ZUMBA at the Ballpark

Who would have thought, ZUMBA at the ballpark?

This past Friday YOUR Boise Hawks hosted ZUMBA at the Ballpark with Firehouse No. 6, a community wellness center located at 1620 N Liberty St. Boise, 83704. Firehouse No. 6 offers ‘pay as you go’ programs for people regardless of age, socioeconomic and cognitive impairments.

“The Firehouse is committed to producing a well-balanced healthy atmosphere that will provide a wide range of fitness activities to meet the needs of all our clients.”

YOUR Boise Hawks teamed up with Firehouse No. 6 to “provide a fitness program for everyone, from the athlete, retiree and physically or mentally impaired individual.” We provide the venue, Firehouse provides the instructors!

Firehouse No. 6 offers a variety of classes but at Memorial Stadium they put on the ZUMBA Fitness class. “ZUMBA classes feature exotic rhythms set to high-energy Latin and international beats.”

Classes are $4.00 per session with the proceeds going to Hawks Nation Charity, which goes into funding youth sports, and Firehouse No.6 to provide scholarships and aid for those who need assistance for the various programs.“It’s easy to do, effective and totally exhilarating, often building a deep-rooted community among returning students.”

Come join us!

ZUMBA at the Ballpark Schedule 2013

May 24     6PM-7PM

May 31     6PM-7PM

June 7       6PM-7PM

June 14     6PM-7PM

For more information visit http://www.boisehawks.com or http://www.firehouse6.com.

Get Discovered, Get Evaluated, Get Better!

With the Under Armour Baseball Factory Tryouts just around the corner on May 12, I decided to talk to a couple former Boise Hawks about their personal experiences with the event.

For Bijan Rademacher it was an eye opening experience. “I would definitely recommend it because it gets you exposure and it opened my eyes to the talent that was around me.”

The Baseball Factory program gives players from age 12 – 18 the opportunity to be discovered and turn their hobby into a successful career. The goal is to move through the Baseball Factory at levels much like the minors of a Major League organization.

The first step is to go through an evaluation at a National tryout like the one being hosted at Memorial Stadium. The players are then placed in the best development program for their individual needs and move up as seen fit.

Baseball factory works on the players from both a physical and mental standpoint taking them through high level training and competition as well as life lessons in baseball IQ, life skills and academic guidance, ultimately molding them into a well rounded athlete for the collegiate level. “Baseball Factory’s vision is to guide both players and parents through the college recruiting process and to professionally train players in order to find a school that is the right fit … both academically and athletically.”

Through pro scout evaluations, player videos, professional instruction, high level competition and ongoing guidance, Baseball Factory is a leader in player development both on and off of the field.

While Dan Vogelbach only attended one event, he says it was a great experience. “I really enjoyed the way things were run, and the people that were a part of it.”

For more information or to register for the event visit http://www.BaseballFactory.com or call 800-641-4487.

The cost of the event is $99. Players must register prior to the event as there is limited space available.

Around the Horn with Idaho Freshman Baseball

Mountain View High Freshman Team

The Idaho Freshman Baseball League here in Boise was started last year with eight local high school teams including Borah, Capital, Centennial, Eagle, Meridian, Mt.View, Rocky Mtn., and Vallivue. Boise High joined the league for this season making it a nine team league with the hopes of growing again for next year. The league functions as a gateway to keep the kids actively participating in baseball while waiting for a shot at a spot on their varsity teams. You might think of the freshman league as the Minor League of high school baseball.

 

To get a deeper look into the freshman league and what it brings to the community; I spoke to Mountain View High’s coach, Judd Olmstead, who is in his second year of coaching freshman baseball.

“The most important thing is that it gives these kids a chance to go out and play twenty-five plus games and really grow as a baseball player before they play varsity.”

Judd got into coaching simply because he loves the game. “There isn’t a better feeling than passing your knowledge of the game to a young kid and seeing him take it and use it in his everyday game.”

When it comes to the players, they seem to love and appreciate the league. Not only do they get to play at great ballparks like Memorial Stadium, but they are put up against good competition. “These kids love the game as much as anybody!”

What do the players enjoy most about the league?

“Getting to play with friends at a higher level than a little league team.”

-Jace Forrey, Borah High

 

“Living up to the expectations of the school.”

-Ty Tustin, Borah High

 

“I like competing against the other high schools, and today my friend got a walk off so that’s pretty cool.”

