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COUGARS
HOST
CONCESSIONS FOR LBA TOURNAMENT
Boosters Raise Money Through Four-Day Tourney Concession Event

Rick Sather and Jeannie Watts in the Cougar
baseball concession stand.
For the second weekend in a row the Cougar Baseball Boosters
were back at it again running concessions for another baseball
tournament, this time for the LBA in-house 8th/9th grade and the
10th/11th grade levels. A last minute call a few days before
made the request and the alumni baseball boosters sprang into
action, hurriedly buying supplies and making preparations for
the event. Not only has South baseball handled concessions for
the last two tourneys, but the men have played an integral
role in helping with the grounds crew.
Special thanks to Rick Sather and Jeannie Watts
for the four day effort. They worked an incredible amount of
hours for all four days and pretty much lived at South for the
tournament. Thanks also to Tracy Cervenka, Wendy Schultz, and
Gail Schumacher who helped out for awhile on Thursday night,
and thanks to Rich Byers who did the same on Friday. It was
another great effort from South families and added to the
Cougar field fund. Thanks for the outstanding effort gang! It
is sincerely appreciated.
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We
Thank Our Wonderful Tournament Supporters |
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Ruth Castillo
and Jon Schroeder
from the Lakeville
Burger King for helping us out with the ice for the
coolers and cold drink for the event. Very much
appreciated guys!
17395 Kenwood Trail - 952-435-8155 |
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Ken Kooyer and
his outstanding staff for providing the savory early
morning coffee. Ken and crew are always there for Cougar
baseball. You guys are totally awesome!
17740 Kenwood Trail -952-898-1373 |
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Nicole Anderson and the gang at
Green Mill Restaurant for the always delicious pizza. Another
great business always there for us. Thanks very much you guys
for the help!
17733 Kenwood Trail -
952-435-8100 |
COUGARS
HANDLE STATE TOURNEY CONCESSIONS
Baseball Raises Money With Concessions For MBT State Tourney

Jeannie Watts and Corey Kennedy in the Cougar
baseball concession stand.
The Cougar Baseball Boosters were
at it again, running the
concessions for the MBT 14-15 state baseball
tourney held at Lakeville South. Between the deluge of rain on
Friday and the broiling heat and humidity of Saturday and
Sunday, it was an arduous event to work, but it certainly
helped add to the growing field needs fund. Special thanks to
Corey Kennedy and Jeannie Watts for the effort, along with
Carol Mertz, Tracy and Tim Cervenka, Tamera Wimbley and
Shellie Soleta. Great job guys!
COUGARS TACKLE HUGE LSC SOCCER
TOURNEY
Team Awarded Contract To Handle Concessions As
Baseball Fundraiser

The main stand featured a large tent with
tables, music and lots of great food.
The alumni Cougar
Baseball Boosters went on
the prowl for money to help fund the school baseball team and
to achieve infrastructure needs for the Cougar baseball fields.
Due to their past success, they secured the contract for the Lakeville
Soccer Club Pan-O-Prog tournament, an enormous event involving
four states and 225 teams, 75 of which were located on ten fields
at Lakeville South.
The Lakeville Soccer Club awarded the alumni baseball boosters with their third exclusive
concessions contract for the huge LSC soccer tournament, which
was held the weekend
of June 17-19.
The Cougar Baseball Boosters ran this
twice in the past and have always done very well in organizing and executing this
huge
concessions event. Normally they have had six months to a year
to plan for this, but never have they done it within the
insane three week timeframe that this year's event was
literally accomplished under. It was, without a doubt,
an undeniably and outrageous daunting effort to go after this
contract with so little time to pull the event off. Not only
did the group pull it off, they did it with even more flare,
with more amenities, and
a larger menu than in years past. It was an incredible job
well done by a very focused team.

The main food dining tent was a great addition
to this year's event.
(Read more...)
COUGARS
THANK VALUABLE TOURNEY SPONSORS
Baseball Team Gets Help With
Soccer Tourney Concessions Fundraiser
Cougar baseball would like to thank
the following extremely generous sponsors for making our concessions
event for the Pan-O-Prog soccer tourney a huge fundraising
success. We could not possibly have raised the money that we
did without these valuable corporate sponsors. In a cash poor
District 194, none of what we do is possible without the
benevolent support from caring businesses such as these. We
literally could not have put this event together without their
help. It's just not possible, at least as a fundraiser. The
alumni Cougar baseball boosters are totally indebted to these
outstanding people and their businesses for their generous contributions. We hope that
our South families will show their thanks as well by
supporting these wonderful sponsors of Cougar baseball.
We wish to publicly thank the following people and businesses:
(Read
more on tourney concessions page...)
OUR HIGHLY VALUED SPONSORS
Please click
on the ad to go the the website
























