Damien Weston - I am excited about joining the Pirates for the 2010-2011 summer season. There are a lot of challenges that lie ahead for everyone, but with the right people in the right positions and some dedication from the players each and every week Preston Baseball Club will definitely be one of the more competitive teams this season. The committee has worked very hard in the off season to ensure that the club has a direction forward and the only way this can happen is if everyone gets involved and it is not just left to a few.
It was evident to me at last years Claxton Shield games held at La Trobe that the people at Preston want to get this club back to the powerhouse that it once was and for me to be asked to be part of that is something I take very seriously. Thank you for the opportunity!
Stuart Medland, Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Preston Pirates Want You!
We have a very exciting season coming up at the Pirates as we continue to build towards Division 1.At Preston over the 2010/2011 season young players in all grades have the opportunity to be playing at a high level each week, whilst getting good ‘one on one’ coaching as we focus on teaching & developing our young ball players.
Division 2 has us playing a suitable 25 game season and we are please to say that all midweek games will be played under lights at Preston, which means no trips to Altona this season.We are also making arrangements to allow our 3’s & 4’s teams to play some games under lights on a Saturday night.
Pirates training kicks off this weekend, Sunday 22 August at 10.30am and the first 3 weeks will be focusing on our hitting program which will guarantee you having a great year with the bat.
On Sunday 29 August we have the Pirate ‘Come Try Day’ starting at 10.30am.The Australian Olympic Coach & Boston Red Sox Scout Jon Deeble will once again be our special guest along with Colorado Rockies Scout Phil Allen. Both a long time Preston Pirate members and have been part of this day over the last 5+ years.Senior training will start at 12.00noon.
If you want to play and train on the best baseball field in Melbourne and feel like a Major Leaguer, come and join us at the Pirates.We want you!
If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact stuartmedland@hotmail.com
** Pre-Season Training Program**
Sunday 22 August – 10.30am to 12.30pm
Hitting and throwing program
Sunday 29 August – 12.00noon to 2.00pm
‘Come & Try Day’ for Juniors, Seniors & Ladies
Hitting and throwing program
Sunday 05 September – 10.00am to 12.00noon
Hitting and throwing program
Sunday 12 September – 10.00am to 12.00noon
Defensive plays and situations
Saturday 18 September – Pre Season Camp Weekend, Day 1
Compulsory for players playing seniors.
More details to come.
Sunday 19 September – Pre Season Camp Weekend, Day 2
More details to come.
Sunday 26 September – 10.00am to 1.00pm
Hitting, Defensive plays and situations + simulated games
Saturday 02 October – 10.30am to 12.00noon
More details to come.
Midweek training details are to be advised.
/
Grant LLEWELLYN, Tuesday, 3 August 2010
BASEBALL TRIP OF A LIFETIME to the USA
INTERESTED IN THE BASEBALL TRIP OF A LIFETIME?
BY BASEBALLERS - FOR BASEBALLERS.
Run by Pro Scouts affiliated with the
Colorado Rockies & Baltimore Orioles.
BLE tours are for boys and girls aged between 11 & 16 years (and their parents/family members) and run predominantly to the West Coast areas of the USA.Young players will learn & develop the skills it takes to play & enjoy baseball at their chosen level. Accredited coaches, many with national & international experience, provide coaching.
At all times the emphasis is on FUN, Discipline & Learning.
BLE will conduct a 13-day tour to California in the USA for players aged 12-16 assembled from your area during April of 2011
WHAT DOES THE TRIP ENTAIL?
·Play games against local youth teams from the USA.
·Local HIGHLY ACCREDITED coach on staff (often former state & national players/coaches)
·Visits to 2 Major League games with early entry on at least 1 occasion to watch Big League batting practice. Possible player visits.
·Visit LakeElsinore Minor League stadium (San Diego’s A ball club) for stadium tour & photo shoot.
·Attend LakeElsinore game as guests of LakeElsinore. Participate in on field activities (subject to availability.)
