Winter Kickball Tourney Recap & Notes

Congratulations to the SAVAGES for winning the 6th Annual CLUBWAKA VA Raptor Winter Kickball Championship. This talented squad capped off an impressive 9-1 regular season with a pair of tournament victories and the trophy. They shutout their rivals, Beast Mode, in a close finals contest.

Other Tourney Notes: With the championship at stake, all seven teams came to play. The afternoon featured several close and competitive games, especially in the first round. Naughty broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the 5th inning to advance via walk-off. This was the fourth time this season that Shiver Me Timbers lost on the final play of a game. We didn't really close these games out well... In the biggest upset of the afternoon, The Big LeBUNTskis defeated the #3 seed, Deep Purple in a 6-inning thriller. Their cinderella run would end in the semis as they didn't quite have enough to overcome Beast Mode, falling 3-1. Certainly an impressive run for the lime green crew and one that will give the individuals lots of confidence going into the spring seasons.

Beast Mode's Brian Neal videoed their team's games and has already begun editing and posting to YouTube. Their first game against Buntcheeks 2.0 is already online.



Grazie, Paparazzi: Big thanks go to Shiver Me Timber's Brad Kirby. All season long he snapped some amazing action shots and candid portraits of the entire league. Over 400 photographs in all were uploaded to the CLUBWAKA Facebook page (please give us a like!)




Thank yous: Shoutout to everyone who volunteered to help ref yesterday. Couldn't have asked for a better crew. Special recognition goes out to Ian Fluke and Jesus Rosales for doing a tremendous job umping the finals. In the immortal words of Kevin Durant, "You da real MVPs".

As always, Bryan Freed deserves the utmost gratitude for volunteering to help set up the fields each week. The selfless service to our kickball community never ceases to inspire me... Big thanks goes out to the staff at County Grill for taking care of us every Saturday afternoon. CG was the perfect post-game clubhouse for us!

I'd say that's an understatement.

Also, I want to thank our great coordinator Josh Carr for all of the hard work he did this season to make 2017 one of the best VA Raptor leagues yet!

Finally, thank you to everyone who joined us. Whether it was 35 degrees or 70 degrees out, I looked forward to spending Saturday afternoons with you this winter! Now, on to the spring!

CLUBWAKA Hampton Roads Week in Review - 2.10.2017

CLUBWAKA Hampton Roads Week in Review (2.3.2017)

Introducing a new weekly video log that covers all the news and notes from around CLUBWAKA Hampton Roads.



In the first episode, we cover:

• VA Peninsula Bowling Playoffs
• VA Peninsula Indoor Volleyball Playoffs
• VA Raptor Week 2
• New Williamsburg Kickball Coordinator
• Spring League Registration

For more information about our spring leagues and events, please visit kickball.com/hamptonroads

Free Agents Needed for Winter Kickball!

Today is the last day to join CLUBWAKA's Winter Kickball Leauge in Hampton, and we have a pair of teams that would love to have some additional players to help fill out their rosters. First the details: 

• League Starts: January 21st - Next weekend! 
• Games: Saturday afternoons at 1 or 2 at Barron Elementary in Hampton (45 Fox Hill Rd)
• Post Games: Head across the street to County Grill (26 E Mercury) and warm up with $6 Bud Light pitchers, $12.99 wing buckets, and $5 appetizers! 
• Parties: We will have a party for the league each month that includes complimentary drinks. The first party is after the first games at County Grill. We'll have two kegs of Bud Light for players in addition to our specials. 
• Cost: $72 to join. This includes the games, parties, postgame specials, t-shirt, and some good times. 
• Registration: Sign up online at kickball.com/varaptor. Any individual free agent that joins will find out your team assignment this weekend! 

Get in on the hottest kickball action this winter! If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask.

Winter not your cup of tea? Be sure to check out all of our other spring sports open for registration at kickball.com/hamptonroads.