Thank you guys for all of your
wonderful support!
BUILDING A WINNING PROGRAM FOR SOUTH
Cougar
Families Are The Engine To Realize Infrastructure Needs
Op/Ed by Tim Watts
The Cougar Baseball Boosters' long envisioned
plans for South Cougar Field are getting dusted off and are
finally back on the drawing board. There are many field needs
that the original baseball boosters were working on, such as a
much needed water tap to take care of the expensive clay
mound, and also to water down the infield ag-lime on dry dusty
days.
Another must have item is a full wrap-around
warning track. This is a safety issue for the outfielders that
is long overdue. In the past, players have been injured by
crashing into the steel poles because they had no warning that
they were near the fence as they tracked fly-balls on a dead
run. Anytime you play with an unpadded, non-forgiving fence,
you must have a warning track.
Removal of the bullpens from the field is
another safety issue for fleet outfielders who can trip over
the mounds and pitching rubbers. A proposal has been made for
new, fenced off-field bullpens, planned behind the 1st base
dugout and next to the fence by the 3rd base dugout.
Opening up the batting cages by removing the
unnecessary middle fence is another improvement that makes it
easier to access both cages without the need for two separate
gates.
Building a dedicated fenced area for the Big
Bubba portable batting shell, one that is open to the
outfield, is another much needed improvement for the field.
The current gate isn't even large enough to get this expensive
tool onto the field without torquing and twisting it, causing
unnecessary damage.

Click on the image for a larger picture.
A cosmetic need that would be scheduled behind
these more necessary items is the purchase of a green outfield
fence screen, like the ones used at Alimagnet Fields in
Burnsville. It would give Cougar Field a professional look, as
well as the class that we all expect for South.
Larger collegiate-style bleachers, encased with
beautiful brick on the back and both sides, is also a later
plan for down the road, as the team is able to fundraise to
meet this larger more expensive goal. This is a must for
successful tournaments.

