The Augusta County Horseshoe Clinic and tournament was held
on Saturday June 26th. Pat and I had arranged tables with literature
and displays of the various equipment. We brought our TV/VCR to show
the video “Basics of Horseshoe Pitching”, which features Dave Loucks. A
very good film for introducing the how-to’s to new people.
Signups had been very disappointing, with only one person
pre-registered, and without the required minimum of 10, the County
would not attend. We decided to set up and see what happened
regardless. Dustin, our grandson helped put out chairs, and at the
appointed time, we turned on the film. Several weeks before, Jackie
Whetzel had volunteered to be our “demo” pitcher. He and his nephew
Chris showed up, and watched the film with us. While we were discussing
the various techniques offered in the video, a steady stream of cars
started to arrive. A Little League Tournament was taking place at the
same time. When the video was over, Dustin and Chris decided to
“pitch-off” for the trophies. After all, there were two trophies and
two of them!!
The boys went out on the courts to warm up, and that attracted the
attention of some of the ball players. Meanwhile, people started asking
questions about our display, and before we knew it, we had a small
crowd of interested juniors. Several asked about pitching, and we
invited them out on the courts for some quick instruction. We decided
to set up a short double elimination tournament, at no charge. It was
really fun! Stuarts Draft club members Wayne & Dave, Jackie and
myself, each monitored a court, giving out constant reminders about
safety and tips on how to throw. The kids loved it!!
At the end of the event, Nick Matsko and Dustin Snelgrove, both with
one loss, vied off for the “Champion” title. Nick took the honors and
Dustin took runner up. While we pitching, Pat scrounged around in our
shed and made up trophies for all the boys. By the time it was over and
we handed out the awards, many of the parents had gathered around and
it became a photo-op for many of them. One little guy said “I can’t
believe this! I won a trophy!!”
What a great day it turned out to be. Our sincere appreciation to the
club members that helped out, and to Jackie Whetzel for his
participation. Looking forward to next year, the County has already
committed to do this again, but with greater involvement and better
advertising.
|
