High School Nationals in St. Louis March 2-6, 2011

Team-

It's time to make our travel plans to St. Louis for USA Racquetball High School Nationals, which take place March 2 - March 6.

We will leave for St. Louis on Wednesday March 2, begin play on Thursday, March 3, and return on Monday morning March 7.  Some things to consider about the tournament:

• Cost - Good news - between the iPad raffle (raised approx $2,100) and funds received from Lincoln Boosters ($500) we will be able to at least pay for hotel, rental van, and most food expenses.  Basically, players will be responsible for the cost of their flight (approx. $300 right now).  Of course actual amount we can fund per player depends on how many players can go.
• School - Players will miss 4 days of school
• Baseball / softball practice - Tourney takes place during first week of baseball practice, which I know will limit the number of our players that will choose to go to St. Louis, as many players vie for a varsity roster spot or key position.  Softball players may have a similar situation, please discuss with Chris Gobel.
• Fun - this tourney is a lot of fun... we had lots of memorable experiences in 2009 in St. Louis, and this year I'm sure will be much of the same !
• Chaperones - Kathleen and I are both going.  We'll have two 2-bedroom suites, one for me & the boys, one for Kathleen and the girls.  We will cook a few meals at the hotel, and do a downtown St. Louis team dinner as well.  Kevin Ross (Clayton's dad) is also planning on going I believe.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY 12/24/10 IF YOU PLAN ON ATTENDING HS NATIONALS.  Then we'll get that group together and coordinate flights/hotel/ground transportation etc...

Bruce Reid

Week of December 19th

Team-

Hope everyone had a good day yesterday at the tournament.  We will have the courts available during our normal practice times this week (Sunday 5-7 pm, Monday and Tuesday 7:00 – 8:30 pm), but practices are optional.   Coach David will be available at each of the practice times this week, but I won’t be there.  Scott will likely be at practice Tuesday night.

PS-  REMINDER – I HIGHLY recommend that Lincoln players participate in the OJRA Winter Blast tourney at Sunset Athletic Club January 6-9, 2011.  You won’t miss any school, but may play matches Thursday and Friday nights, and a lot on Saturday and Sunday.  Here is a copy of the registration form or you may register on-line.  Please contact me if you have questions, otherwise you can fill out the form and mail it to the address on the form.  

Please don’t feel pressured to play, I’m just making sure the team understands how valuable this tourney is in preparing you for the State High School Tournament January 26-30, 2011 .  There is no better opportunity, and timing is perfect !


Enjoy you Winter Break.

Bruce Reid

IPad Raffle Results

The lucky winner of the iPad is Tracy Barton.  
Thank you everyone for your participation and support!
Come out and support Lincoln Racquetball matches this Saturday December 18th.

League Match #3 - Saturday December 18th

Our third league match is Saturday, December 18th.  Each Lincoln team is assigned to a different venue for the day.  You can check the team page for more information.

Lincoln Blue

Beaverton YMCA - 4965 SW Griffith Drive, Beaverton, OR   97005

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach Scott Cohn

Lincoln Black and Lincoln Red

Courthouse North - 4132 Devonshire Court, Salem, OR   97305

Show up 9 am, matches start at 10 am

Coach Bruce Reid

Lincoln Green

Eastside Athletic Club - 4606 SE Boardman, Milwaukie, OR   97267

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach TBA

Lincoln Gold

Cascade Athletic Club - 19201 SE Division St, Gresham, OR   97030

Show up 10 am, matches start at 11 am

Coach David Szafranski

Lincoln White 

Multnomah Athletic Club - 1849 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR   97205

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach Scott Cohn

Keep in mind that the League Match lasts 4-5 hours.  Each player will play singles, and each team will have 1 Boys Doubles team, 1 Girls Doubles team, and 1 Mixed Doubles team.  So some players will only play singles. All boys and girls singles matches will be played, then doubles matches will take place.  Each player will play 5-7 matches on Saturday.  I recommend bringing a power bar or similar, even though most clubs have snacks / food available for purchase.