Collegiate-style bleachers would offset both
sides of the press box.
Dugout concrete floors for fields 2, 3, and 4
is also sorely needed, as well as a formal chain-link
structure and tin roofing.
All of these needs are affordable and easily
achievable when good altruistic baseball parents are able to
realize the long-term vision for the facility, and can come
together to help fundraise to meet these goals for the field
that their sons will play on. Many other nearby communities,
such as Burnsville, Eagan and Eden Prairie, have already
achieved such needs with their fields, but a hamstrung
District 194 is unable to compete due to short-sided voters
who have continually voted down referendums to fund our
schools.
This voter myopia leaves much needed projects
such as these up to the baseball program, and those willing to
roll up their sleeves and work for something great for the
kids of Lakeville.
Sadly, many of these projects would have been
realized long ago through the original Cougar Baseball
Boosters, a benevolent organization that had painstakingly put
into place a number of fundraisers that would annually feed
$12,000 into the program, but the school and others asked that
the group be disbanded in favor of LSBA. As a result, these
projects were soon discarded, as well as $36,000 in set
revenue over the last three years, guaranteed money that would
have easily made many of these needs a reality by now.
- Spaghetti dinner $1,800
- Pancake breakfast $1,200
- Soccer tournament concessions $4,000
- Pan-O-Prog booth $4,000 to $5,000+
- City of Lakeville fireworks concessions
$700
These revenue mechanisms were previously in
place and under contract to the Cougar Baseball Boosters,
until the group was forced to disband. Please hear me out.
This is not meant to be critical as much as it is a factual
historical accounting of what had already been done here in
the past, as well as an indicator of what can be done,
but only if parents are willing to work to help our kids and
the South baseball program.
It is not the school's fault that the voters of
Lakeville refuse to vote for referendums that would adequately
fund our district. Likewise, LSBA cannot be expected to
achieve these goals either as it struggles annually to make
summer baseball affordable for the kids. This is why a
separate baseball booster club is still a viable alternative
to meeting the needs of South baseball.
There can exist two groups, with
one goal in mind. It happened before and it is
possible again, if parents are willing to selflessly embrace
the dream with good faith, and with a passionate determination
to reach for something better for the kids of South.
The beautiful press box and concession stand is
a testament and tribute to what can be achieved by parents who
saw that vision and worked extremely hard to achieve it.
I must digress for a moment though, because I
am greatly disturbed and disappointed when I hear parents
blustering that they will do nothing for this program until
they personally hear that the new coach and staff will do
things their way, or make guarantees to them regarding the
direction of the program or its fundraising. That just isn't a
fair. It's a new program that has only been here for barely a
year. I would simply ask all to be open-minded and extend some
courtesy to the new staff and give them the benefit of the
doubt. As a new program, they at least deserve that much.
We are damn lucky to have such a highly
regarded head coach, and an extremely talented coaching
staff. I can assure any doubters, this coach and his
staff are here to win. Your sons will be better
ballplayers and be ready to reach the next level if and when
they decide to play in college. That is not to diminish the
resolve of the previous coach, because his heart was in the
right place as well. The indisputable truth is... Coach
Iverson and his staff are proven winners that want
your kids to succeed on and off the field.
Fortunately the new Coach Iverson program has
dedicated itself to not only improving the level of play for
Lakeville South, but also the facilities that the kids will
play on. While many schools already enjoy the field amenities
as described above, South players have been forced to go
without for six years now. The South Cougar kids deserve these
necessary improvements as much as any other school district,
but with funding sorely lacking here in Lakeville, there is no
way that these needs can become a reality in the current
economic environment, unless dedicated booster parents are
willing to take the proverbial bull by the horns and step up
to the plate with fundraising projects to help our kids.
Foresight, planning, hard work and perseverance
are the keys to bringing these projects to fruition for
Lakeville South. These fundraisers could very easily be called
"fun-raisers," because those who have worked them in
the past will tell you that they truly enjoyed the social
camaraderie that helped us to build a South family. At
one time, South baseball and its boosters were the envied
model of the conference, helping spark similar groups in
neighboring communities throughout the conference and beyond.
While those groups now flourish, South languishes behind with
unfulfilled dreams.
We can have that family network back again.
Past families will tell you that they still hold fond memories
for the get-togethers and fundraisers that we all worked at
together, all for the sake of our kids. It was fun to come
together and mingle, having fun as we worked side by side, or
ate together at team dinners and breakfasts. These events gave
us a united purpose, one that was fostered through a shared
goal that we all believed in, making South baseball as good
as it could be.
This much I can tell you as fact, four years
goes by too fast folks. We need to make the most of it
together while we can.
Whenever you come to the South field and see
the press box and concession stand, understand that it was the
passion of families before you that worked hard to bring
something good for our kids and for the future of Cougar
baseball. We did it as a team, by working together on
fundraisers. To paraphrase a famous well known historic
saying, they had a dream.
This may very well sound hokey to some, but to
this person, it is a fire that runs through my veins, and I
know it does with others here as well, most especially with
our new coaches.
I have seen many families come and go here
since this school opened. I don't have a proverbial dog in
this show. I'm here for one reason, to see South become a
winning baseball school. God willing, I pray I will still be
here when I am 75. In our house baseball is king. If you've
never felt the emotional tug from listening to
James Earl Jones' speech in
Field of Dreams, maybe you don't share that same feeling.
It is a speech that says everything for me and many others as
well. It's truly hard to keep a dry eye when you listen as he
recounts how baseball is the one constant in America
throughout the years.
Baseball for South needs that passion. It
will have it again. It doesn't just come from the coaches
and players, it comes from united families with a common
purpose. South families were the engine that helped us
before. We desperately need that resolve and commitment once
again.
A renewed baseball booster group, along with
dedicated South families, and an equally committed LSBA, all
working in unison and trust with our coaches, can resurrect a
passion that once began to build here before - the desire
to be the best that we can be.
It's simply called Cougar pride and a
love for all things baseball.
Let the next generation of passionate dreamers
and achievers begin.
NEW PRESSBOX / CONCESSION STAND
OPENS
Long Awaited
Cougar Baseball Facility Greets New Coach Iverson Era

