WHITBY FREE PRESS, Thursday, May 4, 1972, Page il - Sportls+ Baseball WMBA Opening Day Just OneMonth Away! W ith the Official Opening Day now j ust a month away, and Eastern Ont- a r io Baseball Association schedules b e g i nning in about three weeks, the W h i t b y M inor Baseball Association is thick in the frantic activity neces- s a q-y to get another basebal1 season underway. The last registration sess- ionheldlastSaturday leaves the var- i o u s convenors with the formidable c hore of assigning players to teams. An attempt is made to acheive a reas- on abl1 e b alance with the teams, yet place a boy on a team from his neigh- bourhood, and this is sometimes an al- most impossible task. W hitby clubs entered in the EOBA have been holding workouts and prac- tices for the past month, with the ex- c e p t i o n o f the midget club who are s t arting shortl y. The boys attending these 'ail-star' workouts are players w ho were with the various clubs last se ason or players who were scouted -whileplaying for WMBAhouse leagues last year. EOBA certificates must be signedby June 15 so that coaches and managers mus t have a pretty good idea of th e ir clu b rosters a year ahead because there is not too much time to 1 o o k a t new talent in the Spring. In casesomeonewhois a likely prospect has been overlooked, each ofthe clubs wil 1 be holding open sessions for boys who wouidlike a shot at trying out for one of the EOBA clubs. No positions are 'sewed up' on any of the All-Star squads. Ruses C 1inic Next week will be busy for al1 W. M. B. A. officiais, umpires, coaches a n d a s s istants. Dr. John Wall, the Umpire-In-Chief will be in charge of [i I Les Reed, left, an executive member of the Whitby Minor Baseball Associ- ation and a qualified Ontario Baseball Association umpire discusses the 1972 Rule Book with Bill Puchalski also an executive member of the WMBA and a coach in the tyke league. AIl WMBA coaches and umpires will be attending a rules clinic to be held on Thursday,, May 1l. aRulesClinictobeheld on Thursday, May Il at the Masonic Temple on Coch- rane Street. Attendance at this meet- ing which gets underway at 7:30 p. m., i s a must for all those who umpire at both E.O.B.A. and House League ievels and for coaches and assistants. The clinicwill cover areview of base- b ail rules with special consideration being given to general umpiring pro- cedures such as positioning of the f i eld, and the handling of game situ- ations. The Association feels ail coaches shoul d attend, because a knowledge of the g am e i s not complete without a thorough knowledge of the rules of the game. Coach'a CLINIC On Saturday, May 13, the Council Chambers in the Municipal Building A Tribute to the Dodd & Souter Pee-Wee Champs Asa coach i would 1ike to thank al1 my boys for the way they played to win the championship now that the hockey seasonhasended. The Dodd & Souter Pee-Wees are a winning team, and that is the way they played - together as a team, with each boy playing his posit- ion. Special notice should be given to RobPhilips, ourgoalie, whowas al- ways there when the team needed him and who was also superb in the nets. Our two centre men, Dave McWhirter a n d T e r ry Whyte carr ied the three I ines between them, picking up face- off s when needed. Both Dave and Te rry became the top scorers of the team. The wingmen, Bill Clancy, Wil- fred Prescott, Doug Prescott, Lon- nie Myette, DaveSullivan, Scott C raig and Donny Couture, all played t'h eir w i n g s offensively and defen- s i v ely getting rebounds, playing the siot where goals are scored, and digging the puck out of the corners. But let us not forget the most im- portantmen on the ice, which are the d e f e ncemen. Dean SandrellI i, Kevin Co I I i ns, John Heffer and Scott Mc- L e I I an w e r e t h e men who kept the puck in the opponent's end away from t h e blueline. These are the men who can'tafford to make mistakes in their ownend. They set up plays and clear the puck outof their own endwhen necessary. Whenyouputall this together, you w i n d up with champions, and that is j u s t w h a t happened for the Dodd & Souters this year. I just wanted t o let the boys know how proud they made me feel as coach, because of the way they played, and the extra effort they putin to win the ch ampionship. i just hope their par- e n t s are as proud of their sons as I a m of their attitude and mannerisms, both on and off the ice. In my opinion the boys had 100% team spirit, win or will be the scene of a coaches clinic to be di rected by Mr. Fred Beckett, W h i t b y i1s R e creat ion Supervisor. Starting at 1:30, the clinic will cover .basic basebali skills and strategy. W i th several years experience as a professional ball pl ayer, the Recrea- t i on Supervisor is an able tutor and theclinicshouldbe valuable to ail W. M. B.A. coaches. The W.M.B.A. this week made f u r t h e r announcements of coaching staffs for the 1972 season. Tony Dole- waeerd will return to the Lasco Steel- ers Bantam club where he will be as- s i s t e d b y Paul Borchuck providing job conditions permit Borchuck to join theclubwhenhiscollege year is com- p I eted. Willy Doleweerd who teamed up with brother Tony to guide the S t e e lers last year, is retiring from t h e coaching ranks but hopes to stay i n t h e g am e , trading hi s coaching f lannels for the navy blue of an ump- ire. Cha nges in Midget Ent ry There are changes with Whitby's E . O. B. A. Midget entry for '72. The clubwill be sponsored this season by t he local Canadian Tire Store whose owner, Art Desjardins has long been interested in minor sports programs. G ord Hanna and Gord Forrester will ·beatthehelm, withForrester replac- ingAl Bradshaw who had to leave the club because of job commitments. ThePeel Street diamond has come alongquickly andlast Saturday morn- ing the K of C Tykes became the first Whitby club to take to the field in '72 as they held a brief workout under the d i r ection of AI and Keith MacDonald and Jim Jermvn. lose. So keep it up fellows! i would also like to thank my son, TimCaseyandMr. Dick Sandrelli for taking over when I couldn't be there to get the boys going on their way to vic- t o r y . Thanks again Dick and thanks again to ail the boys of my team. Leonard Casey, Coach. P. S. Sorry about the cigars boys!