This Year's Annual Adult Coed Tourney – Sunday, May 20

Teams of Hilltoppers parents, coaches, families and friends will take to the field on Sunday, May 20th in the 16th Annual Never on Mothers Day Softball Tournament.

This is a great chance for you to get out and show your kids that you DO know what you've been talking about all season... or, perhaps to give them a few laughs as they see you try to live up to your "coaching."

One of our finest Hilltoppers traditions, the Never on Mother's Day softball tournament starts at 8 a.m. on May 20, with games going on all day on our North and South fields. Our snack bar will be open all day, so you can have breakfast and lunch while you play or watch this fun event. Last year, over 150 Hilltoppers participated in the tournament and, aside from a few sore muscles, everyone who played went home happy and with the knowledge they helped raise money for our league.

Teams are forming now from interested parents, coaches and league members, along with existing teams that have played in our tournament for years. Entry fees are only $20 per person, or $250 for an entire team (up to 15 players). Every team will play a minimum of two games in this double-elimination tournament, and every participant receives a beautiful limited edition tournament t-shirt, available only to tournament players.

Signing up is easy. Just see League President Bill Salonius at the park or call him at 619-208-2522. 

BIG LEAGUE SIGNUPS, TOO!

Your last chance to have birth certificates and proofs of residency checked for All-Star eligibility will be Saturday, May 19 from 1-3 p.m. at Cadman Park. We will also be signing up players for our Big League team (ages 16-18) at the same time.

 OK, so the Padres lost to the Marlins 6-3 on Little League Day. But that was hardly a blip of disappointment compared to the fun of our annual Clairemont Hilltoppers trip to Petco Park.

Well over 300 Hilltoppers players, parents, coaches and friends enjoyed a beautiful sunny San Diego day filled with highlights and memories.

The day began with the annual Little League parade down on the field at Petco Park. Several Hilltoppers teams participated in the parade, which fgeatured thousands of Little Leaguers from all over San Diego County. To see some pictures from the parade and the rest of Little League Day, see our facebook page.

The next highlight was getting to watch our own Farm division player, Troy Granfors, throw out the first pitch on the field before the game. Troy did a great job, as he reared back and fired the ball home to the roars of fans throughout the ballpark, but especially in the Left Field Reserved, where Hilltoppers were seated. 

While the game highlights were few and far between for the Padres (except for seeing relief pitcher Andrew Cashner throw 14 pitches over 100 m.p.h.), there was still lots of fun for the kids who spent time, eating, playing at the whiffle ball field in the Park at the Park, eating, hanging with friends, and eating.

It was another great Hilltoppers day. If you missed out this year, be sure to get your tickets early next season!

Our 8th Annual Clairemont Hilltoppers Texas Hold 'em Tournament on Saturday, April 28th at the Best Western Seven Seas in Hotel Circle, was another great evening, with Hilltoppers parents, coaches, alumni, friends and neighbors spending an evening of fun, frivolity and card-playing.

Not only was it a great night of laughs and socializing, but we raised some money for Clairemont Hilltoppers. Congratulations to champion John Drummy, who walked away with a four-pack of tickets to a Padres game, along with gift cards to Sports Authority and Chili's Restaurant. Our District Administrator Lisa LaPage claimed second place, and other winners from our final table included Kevin, Shannon and Chris Bonner, Kirk Gillard and Holly Irwin.

Many thanks to those who donated prizes, including Dan Fauth, Melanie David, Bill Salonius, Mike Van Cleave, Suzanne Mascarena, Bob Faudoa and the Cottage Restaurant. Thanks also to our wonderful dealers Kelly Gorman, Jeff Dimock, Chris Cross, Rusti Lang, Dan Fauth, Ed Ritten, Roger Otterson, Kim Bautista and Alvin Nguyen. The evening would not have been possible without you. Thanks also to Judy Salonius for all her work at the door. And special thanks to Martin Lopez, who not only spun tunes as our DJ all evening, but helped throughout the evening with logistics.

Once again, the generosity of Joe Toczlowski, Cathy Campbell and all the staff at the Best Western for providing this great venue and working this event, were what made this so much fun and profitable for our league.

If you missed out this time, be sure to talk to someone who was there, and don't miss signing up for all the fun next time!

