Registration for the City of Litchfield Park’s Youth Coach Pitch Program opens Monday, June 2, at 8 a.m.

The co-ed recreational league is designed for boys and girls ages 7 to 8 and offers a non-competitive environment focused on fun, skill development, and sportsmanship.

Resident registration is $77, while non-residents pay $97. All participants will receive a numbered T-shirt jersey and hat, compete in a seven-game season, and receive end-of-season awards. Team and individual photos will be available for an additional fee.

Games will be held on Tuesdays or Thursdays at the Jackie Robinson Ball Field. Each team will also hold one weekly practice, scheduled by the volunteer head coach. The city does not assign practice times or locations, but all practices will take place outdoors.

The Coach Pitch program emphasizes baseball fundamentals while promoting teamwork, good sportsmanship, and the social benefits of youth sports. Participants will learn basic skills and rules of the game in a supportive and inclusive environment.

Players will be placed on teams according to the city’s placement policy, which considers public school attendance and geographic location. 

Volunteer coaches are essential to the program, and the city is encouraging community members to get involved.

Coaches must be at least 18 years old, complete a Youth Sports Coaching Application and Background Authorization Form, attend the mandatory coaches meeting and complete a certification.

The certification includes two required classes, offered on multiple dates to accommodate varying schedules. Coaches must also agree to uphold the city’s philosophy of “Building Tomorrow’s Leaders, Today,” and follow the Coaches’ Code of Ethics, which prioritizes player safety, respect, and creating a positive sports environment.

In addition to supporting the development of local youth, volunteer coaches gain flexibility in setting their team’s practice schedule and location.

For more information or to register, visit litchfieldpark.gov.

CHATTANOOGA—The Chattanooga Mocs football team is coming back to campus for summer workouts and classes as preparation for the 2025 campaign are well underway. A spirited spring drills concluded in March while behind the scenes, plans and timing were taking place.
 
Time is an all-important, ever-present facet of life so let’s start there. The home times are announced and are subject to change per broadcast possibilities.
 
Sept. 13: Stetson – 6 p.m.
Sept. 27: The Citadel – 6 p.m.
Oct. 18: ETSU – 1:30 p.m.
Nov. 1: Western Carolina – 4 p.m.
Nov. 8: Furman – 1:30 p.m.
 
Promotions are planned and in motion for all five contests.
 
Sept. 13 | Stetson
Promos: Senior Day, Youth in Sports Day, Fan Appreciation Day, Little Moc Walk
Senior Day: The Mocs will honor this year’s crop of seniors prior to kickoff.
Youth in Sports Day: All youth arriving in their youth sports jersey or cheerleading uniform get a complimentary ticket to the game along with purchase of adult.
Fan Appreciation Day: Prizes are awarded throughout the game via the Go Mocs App which can be downloaded for free in your device’s app store.
Little Moc Walk: Kids 12 and under lead the spirit parade with the Marching Mocs and spirit squads in the pavilion.
 
Sept. 27 | The Citadel
Promos: Reunion Weekend, Academic Night, Hall of Fame Game
Reunion Weekend: The programs celebrates the “10 year” anniversary of the Mocs 3-peat from 2013-15. Members from all three teams are invited back for the festivities.
Academic Night: The department celebrates another record semester in the classroom honoring all student-athletes with 3.0 or better GPAs.
Hall of Fame Game: This year’s Hall of Fame class is unveiled in ceremonies over the weekend culminating with an on-field presentation at the game.
 
Oct. 18 | ETSU
Promos: White Out, Fall Family Weekend, Mocs Flock Finley
White Out: All fans are encouraged to wear white.
Fall Family Weekend: This is a University event with students and their families enjoying a day at the ol’ ballyard.
Mocs Flock Finley: The annual first-year student dash at Finley Stadium onto the field takes place pre-game.
 
Nov. 1 | Western Carolina
Promos: Homecoming
Need we say more? The date on the schedule most circled along with the season opener. Alumni come back to campus to celebrate memories and catch up with old friends.
 
Nov. 8 | Furman
Promos: Military Appreciation/Salute to Heroes Game

Free admission for all active and retired military members as well as first responders & area medical personnel including police, firefighters, EMS, nurses and doctors.
 
Season tickets are on sale now. It’s always the most economical means to attending all five home contests. Prices start at $60.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
 

By DeCA Corporate Communications

FORT GREGG-ADAMS, Va. – Children in eight military communities will get the opportunity to attend a free football ProCamps event courtesy of a Procter & Gamble (P&G) promotion available near select commissaries and exchanges.

The two-day camps, led by NFL football players, are open to the children (ages 6-14) of active-duty military, reservists, retirees and Department of Defense (DOD) civilian employees.

