Playoff Bracket Now Final

Hi Team,

Our first game is this Saturday, 3:00 at Southbridge. Please be there by 2:20.

If we win, we play Sunday, 3:00 at HR Falcon #2.

If we lose, we play Sunday, 9:00 at HR Falcon #2. If we win this game we play again on Sunday at 1:00 same field.

If you would like to see the entire bracket, please go to the AYL home page. It is listed there under my name.

Please let us know if you have any questions. See you Thursday for practice.

Thanks

Practice week of June 11th

Hi Team,

Nice games this weekend! So close again. Remember our new victory cry, "One More Inning!". This week we have two practices.  On Tuesday and Thursday, 6:00 at Homestead. Let's tune up for the playoffs. Once we have the playoff bracket/information, we will get it out to you.

Dave and I want to thank you for the Sports Authority gift cards. We appreciate the thought and generosity. We have really enjoyed being with your boys this season. They have truly been a pleasure to be around.

Thanks

Dave and Merrick

Playoff Update

Hi Team,

We just received word that we should have the playoff schedule and bracket by Tuesday, June 12th. The playoffs could start as early as June 13th. Additionally, the playoffs will be a double elimination tournament. Once we have the specifics we will get them out to you.

See you this Saturday at 10:30.

Thanks
Merrick

Practice week of June 4th

Hi Team,

We will only have the opportunity for one practice this week. Many conflicts with games, which continues the challenge of getting us a field. We will have practice tomorrow, Tuesday June 5th at Homestead at 6:00.

Nice games this past weekend! See you tomorrow!

Thanks
Merrick

Let's Play Ball!

Hi Team - Here is the info for the games this weekend
Today - 3pm vs. Warrior Black at Dupont Field, please be there by 2:30
Snack: Wilson

Directions: 8020 Main Street,
Louviers,CO 80125https://maps.google.com/maps?q=8020+Main+Street,Louviers,CO+80125 Sunday - 12:00 pm vs. Hawk Silver at Homestead #1, please be there by 11:30 Snack: Ladow

Thursday Thunder Scrimmage On!

Hi Team,

Nice practice tonight. Exciting news! The Thunder coach has confirmed that they will be able to play this Thursday. So please plan on wearing full uniform for the game.

See you Thursday at 5:30, Village Greens #8.

Thanks
Merrick

Practice week of 5/28

Hi Team,

I hope everyone has had a great Memorial Day Weekend. We will have practice Tuesday and Thursday at Village Greens #8 at 5:30. We are still trying to get a scrimmage for this Thursday with the Thunder. We will keep everyone posted. Either way, we will have practice.

See you tomorrow!

Thanks
Merrick

Practice week of 5/21, Scrimmage and a Six Year Olds Triple Play

Hi Team,

Both our practices this week are back to Tuesday and Thursday at Village Greens #8, 5:30.

For our Thursday practice, we have a scrimmage scheduled. We are completely good with us not wearing our uniforms. But it's up to you. Please try to be there on time, 5:30.

Lastly, please take the time to show this next clip to our players. This just shows no matter the age, as long as you know what to do with the ball before it's hit to you, anything is possible. Please enjoy!

Six-year old makes unassisted triple play

Six-year-old Ross Bernath from Sandy Springs, Georgia impressed his family and teammates by pulling off an unassisted triple play.

 http://video.nbcsports.msnbc.com/nbc-sports/47374690

We hope everyone had a great weekend. See you tomorrow at 5:30!

Thanks
Merrick

Practice week of May 14th

Hi Team,

Our practice times and fields are the same as last week. Tomorrow we are at Homestead at 6:00 and Thursday we are at Village Greens at 5:30.

Update on the AYL game. Dave has confirmed that he is planning on going, so he is able to take the kids on the field if we have enough interested team members. Please let us know tomorrow.

We hope you had a great weekend! See you tomorrow!

Thanks

Merrick

AYL Night at Coors Field

Hi Team,

We just received a reminder that money and forms are due by this Thursday for this years AYL Rockies game. The game is June 1st against the Dodgers. If you are interested in attending the game, the order form is on the AYL website. I am unable to attend the game, yet if we have enough interested people that would like to attend we will only need one parent that could take the kids around the field for the parade. Our boys will need to wear their jersey top and hat.