VA Peninsula Bowling	Bowling	Sparetimes Bowling, Hampton	26-Feb	Sun
VA Peninsula Indoor Volleyball	Volleyball	UJCVP, Newport News	8-Mar	Wed
VA Balls and Dolls	Kickball	Gosnold's Hope Park, Hampton	1-Apr	Sat
VA Freedom	Kickball	Kiln Creek Park, Yorktown	7-Apr	Fri
VA Atlantic	Kickball	Bayville Farms Park, Virginia Beach	10-Apr	Mon
VA Admiral	Kickball	Kiwanis Municipal Park, Williamsburg	13-Apr	Thurs
VA Peninsula	Kickball	War Memorial Stadium, Hampton	19-Apr	Wed
VA Shore	Kickball	City View Park, Virginia Beach	23-Apr	Sun
VA Southside Ultimate	Ultimate	Norfolk Collegiate School, Norfolk	3-May	Wed
VA MidAtlantic Charity Tournament	Kickball	PAAC, Virginia Beach	6-May	Sat

3 Reasons You Are Going to Play Winter Kickball

Can you believe we are a little over a month away from the start of CLUBWAKA Raptor Kickball Winter 2017! It marks the start of the new kickball year and it is always a blast. As I have been talking to various individuals getting a feel for who is interested in playing there has been a common theme: No one actually knows if they plan on playing or not. Maybe this is because I am commissioning and they don't want to flat out tell me no, or maybe they really aren't certain. Whatever the case, here are the 3 reasons you are going to play Winter kickball.

1.) It's on Saturday's during a time where there are no major sports on TV.

See, if this were during college football season, NFL season (which is on Sunday anyway), or during peak Bo-Taoshi season then I could understand the cause for concern. However, NCAA Championship game is played on January 9th and this season begins January 21, NFL is on Sundays, and Bo-Taoshi has to be streamed illegally.

"Oh, but NCAA basketball plays on Saturday's."

Stop it. NCAA basketball plays during the week as well, but you still manage to work around those games. Also, lets be honest. You'll probably miss the first 20 minutes of Elon versus American University because most big games aren't played between 1:00 and 2:00 (Our usual start times on Saturday's)

2.) What else are you doing on a Saturday when it's 30 degrees?

"I don't play unless its over 32 degrees."

Stop it. Sure you can sit around in your warm house from sunrise to sunset playing Call of Duty while some 11-year-old works you and makes obscene comments about your mother, but even that gets old. You stay inside enough as it is. Put on some sweatpants, buy some hand and feet warmers, lace up your cleats, and get your butt on the damn field! If you are cold then play harder or drink more Bud Light (tip of the cap to Bud Light, thanks for sponsoring CLUBWAKA!).

3.) The bar is a half mile from the field

"I don't want to play at Gosnold's and then try and get to a random bar."

Stop it. We are playing this season at Barron Elementary School off of Fox Hill Road. We are sponsored by County Grill off Mercury Blvd. You can have someone drop you off at the fields and then stumble your way to the bar (which is an 11-minute walk. I checked). After that, you're on your own. Uber home. Call a friend. Obviously, you can't drive since someone dropped you off, but you get the point.

Right now it is $67 through January 4th and then $72 until the 26th. Sign up now while you are still saving a few bucks. Also, team colors are on hold until January 1st.

• January 4th: Bar Logo Tee Shirt Deadline -- Sign up before this date to save $5
• January 13th: Registration Deadline!
• January 21st: Week 1 Games
• January 21st: Season Kick Off Party - Free drinks and specials at County Grill
• February: CLUBWAKA February Party (Details Coming Soon)
• March 11th: End of Season Tournament
• March 11th: End of Season Party
• March: CLUBWAKA March Party (Details Coming Soon)

See everyone on the fields!

VA Raptor End of Season Details

Just like Boyz 2 Men once sang, we're at the end of the road. Time to crown a champion and then throw down and celebrate surviving another winter!

Tournament Details

The 4th Annual VA Raptor Cup will kick off at 11:30 AM with 1/2 of the quarter finals games.

• 11:30 PM
  • #4 Bunt Cheeks vs. #5 #ByeFelicia (refs: Beast Mode)
  • #3 Shiver Me Timbers vs. #6 Truffle Shuffle (refs: Sitch)
• 12:30 PM
  • #1 The Situation vs. #8 Snovaries & Iceticles (refs: Truffle)
  • #2 Beast Mode vs. #7 Purple Reign (refs: Bunt Cheeks)
• 1:45 PM - Semis
• 3:00 PM - Finals

Refs will be needed for the semi-finals and finals. If you are available and willing, please let me know! Your help is greatly appreciated!

For the full brackets click here. For the schedule click here.

Social Media: If for whatever reason, you can't make it to the tournament, I will be tweeting results on the @WAKAVAPeninsulatwitter handle using the hashtag #VARaptorEoS. If you're tweeting or instagramming on Saturday, please feel free to use the hashtag as well.