Camp locations, dates and participating athletes are:

• McChord Air Force Base (Joint Base Lewis-McChord), Washington (June 13-14), Noah Fant, Seattle Seahawks

• Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, (June 24-25), Tre Harris, Los Angeles Chargers

• Fort Benning, Georgia, (June 27-28), Tyler Allgeier, Atlanta Falcons

• Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, (June 30 – July 1), Emery Jones, Baltimore Ravens

• Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina, (July 11-12), Robert Hunt, Carolina Panthers

• Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, (July 14-15), George Karlaftis, Kansas City Chiefs

• Fort Bragg North, North Carolina (July 15-16), Austin Corbett, Carolina Panthers

• Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, (July 19-20), Grady Jarrett, Chicago Bears

Overseas ProCamps events have already occurred. March 22-23, Jevón Holland, a safety from the New York Giants, hosted the Vogelweh, Germany, camp at the Kaiserslautern High School, with autograph signings at the Kaiserslautern Military Community Center and Ramstein Air Base Commissary.

April 12-13, Morgan Fox, a defensive end with the Atlanta Falcons, hosted the other overseas camp, at the Yokota Air Base High School, Japan, with autograph signings at the Yokota Air Base Commissary and Exchange.

The eight installations qualified for a camp based on purchases and displays of P&G products in their local commissaries and exchanges during March and April. The camps are designed to accommodate up to 150 children.

Campers will experience various stations to learn football fundamentals, participate in games and competitions, receive coaching from an NFL player, and compete for a chance to win signed merchandise and more P&G product samples through “Camper of the Day” awards.

Those interested in the upcoming camps should visit their local commissary, exchange or contact the local youth sports office for details. This year, autograph sessions with the host athletes will be at the camp locations at the end of the first day.

“As a military dad, I appreciate the opportunities these free camps offer for the children in our communities,” said Navy Command Master Chief Mario Rivers, senior enlisted advisor to the DeCA director and CEO. “Our military children get to socialize with others, learn some football basics. However, the most important thing is they have fun.”

-DeCA-

About DeCA: The Defense Commissary Agency operates a worldwide chain of commissaries providing groceries to military personnel, retirees, disabled veterans and other authorized patrons and their families in a safe and secure shopping environment. Commissaries provide a military benefit, saving authorized patrons thousands of dollars annually on their purchases compared to similar products at commercial retailers. The discounted prices include a 5-percent surcharge, which supports the costs of building, modernizing and sustaining commissary facilities. A core military family support element and valued part of military pay and benefits, commissaries contribute to family readiness, enhance the quality of life for America’s military services and their families, and help recruit and retain the best and brightest men and women to serve their country.

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BILLINGS — How does a 70-year-old grandpa blast a ball off a tee quicker than a teenager in his prime? The short answer is technique.

Rich Schenck (pronounced “Skenk”) not only has it, but he also teaches it to some of Major League Baseball’s biggest stars.

“Most people push their bat forward. I believe it needs to be like a Nike swoosh and go backward before it goes forward,” Schenck explained recently to MTN Sports.

WATCH THE VIDEO:

Swinging for success: Aaron Judge’s hitting coach shares secrets with local youth

Master that technique, and you might make the big leagues, like New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge, whom Schenck coaches. Judge is hitting nearly .400 this season — far ahead of any other MLB player.

Schenck was recently at Pirtz Field in Billings, letting young local hopefuls in on his secret.

“My swing has been under,” said 15-year-old Tanner Stiegemeier, demonstrating in thin air. “I’m hoping I can get it more up.”

Teammates Chase Langford and Gehrig Hust also had their own beat on how to swing a better bat.

“I got to get my hands quick,” said Hust, 13.

“Probably quick hands and bat speed … bat velocity,” added Langford.

Schenck, who also shared advice with coaches, made the quick day trip to Billings while visiting his daughter’s family in Belgrade. It was sort of a favor to his son-in-law, J.D. Stephenson, who is friends with Billings coach Bobby Beers. They work together with the Montana Institute of Sport.

“In three short years, we’ve been able to get into 200 schools, develop P.E. curriculums, support coaches and create opportunities for youth sports,” said Stephenson, CEO of the organization.

“I think one of the things kids this young don’t understand is the consistency it takes (to succeed at a high level),” Beers added.

Schenck’s background in developing the Nike swoosh technique truly rewinds time.

“This thing called the internet was new, and I started going online to get information to help my boys enjoy the game better,” Schenck recalled.

He never did play pro ball but was a Division II college catcher who aspired to hit like Barry Bonds.

“He was the best hitter in the game at that time, and maybe forever,” Schenck said.

So, Schenck set up a hitting station with video recordings in his basement.