The check needs to be made out to Creek baseball and I can get them from you on Thursday so they can be turned in. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks
Merrick

Game is on Today, 5/12

Hi Team,

We just double checked the AYL sight and our 9:00 game is still on. We will see you at 8:30!

Thanks

Practice Tomorrow, May 8th. And further practice info.

Hi Team,

We found out from Creek baseball the time has finally come that practice fields and times will become challenging. Due to field permits and conflicts with summer leagues, our practice times and/or days could change by the week during the second half of the season. As mentioned at the beginning of the year, thank you for your understanding and flexibility. 

Tomorrow (As long as the field is dry), we will be practicing at Homestead from 6:00-7:30. Thursday, will be the usual place and time (Village Greens 5:30).

We should be getting the information for the upcoming weeks practices by Monday mornings. Once we have that information, I will pass that along.

Thanks again. See you tomorrow.

Merrick

Sun 5/6 Game

Hi Team - Please be dressed and ready to warm up by 1:30 for our 2:00 game today at Homestead Elementary. Today's snack - Robles See you in a few hours!

Game Tomorrow 4/28: Please be there by 12:15

Hi Team,

We didn't get a chance to talk with all of you after practice last night.  Please have the boys at the field 45 minutes before game time tomorrow.

We had a good week of practice and we look forward carrying that momentum into this weekends games!

See you tomorrow!

Thanks
Merrick

Pictures!

Please enjoy some pictures of today's game on the website by clicking on the following link: http://cherrycreekbaseball.blogspot.com/p/photos.html

Game Tomorrow at 5:30

Hi Team,

Just a reminder we have a game tomorrow night and no game on Saturday. We are at Challenger out in Parker with a 5:30 start. I know traffic could be challenging, yet if you can please have the boys there by 5:00 if possible. If not, we understand.

We had a very good practice today. Switched up some bats, played an inner squad practice and watched EVERYONE make contact and/or get hits!

We look forward towards the game tomorrow!

Thanks
Merrick

As of 11:00 Today's Game is On!

Hi Team,

As of right now our game is on today (4/15) at 2:00. Please plan on being there between 1:30-1:40.

See you later.

Thanks
Merrick

Snack Schedule

I created a schedule for drinks and a somewhat healthy snack for the boys after each game. Please mark your calendar for your assigned date. If you know you are going to miss a game or your date doesn't work for you, please find a family to trade with.

Thank you.
Megan

Sat. April 14 - Adams
Sun. April 15 - Fleischner
Fri. April 20 - Georg
Sun. April 22 - Herrick
Sat. April 28 - Park
Sun. April 29 - Pingree
Sat. May 5 - Postregna
Sun. May 6 - Robles
Sat. May 12 - Stout
Sat. June 2 - Wilson
Sun. June 3 - Ladow
Sat. June 9 - Adams
Sun. June 10 - Fleischner

Jackets

Hi Team I've got good news and bad news... The jackets are in and I picked them up yesterday. Unfortunately, they are very small - more like traditional sizes. I spoke with the manager in Team Sports and he is going to help us make this right as quickly as possible. I have the youth medium jackets and will bring them to practice to show you the size. We are going to order Garret a youth large, where we originally ordered a small with the other sizing. I know this is frustrating and taking longer than expected, but the manager promised me he would have them back early next week. Please let me know tonight at practice what size you would like and I will turn the order in first thing tomorrow. If you can't make it to practice, please send me an email confirming the size you would like. Thank you for your patience. Megan megmadams@gmail.com

First Game, Birth Certificates and Game Stats

Hi Team,

Thank you again for having all of our boys at the scrimmage today. It was great to see the comeback by the team and more importantly the fun they were having doing it. I am very proud of them and I feel this was a great way to enter the start of the season.

Our first game is at Dry Creek on Saturday at 11:00. Please have the team there by 10:20. That way we can get them warmed up for the season opener!