Tournament Rules: A couple of reminders for the league tournaments.

• There is no RPS during the tourney. The higher seed has the option of choosing hope or away.
• In the event of a tie score after 5 innings, extra innings will be played under "Kansas City" rules. 8 fielders (4 male / 4 female) and the last out of the prior inning starting on 2nd. Extra innings will be played until the tie is broken at the completion of a full inning.
• The mercy rule is automatic in tournament play. If a team has a 12 run or more lead at any point after the conclusion of the third inning, the game is called.
• For full details on the tournament guidelines, refer to this page.

End of Season Party! 

Beginning at 5 PM, we will celebrate the end of another winter with some drinks and food at our great sponsor, Stillwater Tavern.

• 3 kegs of domestic beer available for WAKA VA Raptor players.
• All the other great specials on drinks and food that we've enjoyed all season.
• Karaoke!
• I think it's fair to say that we've all had warm thoughts on our mind lately. For that reason, we'll be having a 'luau' theme for the event. Get your leis and hawaiian shirts ready.
• As always, drink responsibly and ensure you have a safe ride home.

Looking forward to closing out the season with a bang. If anyone has any questions or needs anything, please let me know.

Your humble commissioner,

Brent Wentworth

Sr. Community Coordinator

WAKA Kickball

P.S. Obligitory reminder to sign up for spring kickball! www.kickball.com/hamptonroads

 

It's Icehouse BEER-30!

photos by NOBODY because they didn't wanna get their pretty cameras wet


   Well, it took me this long for my fingers to finally thaw out from kickballin' this past Saturday!  The Bad News Beers took on some heavy competition as they suffered through a double header in rain, sleet,  and snow for over 2 hours.  Winter kickball ain't for sissies, people!!!!  Everyone was drenched and shivering, but that didn't stop the die-hard kickballers from having some fun.  Andrew Schlichte kept the BNB warm with his shots of Hot Fireball Cider!  If you haven't tried it yet, you ain't livin'! Keeps you warm inside and out!
   Anyway, lets get to some games!  The first team to beat (AHHHahahahhahaaaa!!!!) was the Action News Team coming to you live from the south side!!  The Sitch actually took it easy on them.  The team led by captain Lasalle Blanks only beat the BNB by 9 runs, and the BNB put up a whopping ZERO points!  Lets give it up for the BEERS! Andrew gave Lasalle some Fireball Cider and he agreed to give them 3 runs because of it, but that didn't happen.  NEVER TRUST A SOUTHSIDER!!! Dangit, bribery usually works... That team is FULL of strong players with lots of talent.  I can see why they are in the top 10 of the whole frickin' nation! So....as a birthday present for Scott Duncan, the BNB 'let' them take the win. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! It was difficult to hold back, though...Andrew almost screwed it up!  Scott Duncan kicked a shallow line drive to right center field where Andrew ran up on it.  He made a dramatic diving, rolling catch for an ESPN highlight reel play of the day!!! Dun nuh nuh! Dun nuh nuh!! Scott was so impressed with the rob that he ran out and gave Andrew a high five.  Awesome moves, Andrew!
  So the BNB let the Sitch win for a score of 9-0.  No more Fireball Cider for you!!

(Insert awesome photo of Andrew Schlichte making a diving catch here...)

   The second game of the day was against Beast Mode.  The BM's took a POUNDING from...oh wait, that was only in my dreams...Well, right about this time all our toes were going numb and team members were doing odd ants-in-your-pants dances trying to keep warm.  So we drank...and in so doing, the game was rather a close one!  The BNB woke up around the 4th inning or so and put the heat on!  Troy "Eat This SUCKA!"  Southall decided to get this game over with and kicked the crap out of the ball.  It went over the right fielder's head and kept on going.  It decided to call in for permission to land about 5 minutes later in the next field over.  Ok, I'm exaggerating...it was only 3 minutes.  But STILL!  Troy had enough time to run all the way home before the ball was even thrown back into the infield.  DANG!!!  I think he was able to do that because he couldn't feel his damn foot! ;)

(Insert photo of a little bitty ball still in the air  far, far away SCREAMING from a 

butt woopin' by Troy)