IPad Raffle - December 14, 2010 - 2 More Days

Remember that it is raffle ticket stub / money turn-in time.  Hopefully you are all taking advantage of the bad weather and visiting your friends and neighbors while everyone is cooped up !

PLEASE bring your ticket stubs & money to practice Sunday, Kathleen will collect these at 6:30 pm.  All tickets are scheduled to be sold by Sunday, with the actual raffle on Tuesday Dec 14.  So if you don’t have your tickets sold by Sunday, you’ve got a 48 hour grace period to finish up.

Practice schedule for the week of December 12

Here is the practice  schedule for this week:

·         Sunday 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm  Black / White / Green teams

·         Sunday 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm  Blue / Gold / Red teams

·         Monday 7:00 – 8:30 pm  Blue / Gold / Red teams

·         Tuesday 7:00 – 8:30 pm Black / White / Green teams

League Match #3 is next Saturday, December 18th.

IPad Raffle - December 14, 2010

Don't forget to turn in your raffle tickets.  The drawing is coming soon!

Upcoming Racquetball Events

Team-

There are a few upcoming events that I want to bring to your attention:

OJRA Junior Tournament at Sunset Athletic Club  January 6-9, 2011 – I HIGHLY recommend ALL Lincoln RB players consider playing in this tournament.  You will NOT miss any school for this tournament, but you will play a LOT of racquetball and be tired and have improved your game by the end of the tournament.  This tournament is in the Olympic Draw format, with two games to 15 & tiebreaker to 11 in most events.  This is the format that will be used at HS State Championships and HS National Championships, so a great opportunity to play lots of new players and get used to this format.

Cost of playing is $35 for 1^st event, $10 for 2^nd event, $10 for 3^rd event (must be doubles).  You can enter an age division, a skill division, and a doubles division.  Dylan Reid will be playing in this tournament, his last as an OJRA player (sad dad after 12 years of playing L ).  You can enter online at our website http://oregonracquetball.org/

MAC Intramurals – For any Lincoln players or player’s parents that are MAC members, you can participate in MAC Intramurals.  The Winter session starts January 6, but you’ll need  to let me know by 12/16 if you’d like to play.  There are typically about 120-130 players, dividing up into 10 teams of 12 or 13 players.  There is a player draft conducted by team captains, with the top players playing at Level 1 (like Coaches David and Scott, and Sam R), and the least experienced players playing at levels 12 or 13.  You play 9 matches, one a week, scheduled for Wednesday or Thursday nights.  If you can’t play on a given Wednesday or Thursday, you just reschedule with your opponent for a time that’s convenient for both of you.  Cost I believe is $40, covers light snacks and beverages each week, and prizes at end of year.  Please let me know if you are a MAC member and would like to play in this.  Last year we had about 6 of our players and a few parents that played.  It’s a lot of fun!

League Match #2 Results

Rankings have been updated after League Match #2. Check your team page for your current ranking.

Lincoln Teams have done well:

Ranking Team Points

6 Lincoln Gold 132

10 Lincoln White 104

11 Lincoln Red 96

23 Lincoln Blue 52

34 Lincoln Green 34

35 Lincoln Black 33

Review All Match 2 Results

League Match #2 - Followup

Team-

First, just want to say the Lincoln team is making excellent progress in the League Matches.  The coaches all report that each team had several players that led their divisions.

Hopefully everyone is seeing how big a difference one or two improved skills can make in your game.   You can jump up 100 points or more in one league match, just focusing on skills such as:

• Getting racquet back and ready early
• Getting to center court after each shot
• Learning to hit clean pass shot to backhand w/out hitting side wall
• Learning to hit the ball off the back wall
• Learning a different serve each week, and improving it each week

Next step is the mental part of the game. In this sport you will learn how important it is to not get down on yourself, to be able to let the last point go and focus on the next one.  It's important to learn that sometimes your opponent is simply going to hit a good shot, and that happens.  But if you focus on not putting the ball in a place where your opponent can hit their best shot, you'll do well.

