A few days ago, the CSSA lost a good friend when Edwin “Pick” Pickering passed away after a brief illness at the age of 70. A long time CSSA umpire and a 9th degree blackbelt in Karate, Edwin was also a nationally-ranked ASA elite-level umpire, and officiated many other sports as well. Pick was born and raised in the Virgin Islands, and served 24 years as a United States Army Ranger, with multiple tours of duty. He is survived by his family, and Pick will always be remembered for his great sense of humor, ready smile, friendly exchanges with fans and players, and devotion to the game of softball. We know you’ll be watching over us, Pick, as we kick off our 2022 fall season at Hobgood Park and Skip Wells. Rest in peace, Blue.

It’s almost time for CSSA Fall season evaluations at Hobgood Park (corner of Bells Ferry Road and Town Lake Parkway in Woodstock, Georgia). Evaluations will be conducted from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM on:

• July 23rd & 24th (Location: the East section of Hobgood Park at the turf ball fields behind the tennis courts and past the little league baseball fields. Enter at the EAST entrance from Towne Lake Parkway)
• July 30th & 31st (Location: Hobgood Park Field #4)

Evaluations are open to adults ages 49 and older – we even have some 89 year-olds still participating! With 8 leagues and approximately 38 teams, all evaluations are based on ability, not age. Evaluations are for players new to CSSA and current players who would like to move up into a more advanced league. Current CSSA players that want to stay in their current league do not need to attend evaluations.

Fees for a 10 week season are $50.00 if paying by cash or check, or $55.00 if paying by debit or credit card. Please bring ID and fees, which are due on evaluation day.

The Fall season begins the week of August 8th, 2022 – weather permitting. Days of play at Hobgood Park are: Monday (day games), Tuesday (nights games), Wednesday (day and night games) and at Skip Wells Park off Bells Ferry Road in Marietta, Thursday night games. Players can play on several days/nights if schedules permit. Please spread the word to anyone who would be interested in playing! Even if they haven’t played for some years, all are welcome to join in.

For more information, please call 770-757-8467 or email nthiem@aol.com. In the event of weather conditions not being conducive, a notice will be posted here on TeamPages.

CSSA BOARD MEETING
July 5, 2022

The monthly meeting of the CSSA was held 07-05-22, at GameDay, and called to order by Norm Thiem at 12:00 PM. Members present: Ray DeLuca, Dick O’Conner, Norm Thiem, Mike Parson, John Humeston, Robbie Crieder, Leland Brown, Dewey Hom, Mike McGuire & Dan Bonham.

Absent: Bob Werner, Randy Bergman, James Bauch & Maria Schell Burden
A. Minutes from 06-06-22 were discussed and approved.
B. Current financial report with all expenses paid, except for CPRA, has a balance of $6500. After CPRA is paid, we will have a balance of approx. $3700, prior to the start of fall season.
C. There are a total of 3 sponsors who have not paid for the upcoming fall season. These will be collected prior to the start of the season, along with 1 new sponsor.
D. The BOD discussed the hiring of more new umpires and scorekeepers, with Tuesday evening games being our main concerns. If anyone knows of qualified umpires and/or knowledgeable scorekeepers please pass this information onto that person and the BOD. Currently, umpires are paid $50 per game, and scorekeepers are paid $25 per game. We will post this information onto our web site as well as Atlanta softball page, newspapers and other sites if necessary.
E. Commitment Line: The commitment line was discussed as being changed from 25’ to 30’ from home plate. The motion PASSED, and will begin with the fall season.
F. A motion was made, for ALL players, that a team jersey MUST be worn to play. This will be discussed & placed for a vote in August along with new guidelines.
G. In the event of an incident at a game, such as language, arguments, code of conduct, etc, the incident will be immediately reported to the BOD by the umpire. A ‘Code of Conduct’ will be supplied to each player in the league via hard copy.
H. Rule update and changes for pitching screen:
1. The pitcher must remain behind the screen until the batter hits the ball or the ball strikes the ground;
2. Infractions will be called only by the umpire. With the 1st infraction the runners will advance one base and the pitch will be dealt as a dead ball – ball.
3. After the 1st infraction the pitcher will be removed from pitching and the same rules from part (2) will be enforced.
The motion was voted on and PASSED by the BOD
I. Rule change for catcher was also discussed. The rule states that a catcher may touch any part of the large home plate mat to make a force play on a runner. The rule was PASSED, but it will only be permitted as a LEAGUE SPECIFIC RULE.
J. Evaluations for the fall season will be conducted from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM on:
1. July 23 & 24
2. July 30 & 31
Evaluations will be conducted in the usual manner, but we ask that current players should not be standing all around the field. Only those who are pitching, hitting or doing pictures & paperwork with the new players should be in the field of play.
K. Arnold Fowler Award Nominations.
In 1997, the Board of Directors (BOD) recognized that there was more to softball than things like batting averages, home runs and RBI’s. It was decided that one player should be chosen, who demonstrates the qualities of sportsmanship, integrity, dedication, teamwork and other intangibles to the highest degree. This is the most special award issued through the CSSA, because the winning player is chosen by his peers.
If you would like to nominate someone for this award, please do so by submitting a written detailed reason as to why you think this person deserves this prestigious award. Please include your name and phone number.
Address nominations to Ray DeLuca via e-mail or postal service:
1. djray351@aol.com
2. 105 Rock Creek Dr, Canton, GA. 30114 (770) 355-3911

