Story from Thursday's Woodstock Sentinel-Review

[fastball]

Received: 6/4/06 7:05:18 PM 
From:  Darryl Smart <dsmart(at)bowesnet.com> 
  
Subject:  Story from Thursday's Woodstock Sentinel-Review  
  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's a fun piece we did to get people wrmed up for the Legends
of
Fastball tournament


What are they really saying?
By Cory Smith
Sports reporter
WOODSTOCK — Mark Van Vliet, the Belmont Black Sox pitcher, had
barely
finished his warm-up tosses when the chirping began.
“Let’s go, big shooter,” a teammate called out.
“C’mon now, twelve pack,” another said.
Those were the decipherable words of encouragement sent the hurler’s
way
during the Woodstock Kelsey’s tournament earlier this month.
Much of the
rest, it can safely be said, was mumbo-jumbo.
“You always want to be talking,” Ingersoll Masters shortstop
Steve
Hilderley said. “It keeps you in the game and gets everyone loose.
The
more you chat the more it keeps you in the game.”
Most of the time the chatter is for the players’ own benefit.
The fans
are just the beneficiaries.
“It’s quiet a lot of the time and it shouldn’t be,” Hilderley
said.
“Everyone has their own words or lingo. It’s just whatever comes
out.”
It was like that at Southside Park a couple of weeks ago and
it will be
the same this weekend at the Legends of Fastball tournament held
at the
Community Complex.
With some of the top teams from across Canada and the U.S. taking
part,
fans may not understand what is being said or even what is going
on, but
they aren’t necessarily missing much.
“When it’s quiet it just seems boring and flat,” Woodstock Kelsey’s
catcher Darin Kitching said. “Sometimes the crowds aren’t too
big so you
have to make some noise and stay in it.”
The lingo can get even more confusing when Kitching is behind
the plate
and teammate Mike Pullin is on the mound. Kitching’s nickname
is Zip
while Pullin is called Hip.
It’s just part of the fastball experience.
“I don’t really think about it too much, just whatever comes
out,”
Kitching said. “I don’t know that the pitcher can hear it anyway.”
That’s the case with Mike Wells, a pitcher with the Masters.
Wells said there have been times when he’s had to step off the
mound and
regroup after a teammate said something humourous, but he’s learned
to
keep his focus on the batter in front of him, not the teammates
behind
him.
“Over the years I’ve been able to tune it out,” he said. “Once
in a
while someone will get you. It’s a nice way to keep loose and
keep
everyone at ease. Fastball is a fast sport. It’s a good way to
keep
sharp.”
While every player might have a unique phrase or two, there are
some
steady constants that fans will catch this weekend.
“Hum now,” and “atta babe” are just two of them, most often reserved
for
pitchers.
Teams are often referred to by the colour of their jerseys, such
as when
a player at the Kelsey’s tournament said: “Hey there, red team,
c’mon
now, whaddya say?”
Players, if they don’t have a nickname, are usually distinguished
by
their last names with a ‘y’ tacked onto the end of it or the
number of
their jerseys.
“Big poke seven ball,” sounds more like something you might hear
in a
pool hall rather than on the ball diamond.
“You gotta keep it light. You can’t take it too seriously,” Ingersoll
Crush catcher Darryl Wharram said. “It’s important to keep guys
coming
out. The important thing is to have fun and keep guys loose.”
Atta babe.








--
Darryl Smart
Sports Editor,
Woodstock Sentinel-Review
16 Brock Street
Woodstock, Ontario
N4S 3B4
(519) 537-2341 ext. 258
 
From:  Darryl Smart <dsmart(at)bowesnet.com> 
 Als Fastball List
*Email: fastball(at)pmihrm.com
   fastball at pmihrm.com
NEWS-1: http://www.AlsFastball.com/
NEWS-2: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball

Visit our New Web Site! http://www.pmihrm.com

VIA http://www.webbox.com