Thanks to the generosity of our District 32 Little Leagues, a team of 13- and 14-year-olds from Vilnius, Lithuania spent nine days in San Diego at the beginning of April, including two games played at our ballfield!

The team, known as Sporto Vilkai (Sports Wolves), arrived on Thursday, March 29 and spent the next week-plus fully immersed in the baseball culture of District 32. Players and coaches were housed by several host families from our league, giving both the Lithuanian players and our own 13- and 14-year-olds a tremendous opportunity to share and exchange customs of their own countries.

Those who were involved two years ago, when many of the same players came to Southern California as 11- and 12-year-olds remember the fabulous experience this exchange was for both the kids from Lithuania and everyone in our league. This year, Clairemont Hilltoppers families the Granfors, Ruthenbergs, Kifers and Browns each generously hosted players from this team. 

The team played games on Saturday, March 31 and Thursday, April 5 against Juniors teams from Clairemont Hilltoppers at Cadman Park.  Additional games were hosted by the Rancho Penasquitos, Mira Mesa and Coronado leagues.

In addition to the ballgames, the kids got some great opportunities to experience the San Diego area. Many events took place during their stay, including a trip to the Padres-Royals exhibition game on Tuesday, April 3. On Friday, April 6, they traveled to Orange County, where they were to be hosted for a second week by leagues in that area for games and sightseeing.

This is the fifth time a team from Lithuania has made a springtime trip to Southern California, but only the second time for District 32 to be involved. What a great experience for our kids to see a little bit of what baseball and childhood is like in other parts of the world.

Clairemont Hilltoppers' 56th Opening Day was a day filled with kids, music, kids, food, baseball, kids... and tons of fun!

Over 400 kids and their families celebrated the start of the 2012 season on a day that looked like it had been special-ordered by the Chamber of Commerce. Under warm, blue skies, the day kicked off with T-Ball games bright and early, followed by the always exciting Opening Ceremonies.

A new twist this year was the parade of teams, and it was a treat to see all 36 teams come marching in from the right field corner to take their places around the infield. We were then treated to one of the most memorable renditions of the National Anthem that any of us are likely to hear, as the four young women of the group "Breaking Day" harmonized to perfection. City Council representative Lorie Zapf and Cadman Elementary principal Elizabeth Ballard both welcomed families to the start of the new season.

There was lots of fun for the kids both on and off the diamonds for the rest of the day, as our Jumper, "Fast Pitch" booth, Outback BBQ and world famous snack bar kept everyone entertained and well fed.

Around all of that, of course, was plenty of baseball action. All but one of our 36 teams took to the field, with most teams playing exhibition games, while our Majors and Juniors teams swung into real game action. 

Many thanks to all of the volunteers who made Opening Day a reality on our beautiful fields, and thanks also to all of our special guests who added much to the excitement of the day.

2012 is going to be another great year!

Here are the game schedules for all teams. Simply click on the handout below and find the division schedule you are looking for.

Thanks to the generosity of SkyBox Sports Grill, our 4th Annual SkyBox Fundraiser dinner was a big success once again.

On Saturday, February 25, over 125 Hilltoppers parents, coaches, friends and families enjoyed a tri-tip dinner with all the trimmings and a great chance to connect and socialize for an evening away from the ballfields.

There were lots of great raffles and auction items, with some of the top items being an Official autographed MLB Stephen Strasberg Jersey (which went to Bob Faudoa), an autographed Adrian Gonzalez baseball (which went to Denny Speidel), and lots of dinners, game tickets, party certificates, and much, much more.

Many thanks to Kim Bautista for once again organizing all of the prizes and auction items, and to all of the volunteers who helped sell raffle tickets and serve meals Saturday night. 

If you missed it this year, be sure to mark your calendars early in 2013. This is one of the best Hilltoppers events of the year.

As part of the oldest and largest youth sports organization in history, Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League is proud to offer the finest experience possible for the youth of Clairemont.

For over 70 years, the name "Little League" has been the most respected and recognized brand in all of youth sports. Now entering our 56th year, Clairemont Hilltoppers represents that brand as both the longest-running youth organization in Clairemont, but also now its only Little League program. Almost 20,000 boys and girls have passed through the Hilltoppers program since 1957, and we take special pride in the number of second- and third-generation players in our league.

