Birmingham Vipers 93: My Site News
Sunday, May 252008 Birmingham Vipers Memorial Day Tournament
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Sunday, June 8
Capital City Invitational Tournament in Tallahassee FL. ASA National Qualifier for 14-U
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The Birmingham Vipers 93 win the 2007 USFA "A" State championship.
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2007 ASA "A" National Qualifier Runner Up
2007 ASA "A" National Qualifier Runner Up in Montgomery AL.
Sunday, August 20
Overall Games for Summer 2006
The Birmingham Vipers 93 were 43 - 14 for the Summer tournaments.
2006 Alabama 12-U ASA "A" State Champions
2006 Alabama 12-U NSA "A" State 2nd Place
2006 ASA 12-U Alabama Hall of fame Qualifier Champions
2006 ASA Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City 4th place.
2006 ASA A 12-U Nationals finished in top 25.
2005 Alabama 12-U ASA "A" State Champions
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The Birmingham Vipers 93 were 55-13-1 for the 2004 Season
2004 Alabama 10-U ASA "A" State Cahmpions
2004 Alabama 10-U NSA "A" State Champions
2004 USFA 10-U "A" World Series Champions
Finished 7th in the 10-U ASA "A" National Tournament
Friday, November 9
Jerry Shurbet
We are saddened by the loss of Jerry Shurbet. He lost his battle with cancer this Friday 11/09/2007. Please keep his family and friends in your prayers during these greiving times.
Funeral Arrangements:
Visitation will be TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2007 from 12:00-2:00pm at Charter Funeral Home at 2521 Highway 31 Calera, AL.
Jerry was a great person, who loved the game of softball and he loved to teach the kids. He loved to see the kids do their best. He always taught everyone to play with class and sportsmanship. He has traveled the country with his teams and is known and respected by the softball community. He will be greatly missed by those that surronuded him, and we will miss the great stories he would tell about the exciting wins and losses that he was a part of. The story of this loss he will get to tell to the good lord himself.
Thank you Jerry for everything you have done for us, you will be greatly missed.
Please pray for Jerry and his family.
Softball Players Prayer
God grant me wisdom to tell a strike from a ball
To know where to throw and never to fall
Keep me always in the base line running straight and true
And I'll look for your sign to turn one into two
God give me vision to see every pitch
So if a player needs help then I will see which
Let me always hustle so I'll be at my best
And take pride in myself, in sports, and the rest
God be my strength when I throw the ball
When I'm far from home plate or against a wall
So I never miss a base please guide my feet
Bring me safely home so my job is complete
When I help younger players let me always give you praise
So they'll see you in me in all of my ways
God please guide our coach to be fair and smart
To teach us to be good, let it come from the heart
Let me take a loss as well as a win
To do any less is surely a sin
As long as I can play let me make my parents proud
As proud as I am when they yell my name out loud
However my games end let me always have fun
And if Heaven has all stars I want to be one
When my games here are over and my seasons are done
Let me play on your team just like your son.
Amen
Hug your kids, respect and appreciate everything they do, because they only want your love and praise.
The Birmingham Vipers 93 win the 2006
Alabama 12-U ASA "A" State Championship
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Overall Games 2005 Spring and Summer
The Birmingham Vipers 93 are 53 - 11 with seven tournament Victories and one 2nd place finish.
2005 Alabama 12-U ASA "A" State Champions.
2005 ASA Alabama Hall of Fame Champions.
Overall Games 2005 Fall
The Birmingham Vipers 93 are 21-2 for the Fall 2005 season. Winning 3 of 4 tournaments.
THE TYPICAL GIRL FAST PITCH SOFTBALL PLAYER
At one time, she looked cute as a button, dressed in pink with ponytails with visions of Alice in Wonderland. She played with dolls, helped mom bake cookies, and has probably earned a few bucks baby-sitting. She has been, and always will be mom & dads baby girl.
She still has those little girl attributes. The only difference is now she looks cute dressed in sliders and shorts. If she is wearing ribbons in her hair, they are team colors. She still bakes cookies ... team bake sale. And she has probably earned a few bucks ... at the team car wash. Now she is, and always will be mom & dads little ball player.
She takes pride in how much dirt she can collect every weekend. Go to dinner on a night that she is not playing and it takes an hour of primping to get ready, and she still feels self-conscious. Go after a game and she'll walk right into a restaurant with a streak of dirt across her forehead, ratted hair, stained shirt and brownish/white socks. Or brown toes with sandals! Let's EAT!
She is ready and willing to play at the drop of a hat! She has a huge wardrobe: plenty of tournament shirts and shorts from all the teams. Her parents do her school shopping every weekend at the tournament T-shirt booth. When you say, "wear something nice", she thinks it means a tournament shirt without dirt stains.
She needs to get an athletic scholarship. Her parents have spent $100,000 on camps, private instruction, batting cages, gloves, bats, equipment, uniforms, player fees, concession stands, travel and lodging. THEY'RE BROKE!!!
She is a fierce competitor, willing to stand in against a fast pitcher at close distance that even pro baseball players would have trouble hitting! And she might be 5'2" and 100 lbs. soaking wet. She might play first or third base at 20 feet from home plate, saying I dare you to bunt ... drive one down my throat!!! Bring it on.
She has more spirit and heart that other teams put together. At least it sounds that way. Softball is the only sport where a girls ability to cheer sometimes effects roster decisions. She can't bunt or hit, she is a liability in the field, but she cheers constantly! She is playing the game for all the right reasons! SHE LOVES IT!