Thank you for those who were able to bring me copies of your birth certificates tonight. If you haven't, please remember to bring them to the game on Saturday morning. We will need them before the game starts.

If you haven't already, Brendan has the team's stat page and news article up on the blog for our pre-season games. It's pretty cool that we will have this during the season. We finished the exhibition season 1-1. Enjoy! (Thanks for doing this for us Brendan.)

See you on Saturday.

Thanks
Merrick

Birth Certificates

Hi Team,

Please remember to provide me a copy of your son's birth certificate. I will need this before the start of our first game on Saturday. If you can't bring one today, it's not a problem. But please ensure you bring it Saturday morning. If you would like them back at the end of season, just please let me know.

If you have any questions please let me know. See you tonight.

Thanks
Merrick

Reminder: Scrimmage Tomorrow, 5:30

Hi Team,

Please remember that we have our second scrimmage tomorrow at Village Greens #8. We are completely good if you prefer not to wear your uniforms tomorrow. Since if we have our first game of the year on Saturday,  figured we would save some time on the washing. ;)

If you will not be able to attend, please let me know.

See you tomorrow.

Thanks
Merrick

No Practice Today

As you may have guessed, the fields are closed today due to snow. See you Thursday!

No Practice, Thursday March 29th

Hi Team,

Please enjoy the five day rest before our next practice. I am still waiting to confirm day/times/fields for next week. I am hoping everything remains the same. If so, we will practice 5:30 on Tuesday and will have one last scrimmage on Thursday at 5:30.

I will not be at the next practice, yet Dave and Kris (Thanks Guys) will be there and they will use this practice to focus primarily on hitting. I will be back in town for the scrimmage.

I hope everyone enjoys the rest of Spring Break!

Thanks
Merrick

Sorry everyone. 5:30 tomorrow!

Practice in on Tomorrow, Tuesday!

Hi Team,

It looks like we have enough for practice tomorrow. If I haven't heard from you, please let me know either way if you will be able to make practice tomorrow and/or Thursday.

See you at 5:00 at Village Greens #8.

Thanks
Merrick

Practice This Week, Another Scrimmage and Finally the Regular Season Begins!

Hi Team,

Thank you for coming out to the scrimmage Saturday. I hope everyone had a fun time out there. I feel it was great practice to get the butterflies out of the boys stomach, allow the kids to try different positions and overall get us thinking about game situations. We have a lot of positive things that our team will be able to build on as we get closer to the regular season opener!

Practice this week will be the same as past weeks. Tuesday and Thursday, 5:30 at Village Greens #8. It does sound like we will be a little light to hold a practice this Tuesday, yet could have enough for this Thursday. Would you please let us know by 6:00, tomorrow night if you can be at both or at least one practice. Once we have that information, I will send out an email to the team. Thank you.

We will have another scrimmage against the Creek AA team on Thursday, April 5th at 5:30. This will replace our practice for that day. Once we have the field locked down, we will let you know. I know our boys and us coaches :) are already looking forward to a friendly rematch against our brother Creek team.

The season schedule is now available. The schedule that is on the AYL website is current. It also includes the preliminary dates for the start of the playoffs. You can find this by filtering on the site for the 9 year old AA Teams and looking up my last name (Makowka). Additionally, to make it easier we had Brendan add our schedule to the calendar on our blog site. (Thanks Brendan!) If any changes are made to the schedule, the AYL will notify us. Additionally, I will have some hard copies of the schedule if you need one.

Our season opener will be on Saturday, April 7th. It's a home game at 11:00. Our home games will be played at Dry Creek, Willow Creek and Homestead Elementary Schools. Our away games will be in Parker, Castle Rock, Littleton, Louviers and southeast Denver.

I hope everyone enjoys the time off during Spring Break!

Thanks
Merrick

Scrimmage Reminder Tomorrow, Sat March 24th

Hi Team,

We have had a great three weeks of practice and I look forward to our scrimmage game tomorrow. Please remember to be at Village Greens #8 at 10:45 tomorrow. Also, please plan on wearing your full uniform and cup.

See you guys tomorrow!

