Hello Kickballers!! Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Just wanted to get all of this info to you early in the week with a short blog post!  This week we have our last theme night.  Please dress in NEON attire!!  It should be easy to find highlighter yellow, vibrant green or bright pink shirts, etc. from Walmart or Target!  As of right now the weather forecast for the week shows that there is a high chance of rain on Wednesday and 30% chance on Thursday... so stay patient with me and I will let you know the final verdict of the week's games at 3pm on Thursday!  Hopefully the forecast is wrong and there will be no rain! 

 

     Here are the scores from last week!  Thank you Loko 4 Fireball for helping out Friends with Benefits this past week with subs. There are only 2 more weeks that teams are able to use subs before playoffs start.  At that time you can only play with your teammates, otherwise you unfortunately will have to forfeit.  Remember, you are only able to play with subs to get to the minimum number of girls and guys required to play a "legal" game. (4 guys and 4 girls)

 

      Here is the schedule for this week.  Please check the schedule below as it has changed from the beginning of the season!  If it ends up raining out this week... we will just postpone these week's games to the next week!

     Don't forget to wear your NEON attire Thursday night!  Hopefully the weather will cooperate and we will be able to have the games!!  Have a great rest of your week and see you Thursday night on the field!!

     Happy Wednesday night kickballers!  Hope you all had a great St. Patricks Day and were safe during your celebrations for the holiday!  I have uploaded the Mid Season Party pictures, as well as the Olympic theme night pictures, in the TX Tornado Facebook group!  If you aren't a member of the group already click the link ---> JOIN NOW!!

     Thanks for everyone that came out to the Mid Season Party Friday night!  I hope all of you had a lot of fun time with the free beer and some free shots!  It was fun to see all of you in your St. Patricks Day attire!  The NEXT theme night is NEXT THURSDAY NIGHT ( March 27th) and its NEON night!!  I will post about this throughout the week next week so you make sure to wear neon clothing!  We also had a great week of games last week!  Below are the scores from the games this past Thursday night!

     One rule that I want to clarify with all of you is the rule with number of players required to play in a game.  I know some of you have been in the league for a while, which means you have had past representatives prior to myself, so that means you have been exposed to several ways this has been dealt with. From NOW on, you MUST have FOUR girls and FOUR guys MININUM to play in the game.  If you only have 3 girls then you must find a fourth.  We won't allow you to play one guy and one girl down to have 9 players.  That being said, subs for the season must be from other teams in our league that are NOT playing at that same time as your team (so teams that are off or reffing you can see if they have players willing to join your team for the game).  If you need a sub, let me know the DAY BEFORE the games and I can put you in contact with the captains of other teams so y'all might be able to work something out!  Subs will ONLY be allowed though during regular season.... playoffs you must have your own players only in your game!

     Here is the schedule for this week.  I will only send something to you via email and Facebook group if the games have been cancelled.  If you don't hear from me before 3pm the day of the games, ASSUME that games are on for that night!  We still have people showing up right at 7 to play.  Please make sure that you are there early (10 to 15 minutes at latest) so we can get games started at the top of the hour!

     Looking forward to another great week of games!  See you all at the fields! :)

     Good Afternoon Kickballers!! Hope yall have been having a great week!  Don't forget.... its MID SEASON PARTY WEEK!!!!  Click the link to join the Facebook Event --> Mid Season Partayy

 

 

Details for the Party:

• When: FRIDAY NIGHT -- March 14, 2014
• Time: 9pm-2am
• Where: The BAR in Plano
• Attire: St. Patricks Day Stuff-- EVERYTHING IRISH GREEN!
• Cost:
• Current Tornado Players-- Free
• Players in other WAKA leagues-- $5
• Non Kickballer Friends-- $10
• Everyone that pays to join party will get the Kickball Specials
• Specials-
• Live Band!!
• FREE BEER- We have 2 kegs for the party
• Liquor Specials-
• $4- Jose Cuervo, Jim Beam, Skyy, Captain Morgan, Malibu, Jager, Southern Comfort, Tuaca, Bacardi
• $3.50 Wells- Vodka, Tequila, Rum, Whiskey, Gin, Scotch
• $3 shots--Fireball, Red Headed Sluts, Washington Apple, Sex on the Beach
• $13 Beer Buckets/ 5 domestic beers
• First 30 to the bar will get a FREE SHOT!!!  
• Food Specials
• $1 off 9'' Pizza
• $1 off Pulled Pork Sandwich
• $1 off Chips and Salsa

     We have a few birthdays that have happened over the last few weeks and this week.  Make sure to say something to them, celebrate with them, or buy them shots!!