-Daniel Boots, Mt.View

 

“My favorite thing about the freshman league is getting to play at the Hawks, that’s fun for me because you have to make it to the pros the next time to be able to play here. It’s fun just to be able to play here as a freshman.”

-Hunter Snooks, Mt.View

 

The freshman league sits close to the heart of Todd Rahr, President/GM, of YOUR Boise Hawks. It all started when Rahr heard Frank Wright, varsity coach at Eagle High, on Idaho Sports Talk . Wright was on air talking about the cuts the Meridian school district would me making for 2012, freshman baseball being one of them. He spoke about how tough this cut would be on baseball programs in the Valley which struck a nerve in Rahr to call Wright up the next day.

 

“We feel that freshman baseball is an important step in the lives of these players, playing the sport and staying active. We didn’t want to see a disturbance to this program.”

 

Wright brought all of the coaches in the Valley, minus Timberline and Boise, to a meeting at Memorial Stadium where they set up the league! For the first season the league received a grant but in 2013 they weren’t that lucky.  The games cost between two and four dollars to get in with the proceeds being fed back into the Idaho Freshman Baseball League and Hawks Nation Charity  for use of paying umpires, buying game balls, fielding equipment, etc.

 

Memorial Stadium acts as a neutral venue for the teams to play seven to eight games each. Lack of fields to play on and not being able to afford renting a venue was one reason the program was to be cut in the first place.

 

For the 2013 Master Schedule and information on joining the league for next year, visit www.froshbaseball.info.

4th Annual Blues, Brews and BBQ’s

What better way to kick off the start of summer than enjoying a BBQ with family and friends! YOUR Boise Hawks will be hosting their 4^th Annual Blues, Brews and BBQ’s event Saturday June 1 at Memorial Stadium to benefit The Idaho Humane Society. Tickets start at just $7 for admission, one soda and an ice cream or $10 for admission, a beer mug and two sample tickets. Those who choose to bring a bag of cat or dog food for The Idaho Humane Society Pet Food Pantry will receive two extra sample tickets along with their admission.  Extra sample tickets can be purchased for just $1. One ticket gets you a sample and three tickets will get you a full beer. Children three and under get in FREE!

Blues, Brews and BBQ’s is meant to act as a pet food drive to support The Idaho Humane Society. The Idaho Humane Society will have their staff and friendly pets at the event from 11AM-2PM. The animals brought to Memorial Stadium will be up for adoption that day!

As of now the event will feature seven bands from the Treasure Valley including Next in Line, Marshall Poole, Phantasmagoria, Lori B. Band, The Juke Daddy’s, and Jake Leg with The Blues Addicts headlining!

There will be six breweries open with more than twelve beers to choose from for sampling! Brewers include Payette, Grand Teton, 10 Barrel, Crooked Fence, Table Rock, and Highlands Hollow.

As for the BBQ, there will be three “Barbecue Masters,” Rolling Hawk Smokers, Idaho BBQ and Brown Shuga Soul Food!

Geno George, the master mind behind the Blues, Brews and BBQ’s event at Memorial Stadium, says there is no way, rain or shine, that the event can be a letdown.

“Just putting the three things together, the combination of Blues, Microbrews, and Pit BBQ along with family and friends makes for a great time!”

The idea came about while at an event to raise money to send his friend Pete to The Annual Jack Daniels Barbeque Cook -Off in Tennessee after winning the State BBQ Cook-Off here in Idaho. There were no bands, no brews, just food and friends. Geno said “hey, why don’t we do this on a bigger level and add in bands and Microbrews?”

Although the “brew” is a big part of the day, don’t hesitate to bring the kids! The Hawks Nest will be open with kid friendly food and beverages such as popcorn, peanuts, soft pretzels, french fries, Pepsi and iced tea. There will also be domestic beer, wine, margaritas and sangria available for the adults.

Hope to see you there!

Jeff Samardzija: Road to Wrigley

With his father, Sam Samardzija, a semi-professional hockey player, and his brother, Sam Samardzija Jr., an All State football and baseball player, former Hawk, Jeff Samardzija, had some pretty big shoes to fill. Samardzija grew up in Valparaiso, Indiana where he would become a letterman in not one but three sports, football, basketball and baseball.