Thanks
Merrick

Windbreaker Final Order Reminder

Just a reminder... if you would like a team windbreaker, please bring your check to tomorrow's practice made out to Megan Adams and we will place the order for you on Friday. They are $37.25 and $38.25 for adults based on an order of 11 or less. If we happen to get 12 or more, we can realize the bulk discount and we will return the savings to you ASAP along with your receipt. Thanks!

Team Batting Windbreakers

Hello everyone. The final numbers are in on the jackets. They are $37.25 and $38.25 for adults based on an order of 11 or less. If we happen to get 12 or more, we can realize the bulk discount. I know these are getting expensive, but if you are still interested, please bring your check to tomorrow or Thursday's practice made out to Megan Adams and we will place the order for you on Friday. if we get more than 12, we will return the savings to you ASAP along with your receipt.

Practice Week of March 19th

Hi Team,


We will continue practice this week on Tuesday and Thursday at Village Greens #8. Our practice time will continue to be 5:30-7:00.


Also if you haven't already, please let us know by Tuesday if you will be able to play in the scrimmage game this Saturday, the 24th at 11:00. We need to get back to the other team to confirm that we have enough.
I hope you had a great weekend. See you Tuesday!

Thanks
Merrick
720-936-2700

Scrimmage Game: March 24th

Hi Team,

The boys are looking good and doing more every practice. As we get closer to the start of the regular season, we are hoping to get in two scrimmage games. I was able to coordinate a field and set up a game with the other Creek 9yr old AA team for Saturday, March 24th from 11:00-1:00. The game will be played at our practice field, Village Greens #8.

Please let us know if you will be able to make it for the game by this Thursday, March 15th.

It will be fun going against our other Creek team!

Thanks
Merrick

Warm-up Jackets and Long Sleeve Shirt Color

In lieu of another Creek Sports cotton hoodie, we have selected an Alleson brand hitting jacket (nylon pull over windbreaker) in royal blue for the team this season. This ought to come in handy for those chilly, windy days of Spring. They will run about $32.50 per jacket for the players and $33.50 for adults including tax and shipping if we have 12 or more orders. The sizing runs a little big, so we will have two samples (a different style, for sizing only) to try on at practice on Tuesday. We will silk screen the "CC" logo on the left side of the chest and embroider the number on the back of the neck. http://baseball.epicsports.com/prod/21863/alleson-3j10y-youth-baseball-batters-jackets.html

These are completely optional, however, it will take about two weeks to get our order so we would like to place this by the end of the week. Please respond to this post as soon as you can so that we can understand quantities and place an order. 

On another note - as a part of the uniform on colder days - please make sure your son has a RED long sleeve athletic under shirt. There are several options at Sports Authority on County Line (if you are grabbing other uniform items) or any other sporting goods store. Thanks!

Practice week of March 12th

Hi Team,

Sorry for the delay getting this information to you, yet unfortunately I still haven't heard for the Creek office about practice this week. So since I haven't heard, we will continue practice for Tuesday and Thursday at Village Greens #8. The only change will be the time. We will practice 5:30-7:00.

I hope you had a great weekend. See you Tuesday!

Thanks
Merrick
720-936-2700

Practice week is here! Week of March 5th.

Hi Team,

So far, so good. It looks like the weather forecast is in our favor this week. We will have our first week of practice starting on Tuesday, March 6th. We have practice at 5:00 until dark on Tuesday and Thursday at Village Greens field #8. We also still have Slammers reserved for 5:30 to 7:00 on Wednesday. As of right now, I believe I have heard from everyone regarding Wednesday and it's a go. If we decide on Tuesday, we don't want to do the extra practice I am good with that as well.

I hope everyone had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday.

Thanks
Merrick

Mother Nature looks like could prevail. No practice today.

Hi Team,

I just checked the forecast for today, and it sounds like the snow could be rolling in faster than originally expected. The news is saying potentially beginning at 1:00 to 2:30. So we will not have practice today. Thank you to everyone who has responded to us.

So far it sounds like Slammers is in. We still haven't heard from everyone, so please let us know if you are good with next Wednesday.