• Oliver Serrano- March 1 (Loko 4 Fireball)
• Brandy Cooke- March 6 (Friends with Benefits)
• Bonnie Azulai- March 6 (Friends with Benefits
• Zac Burks- March 7 (Kick It and Quit It)
• Jenn Wilde- March 7 (Kick It and Quit It)
• Ashley Thompson- March 8 (Kick It and Quit It)
• Matt Tanner- March 13 (Loko 4 Fireball)

     We had another great week last week!  We had a few pretty intense games.... that both actually ended in ties!! Solo first place is still up for grabs!!  All teams are pretty closely packed in the standings, so with it being the halfway point of the season... it is anyone's season for the winning!!  Games are still a go for this week and will keep you posted if that changes. Be prepared for alot of wind this week. Also it will be in 50s again come game time Thursday night so make sure that you have some warm clothing.  Here were the scores from last week!  

If you would like to check out the standings, just click this ---> Standings

     The schedule for this week is below.  Again just make sure you are there early and leave time for traffic to occur when traveling to the fields.  There were a few teams that we had to delay a little bit for this week... so PLEASE make sure you are there by the latest 10 minutes before the hour so we can get the games started right at 7pm!

Couple rules I wanted to address. 

1. Yelling at referrees is NOT allowed... regardless of how intense the game.  I understand games get competitive but these refs are doing this voluntarily and deserve to be treated with respect.  As a team you get ONE warning for the season if you are caught yelling at a ref (be that head ref or line ref).  After that the player that yells the next time on your team at refs will be suspended for a game.  TX Tornado kickball is about having FUN first!  Growing the league back to its past size is a huge priority!  Past seasons I've seen teams refuse to ref other teams because of past situations involving yelling... So to make sure these situations don't occur in the future, we are going to make sure this doesn't happen now.
2. In regards to timing of games... games last 50 minutes.  If you are about to go into an inning (say for instance the 4th inning), and there is only 10 minutes left before time is up- The head referree MUST address both teams telling them this will be the last inning of play for the game due to time.  If this is not stated, the game will have to be played in its entirety, or at least the next full inning after that must be played.
3. Even if there is time left after the 5th inning and it is tied... the game is still OVER and marked as a tie!  The only time that we will go to extra innings is in the playoffs!!

     Well that's all the information I have for this week!  There are a few events and kickball tournaments I was informed about so I will also be making posts about those events as well shortly!  If you haven't done so already please fill out the Mid Season Survey (<-- Link to fill it out).  We are really trying satisfy all of the players and the only way to know that we are doing that is if you fill this out.  It will only take a few minutes and the feedback is definitely looked at!  Hope you have a great rest of your week and see you on the fields Thursday night!

Hey Kickballers!  Happy Mardi Gras!  Hope everyone has had a wonderful week and has had a great time celebrating the holiday!!

     

     WHAT A TURNOUT for Olympic night!! Thank you SOOO much for all of the teams and their participation!  It was a very successful night because of all of you!!  There were 2 awards that night that were judged on.  The first was for the team that won Beer Olympics; and the second was the team with the most creative and best participation with the costumes.  

     In terms of the Beer Olympics the score was VERYYY close between a few teams.  The score was calculated by how far you got in the bracket play in each game.  If you won that game's bracket then you got Gold which equaled 3pts; 2nd Place (Silver) earned 2 pts; Tied for 3rd Place(Bronze) earned 1 pt.. After several rounds of play, the country that came out on top for Beer Olympics was .... BRAZIL (AKA Mixed Nuts)

Congrats Mixed Nuts!!  Come see me on Thursday night and I will give you some money to spend at the bar on the team that night :)  Also, congrats to USA for being Beer Pong champs and to Mixed Nuts for winning Flip Cup!  Those ended up being the only games that we got far enough to have a gold medal!