“I would ask, what’s his lead arm doing … my lead arm doing? What’s his head doing … my head doing? What’s his bat doing, my bat … my leg, his leg?” he explained.

Schenck mastered the philosophy he teaches today — “launch quickness,” he calls it — and his big break came when he delivered a breakthrough for a young Aaron Judge, who was struggling in the minor leagues nine years ago.

“The first day I was with Aaron, I put a ball on a tee for him and a ball on a tee for me. I was 62 years old and looked like this … and he was 24 and just a physically cut specimen. And he could not hit the ball before me,” Schenck said.

Judge figured it out, endorsed Schenck on Twitter, and the lives of both men changed forever. Judge went on to win American League Rookie of the Year the following season in 2017, the first Yankee to do so since Derek Jeter.

Schenck, meanwhile, blossomed to help other Major League stars and continues to tutor teens — and he’s still quicker.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California’s high school track-and-field state championships starting Friday are set to be the testing ground for a new participation and medaling policy for competitions that include transgender athletes.

The California Interscholastic Federation will let an additional student compete and potentially offer an extra medal in three events in which a trans athlete is competing. The athlete, high school junior AB Hernandez, is the second seed in the triple jump and will also participate in the long jump and high jump.

It may be the first effort by a high school sports governing body to expand participation when trans athletes are participating, and it reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in youth sports.

“The CIF values all of our student-athletes and we will continue to uphold our mission of providing students with the opportunity to belong, connect, and compete while complying with California law,” the group said in a statement after announcing its rule change.

State law allows trans students to compete on sex-segregated sports teams consistent with their gender identity.

President Donald Trump threatened this week to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans female athletes from competing on girls teams. The U.S. Department of Justice also said it would investigate the state federation and the district that includes Hernandez’s high school to determine whether they violated federal sex discrimination law by allowing trans girls to compete in girls sports.

What the new participation and medaling policy will look like

The meet, which is taking place at a high school near Fresno, will open up the girls triple jump, long jump and high jump to one additional athlete each who would have qualified had Hernandez not participated. Hernandez will compete in the preliminaries Friday for a chance to advance to the finals Saturday.

Under the pilot policy, if a transgender athlete medals, their ranking would not displace a “biological female” student from medaling, the federation said.

The federation said the rule would open the field to more “biological female” athletes. One expert said the change may itself be discriminatory because it creates an extra spot for “biological female” athletes but not for other trans athletes.

The federation did not specify how they define “biological female” or how they would verify whether a competitor meets that definition.

Medical experts say gender is a spectrum, not a binary structure consisting of only males and females.

The two-day meet is expected to draw attention from a coalition of protesting parents and students. Critics have objected Hernandez’s participation and heckled her in qualifying events earlier this month. Leaders from the conservative California Family Council joined Republican state lawmakers Thursday for a press conference blasting the policy change and saying Hernandez shouldn’t be allowed to compete.

“If they have to create special exceptions and backdoor rule changes to placate frustrated athletes, that’s not equality, that’s a confession,” Sophia Lorey, the council’s outreach director, said in a statement. “Girls’ sports should be for girls, full stop.”

CIF Executive Director Ron Nocetti urged participants and bystanders to behave respectfully toward all student-athletes in a message shared in the championship program.

Nationwide debate over trans athletes’ participation

A recent AP-NORC poll found that about 7 in 10 U.S. adults think transgender female athletes should not be allowed to participate in girls and women’s sports at the high school, college or professional level. That view was shared by about 9 in 10 Republicans and roughly half of Democrats. Trump won Fresno County, where the meet will be held, in 2024.

Hernandez told the publication Capital & Main earlier this month that she couldn’t worry about critics.

“I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person,” she said.

She noted that she has lost some of her events, saying that disproved arguments that she can’t be beat.

Hernandez is expected to perform well, particularly in the triple jump, in which she has a personal best of over 41 feet (12.5 meters). That is more than 3 feet (1 meter) short of a national record set in 2019. She’s the fifth seed in the long jump but ranked much lower in the high jump.

California’s state championship stands out from that of other states because of the number of competitors athletes are up against to qualify.

More than 57,000 high schoolers participated in outdoor track and field in California during the 2023-2024 school year, according to a survey by the National Federation of State High School Associations. California had the second-largest number of high school outdoor track-and-field athletes, only behind Texas.

Of the 12 high school athletes who have set national records in the girls triple jump between 1984 and 2019, eight have been from California, according to the national sports governing body.

Davis Whitfield, the national federation’s chief operating officer, called a state championship “the pinnacle” for high school student-athletes.

“It’s certainly a once-in-a-lifetime experience in some cases to participate in a state championship event,” he said.

___

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna

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