Let's practice some of the above this week.  Unfortunately we only have practice two days this week, as MAC Racquetball has an in-house tourney Monday night.

Practice this week:

• Sunday 5:00 - 6:30 Black / White / Green teams
• Sunday 6:30 - 8:00 Blue / Gold / Red teams
• Monday - No practice
• Tuesday - 7:00 - 8:30 pm All teams (whoever would like to practice)

Have a great holiday weekend!

IPad Raffle - December 14, 2010

Hi All -

It's time to get underway with our iPad raffle fundraiser.  The purpose of this fundraiser is to help strengthen the Lincoln Racquetball program by offsetting costs for the High School National Championships in March. 

What – Auction item is a brand new 32GB iPad

Cost - Tickets are $10 each, or $25 for three

Player Expectation - We are asking that each team member sell a minimum of 10 tickets to help support the team

When – Raffle will be held December 14 at beginning of practice.  Kathleen Reid will distribute raffle tickets and fliers to the players at practice tonight and tomorrow night.  There will be two practice evenings where we will collect money and ticket stubs - December 5th and 12th at 6:30 p.m. 

Note-  It is very important that players do not lose the tickets.  When players sell a ticket, be sure to have the buyer write his/her name and phone number on the stub, which you will keep. 

If you have any questions regarding the raffle, please call or email Kathleen Reid at 503-313-3437 or brucer4949@aol.com.

Thanks !

Bruce Reid

League Match #2 - Saturday November 20th

Our second league match is Saturday, November 20th.  Each Lincoln team is assigned to a different venue for the day.  You can check the team page for more information.

Lincoln Blue 

Courthouse North - 4132 Devonshire Court, Salem, OR   97305

Show up 9 am, matches start at 10 am

Coach Scott Cohn

Lincoln White 

Courthouse South - 2975 River Road South, Salem, OR   97302

Show up 9 am, matches start at 10 am

Coach Scott Cohn

Lincoln Black

Sunset Athletic Club - 13939 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR   97229

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach Bruce Reid

Lincoln Green

Cascade Athletic Club - 19201 SE Division St, Gresham, OR   97030

Show up 10 am, matches start at 11 am

Coach David Szafranski

Lincoln Red

Lloyd Athletic Club - 815 NE Halsey, Portland, OR   97232

Show up 9 am, matches start at 10 am
Coach Bruce Reid

Lincoln Gold

Multnomah Athletic Club - 1849 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR   97205

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach Bruce Reid

Keep in mind that the League Match lasts 4-5 hours.  Each player will play singles, and each team will have 1 Boys Doubles team, 1 Girls Doubles team, and 1 Mixed Doubles team.  So some players will only play singles. All boys and girls singles matches will be played, then doubles matches will take place.  Each player will play 5-7 matches on Saturday.  I recommend bringing a power bar or similar, even though most clubs have snacks / food available for purchase.

Updated Practice Schedule

Coaches are trying a new plan for scheduling specific teams for each practice session, with the goal of having fewer players at each practice, so that players can practice more singles play.

This new plan is not meant to discourage players from practicing 3 times/week.  If you're team isn't scheduled for a particular practice time but you want to play, come on down and play.  Also, if you are scheduled for a Monday but can only practice on Tuesday (or vice versa), then come during the practice time you are available.

Practice plan for this week:

Sunday 5:00 - 6:30 :  Blue / Red / Black

Sunday 6:30 - 8:00 :  Gold / White / Green

Monday 7:00 - 8:30 : Blue / Red / Green

Tuesday 7:00 - 8:30 : Gold / White / Black

Please let me know if you have questions.