Nominations MUST be received NO LATER than October 13, 2022.
Past winners of this award are not eligible.

Past winners include:

1. Arnold Fowler
2. Jim Powell
3. Joe Scigliano
4. Glenn Horne
5. Les Taylor
6. Lowell Lawson
7. Joe Manous
8. Henry Helton
9. Lawrence Bishop
10. Ferrell Sparks
11. Bill Kemp
12. Bob Castellana
13. Barney Greene
14. George Stroh
15. Howard Hansard
16. Jimmy Long
17. Dewey Hom
18. Mike Ryan
19. Scott Trevathan
20. John Humeston
21. Ray Bryant
22. Steve Fleming
23. Lee Molway
24. Mike Parson
25. Tom Ballard

L. Next meeting scheduled for Monday, August 1, 2022 @ GameDay Grille 6:30PM

Meeting adjourned at 2:30 PM

The 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament goes down in history as the most successful ever! In the early hours of June 23rd at the beautiful Towne Lake Hills Golf Club in Woodstock, 64 golfers of all ages checked in and opened their wallets to raise money for two amazing charities.

Heartfelt congratulations and gratitude go to Tom Cameron, whose skillful, detailed and expert planning culminated in another outstanding event, raising a net total of $5,260.00 to benefit Circle of Friends https://circleoffriendsinc.org and Cherokee Family violence Center https://cfvc.org.

The winning score was a record-breaking 49 posted by Team Mike Fortenberry. That’s the lowest-ever recorded score in our ninth tournament! Second place went to Team CRPA headed by Shawn Schumacher with a score of 50, and two teams tied for the third lowest score at 54. In addition to player fees and miscellaneous contributions, golfers purchased $1,125 in strings, red bombs and mulligans.

We are incredibly grateful for our 20 hole sponsors who contributed $100 each, making it possible for us to reach and exceed our fundraising goal for the tournament. An anonymous sponsor came through with generous support and well-placed comfort items including individual cooling towels and plentiful ice-cold water for the 64 intrepid golfers battling in record-setting heat. Raffle ticket sales and the putting contest which was won by Mike Wooten, rounded out the tournament’s fundraising success.

Many thanks to all of our volunteers including Mike Maguire, Anne Ryan and Maria Burden, as well as N2 Plus which lent us Stacie Pittman who expertly assisted with registration, and Dick O’Connor for the great photos! We would also like to thank the staff at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club for their excellent support.