Having grown significantly in the last five years, Clairemont Hilltoppers now has 400 kids playing ball in our Spring season, and we continue to find new ways to bring fun, safety, competition and life lessons to every child who joins our program.

Here are just a few of the reasons for our growth and popularity:

• We offer divisions for kids of every age. Little League has teams for youth from 4- to 18-years-old. Any child who will be 4-years-old by April 30, 2012 is eligible to start in our T-Ball program. And, while many leagues end when players are 12-14-years-old, Clairemont Hilltoppers offered teenage divisions in the 13-14, 15-16 & 17-18 age groups in 2011.

• Reasonable costs. With many families facing very challenging economic times, we have long made a commitment to make playing Little League affordable for everyone who wishes to play. Our registration fee for 2012 is just $38, easily the lowest of any youth sports league in town. We also ask participation in our fundraiser, selling 50 candy bars or making a $50 buyout. But if you choose to sell the candy, the fundraiser costs you nothing, and you really can place your child in a full season of 20+ Little League gamess (plus all the associated fun and activities) for just a net cost of $38!

• Developing neighborhood and community relationships. With so many families living such busy lives, and sending kids to schools and activities in other parts of town, it's sometimes difficult to even get to know your neighbors. At Clairemont Hilltoppers, though, it's all about Clairemont. All of our players live within the community. We only advertise in our community. Most of our sponsors are in the community. We plan fundraisers within our community. The bonds that develop as kids and parents make friends in their neighborhood often last for a lifetime.

• Safety, training and education priorities. Little League has always been the leader in safety, and Clairemont Hilltoppers believes in that model. All of our managers and coaches are taught to make the safety of our children the number one concern. From our leaguewide ASAP Safety Plan, to mandatory background checks for every league volunteer, to continuing training programs for our coaches and umpires, our league will never take shortcuts on keeping our players out of harm's way. Our coaches and umpires are given rules and skills training on a regular basis, and our annual Parent Orientation is designed to make all parents part of the solution, rather than the problem, for our program.

• The Little League World Series. Certainly no event in youth sports is more recognized around the world. Each year, ABC and ESPN televise over 70 games in the various Little League All-Star tournaments. Not only is this an exciting summer tradition, but it gives Little League exposure to kids in every part of the country and in dozens of countries around the world. In addition to the World Series for the 11-12-year-old division in Williamsport, championship games in all of the teenage and softball divisions are also televised. Excitement has been high in Southern California recently, as two of the last three World Champions (Park View in Chula Vista and Ocean View in Huntington Beach) have come from our area. Every year, Clairemont Hilltoppers places a team in the same tournament. You can't get to the Little League World Series unless you sign up for Little League! 

 • Great fun activities for our parents. We strive very hard to bring fun beyond just the practices and games... and some of it is for the adults. Every year we have a great fundraiser dinner at the Skybox restaurant at Clairemont Square, an adult coed softball tournament, a poker tournament, Little League Day at a Padres game, and more. And, we're always looking for new ways to get together for some fun.

 We know that families have lots of choices when it comes to their kids' activities. If you choose to join us at Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League, please know that we will be doing everything we can to make that your best decision ever!

Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League

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Named as Charter Members were 17 individuals whose achievements, contributions and leadership will forever be recognized with this honor. A permanent plaque listing the names of all original and subsequent Hall of Famers hangs in our scorebooth building.

Following are the Inductees along with year named:

• Frank Adams (2006)
• Ron Conkle (2006)
• Ken Henderson (2006)
• Tom Franklin (2006)
• John Adams (2006)
• Link Lincavage (2006)
• Harold McCoy (2006)
• Jim Gerstenslager (2006)
• Dave Stephenson (2006)
• Mike Winters (2006)
• Dave Bermudes (2006)
• George Kovacevich (2006)
• Bill Salonius (2006)
• Jeanne Morrow (2006)
• Cesar Carmona (2006)
• Dave Pursel (2006)
• Mike Van Cleave (2006)
• Steve Conner (2008)
• Judy Salonius (2011)
• Ken Cicalo (2011)

These members were recognized for their contributions in one or more of these four categories: Inspirational, Leadership, Volunteer and Special Recognition. Future members will be selected by a committee of current and former Hilltoppers.

Congratulations to all of these Hall of Famers, and many thanks for all you have meant to Clairemont Hilltoppers Little League.