The new Lakeville South facility is valued at
$47,000 with labor and materials.
The long awaited
Cougar Baseball Boosters press box facility is now open. After
over three years of planning and setbacks, one year of
building, and one year of finish and touch up, the project is
for all intents and purposes complete, save for a little
ceiling trim molding, and some minor tile floor grout
clean-up.
With the help of
over 30 benevolent businesses, the boosters were blessed with
invaluable and generous donations, as well as great support in
bringing this much needed project to fruition for the
Lakeville South baseball program.
The project was to be
finished during the winter of 2009-2010, but a request was made by the school
asking if all work could wait until the spring melt, due to the plowing issues in opening the
road. The alumni boosters were forced to abide by the school's wishes.
The road to the project is not part of their normal duties and
the school couldn't plow it.
Unfortunately Spring was the
start of the busy season for contractors, so this in effect
caused major scheduling issues for the project's completion.
Due to the ever worsening economy, the finish contractors were
forced to leave the project in an effort to save their own
businesses. The baseball boosters
were disbanded by the school, so the finish work was left to a
skeleton crew of one. We
are deeply sorry for the perceived
inconvenience for those waiting to see the new facility in
operation. An unfortunate disinformation effort arose from a
few individuals who tainted the good efforts put forth by
those still working to bring about the completion of the
project. We
sincerely hope that parents now understand the reasons for the
project's untimely delay. This project was a
volunteer effort from start to finish by professionals and
booster members, with both committed to
giving the school the best possible work for free.
This project
was made entirely possible by volunteer contractors in
a historic down economy. The boosters
thank all of our wonderful donators and supporters for their
tremendous help and partnership in this project. We sincerely
thank them for
sticking with us and for honoring their invaluable
contributions, despite the economic hardship for all. These
companies all have their hearts in the right place and should
be forever recognized for their contribution to LSHS and the
South baseball program.
See the project
chronology at this page: Day By Day
Work
SAINTS
ACADEMY
OFFERS OFF-SEASON BASEBALL
Development
League Hones Player Skills, Provides top Instruction

The
Saints Sports Academy is now offering an off-season
baseball skills program geared for development of players with
a desire to reach the next level.
As a member of the Saints Developmental Baseball Team,
athletes will be expected to participate in weekly two hour
practices starting mid-August through February. This will
total 18-25 practices. Practices will not be scheduled for
holiday or school break weeks. Team members will receive
highly-qualified instruction from St. Paul Saints Manager
George Tsamis plus current and former Saints players and
coaches. Athletes will leran proper techniques in hitting,
fielding (infield and outfield), throwing, pitching, and
catching. Along with position-specific training, athletes will
have weight training (ages 14-18) and plyometric agility &
quickness training (all ages).
Each team will participate in a Fall League, which runs for
five weeks, from September through October, with doubleheaders
on Sundays. Out of state tournaments are also available.
More
info can be found here
Download PDF files:
Cover |
Program Brochure
SAINTS
ACADEMY
PARTNERS WITH USA BASEBALL
Sponsoring National Team Identification Series For 17U Players
The
St. Paul
Saints Sports Academy in Lakeville is pleased to announce that they have
partnered with USA Baseball and its National Team
Identification Series to provide 13 and under (13U), 15 and
under (15U) and 17 and under (17U) baseball players in
Minnesota the opportunity to make it’s teams.
Team USA
has long helped develop and produce many of the players you
now see in the Major Leagues. Players that have been selected
have enjoyed the national exposure it brings and the doors it
opens collegiately and professionally.
Tryouts for the National Team Identification
Series Teams will be held Friday, August 5 and Saturday,
August 6. Both days will be held at Midway Stadium in St.
Paul. Cost $195.
All registrations are handled online. For general questions or
for more information, please contact the Great Lakes Regional
Director at info@greatlakesntis.com or 847-781-8039. To view
the flier as a PDF,
click here. For
more info, and to register, visit
www.greatlakesntis.com.
Don't Forget Saints Academy Baseball Camps

Call for more info 985-5949


NEW FACILITY RECEIVES NEW CUSTOM
SIGN
New Sign Will
Commemorate The Beginning of Cougar Baseball
One of the awaited new pieces for the baseball press box
facility will be the addition of a new sign to adorn the
building and also commemorate the beginning of South Cougar
Baseball and its first season in 2006. Dan Gust of ActionPlus
Signs in Apple Valley has been kind enough to donate his time
and services to produce a sign designed by the alumni baseball
boosters which will hang on the North face of the press box
and be visible to all who come to the field. Many thanks to
Dan and the folks at ActionPlus Signs for the beautiful
donation to the new facility.

CONCESSION STAND
PROJECT HAD THREE REVISIONS
Site Restrictions Became Problematic For Booster Plans
The 2006-2008 Cougar Baseball Boosters fought
through many setbacks in bringing the new concession stand /
press box to LSHS and the baseball program. Site restrictions
due to water lines forced the plans through three revisions.
Originally planned as a single story facility with a covered
patio, the final plan ended up actually being the best, as the
building plans had a much needed press box added to the
project. This added a significant cost increase due to the new
building material needs, but all in all, the program received
the best facility in the end. The final plan can be seen
below.

Plan # 3 - final
version, a two story
facility with concession stand and press box.
The photo below shows the very start of it all, a painted
outline on the asphalt which marks the site of the new
concession stand and press box facility, a much needed field
amenity and revenue mechanism for the Cougar baseball program.

Painted outline shows new
press box location. (click on picture)
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