The scores for all the teams for Beer Olympics were as follows:

• Brazil (Mixed Nuts)- 5 points
• Great Britain (Como Te Llamas)- 4 points
• USA (Freeballers)- 4 points
• Scotland (Loko 4 Fireball)- 2 points
• Canada (Swift Kickin the Balls)- 2 points
• Mexico (Kick It and Quit It)- 1 point
• Jamaica (50 Shades of Bengay)- 1 point
• Ireland (Friends with Benefits)- 1 point

     NOW for the team that won the best participation award.  It was very close because all teams did awesome with dressing up for their chosen country.  I was especially impressed with how much creativity and thought were put into the costumes. We had everything from Captain America... to Kate Middleton.. to unicorns in tutus representing Scotland (Pictures will be uploaded within the next day)!  The winning team, however, seemed to go above and beyond... they had ponchos, flags that were hung at the bar, mustaches, maracas,  and even sombreros....(that description should be a dead giveaway on the winner).... That's right... 



.......MEXICO (Kick It and Quit It) was the winner of the best participation award! (Please come see me Thursday night as you also will be getting some money for the team to spend at the bar!)

Mark your calendars for the next theme night....

 ST PATRICKS DAY THEME for the MID Season Party on Friday March 14th at The BAR in Plano!!!

Here is the link to the event on Facebook:  Mid Season Party

If you haven't been added to the party list please add yourself and your friends!!! 

  We had some great games last week!  There was our first tie of the season, as well as another game that came down to the bottom of the 5th to determine the winner!  Great job Swift Kick, Mixed Nuts, and 50 Shades of BenGay on your wins!  

    

  With our season at about the halfway mark,  here are the current standings we have for the season!!

     This upcoming week the two teams that are still undefeated for the season will face off!  Who is going to take over that top spot at the halfway point of the season?!?!  I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who has volunteered to ref thus far and for everyone being on time (early) for the games so we are able to get them started on time!  Please continue it!!  The schedule for this upcoming week is as follows.

    Looks like this the weather is starting to get warmer... slowly but surely!  Still planning on the games to be played Thursday night!  I will keep you informed if we don't have them anymore but let's hope this sun keeps drying up the fields that were covered by ice earlier this week!  Don't know about you... but I am READY for this warm weather to finally be back all the time!  Looking forward to another great week of play! Make sure you all wear your WAKA team shirts this week!   See you on the fields Thursday night!

     Guess what week it is.... OLYMPICS WEEK!!!  Get your teams together in your chosen countries attire and participate in our first theme night of the season (for list of your countries just scroll down to the first blog post)!  Please dress up for the fields (yes.... you play in your costumes and not your WAKA shirt!) and also come out to the bar after to participate against other countries in Bar Olympics!! Prize for the team that has the best costume attire for their country and also a prize for the bar olympic champs too!!  Be prepared for lots of pictures and a team picture while at the fields! 

We had a few birthdays that occurred over the last few weeks and this week.  Happy birthday shoutout to the following people...

• February 7- Emily Renfro (team- Friends with Benefits)
• February 15- Dawn Slattery (team- Loko 4 Fireball)
• February 16- Amy Hurst (team- Mixed Nuts)
• February 17- Kristen Wingfield (team- Friends with Benefits)
• February 19- Megan Reynolds (team- Loko 4 Fireball)
• February 19- Emily Dahlin (team- Como Te Llamas?)
• February 19- Melissa Bennett (team- Mixed Nuts)
• February 20- Brian Schiff (team- Friends with Benefits)
• February 26- Carl Stallings (team- Kick It and Quit It)
• February 26- Sam Pryor (team- Mixed Nuts)
• February 28- Taylor Tillery (team- Como Te Llamas?)

     Hope all of you had great birthdays or will have a great birthday!! If you see them around the bar or fields make sure to say something to them!  Woohoo for being another year older! :)

     We had another great week of games last week! Here are the scores from the past week!  Congrats to 50 Shades of Bengay, Mixed Nuts, Freeballers and Swift Kickin the Balls for their victories! 

     This upcoming week we have the following teams playing each other!  (Below is the schedule) Again make sure you know what time your team is reffing/playing so you are there 15 minutes prior to warm up and check in with me so that we are good to go at 7pm and 8pm sharp!  The lights are only on for a certain amount of time so we have to make sure that we get all games completed before they are off for the night! 

