year. We are extremely pleased to make the switch to the Alabama-based

company known for its quality caps and service. The Game is the leading

headwear provider in college baseball outfitting over 700 college teams

across the country including many prominent CA schools as San Diego

State, Fresno State, Cal Berkeley and UC Irvine. The Game is now the

official cap of the CBCA. We strongly advise all coaches to contact a sales

rep to see how The Game can be the headwear of choice for your on-field

caps and booster organizations. The Game has authorized team dealers in

California that will come to your school to show their products. For a list

of authorized The Game team dealer’s and to start building your 100%

custom caps please visit their web site at www.2thegame.com.

The CBCA will be holding a baseball clinic at Mitty HS on Sunday,

January 25th beginning at 8 am. The $40 cost includes CBCA membership,

the clinic and lunch. Speakers include Gary Cunningham (Bellarmine

Prep), Ted Turkington (St. Ignatius), Rick Steen (De La Salle), Paul

Martinez (Rosemont), and Scott Gillis (Leland). For more info: contact

Chris Volta at chvolta@sfhs.com or Bill Hutton at bhutton@mitty.com.

Please fill out the enclosed form to nominate one of your players for the CB

annual listing of top players in California. Include any important stats. CB

will publish its list in the January 2009 issue.

Class of 2009 players attended the CBCA showcase workouts

held at Santa Clara University and Mt San Antonio College in June. These

300 or so players had this opportunity at no cost to them other than

transportation. More than 190 players attended the South workouts. 40

players were selected to play in the three-game North-South Series at Santa

Clara University in late June.

David Andriese, East Valley; Angelo Cianfrocco, Westview; Steven

Halcomb, Poway; Nathan Halverson, Palos Verdes; Ryan Hambright,

Temescal Canyon; Wesley Hatton, Norco; Matt Hobgood, Norco; Anthony

Hutting, Tesoro; Garrett Hughes, LA Costa Canyon; Taylor Jimenez,

Chino; Jack Marder, Newbury Park; Spencer Kuehn, Dana Hills; Colton

Plaia, JSerra; Robert Refsnyder, Laguna Hills; Jose Rodriguez, Rancho

Buena Vista; Paul Strong, Marina; Ivory Thomas III, Downey; Justin Viele,

Esperanza; Austin Wynns, Poway; Brady Zuniga, Bishop Amat.

Justin Charles, Elk Grove; Darrel Matthews, Clayton Valley; JD Salles,

Clovis West; Joe Sever, Bellarmine; Richard Johnson, Arroyo; Brandon

Martinez, Fowler ; Trevor Miller, Bret Harte; Zach Miller, Elk Grove;

Zach Jones, Santa Teresa; Mitch Haniger, Mitty; Trevor Hildenberger,

Mitty; Brett Bishop, Buchannon; Stephen Picotty, Amador Valley; Pat

Stover, Rocklin; Martin Agosta, Jesuit; Cody Kiefer, Davis; Cody Price,

Pleasant Grove; Sam Meyer, St. Francis; Jordan Louie, Sierra; Evan Wolf,

Clovis.

There are four main rules changes for 2009. The following three are

baseball related:

Rule 1-2-2: All non-permanent lines on the playing field shall be marked

white, with a material not injurious to the eyes or skin. Lime or caustic

material of any kind is prohibited.

Rule 6-2-3: Pitchers cannot intentionally pitch close to a batter. The word

pitch replaces throw.

Rule 7-3-4: Penalty: A batter remains at bat (pitch is called a ball or strike)

after being hit without trying to avoid the pitch unless the pitch was a third

strike or ball four. Your membership for this year contains a brief rules

survey.

Four coaches were honored, in June, for their contributions to California

(Garden Grove), Mark Cummins (Live Oak HS, Morgan Hill), and Mickey

McNamee (San Marino HS).

We need your support to continue to provide the best for players and

coaches throughout the state.

The $30 fee includes the following benefits:

1. Victory Club certificates for coaches with 100, 200, 300, etc. wins as

varsity coach.

2. Two of your players are eligible for nomination to South-North Series

Showcase workouts.

3. Coach eligible for selection to CBCA Honoree’s listing for career

accomplishments.

7580 x11606 and leave your name, school and victory total in the message.

A certificate will be sent to you in honor of your achievement.

will be held in San Diego, January 2-5, 2009. The ABCA convention is the

largest baseball convention in the world with over 3,500 coaches in

attendance. It is three and a half days of non-stop baseball, featuring 28 of

the top baseball clinicians in the country. As well as the clinics, the

divisional business meetings, Hall of Fame/Coach of the Year Banquet,

Honors Luncheon and over 300 exhibits will be featured.

All clinic session and exhibits will be held at the San Diego Convention

Center. The headquarter hotels are the Marriott Hotel and Marina and the

Manchester Grand Hyatt. The Marriott is already sold out, but reservations

can still be made at the Hyatt by calling 800-233-1234. State that you are

coming for the ABCA Convention at the $99 rate.

ABCA membership is $30 and convention registration is $40 (there is a $3

handling fee in addition). Registration and additional convention

information can be reviewed on the ABCA website (www.abca.org) or by

coaching friends.

The National HS Convention will be held in suburban Chicago from

December 5 to 7. Contact Ron Davini at the BCA offices in Arizona (602-

615-0571). There are great speakers, exhibits and a tradeshow. Their

website is baseballcoaches.org. The BCA $1 million liability insurance

policy covers you for all your baseball related activities.

Dates for the June showcases are tentatively set for June 13 and 14 at Mt.

The North-South Series will be played on June 20th and 21st in San Diego

State University.Member schools can have two players invited to attend the

workouts. Once again, there is no cost to the players other than to bring two

new baseballs. The showcases have proven to be a major focal point for

colleges and professional scouts. Why have your players pay hundreds of

dollars to a private company and receive the same exposure we can offer

for only the cost of your membership in the CBCA?

South Coaches will be Beau Champoux (Westview, San Diego), Tim

Kleveno (Centennial Corona) and Matt LaBelle (Simi Valley). North

Coaches are Jeff Carlson (Elk Grove), Tom Donald (Buchannan), and Paul

Rosa (Wilcox) .

Rawlings has been the CBCA’s longtime partner in making it possible for

the CBCA to continue to offer first-class events for players and coaches in

California. When thinking of buying equipment, uniforms, etc, please

check with your local sales reps to see the great products that Rawlings has

to offer your programs.