League Match 1 Rankings

Rankings have been update after League Match #1. Check you team page for your current ranking.

Rankings are determined by the computer, based on the ranking of the player you are playing, as follows:

Ranking Difference	Higher Ranked Player Wins	Higher Ranked Player Loses	Lower Ranked Player Wins	Lower Ranked Player Loses
0-50 +/-	+24	-24	+24	-24
51-150 +/-	+12	-36	+36	-12
151-250 +/-	+6	-42	+42	-6
251-350 +/-	+3	-45	+45	-3
351 and above +/-	+2	-46	+46	-2

Review All Match 1 Results

Oregon Junior Racquetball - Friday Nov 5 - Sunday Nov 7

There is an Oregon Jr. RB Association tournament at Eastside Athletic Club starting Friday Nov. 5 thru Sunday November 7.  There are a number of Lincoln players that I feel would benefit from playing in this tournament.  This is the junior racquetball league where the top players in Oregon play, and hone their skills for state/national championship tournaments.

I would like to encourage most 2nd and 3rd year players to play in the tournament.  I would not encourage 1st year players to play in this tourney, as it's too much racquetball too soon.

A player can enter up to 3 divisions, as long as the 3rd division is doubles.  Players enter an age division, and a skill division.  Your racquetball age is however old you were on Jan 1, 2010.  So if you turned 17 after Jan 1 for example, you can still play in 16 under division.

The cost of playing in this tourney is $40 for one event, add $10 for 2nd event, add $5 for a 3rd event.  You will get a tournament t-shirt, food & drink during the tournament, and awards at the end of the tournament.

PLEASE REPLY BRUCE REID IF YOU'D LIKE TO PLAY IN THIS TOURNAMENT, AND I'LL LET TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR KNOW.  THEN YOU CAN BRING ENTRY FORM TO THE TOURNEY.  I NEED TO KNOW BY NOON MONDAY IF YOU'D LIKE TO PLAY.

Practice Times Changed

David will be at the MAC tonight for the Sunday 5-7 pm practice.  Tonights practice is totally optional, as we know most of you (including Scott & I) will be celebrating Halloween tonight.

Starting today, our practice schedule will be:

Sunday 5:00 - 6:30 pm (3 teams TBD)
Sunday 6:30 - 8:00 pm (3 teams TBD)
Monday 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Tuesday 7:00 - 8:30 pm


(Wednesdays and Thursdays are not available to us at this time)

League Match #1 - Saturday October 30th

Our first league match is Saturday, October 30th.  Each Lincoln team is assigned to a different venue for the day.  You can check the team page for more information.

Lincoln Gold 

Courthouse North - 4132 Devonshire Court, Salem, OR   97305

Show up 9 am, matches start at 10 am

Coach David Szafranski

Lincoln Green and Lincoln Red

Sunset Athletic Club - 13939 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR   97229

Show up 11 am, matches start at noon

Coach Bruce Reid

Lincoln Blue and Lincoln White

Cascade Athletic Club - 19201 SE Division St, Gresham, OR   97030

Show up 10 am, matches start at 11 am

Coach Scott Cohn

Lincoln Black

Multnomah Athletic Club - 1849 SW Salmon St, Portland, OR   97205

Show up 10 am, matches start at 11 am

Team Parent TBD

Keep in mind that the League Match lasts 4-5 hours.  Each player will play singles, and each team will have 1 Boys Doubles team, 1 Girls Doubles team, and 1 Mixed Doubles team.  So some players will only play singles. All boys and girls singles matches will be played, then doubles matches will take place.  Each player will play 5-7 matches on Saturday.  I recommend bringing a power bar or similar, even though most clubs have snacks / food available for purchase.

Lincoln Teams Formed

Lincoln Racquetball Team Rosters have been announced.  We have a record 59 students signed up to play this season.  Go to each team page above to view the roster and learn about team schedules and results. This year Lincoln will field six teams (Black, Blue, Gold, Green, Red, White).

