STL Naturals 26-27

These two have played together since 8U. I know they will remain friends and I hope they will play together or against each other at the college level in the near future.

The end of an era - we have officially closed the books on our 26-27 team. I am extremely proud of all of the players who have played with us over the years. Every one of them will have success in any endeavors they choose to pursue. To say the core group has gone through their ups and downs in a massive understatement. They handled the loss of a teammate and the loss of a coach as well as anyone could have expected. There were many times when we would think, "Can you imagine what Holly would have done in this situation?" Or the times I would look towards the end of the dugout, looking for a BK shoulder shrug. Even with these adversities, we continued to grow as players and people. There were blips but every player improved and their educational goals were met. Every graduating player was accepted to their first choice college/university. Every player who wanted to play college ball accepted offers from their first choice of schools. Our younger players wanting to continue club ball accepted offers from their first choice of clubs. The two players who decided to wrap up their full-time club careers are on their paths to educational and career success. The same can be said about our graduates from last season's team. All are currently enjoying life at the college level. A few are also on incredible career-oriented journeys. I also want to thank all of our friends who picked up with us over the years!

I want to thank all of the players and parents for their energy and time. I want to thank Becky Koblents for her four years of non-parent coaching commitment. We wouldn't have made it without your compassion and energy. To Brian Keith, you will always be remembered fondly. You positive feedback, your laidback responses to the sometimes ridiculous happenings and conversations was a joy to see. I still giggle when remembering your conversations with the "Illinois Girls." And Coach Claire? A great player who has the ankles of an 80 year old, Claire was a huge help this year as an assistant coach. Although she was still age eligible, she was accepted as if she was an old ball coach. She performed all tasks asked of her admirably. She has a great coaching future ahead of her, if she chooses that path.

I cannot wait to see what the future brings to everyone involved with the team. I know a few will play with and against each other in the near future. Many have expressed interest in playing a few pickup tournaments and possibly an adult league next summer. Hopefully, a few friends and former players will want to join us to get some work in and have a bit of fun.

Good luck to everyone. I am sure I will see you around the parks!

Thank you all,

Dave

Emotional last practice for our team, as we send off our seniors to college/university. Five of the eight are planning on playing softball. All of the players were accepted by their #1 choice. Last I checked, our team GPA was well over 3.9! We are very proud of our players and cannot wait to see what their future brings!

Congratulations to seniors (l-r):

Kylee Turner - Mineral Area College*
Addison Glidewell - Mineral Area College*
Erin Brickey - Missouri Baptist University*
Kaylee Denman - Blackburn College*
Cece St. John - University of Tennessee
Megan Armbrecht - SIUE

(not pictured):
Haley Tomanovich - SIUE
Bella Schmitt - Coast Guard Academy*

(*college softball)

This league season was incredible! When we decided to put a combo team of STL NATS 26-38 and St. Louis Naturals Endermuhle to get players from both teams work in, we were fairly certain the team would gel well, with most having interacted during camps, clinics, etc. From the first game on, they were true teammates! Not only did we get our work in, we also were able to get players time in at positions they normally would not play during tournaments. Oh, and we won games, too, tying for first place. Technically, we were second due to a +4 runs against, but again, we were just getting work in. How many tee shirts do we need? After the last game, the word most spoken by the players was FUN! Thanks to all who participated and good luck with the rest of your club season! (Not pictured - Emily Gokanokonda)

Congratulations to our Bocce Tournament winners!!! The Bartoni sisters and friends used home court to their advantage to take the championship!

Congratulations to our raffle winners -
Sports 1 - Jessica G
Sports 2 - Olivia B
Yeti/Booze - Ross W (not pictured)

Thanks to everyone you attend and or participated in our bocce tournament. It was a great day!!!

Tomorrow's Bocce tournament schedule is set! If you're not playing but looking for something to do, please swing by Milo's for lunch and hang out with us. We will have silent auction items, 50/50, and raffles for a Yeti/Booze package and two sports ticket packages.

Our bocce tournament is this weekend and our raffles will be drawn immediately after. Even if you're not playing, please come hang out with us at Milo's from 11:30 to the final game. We will have a silent auction, 50/50 and raffle tix for sale. Please let me know if interested in any tix and pass it along to anyone who may want to buy tix. The sports packages are loaded, and YOU’LL get loaded with the Yeti/booze package!