She could hang out at the mall, stay home and watch TV, or spend her summers at the pool. Instead she has a tight schedule with limited free time, hangs out on the practice field with a coach in her face, and spends her summers getting baked on a 95 degree field with no shade. Maybe we should get some of our kids checked.
She has her priorities in order: Church (When not at a tournament), Schoolwork, Tournaments, League Games, Team Practices, individual practice and batting cage, family, private softball instruction, conditioning, softball camps, boys.
She is diligent and hardworking. She knows you get out of something, what you put into it. She is not the type of kid to take the easy way out! She is competitive, not willing to give up. Never looks at another team and thinks that her team can't beat them. Never, never quits.
She learns many valuable lessons during the course of her softball career, like:
1. You can stay at Holiday Inn for $12 bucks a night if you are willing to go 4 to a room.
2. Hotels don't monitor pool usage, and you can go swimming anytime, whether you are a registered guest or not.
3. Continental breakfast means: 3 bowls of cereal, bagel, 2 donuts and 4 glasses of OJ.
4. Unlike the geographically challenged, softball girls know how to get from home to every field in a 25 mile radius.
5. Last years sunflower seed that she found in the bottom of her bat bag aren't too bad if she washes them down with enough Gatorade.
6. Never wash your socks when you're on a winning streak! Never wash your socks when you're on a hitting streak. Never wash your socks after you've scored the winning run, scored any run, or were close to scoring a run. Never trust a mother who says she won't wash your lucky socks.
7. She has a lot of fun every summer, enough to make her come back next year regardless of all the sacrifices, the occasional injury, eating and drinking out of a cooler for three days, sitting in a lawn chair all day, being at the ball park from 7:00am till midnight if thats what it takes.
8. Learning what true friends are all about, like when you strike out or hit a home run, they always cheer you on, when you make a bad play or a double play, they wipe the tears from your face and say, you'll get it next time or awesome play.
But first and foremost, the Typical Girls Fast Pitch Softball Player is
Mom and Dads little girl!
Softball Dad
Then I Became a Softball Dad
I used to have a regular life. (Actually, many of my friends say that sentence should say, "I used to have a life", period.) It doesn't really seem that long ago. Then I became a Softball Dad.
My lawn used to be like a carpet. It was green, mowed, trimmed, fertilized, and watered. Any weeds that dared to show their leaves were pulled out by their roots. Now I have two big bare spots forty feet apart. I like the bare spots. I like them because they are the only places that the weeds and crab grass aren't threatening to take over.
My car used to draw admiring looks and comments. It was clean and waxed and shined and Armor All'd. Now it only draws attention when it wins the "dirtiest car in the parking lot" prize.
My friends and I used to spend Monday mornings talking about five-iron shots, three-putts, and titanium shafts. Now I bore them to death with detailed play-by-play descriptions of five or six low-scoring ball games. Somehow, they just don't understand the drama of a 2-0 game.
I used to think anything over $40 was an exorbitant price for a ball bat.
Now the contents of my daughter's equipment bag are worth more than everything else in the car together - including clothes, jewelry, watches, and laptop computer.
I used to have a great wife. Still do, Thank God. But that's a tribute to her patience and good humor. We used to sit and talk for hours. We still do - to keep each other awake when we're headed home in the wee hours of Monday morning. We used to wonder what the kids would do when they grew up. Now she wants to know what I'm going to do IF I ever grow up.
My summer casual wardrobe used to be made up of color-coordinated polo shirts, cool cottons in bright colors, and the occasional "aloha" shirt.
Now I have a closet full of T-shirts in black, white and red. Those that don't have Vipers on the front have a cute saying on the back, like "If You Follow Me Long Enough, You'll End Up at a Ball Field." or "Friends Don't Let Friends Play Slowpitch
I used to glue myself to the sofa and watch the NCAA basketball tournament and the Masters from opening Ceremony through network sign off. Now, I catch the highlights on Sportscenter.
I used to be one of the tops in my field. Thank goodness, I still am.
(You have to keep a good paycheck coming in if you want to support a
Tournament Softball habit!)
I used to have sympathy for umpires. I used to think boys were tough. I used to think a double-header was a long day at the ballfield. Now we're just getting warmed up.
We used to spend our summer vacation relaxing on the beach or visiting family. Now we hit the road with 40 of our closest friends.
I used to think the ideal woman had brains and beauty. She still does,
but now she better also be quick, courageous, and able to bunt a good rise ball.
I used to look for little restaurants that served seafood fresh off the boat.
Now I'm a connoisseur of nachos, smoked sausages, hamburgers & hot dogs.
I used to be concerned that I would fall into the trap of living my life through my daughters. Now I know that I'm privileged to live my life WITH my daughters.
Welcome to the Birmingham Vipers 93 web site
The Birmingham Vipers 93 are a highly competitive travel TEAM. The players always push to be their best on and off the field. As coaches we strive to teach the players team work and to play at an advanced level of softball. The players, coaches and parents are committed to help the team be successful. The success comes from hard work and dedication of the players. They set their goals high and expect nothing less. We know that the work ethic and success is something that they will take with them in life. It will help build character, teach them humility and push them to be successful. It will also make them understand what TEAM work is all about. It is great to have such a fun group of girls that love to play softball, and make up a great TEAM.