·Sight seeing to places of local & historical significance.
·Visits to attractions such as Disneyland, Universal Studios, Seaworld,
San Diego Zoo. (Usually 2 of the 4)
·Home stay billet accommodation for all players.
·Shop at the LakeElsinore Outlets & Chick’s Sporting Goods.
·And much, much more.
Cost of the trip includes accommodation for players (adults to fund own accommodation), airfares & all airport taxes, ground transportation, travel insurance, entry to all MLB games and attractions, full uniform with name & number on the back (players only), walk out Polo Shirt, Jacket & cap and all players meals.
Preston Baseball Club is pleased to announce it has signed a sponsorship deal with Wilson Sporting Goods for the 2010/2011 summer season, which will see Wilson baseballs used as the official ball of the Preston Pirates throughout the summer season.
“We are delighted to welcome Wilson as a sponsor of Preston Baseball Club, a company that has a long and proud history of support for Victorian baseball,” said Preston Baseball Club President Alex Djorgonoski.
Wilson is the world's leading manufacturer of ball sports equipment. Wilson's core sports are tennis, golf, baseball, basketball, softball, badminton, squash and American football.
Wilson is an Amer Sports Company. Amer Sports is based in Helsinki, Finland.
Amer Sports brands are among the most well-known in the world of sports. The company’s key brands are Salomon, Wilson, Precor, Atomic, Suunto, Mavic and Arc’teryx. All of these brands stand on four cornerstones: authenticity, authority, attitude, and aesthetics.
One of our young stars is off to College in the States. On 9 August, Nick Djorgonoski heads off to RiverlandCollege in Minnesota for 2 years.
I caught up with Nick during the week to ask him the tough questions ….
-Which College are you heading off to?
RiverlandCommunity college, Austin Minnesota
-What date do you leave Melbourne ?
August 9th 2010
-How many years is it for?
I will be at Riverland for 2 years
-How many flights do you take to get there?
It takes four flights to get from Melbourne to Austin MN, however i will be visiting some friends in LA and Arizona before heading to Minnesota.
-What do you know about the College and their baseball program?
The college is located in a small town in Minnesota with a population of about 23,000. The baseball team has a good program and they have made it to the college world series the last two years after winning their state and conference championships. They have four baseball fields, two of which include grandstands and full playing lights.
-What is the College mascot?
A Blue Devil
-What age did you start playing baseball?
7 years of age
-What is your best Pirates performance?
When I struck out 12 batters in one game and when I pitched a complete game while going 6 for 6.
-What is your favourite Pirates memory?
1. The complete 08/09 season, one of the best seasons all round i have had.
2.Winning the Cole Miller award and club MVP in the same year 08/09 season
-What will you miss about the club?
I pretty much grew up around the pirates and consider Preston as part of my family so i will just miss them in general.
-How long will it take to get an America girl friend?
As soon as i step foot on American soil
-Which Australian furry animal will you say you have as a pet?
Well it won't be a dingo because i know what the next phrase will be "did it eat your baby" so I'll go with the typical kangaroo.
-Who is your favourite big league player?
Francisco Rodríguez(K-ROD)
-Who is your favourite MLB team?
Arizona Diamondbacks
-Are you looking forward to getting away from mum & dad?
Yes and No
-Are you expecting a white Christmas?
Yes it snows from November but i will be back home on December 18 for Christmas.
-Are you disappointed that you don’t get Melbourne Cup Day off?
No because i get thanks giving holiday and veterans day
-What will you miss the most?
My family, friends and pets
-After your first win, do you think you will start up our “2 arms, 2 hands”?
Probably not considering i had no clue what was going on earlier this year when we won and they asked me to start the song off.
-Do you have a prepared speech for your first player of the day award?
No, if it happens I'll probably just say thanks guys good effort
-Favourite baseball movie?
Major league 1,2 and not so much 3 (number 3 sucks)
-Will you be able to drive in the States?