 

 

     What a fun week we had also at the bar!  I loved seeing whole teams/parts of teams getting up on the stage for karaoke!  More pictures that have been taken from the season will be added to the blog over the next week!  Please continue to encourage all players to come join in the fun at the bar to socialize with the other teams after their games at the fields!  Please also keep in mind that the Mid Season Party is coming up on MARCH 14TH  (that Friday night) at the sponsor bar-- I know the St. Patricks Day Parade is the next day but please come out to this even if it's for a little bit!! The theme for that night is Decades so you can dress up 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, Today, etc!!  I will be creating a facebook event today to add your teammates and friends to for that night! 

 

     Looking forward to a fun week at kickball with the theme night!  Since there was rain yesterday, I will be speaking with Parks and Rec tomorrow about the status of the fields. IF we have to cancel we will postpone the theme night for the NEXT Thursday.  Also, if it does get cancelled I encourage all of you to still go to the sponsor bar to socialize but it's never mandatory.  But hopefully with the sun out today it will dry up all the rainy grass so we get to play tomorrow night!  I will keep you posted!  See yall Thursday night! 

Kickball Thursdays are BACK!!

     This week WAKA Kickball returned to action in Plano! I don't know about you.. but I was very happy to bring these Thursday Kickball nights back onto my social calendar!  I want to welcome back all of our kickballers who are returning and congratulate all the new players who joined the league this season! We had a big jump in signups and have eight teams of ballers. With parties already set, theme nights, and a full schedule of games, this season promises to be, wait for it ... LEGENDARY!

Below is a picture showing the scores from last weeks games!  Though the games might not have been very close between the veteran teams and the newbies, it WASSS only the first night of the season, so with more game practice under their belts, I have a feeling these new teams are going to come together and surprise some vets come season end!

We have the second week of games this upcoming Thursday and with this beautiful....and might I add WARM... weather I don't forsee any rainouts!  ***Fingers crossed though because mother nature here in Dallas tends to bipolar when you least expect it.*** But it is DEFINITELY great to have this 80 degree weather back... I'd take this ANY day over the 20s to 30s we have been having lately!  Below is also an image of this week's schedule:

Make sure that yall are there early, ready to play or to warmup (15 minutes prior to game time.. at least).  We started a little late last week, so please let's keep this game starting right on time and refs there early to officiate!

     What a great turnout at the sponsor bar as well! Thank you so much for heading their after the games!  They really enjoyed having us, and look forward to a great season as our sponsor!  If you weren't able to make it please try to come out this upcoming week, and future weeks to come!!!  We have great drink specials and there are bar games available that can be played as well!

      In honor of the Olympics going on right now in Sochi don't forget about our FIRST THEME NIGHT next Thursday FEBRUARY 28TH!! The theme is Olympic and the team countries have been set!!!! Please dress up and represent your "country" for the night (These theme nights are the only nights its okay for you not to wear your team WAKA shirts!!).  The team with the most participation (yes that means.. you actually have to dress up) will win a prize! You still have a week to think about these costumes.. so keep thinkin and great creative!!

Countries chosen are..... 

• Mixed Nuts .............................. Brazil
• Swift Kickin the Balls................ Canada
• Friends with Benefits................. Ireland
• Loko 4 Fireball......................... Scotland
• Como Te Llamas...................... Great Britain
• Kick It and Quit It.................... Mexico
• 50 Shades of Bengay................ Jamaica
• Freeballers................................ USA

Also, if you can PLEASE make it to the bar that night... we will also be having Beer Olympics to see who is going to win the Gold Medal in the games!! (Prize will also be given)

     Looking forward to another great week of games this week!  As always if there are any questions or concerns please email or text me! (tmalloy@kickball.com) The second round of shirts I have NOT received them yet, so as soon as I do they will be handed out!!  This is the first of many posts in this blog, as it will be updated daily each week!  I will also be uploading photos I take throughout the season to the running slideshow!  As well as there are links to our Facebook page, League page, as well as for schedule and standings handy for you as well on the right! Have a great week and see you at the fields Thursday!

-- Tayler