The game was a lot of fun with cutting up with the other team's players, taunting and calling their mothers insulting names. Hey, I can't help it if you didn't hear that part...It was a great game full of commoradary, commer...cumer..... friendship and mischief.  Just how we Beers like it!!!  The BM's win 5-7 by the skin of their teeth! Awesome fun game!!!  Always a pleasure to play Beast Mode! :) Your mother is a hamster!!  Get Brandon Silver some sticky stuff to put on his hands next time if he's gonna play first...Slippery Silver! Na Na Na Boo Boo!!!! ***BURP!!!***

Mother nature was being too cruel for any of the Beers to hang around after that.  So they all hauled butt to the closest pub and/or went home and took an ass-scalding HOT shower!  After drying off, a beer always makes thing better. Ahhhhhh!!!!!

Frickin' winter!!!!!

FEAR THE BEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!

If ya wanna....I mean, you don't have to but it would be cool and stuff...

It's official!!!

If you haven't heard the big news yet,Battlestar Ballsack player Mike Graziano proposed to fellow Ballsack/Pounders player Nicole Plesha!  It's great when two nuts come together to form one ballsack union, isn't it??

The happy couple

  Now, I wasn't there to witness the event but I'm pretty sure Nicole said "F*** yeah!!"

What a rock!

Congratulations, you two! ;)

VA Raptor - Week 4 Photos

The Pounders' Emily Cook had her camera with her on 2/2 (aka Tutu Day) and took some AWESOME pics! Check out the full album on Facebook.

A Couple of Rounds of Beer, Please!!!

By Karen "Silent Killer" Savell
Images courtesy of Emily Cook

   With 2 rounds of Beers happening on Saturday, there was sure a lot of action.  The most notable being the first game of the day for the Beers against the dead Kennedy's.  JFK's captain Bryan Freed offered a suggestion that the game be played by "gentleman's game" rules earlier in the week.  The Beer's discussed it in their Facebook group page and it was approved!  All girls play infield, all girls at the top of the line up, and all guys kick away.  Fun times!  What the heck, right?!  Little did they know that the Beer's, although mostly drunk and bumbling at most games...ok, all the games...they have a hell of a women's squad!  Andrea Hoffman, Laura Nelson, Crystal Tanner, Karen "Silent Killer" Savell, and Angie Jean held down the infield while all the guys stepped back and enjoyed goggling at all the lady butts in front of them.  Yes ladies, that's why the guys were so quiet back there, and its the SAME reason why all the guys are in back of Zumba, Aerobics classes!!! Now you know... Yep, the men were a little distracted, but not enough miss catching balls out there. The Beers were enjoying farting around and even showed off their new Beer duds.

Bad ass threads, Beers!!! Awesome job, Andrew Schlichte!

    Sterling Wilcox took the mound for JFK and did an outstanding job!  That girl's got an arm!  She didn't give up a single walk, which is more that I can say for the Silent Killer.  It took a while for her to warm up, but after a few adjustments, she got on track for the Beers. MVPeter Kuhr told her that every time she walks someone, a kitten dies.  Sadly, she killed one....but a few innings later, she brought that sucker back to life as she caused a kicker to foul out.  BOOM!

The Silent Killer winding up for her famous Mush Ball pitch...DAMN, that's a bad hat!

    The Beer's and JFK were so busy screwing around that they didn't notice that the Beer's were ahead until the final inning. AHEAD??!  AHEAD!!!  Thanks to some fantastic moves by Crystal Tanner at the catching position and Angie Jean as charger, they worked in tandem to get those lady runners out.  Crystal made a few sweet moves by kicking the ball towards first base for a nice out and then actually kicking it and hitting the runner before they made it to first.  The girl has an accurate boot, let me tell ya!  For the final clincher clutch play, Angie Jean stepped up and made some awesome Beer moves. With one out and a runner on first,  the ball was kicked away right between the pitcher and short stop/ charger position as a fast line drive.  Angie ran to the left to grab it by her fingertips for the catch. The guy at first was running to second before he realized it was caught, and Angie ran him down for the tag.  Double play, game over!  The Beers win!!!  Dang it, they had such an awesome losing streak going...the record is broken.  The Beers get their first win.

Just a little bit of encroachment there, Crystal...