Practice times changed week of October 24-30

We've got a significantly revised practice schedule this week, due to a MAC tournament Monday night, adding a 2nd Sunday session to handle large group of players.  This week's practices:

*

Sunday 10/24 5:00 - 6:30 pm Only Black, Blue, Gold teams (coaches will work specifically with Black team)

*

Sunday 10/24 6:30 - 8:00 pm Only Green, Red, White teams (coaches will be working with Green team)

*

Monday 10/25 NO PRACTICE DUE TO MAC TOURNEY

*

Tuesday 10/26 7:00 - 8:30 pm  All Teams (coaches working with Red team)

*

Wednesday 10/27 7:30 - 9:00 pm NOTE LATER START TIME (coaches working with Blue team)

Saturday 10/30 FIRST LEAGUE MATCH !!  (More info to follow)

Lincoln Racquetball Team - Equipment

We are off to a roaring start. Bruce and I are excited to have so many new players on the team this year. The first league match is at the end of the month and all of the players will need to have the following to participate.

1. Racquet

2. Goggles

3. Indoor Court shoes - Preferably gum rubber.

4. Glove - This is optional but recommended.

I will have racquets to demo and purchase at Sunday's practice. The cost range is from $25 to $60. These are new racquets with a warranty.

I will be taking orders Sunday on the fleece hoodie. Cost will be approximately $35.00. If you can't make practice Sunday, please let either coach Bruce or coach Scott know if you would like one. I need a minimum of 12 pc to place an order. I will need a name and size.

Please remember your Student ID. The MAC will not allow entrance to the club without it. No exceptions!

Coach,

Scott

Practice is underway!

Racquetball practice has started.  View the schedule to the right for next practice (Sunday at 5:00pm, Monday and Wednesday at 7:00pm at the Multnomah Athletic Club) and League Match.

It is not too late to join the team.  Come to practice to find out more about the program.  If you have not played in the past,  we take all levels of skill, including beginners - by the end of the season, you will improve!

Forms are due on Sunday along with a check for $140.00.  You can also bring them to practice on Wednesday.  Remember, if you are not a MAC member, you must sign the MAC waiver form.

If you need equipment, we recommend going to Players Racquet Shop http://www.playersracquetshop.com at 3880 SW Hall Blvd Beaverton, OR   97005.  Let them know you are playing for Lincoln Racquetball and they will give you a discount on your purchases.  They also have a demo program if you want to try out a racquet before you commit to buying one.

Parent / Player Information Night

Hello Team !!

Hope everyone had a great summer, and you’re all off to a good start with school so far this year !

Lincoln Racquetball starts up on Sunday, October 10 at 5 pm at Multnomah Athletic Club, with our annual Parent and Player info night.   We will have a 1-hour meeting with both parents and players, then players can go hit the ball around for an hour afterwards, and parents can stick around and watch or ask more questions of the coaches.  The Oregon High School Racquetball program is unique to most other sports programs, and as such there is a lot of information for me to convey to parents and players.

Answers to some most frequently asked questions:

• When are practices?  We practice at MAC Sundays 5-7 pm, Mondays 7-8:30 pm, Wednesdays 7-8:30 pm, starting October 10 (see attached for complete schedule)
• What if my student has another sport/activity that interferes with a practice day?  Nearly all players have other sports/activities during racquetball season; if you have a weekly scheduled conflict, let coach Reid know, and we can work practices around that schedule.  It’s important for players to be able to practice twice/week at least.
• What is cost of program?  Cost is $140 for the season, includes league fees/uniform costs/State Championship entry fee (1^st event) and end of year awards cost
• Is Parent Night mandatory for parents?  All 1^st year parents should attend, and highly recommended for 2^nd year parents as well (it all starts sinking in by the 2^nd year).  3^rd & 4^th year parents we’d love to have you, but your choice if you’d like to attend.
• Are we committing for the season if we attend Parent night?  No, we use the first week as a trial week for the new players.  They can practice, learn basics, and see if it’s right for them.  We have a registration/signup night on Oct 17, at which we’ll need everyone’s registration forms and fees.

