind the infield was tilled and scooped out and placed back on the diamond. This material was then leveled by Steve with Jack Christian's equipment. The remaining black dirt subsoil was tilled and leveled to the edge of the infield. Over time, the infield had crept and grown out towards the left field area, the renovation is recovering nearly 10 feet of outfield grass. Steve and Eric expertly prepared a seed bed for the new seed, and the area has received a healthy dose of water twice a day for the past week and a half. The baby grass is now well on its way, with a couple of months of growing before we see a hard freeze. Special thanks to Steve and Eric for stopping their personal activities (and thanks to their wives and families for sharing them) to maximize the time available for the grass to mature and be ready for the spring season.