I will reach out to everyone over the weekend on our exact practice schedule for the upcoming week.

I look forward to meeting everyone next week!

Thanks
Merrick

Updates on uni's, practice and bats...Oh, my!

Hi Team,

I hope everyone is getting excited as much as I am about the start of the season. We have some updates around practices and uniforms;

Practice Information: As previously mentioned, March will be challenging for practices due to field conflicts and bad weather. So it sounds like it will be week to week information on times and days. Thank you again for your patience and flexibility. We received word late yesterday that we could have practice tomorrow at 5:00 at Village Greens Field #8. I know it's last minute and I am already aware of a few kids that can't make it. Please respond letting us know if we have enough to try for practice tomorrow. No worries if we don't. As we will have the ability to meet 3 to 4 times next week if we want to. (Of course depending on weather.) Practice will be Monday or Tuesday and Thursday next week at Village Greens and additionally I can ask for time for us next weekend. (I should know more about next weeks days hopefully by the end of this week.)
     Slammers: We also was able to reserve two tunnels for us next Wednesday from 5:30-7:00 at a cost of appx $75. Please let me know if this is something that the team would like to do and split the costs across 11 families. By having this scheduled, this guarantees us at least one practice that won't be cancelled due to weather. :)

Uniforms: Thank you all for the input on the pants, socks and belt. We are going to go with white pants and the blue socks/belt. Additionally, I also found out that their is a good chance Creek could be going back to classic full uniforms next year. By sticking with white, will save several of us from buying a pair of gray/blue strip pants that would only be used potentially for one year.

A couple of other odds and ends. I forgot to mentioned that all of our boys will need to play with a cup. If they don't already have one, they do sell youth sizes at the team sales store (In Sports Authority County Line Road) where you buy the jerseys and hats. Also, I am still trying to get clarification around the new bat rule for the league. I have received conflicting information if at 9 years old we would need to worry about the sticker. As of right now, our old bats should work but I will share more once I have it.

Please remember to respond letting us know about practice tomorrow and Slammers for next Wednesday.

MLB Spring Training games are ready to begin this weekend and practice is upon our Creek boys 9 year old AA team!!!!! Baseball is finally here....

Play ball!

Thanks
Merrick
720-936-2700

Our baseball season is upon us! Info to get us started.

Hi Team,

I can't believe it. Pitchers and Catchers reported this week for MLB; sweet music for any baseball fans ears! Which also means it's time to get excited for this years Bruins baseball season as well.

Hot off the presses, fresh from this years annual coaches meeting. I wanted to pass on some information to you around uniforms, practices, games, birth certificates and next steps;

     Uniforms: The league decided to leave the uniforms the same as last year. So individuals that have their uniforms from last season, they will remain the same colors and hat. (Blue jersey with the red CC).  We also need to make a choice of pants, socks and belt color. We need to decide if we want white pants or gray with a blue strip pants. And we need to decide if we want to go with blue or red socks/belt. I am good with going with what the team had last year or what the majority chooses. Please let me know what the team prefers by Tuesday the 22nd if possible? For us newer members to the team, you purchase your jersey at Sports Authority on County Line Road in the Team Sales office of the store. The cost of the jersey is $25 (which includes a number) and the hat is $12. Not sure of the cost of the pants, socks and belt, but I am sure that will be in the $20-$30 range. Once we confirm the choice of pants, please go over and purchase your jersey as soon as you can. (Also available are sweatshirts if anyone is interested.)
     Uniform Numbers: Before purchasing your jersey, please send me the number that your son would like to be this season. I need to have it on file and we need to make sure we have no duplicates. Here are the following numbers that are no longer available. #5(Garret), #24(Steve), #2(Max), #22(Collin), #17(Aidan) and #13(A.J).