Next year’s tournament promises to be more fun than ever, so golfers, get your foursomes together and make plans to join us for a great cause! To see full size images from the photo collage, click here: https://www.teampages.com/photo_albums/149999-2-22-Golf-Tournament-photo-album/album_photos

The monthly meeting of the CSSA Board of Directors was held June 6, 2022, at Gameday Grill in Woodstock, and called to order by Norman Thiem at 12:07 P.M.
Members Present: Norm Thiem, Maria Burden, Dewey Hom, Leland Brown, Dick O’Connor, Bob Werner, Mike Parson, John Humeston, and James Bauch.
Board Members Randy Bergman, Robbie Crider, Ray DeLuca, Dan Bonham and Mike Maguire were absent.
A. Minutes of the May 2, 2022 meeting, having been emailed to all, were Board approved.
B. Treasurer/Financial Report was suspended due to Dan Bonham being absent.
C. 2022 Sponsors: Donovan’s Irish Pub is still unpaid for the Spring 2022 season. Beckett’s and Door-to-Door have been moved on the books to the Spring season, and we now have Misfit Sports as a sponsor, and Cancun and El Ranchero are back and paid sponsors as well. We need only one more sponsor for Thursday nights. As Jerr-Air will sponsor multiple teams, it was suggested that the sponsor names should be Jerr-Air 1 and Jerr-Air 2 to distinguish the teams.
D. Concussion Protocol: The BOD discussed this at length, and studied the procedures in use by other recreational softball associations. The board decided to establish a set of instructions and procedures for Team Managers to use in identifying a possible concussion situation requiring intervention and actions to protect that player, as an injured player is not not able to assess their own level of injury. Maria Burden will draft the policy for discussion and revision/approval and possible vote at the next BOD meeting. Norm Thiem proposed that Fall 2022 should be a “Season of Encouragement” in which infield players will be encouraged to consistently wear head/face protection in games to avoid injury. The Board agreed to purchase 4 headgear units and make them available for players to try using them. Maria Burden will write an article on the benefits of face/head protection to be posted before the start of the Fall 2022 season, and Dewey Hom donated photos of the facial injury he sustained before he began wearing protective gear, for use in the article.
E. First Aid Kits: Norm Thiem has ordered softball-specific first aid kits for Hobgood Park and Skip Wells and kits will be stored in CSSA’s own locker at the park with access available during games.
F. Replacement for TeamPages and Constant Contact: Dan Bonham has established a website to replace TeamPages, which is WordPress platform and component-driven. It should simplify the process of updating rosters, schedules, news, statistics and much more. The site will be run parallel to Team Pages until any bugs have been worked out and a switchover can be carried out.The new site will also eliminate the need for ConstantContact, and enable online payments right on the site, and offers easy-to-access support.
G. 2022 Golf Tournament: Plans for the 2022 CSSA Charity Golf Tournament, which takes place Thursday, June 23, 2022 at Towne Lake Hills Golf Club are coming along well. Twenty-two hole sponsorships have already been secured at a rate of $100 per hole. All members of CSSA are encouraged to recruit foursomes to sign up for the event and to bring awareness to this event.
H. Home Plate Mats: Members continued the discussion of comprehensive home plate mats that have integrated right- and left-handed batters boxes. It was decided that Mike Parson will order a sample mat in a 12 foot x 6 foot size and it will be tried out at Thursday pickup games.
I. Bat Checking: The issue of stickers falling off bats due to wet weather was discussed. The Patriot League will need to have all bats tested again, and it was decided that two umpires should test bats, and Mike Parson will run the log book to record results.
J. Balls: The board decided that League Directors would provide balls to the umpires before games, and take that responsibility off Team Managers to reduce delays during games.
K. Players Not Wearing Sponsor Jersey at Games: The board agreed that, out of respect for our sponsors, all players must wear their team (sponsor) jersey at all games; players who violate this requirement may be subject to disciplinary action.
L. Players Who Violate the Code of Conduct: The board discussed some situations in the Spring 2022 season in which unsportsmanlike player conduct during games necessitated that warnings and disciplinary action be taken.
M. Tryouts for Fall 2022 Season: Tryouts will be held July 23rd & 24th and July 30 & 31st from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. at Hobgood Park. Signs and business cards will be printed to promote new player tryouts.
N. Commitment Line: The rulebook says the commitment line should be drawn 20 feet from the back point of home plate, but the board agreed that 30 feet from the back point of home plate would be better. This item will be voted on at the next BOD meeting.
O. Pitchers Uncovering from Screen before Ball is Hit: In order to reduce the risk of injury to pitchers, it was proposed that penalties be increased to deter this practice. Dick O’Connor will write the rule proposal and it will be voted on at the next BOD meeting.
The meeting adjourned. The next BOD meeting will be Tuesday, July 5th, 2022 at 12:00 p.m at Gameday Grill.