Samardzija started playing baseball at the ripe age of six when just about every American boy begins tee ball. Eventually, “It becomes what you do.” While playing multiple sports in high school, Samardzija accepted an athletic scholarship to Notre Dame where he played football from 2003-2006 and baseball from 2004 to 2006. He was recognized as a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball Magazine and continued to play at Notre Dame until he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 5^th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft.

Ultimately it was the rush he got from playing baseball that made his decision between the NFL and MLB. “I woke up in the morning excited to go to the park and work hard, I knew I’d have the commitment for baseball.” One thing that always kept him going was his older brother who he was always trying to keep up with. As Samardzija put it, “It kept me on my toes.”

Looking back over his years on the road to Wrigley, the best advice he has received is something we’ve all heard before, “Just go out and have fun and enjoy doing what you do.” For Samardzija the last two years have been pretty wild. “Where I was in 2010 to where I am now is a total 180.” He is just glad to see that his hard work has paid off!

A Little Extra …

Do you have a most memorable moment in sports?

“Your first time getting called up is always pretty sweet and your first strike out is always awesome too but you always remember those times when you were a little kid too. I remember being a little guy playing 12 year old All-Stars and hitting a homerun in the top of the 6^th and then I came back and threw in the bottom of the 6^th to win the game and pitched the six innings, so doing both of those was pretty cool I’ll never forget that.”

What do you remember most about Boise?

“Well Downtown apparently, I found myself down there a lot. The stadium was great, I loved living out in Boise, I loved the outdoor scene that’s out there. I’m a big fisherman and I enjoy going camping and everything, hiking, backpacking, I fit in pretty well out there and there’s a lot to do. I drove out there from Chicago to get ready for the season so I remember that 28 hour drive from Chicago to Boise and to be able to see the sites on the way in and really take it in was a great experience to be out there and it’s by far the best city, you know, there or Vancouver.”

What are your expectations for this season?

“As a team obviously you want to make the playoffs I think that every year you start out you want to get in either through the wildcard game or winning the division and making the playoffs but making the playoffs and playing in October is the most important thing. You know you want to win a World Series and you can’t do that without making the playoffs. That’s the number one plan for me. Personally it’s just to stay healthy and throw as many innings as I can for this team as a starter. It’s a big part of being one of those guys, If you’re one of the 5 guys who needs to do your part innings wise, pitch deep in the games and give your team a chance to win.”

“Kids in the Kitchen”

The Junior League of Boise, an educational and charitable group of woman, announced a new campaign on childhoodobesity and nutrition education for this year along with the Treasure Valley Family YMCA. Junior League Boise, along with 230 other Junior Leagues, will put on various “Kids in the Kitchen” events throughout the year to educate children on the importance of eating well and staying healthy.

YOUR Boise Hawks got to join in the fun this past Saturday by helping at the West Boise YMCA “Kids in the Kitchen” event. There was free nutritional food, contests, physical activity, and mascots, which is where the Hawks came in!

Humphrey the Hawk put on a tee ball demonstration where some kids hit off of a tee while others were fielding the balls. The demonstration ended with a homerun contest with the winner taking home four tickets to a Boise Hawks game.

Towards the end of Humphrey’s time there, he was asked to join in a mascot race for the title of Boise’s Fastest Furry Critter and he won!

Can’t wait to see you all out at the ballpark! Remember, eat healthy and stay active!

Stephen Bruno: Fan Favorite

Stephen Bruno has been voted in as the face of the 2013 Boise Hawks pocket schedule! A fan favorite, Bruno had an average of .361, the league’s best in 2012, with 3 HR, 37 RBI and 2 SB. He played in 67 of the 76 games and ended the season with 51 runs. An added bonus, Bruno proved that he could play at any position asked of him.

Bruno was drafted in the 7^th round of the 2012 MLB June Amateur draft from the University of Virginia and was sent straight to Boise to begin his professional career June 20, 2012. While Bruno didn’t know what to expect of Boise, he enjoyed his time here and said that it reminded him a lot of Charlottesville, Virginia and that the people here were just as nice.

“Winning this contest is an absolute honor! Having this much fan support is truly amazing! I would like to thank everyone who voted! I feel extremely blessed!”

Since the 2012 season Bruno has been back and forth between his home in New Jersey and training in Arizona. He is currently in Arizona but will return home tomorrow. Bruno was recently invited back for the mini camp in two weeks just before Spring Training starts up for the Cubs!

Look for more on Bruno from Spring Training!