   I'd like to put in a few good words about this game.  In the final inning, there was some controversy.  Bryan Freed stepped up and told his team to play by the rules that they started with. Their players questioned it, got ticked about it, but did as Mr. Freed commanded and it was done. I don't care what "Manny" Anderson says... Bryan Freed is a true gentleman and has wonderful sportsmanship, and is honor bound in all aspects of the game.  He stuck to the rules that he suggested even though in the final inning he knew his team might lose.  Mr. Freed, we bow to your greatness! ;)   I'm just kidding about Manny...it was Jesse Jones that said it...OK, .ok, it wasn't anybody

OK, second round of Beers anyone?  Anyone?  Well, the Beers got back to their regular business of losing big time when they played Panik Attack.  They were trying to pace themselves but once Beer-30 comes around it's hard to stop.  Filling up with beer, rum and coke, and hot fireball cider, the Beers started to feel at home again:  Partying like a Rock Star!!! Oh, and there is a game going on....   Panik pretty much whipped the crap out of the Beers in the first inning, so it was kick away time again for the rest of the game.  I think everyone made a catch in that game, there were so many kick aways. I don't know, things were kind of fuzzy at that point.  I DO remember Wesley McClain pitching and Bryan Pena kicking the ever living sh** out of the ball over left field and into Field 1 for an awesome triple!!  Then MVPeter Kuhr kicked a single and Pena ran in for the 2nd and final score for the Beers.  What the??!  Where did THAT come from??!  At the post-game conference, he stuck around to answer a few questions about his performance.  Bryan is quoted as saying, "No matter what anybody says, I haven't to my knowledge used any deer antler spray to improve my kicking.  But I HAVE been working with our team captain Trici Frederick all during the week.  She's been helping me to pace myself so I don't get too hammered during or before big games.  We've been meeting at bars every night so she can show me how to sip slowly.  All I've ever known is the SLAM, baby!! But, yeah, she's helped me out a lot, and that's why I only saw 1 ball coming at me during that pitch instead of 3 or 4. So I owe it all to her!  Thanks, Trici!  Actually she paid me to say all that so now she owes me..."

All right, blah, blah, blah... Beers rock, 1 win, 1 loss, F*** THIS, LET'S DRINK!!!!

There's a Tear in My Beer...

     For week 2 of the VA Raptor season, the Bad News Beers brought their B game to the plate!  Why? Because "B" stands for BEER!!!  They did their best to defend their losing streak, and by golly, they got the job done right as they took a pounding from Pop Pop and JFK, for a total of over 20 runs against them when the day was done.  When Bryan Pena was asked why his game was a little off when playing JFK, his reply was "SHHheiiijaoi  siijnnsitsfitus leehhhh" which translates into  "I'm so drunk, man...." Captain Trici Frederick has made it known that she will be training the team to "pace themselves" since they have so many double headers this season.  Yeah, good luck with that!

A rare photo of Derek Patterson actually standing upright

     Playing against Pop Pop was pretty fun, from what the BnB can remember of it.  After a few shots of Andrew Schlichte's "Hot Fireball Cider", nobody remembers nothin'!! By the way, don't try saying that last name when you're hammered.  Trust me!!  And remember, booze gives you the munchies, so of course, hot dogs were cooking on the grill!!  Most players where choking down hot dog parts while up to kick.... Kickball at it's finest!! :)  Which reminds me, does anyone know the Heimlich and CPR just in case??

What we really care about....

 Playing against JFK was an all out BLUR!  It seems that in fact, God does NOT protect drunks and fools, because BnB got creamed with a mean shut out. Nothing went their way.  They were plagued with lucky bounces and not-so-popular ref calls. BUT there are some amazing highlights we do remember!  How about the ladies getting it together??!  Chrystal Tanner made a few awesome catches in right field all in one inning!  Angie Jean seems to make it on base every single time, and the Silent Killer, Karen Savell,  made a running catch out in right as well.  Andrea Hoffman...well, Andrea just kept grabbing Adam Henry's butt the entire time.  It was very distracting!  Oh yeah,  Pena, MVPeter Kuhr and Troy Southall all made sweet catches, too...It was getting pretty fun when they kicked away!  Then JFK decided to bunt again. Really??? 15-0 and they are bunting?? Oh well, what the hell...it's just kickball, right??!  Anyway, the last inning came up and John  "JP" Wilkinson was ready to kick an 18-run homer!  Hey, it can happen!!! So he bunted and kept running!  The throw to first was missed.  JFK brought it back into play and made an errant throw to second, only to have that dang "lucky" bounce happen and trip up JP between 2nd and 3rd.  Game over.  JFK produces a shut out against the BnB.
  It's all good though....BnB has made plans to change from their "B" game to their "IPA" game next time.  Watch out Panik Attack!