I will be able to however it snows way too much and i have been advised not to.
-How far away from the big league stadium are you?
i will be about 80 miles from the city of Minneapolis where the new twins stadium is built.
You can catch up with Nick before he goes away next Friday, 30 July at the STOLEBERG BEER CAFE, corner of Bell Street and Plenty Road in Prestonfor a 'Bon Voyage Party' from 7.30pm. Contact Alex for catering purposes if you are coming.
Stuart Medland, Monday, 29 March 2010
Preston Pirates Team of the Century
Preston Pirates Team of the Century - 1910 to 2010
Pitchers
Jon Deeble, Ross McKenzie, Rod Steer; Lucas van Raalte,
Greg Wharton, Graeme Williams, Robert Hamilton
Catchers
Chris Heywood, Peter Sincoe
First Base
Ken Bowe, Don Deeble
Second Base
Arthur Curwood, Mike Deeble
Third Base
Graeme Deany, Col Miller
Short Stop
John Hodges, Richard Vagg
Outfield
Phil Allen, Neville Eyre, Ken Gosstray,
Martin Legge, Ron Mack, Marshall Skinner
Coaches
Ian Deany (Head Coach), Bill Linton (Assistant), Chris Straw (Assistant)
Wow what a night we had to celebrate our 100th year.
I must admit that I didn’t think we could top our efforts when we hosted one of the Claxton shield home and away series, but we did when we did such a great job when award the important role of hosting the Claxton shield finals series. Every one did such a good job, I thought nothing would top that experience but let me tell you Saturday night was outstanding in so many ways for our club. I have not stopped receiving messages of congratulation from our members and special guests. From the minute you stepped into the foyer you new you were in for a great night. With all the large displays and the memorabilia to the catering, everything was just wonderful. The video presentations and music, which I should thank Nicholas for, were outstanding.
It is a very proud time for our club and one that will see us grow even stronger in the new season.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen so many of our group all in one location reacquainting and embracing one another. This turned out to be a great night because it was well planned and because we had good people stepping up to help make it happen.
I know that many of our members were not able to attend the gala dinner and that’s why we are planning a very special members day at the start of next season for all our juniors and seniors, past and present members. We want everyone to enjoy this great milestone and meet our club champions of the past. Stay tuned for more information as it’s going to be a fantastic event.
Congratulations to our award winners David Moloney, Andrew Pike and Ian Cross for their Ken Bowe life membership award and Sharon Fittock and Brian Sinfield for their Jean Fowler junior club person award along with Nicole Llewellyn for her Jimmy Stuart senior club person award.
You are thoroughly deserving of your awards.
Thank you and I hope to see you all in the new season.
Alex Djorgonoski.
Stuart Medland, Friday, 26 February 2010
Preston's Club Sponsor - Telechoice
We would like to thank Xander Rodrigues from ‘Telechoice’ for once again supporting the Preston Baseball Club as one of our major sponsors for the 2009/2010 summer season.
Xander is the Director of Telechoice Northcote Plaza and does a lot of work with the community in his area.So if your looking for the latest new phones, wanting to change suppliers, wanting to change to a different plan, wanting to consolidate your home phone, mobile phone, internet account to the one supplier or if you are just after great honest service without being taken for a ride, go and see Xander at Northcote Plaza and let him know your from the Preston Baseball Club.
If you can’t visit him at Northcote, there are Telechoice stores at Greensborough, Epping, Northland.Just let them know Xander sent you!
Stuart Medland, Sunday, 24 January 2010
Preston Pirates Ladies Team
Now is the time to sign up for the 2010/2011 summer season as we look to have 5 senior teams and to create a Ladies team. If you are interested in joining the Pirates Ladies team or wish to enquire, please email your details to prestonbaseballclub@hotmail.com
We have the best playing facilities in Melbourne and we are going to take full advantage of the ground by having midweek games & Saturday night games for all grades including our new Ladies team.