About the LHS Racquetball Program

Racquetball is a fast game that emphasizes footwork, quickness, accuracy and court awareness. The sport features both individual play, as well as “Doubles” and “Mixed Doubles” teams. 

This sport develops speed, endurance and tremendous hand/eye coordination. Team members will see improvement in their fundamentals, and will grow self- esteem and accomplishment by learning and rapidly improving their game. Our team will be focusing on proper swing fundamentals and footwork, which translate very well to other sports such as baseball, lacrosse and golf. 

The Lincoln team is coming off a fantastic 2009-10 season in which we placed 3rd as a team in Oregon, and 5th as a team at HS Nationals ! Lincoln senior Dylan Reid was Oregon HS State Champion, and came in 2nd at HS Nationals. 

Following are details for the 2010-11 Lincoln High School Racquetball season: 

• Season runs from mid-October 2010 – February 2011 
• 3 Practices per week starting October 10 
• Practices held at Multnomah Athletic Club (you don’t need to be a MAC member) 
• 4 League Tournaments, held once a month on Saturdays at various Portland/Salem area racquetball clubs 
• State HS Championship held end of January 
• National HS Championship held end of February (in St. Louis, MO) 

Some Oregon racquetball “did you knows”: 

• Last year 450 Oregon high school kids played racquetball on 63 high school teams, representing 26 different high schools.
• Oregon high school teams have won National titles the past 11 years, including Sprague in 2008 - 2010, Beaverton the previous 2 years, and Catlin Gabel the two years before that.
• Oregon State University won the National Racquetball Team Title at Collegiate Nationals in Arizona in 2010, 2009, 2008 and 2006, beating out teams such as Alabama, Colorado State,Texas, Oregon.
• Former Oregon junior racquetball stars now playing baseball at a high level include Trevor Crowe (2005 Pac-10 Player of Year, playing for Cleveland Indians), and Joey Lakowske (2007 OSU baseball team).

Lincoln Earns 3rd Place @ State Championships!!

Congratulations to the entire Lincoln Racquetball team, for earning 3rd Place Overall Team, at the 2010 Oregon High School Racquetball State Championships !!
The Lincoln Boys team also took home the 3rd Place Boy's trophy, and the Lincoln Girls team finished 6th out of 20 high schools !

There were many, many highlights during the four days of play. And those that were at the club on Sunday afternoon were treated to watching many spectacular matches, including those of the following Lincoln players who earned 1st and 2nd place finishes:

Dylan Reid - 1st Place Gold Boys #1 Singles - OVERALL STATE HS BOYS SINGLES CHAMPION !
Dylan Reid / Sam Reid - 1st Place Gold Boys #1 Doubles - OVERALL STATE HS BOYS DOUBLES CHAMPIONS !
Anastasia Tuazon / Jessy Escobedo - 1st Place Gold Girls #3 Doubles !!
Evan Czopek - 1st Place Blue Boys #4 Singles
Eva Koeller - 1st Place Blue Girls #6 Singles
Lilly Hailey / Alex Hailey - 1st Place Red Girls #1 Doubles
Sam Reid - 2nd Place Gold Boys #2 Singles
Kelsey Crouch - 2nd Place Gold Girls #6 Singles
Signe Iskau - 2nd Place Blue Girls #3 Singles
Kara Lester - 2nd Place Blue Girls #6 Singles
Chip Locke / Riley Wimminger - 2nd Place Red #2 Mixed Doubles
Isaac Ableidinger / Elena Schaefer - 2nd Place Red #3 Mixed Doubles

Overall, 26 of our 41 Lincoln players made it to Sunday, playing in either a first place or third place match for singles or doubles. This is fantastic !!