Awwww, look at all those poor BnB's!  They are so sad!!!

Fascinating BnB facts: Kudo's to Andrew for bringing his awesome brew!  We can't wait until the next game where we don't remember a thing! What game??  We're playing a GAME??

Congrats go to George Kiriazidis!  He's on a 3 game streak where he hasn't broken a sweat! It's a personal record!  Keep it up!

 Welcome to the club, Laura Nelson!  She made her debut this past week with the BnB's!  Boy, is SHE gonna regret it... we've all made bets that she's gonna throw up before the Silent Killer next week... ;)

FEAR THE BEERS!!!!!!!!

VA Raptor - Week 2 Results

Let's take a quick run down of the week 2 results of the only hardcore winter kickball league in all of Hampton Roads!

Pop Pop 11, Bad News Beers 4
The Poppers continued to show that they have a prolific offense, scoring double digits in runs in their 2nd consecutive game. Bad News Beers continued to show that a prolific tailgate, grilling out for their 2nd consecutive week.

Jelly Friends 7, Beast Mode 3
Eric the Bearded's pre-game speech rallied the Jelly troops. They were down late in the game, but put together an epic comeback to take the mild upset victory.

Just For Kicks 4, Peninsula Pounders 4
This game was a bit sloppy, with both teams making uncharacteristic mistakes. The Pounder ladies, Nicole Plesha, Jill Simms, Kecia Warner, Alyssa Stoner, and Emily Cook did some serious damage in this game. They kicked 6 for 9, with 2 runs, 3 RKIs, 1 BB, and 2 SACs. Without their efforts, this falls into the L column for the "Pride of the Peninsula".

Just For Kicks 16, Bad News Beers 0
Hour 2 of the BNB tailgate had predictable results on the field.

Peninsula Pounders 12, Jelly Friends 4
The Pounders kickers had an on base percentage of 0.828 for the game, getting on base at will. But thanks to some poor base running and some well executed plays by the Jelly D (the highlight being a first inning triple play), were not able to fully capitalize until late in the game. In the 4th inning, the score was 4-3 Pounders, when the Peninsula offense dropped 6 runs and cruised to victory.

BYE WEEK: Panik Attack, The Situation

Current Standings

VA Raptor - Week 1 Results

WAKA VA Raptor
Week 1 - January 12, 2013


The Situation 3, Pop Pop 0
Pop Pop limited the high powered Situation defense to only 3 runs, but was not able to penetrate their defense. Big win for LaSalle Blanks and company in the opener.

Panik Attack 5, Peninsula Pounders 0
Jason “JJ” Jakimjuk drove in 2 runs with a 2nd inning line drive up the middle, and Panik Attack played shut down defense all afternoon. They tacked on 3 runs in the 5th inning to secure the impressive victory over the Pounders.

Beast Mode 8, Bad News Beers 6
Beast Mode comes out on top in a wild week 1 shootout.

Panik Attack 13, Beast Mode 0
The 1 PM game against the Pounders was just a warm up apparently. Panik Attack put it into high gear and dropped a baker’s dozen onto the Beasts.

Pop Pop 10, Jelly Friends 2
The Poppers bounced back from their 1 PM loss to drop 10 runs on their friendly rivals in purple.

The Situation 4, JFK 3
This was, perhaps, the game of the week. In the 4th inning, Sterling Wilcox and Bryan Freed lead off with a couple of runs scored to break a 1-1 tie. But the JFK defense was not able to contain the explosive top of the Sitch order. The Situation scored 3 runs in the top of the 5th to earn the 4-3 come from behind win.

Current Standings

Fear The Beers!!!!!!

   

Bromance of the Week

VA Raptor Week 1 Photos

Dottie Wentworth took some great photos of the week 1 action. Check out the album here (facebook).

Welcome to VA RAPTOR!

Kickballers,

Welcome to our 2nd annual WAKA VA Raptor Winter season! Thank you all for being hardcore enough to play this great sport out in the elements this winter. With play set to kick off 1 week from today on Saturday, January 12th, I wanted to cover a few reminders, updates, etc. 

The schedule has been created! You can view it in two separate places: either through the VA Raptor page here or also on a google document. A few notes about the schedule. 

