Another '1st' of the Season

Griffin and the D.A.A. Dodgers took to the field this evening for their first outdoor practice of the season. It was a beautiful evening --- temps in the upper 70s --- and it was great to see some more outdoor action. Check out the video.

'ZONE's!!!

Paxton swims at Ohio State University today. The Great Lakes Zone Chamoionships pull the best swimmers from Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia and Michigan. Swimming with his 200yd Freestyle Relay team, Paxton's is one of only 37 teams from ALL 5 states to qualify for this event in today's Championship competition.

This is as far as you can get before moving on to National Championships. CONGRATS to Paxton for making it so far this year! We're all very proud of you, buddy. Good luck this afternoon!!!
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The Great Outdoors!

On this beautiful evening... you could almost (ALMOST) believe Spring has officially arrived. The sun was shining, temps reached the lower 70s today, and this evening two of the boys got in their first outdoor practice of the season. Duncan & Paxton's 'Heat' took the field, and it was a GREAT thing. The sights, the sounds... even the smells. Felt like home... ya know? We know we're not out of the woods yet, still wishing for consistently warmer temps (although, that wouldn't be unreasonable to ask for, would it?!?)... but this evening was fantastic. Check out the video.

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The Ol' IN & OUT

Holden spent some time this afternoon pitching and batting. The pitching was done indoors. And the batting --- it was a gorgeous afternoon, so we moved to the outdoor cages. His pitching looks fantastic. As for his batting... well, it's clearly the 'knock-some-rust-off' part of the early season. Check out the video.

'AA' Championships

And here we go again. Paxton is a member of two 4-man Relay Teams that have qualified for 'AA' Championships this weekend. The event is being held at Miami University (Oxford, OH). One of Paxton's relay events goes today (200yd Freestle), and the other event goes tomorrow (Sunday).

The plan is... Pax will swim later this morning, and then we'll run back home so Holden can get to Pitching practice mid-afternoon (remember?... this is supposed to be about baseball... right?)

Good luck, Paxton!
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Griffin's Turn

Tonight is the season's first batting pratice for Griffin and the D.A.A. Dodgers. Number 3 of the KelleyBoys to get in some swings (Duncan and Paxton hit the cages for their third time tonight as well).

Griffin got in several rounds in the cage and was really crankin' the ball. Good job, buddy! We're all looking forward to another season. Let"s play some ball!!!
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Congratulations, Paxton!

Another 'non-baseball' entry. Paxton wraps the regular season of swimming today. Just a quick 'how it works'... similar to other sports, there are regular meets thru-out the season. And, being a member of a team (Powell Crosley YMCA Tigersharks), Paxton competes for personal bests (finishes, times) as well as a contributor to the team's overall success. Paxton has had an outstanding season --- all kinds of top finishes in meets and setting personal bests time-wise. This weekend's meet is a big one. There are 3 separate sites throughout the city, and all sites (serving as prelims) then 'feed-into' finals held in Lebanon, OH. Paxton qualified yesterday in 1 event for last night's finals. 76 boys across all 3 sites began the day hoping to move on (the combined top 16 swimmers from all 3 prelims sites in each event) to the finals in the 50yd Freestyle. And at the end of the day, Paxton finished 12th overall. Way to go, buddy! And as of today, having competed in 4 more events this morning, Paxton's heading back to Lebanon this evening for finals in TWO more events.

One last note... as with all other sports, swimmers compete throughout the regular season with their eyes on a bigger prize. In swimming, one of those post-season prizes is 'AA Championships'. 'AA's is a big deal... held at Miami University (Oxford, OH), and pulls the best of the best from across the south- and mid-west regions. Paxton learned today that BOTH of the relay teams he's on have qualified for 'AA's. Outstanding news! We're all very proud of you, Paxton.
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