Dear Rangers Family,

It’s time for another update on what has been happening. We are now only a couple of weeks away from the start of our season and preseason has been hectic. Our junior numbers have exploded above our expectations with at least 50 juniors that will be joining us this season. At the start of the preseason, we anticipated we would have a Little League Div 1 and Div 2 team. I was concerned about not fielding a Junior (U15) and Senior (U17) League Team. However, since then, we have had very successful come and try sessions and it now looks as if we have almost enough for two Junior League teams and a full Senior League team.

As exciting as this is, it poses a new problem: Coaches. We simply don’t have enough coaches and support staff to go around. I have been feverishly scrambling to find people to take on this great and fun opportunity to coach the younger teams. We are nearly there. If you think you can assist in any way, please let me know ASAP. We are happy to help support and guide you to be involved.

Unfortunately, we won’t be fielding a Women’s Division 1 team this year as most are either moving or their jobs have taken them away from our area. However, as they say, one door closes and another one opens. This now allows the remaining girls to join the ranks of our near new “up and coming” superstars in the Women’s Division 2. This mix of experienced players complements the team beautifully. All I can say is, with the preseason these girls have had, this team is going to be a lot of fun and exciting to watch.

Our social divisions (6/7) have got quite a list of players also and I really look forward to seeing them take to the diamond.

Our Div 2 and 3s look sharp so far thanks to newly appointed coach Mike McClarty.

Our diamond is getting a much needed and long overdue overhaul and will be resurfaced with all new bases and sleeves going in. There is a working bee this Saturday and I encourage everyone to come and lend a hand and be part of this progress.

The Gawler and Districts College Academy is building steadily and their new diamond is also nearing completion. We are starting to see more members join our club that are part of the Academy. I also had meeting with their recently appointed Principal to discuss how we can work better together and build a true partnership between GDC and Gawler Rangers. Her vision for the program is exciting and we are looking forward to continue being a part of it. What is more exciting though, is that the GDC Giants just completed a week long National Tournament at Seaton High School. The Giants played well and made it to the Bronze medal playoff falling just short. This resulted in 4th place in the Nation, a fantastic effort and achievement in only the Academy’s second year of existence! Well done Billy Vincent on your hard work getting these kids to that level. It is something you should definitely be proud of. I know we at the Gawler Rangers are!

Registrations are now open and since it is a new system, there will be an instruction sheet on how to register. (Uploaded in Documents under 2019/20 Information and the registration link is now live on your TeamApp Dashboard – Brooke). In order to play, you must be registered. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either myself or our Club Secretary, Naomi Oxford.

But wait, there’s more……..

I am pleased to announce that the Gawler Rangers Baseball Club is preparing to launch its first ever Development Program and Training Manual. It has been approximately three years in the making, with a lot of research, studying, training, developing, discussions with key baseball personnel and discussions with other sporting codes. This program is purely focused on developing long term players/athletes from TBall right through to Division 1 seniors. It provides a structured pathway of development/teaching/coaching that aligns our pathway with Baseball SA. The program has been presented to Baseball SA and it has been fully endorsed. The training programs provide structure for each level so that any coach can continue when the inevitable coach change occurs. It also provides a multitude of training drills to help coaches plan and set challenging, exciting and fun sessions to continue development at our club. The launch will be scheduled shortly so please keep an eye out for the launch date and make yourself available to attend. We want every member, volunteer, parent, player, and coach to attend so that we can educate you all in this program and its purpose.

So with our season upon us, let’s PLAY BALL!

Kind regards,

Darko Filko
President