• We have an 8 week regular season scheduled with 11 games, so plenty of double headers mixed in for everyone. 
• We do NOT have a week scheduled for rainouts (or snowouts), but there are a few open slots in the schedule as well as the option to use the 3 o'clock hour for make ups if needed/possible. 
• During week 7, Panik Attack, JFK, Situation, and the Pounders are all on bye because they're going down to Ft. Lauderdale to play in the South Florida Kickball Open. The remaining 4 teams Pop Pop, Jelly Friends, Beast Mode, and Bad News Beers are still in action. Right now, you'll see that the reffing assignment is 'TBD'. I'll have to get creative in order to find refs to help out that day, but I'm confident I can beg and bribe enough people to help. More to come. 
• You'll notice that during several weeks, teams will be asked to provide refs for 2 games. With 6 teams scheduled to play every hour, that leaves 2 available teams left to ref, which necessitates the double booking. I'm pretty confident that every team in the league has enough experienced refs on their rosters to accomodate this. But if there are any concerns, please let me know. 
• If you notice any irregularities or mistakes with the schedule, please let me know. I occasionally get fat fingers. 

TIME LIMITS

Because we are playing in the winter months occasionally, the weather will be pretty chilly at the fields. In order to respect each other's times as well as the other teams who may be waiting to play, we will enforce a time limit for the regular season games. 

• No new inning should begin after the 50 minute mark of the hour. (i.e. If the 4th inning ends at 1:51 PM, than the game will be called at that point and the 5th inning will not be played and the score at that point will be final). 
• If an inning begins before the 50 minute mark of the hour, than the inning should be completed. 
• The 50 minute mark is a hard deadline, and the time the game starts does not extend the time. (i.e. If a game starts at 2:06, it does NOT extend the time limit to 2:56. The time limit is still 2:50). 
• The head ref will be responsible for managing the time and will make the calls. 

All in all, please make every effort to arrive early and be ready to play as soon as the game is scheduled. Avoid delays and slow play, and we won't have any challenges. An hour is more than enough time to get a 5 inning kickball game completed. 

SHIRTS: All the shirts have been ordered and are expected to be available by next weekend! They will be distributed to the captains. 

AFTER PARTIES

After the games, head on over to Luckie's to warm up with some drink specials, games, dancing, mingling, shenanigans, etc. There is nothing like some afternoon fun at Luckie's (the best is when the club crowd starts to come in around 8-9ish and they see some kickballers chillin' in sweats and dirty shirts. Haha)

• Enjoy 40% off ALL FOOD & DRINKS Saturday afternoons during the season!!!
• IF you're really hungry, you can purchase a buffet wristband for $10 (buffett will begin around 5 or 6 pm)

Luckie's is located in the Hampton Power Plant and is centrally located next to I-64. Here is a map with direction from Gosnold's Hope Park to Luckie's. 

IMPORTANT DATES

• The Mid-Season Party will be immediately following the games on February 9th at Luckie's. Come on out and get some food and drinks provided by the league! 
• The End of Season Tournament will be on Saturday, March 9th beginning at 11 AM. 
• The End of Season Blowout will be that night on 3/9! More details to come. 

SOCIAL MEDIA
Be sure to stay connected through our Facebook group, Twitter account, and award winning GMoT Blog! 
  

I think that's all the updates I have for now. Long update, I know. If anyone has any questions at all or needs anything, please let me know. Looking forward to an awesome season! 

Thank you, 



Brent Wentworth
Sr. Customer Service Rep 
WAKA Kickball

Why Brad is the Man

'Nuff said.

VA Raptor: Foot Snipers Win!

The inaugural season of winter WAKA VA Raptor came to a close yesterday with a highly competitive and entertaining tournament to crown a champion. (It was later followed by a less competitive by even more entertaining party that night, but that's another story. For more on that, be sure to check the Facebook group. Lots of great posts about Saturday night). Let's look at the results of the kickball games played at Gosnold's Hope Park!

Play In Game
#9 Foul Balls def #8 Whiskey Kick, 4-3
The Foulies opened up an early 4-1 lead, but the Whiskeys rallied in the 5th inning to bring it within 1 run. The Foulies earned a rare victory and moved onto the next round, despite having to put Wade Brock on the field.