     Practices: The league this year is a little behind with finalizing our practice schedule and supplying our equipment this season. So I have been informed that I should have our practice schedule by the end of next week and the equipment by next weekend. I am hoping that our practices are Mon/Wed or Tues/Thur, yet at this point I do not know days, times or location. We will also have some weekend practices to help out with day light savings until the season begins. Also, I do believe our practice location could be Village Greens, Dry Creek Elementary or Homestead Elementary. One other piece to set the expectation on practice schedules. The league has shared with us, depending on game field needs our practice times/locations could change from what we originally receive. So I appreciate your flexibility and understanding.  Once I have details I will pass it on to you.

     Games: The game schedule for the league is still being created. They are hoping to have this information available by the middle of March. I do know the games will continue to be over the weekend and we potentially will play games around the CC elementary schools, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood and Aurora Sports Complex. I was also told that opening weekend of the season will most likely be Good Friday Weekend. More details to come.

     Birth Certificates: Please plan on supplying me copies of your sons birth certificates. I will need to keep all of these with us at every game. The league has let me know that if an opposing team questions one of our boys and we don't have proof of age, we will have to forfeit the game. Thank you for taking the time to get these to me before the season games begin.

I know several of us know each other, but for the most part this is a beginning of a new team. Because of the delay in practice schedules and poor weather conditions, would all of you be interested in getting together before the season starts? A night to do dinner/pre-party for the team which gives us the opportunity for all of us to spend some time getting to know each other, talk through expectations of the season and if we can come up with creative ways (indoor and any park that might be playable) to get our boys some baseball time. I was thinking this Wednesday or Thursday? Please let me know your thoughts by Tuesday, Feb 21st.

I know this is a lot of information, yet I wanted to make sure that you have everything that I have to this point. I really appreciate the individuals that volunteered to help coach. I really prefer and appreciate having a true coaching staff for us to work together with our boys. I look forward to meeting all of you and to the start of a fun 2012 season.

If you have any questions that you feel would be good for the entire team, please utilize the blog site. If you have any specific questions for me, please feel free to email me or give me a call.

Thanks!
Merrick
720-936-2700

Welcome to Our AYL Cherry Creek Bruins 9 Year Old Team!

Hello and welcome to the 2012 Cherry Creek Bruins 9 year old boys AA baseball team! My name is Merrick Makowka and I will be your son's baseball coach this season. If you haven't registered yet, registration closes FEBRUARY 10th, so please do so as soon as possible and enter my last name "Makowka" in the special notes section of the registration form.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and working with your son to have a wonderful experience filled with personal growth, competition, and positive encouragement as we take a large step forward in the sport of baseball. This season, we will introduce your child to many new things. In addition to the change from A to AA skill level, 9 year olds also are introduced to kid-pitch (no balk rule) and bunting. There are other rule changes as well - for a complete list of the rules, follow this link: AYL 2011 Baseball Rules. Players still cannot steal home, lead off, or advance on over-throws. For other general information about our division of the AYL league, visit the Cherry Creek Baseball website here: Cherry Creek A/AA Baseball Information. For those of you who are new to AYL (as I am), I think the league will impress you with the effort that everyone puts into each season.

We have assembled a great team of kids from the area. Some have been playing in the Centennial League and some in AYL. I've tried hard to keep our team small to increase playing time for the kids and allow for a smaller coach-to-kid ratio in practice. This means that your commitment to making the weekend games is really important. Additionally, I have a couple of parents that will help me this season, but I know already that I will need more help. Specifically, I'm looking for two additional assistant coaches to really engage. Please reply to this post or to cherrycreekbaseball1@gmail.com by February 15th if you are interested.

There will be two practices per week, plus a game on the weekend. Times, days, and location will be determined by the League after registration closes. We have set up a team blog site at http://cherrycreekbaseball.blogspot.com to communicate throughout the season. All correspondence will go through this site so that we avoid gang emails that accidentally don't reach everyone. The site includes a calendar you can link to, a section for photos, statistics, our roster, links, weather, and other good stuff. We will also be using GameChanger as our score book this season. This is a great tool that will provide us with fun statistics and game summary newsreels that we will post to the blog for your enjoyment.

If you have a private issue that you need to discuss, please email me at cherrycreekbaseball1@gmail.com. Thanks, and I look forward to a fun and great season of baseball!

Coach Merrick Makowka