First Round
#4 Frosty Ballin' def #5 Kick Ass, 3-2
A highly competitive 4/5 game saw the Frosty Ballers come out on top, thanks to some overpowering pitching. Frosty's Mark Flores and George Kiriazidis combined for 5 foul outs in the victory.

#3 Peninsula Pounders def #6 All Up In The Bunt, 2-1 (6 innings)
A defensive battle between two great units. The game was tied 0-0 through 5 innings and went to OT. With the modified rules (only 8 players on defense, a runner starts on 2nd), the Pounders came out on top. Erin Welch walked with the bases loaded to drive in the winning run.

#2 Foot Snipers def #7 Chubby Gangsters, 9-0
Foot Snipers 1B PJ Jones blasted Elizabeth Ricker in the face with a ball. Then blasted this shot into right field to drive in one of the Snipes 9 runs.

#1 JFK def #9 Foul Balls, 12-0 (3 innings)
Just For Kicks overpowered the Foulies, who were just happy to have advanced a game.

Semi-Finals
#1 JFK def #4 Frosty Ballin', 3-2 (6 innings)
JFK virtually dominated this game, but couldn't quite put away Frosty. They kept hanging around and managed to avoid giving up the big inning. In the 5th inning, the Ballers were trailing when Frank Council destroyed a pitch deep over the JFK centerfielder's head for a 2 run homer to tie the game. The game would go into KC, but Frosty thawed out. Bryan Freed (!) kicked a sac fly to right field that scored the walk off winner and send JFK to the finals!

#2 Foot Snipers def #3 Peninsula Pounders, 3-0
The Foot Snipers' Dave Reglesky mowed through Pounder after Pounder, completely shutting down one of the most powerful offenses in the league and putting the Snipers into the Championship.

Finals
#2 Foot Snipers def #1 JFK, 3-1
JFK continued to put pressure on the Foot Snipers defense, but could not seem to break through. In a game marked by clutch moments, the Snipers built a 3-0 lead. JFK would not go down without a fight though. They scored a run in the 5th and loaded the bases before Anthony Williams casually handed the ball to Kate Barcus for the final out (see video below).

For more videos of the Winter 2012 WAKA VA Raptor Kickball Tourney, visit my youtube page here.

All in all, it was a great day to end a great season! Thank you to everyone who came out to play this season! Congratulations to the Foot Snipers!

All photos courtesy of Mary Katherine Evans (Frosty Ballin) and Emily Cook (Chubby Gangsters).

VA Raptor - Thank you!

Had to delay this e-mail to today (Monday) because honestly, I could barely function all day yesterday after the End of Season Party. I hope you all had a great time in the first ever winter season!

I want to first congratulate the FOOT SNIPERS for earning the very first Raptor Cup! They played flawless defense all day long and won a hard fought battle against JFK in the Finals, 3-1.

I would have to say this first season was an overall success! And I want to take some time to recognize some of the people who helped make this winter a great one!

- George Kiriazidis and Bryan Freed: Thank you both for being their every week to set up the fields. I know it sucks coming at noon when you have a 2 o'clock game and it's cold and nasty. You guys always ensured that we were all set to kick off.
- The staff at Luckie's: Thank you again for your continued support and partnership. You all gave us a great place to go and mingle after the games and a fun mid-season party!
- Mary Katherine Evans: You continue to amaze me with your photos. They just keep getting better and better. I know everyone appreciates the work you do to share them!
- Nathaniel Johnson: Your weekly gambling lines had me cracking up every time you posted. Thank you for keeping us entertained. (P.S. Wade Brock sucks)
- Keith Morehart and Karen Savell: Thank you for your weekly team recaps! Love the participation!
- To all the captains: Thank you for your leadership of your teams. It is not always an easy task to take on that extra responsibility. I appreciate you guys for doing so.
- The Hampton PD: Thanks for not bothering us.
- Thank you to everyone who signed up and joined us this winter! I'm continuously grateful to be a part of such an amazing kickball community!

Hope I didn't forget anyone...

In the coming weeks, you will receive an e-mail survey from WAKA asking questions about your overall experience. Please be sure to take a moment to complete it and let us know how we did!

Again, thank you to everyone who played. Great season! Great times! I hope you are all planning to join us for our Spring season of VA Peninsula! Registration is open now! Deadline to play is 3/28! www.kickball.com/vapeninsula

See you on the fields!

Commissioner Wentworth
WAKA Kickball