Youth Football Parents Meeting

Newtown Youth football will be holding a parents meeting on Friday, April 28, at 7 pm in the Reed Intermediate School cafeteria. The meeting will be to discuss the 2006 season and the changes that will take place with teams and league structure. AYF will now be grade specific play without weight-based schematics. The league will also be adding additional teams to the game schedule. The season will be starting one week later on August 7. For further information, visit newtownyouthfootball.com.

Goose Gossage To Appear At Babe Ruth Banquet

Rich “Goose” Gossage – the former New York Yankees fireballer of the late 1970s and early 1980s – will be in Monroe on May 11 as the celebrity guest at a fundraising banquet celebration hosted by the Newtown Babe Ruth Baseball League. The event will be held at the Waterview Inn on Route 34 in Monroe. A limited number of tickets are available. A ticket for the banquet, which includes dinner, beverage and dessert, costs $20. If any tickets remain on the night of the banquet, they will cost $25. There will also be a silent auction with numerous memorable items to bid on, a raffle, door prizes, a trivia contest and an audio/video presentation. Items at the silent auction include memorabilia autographed by current major leaguers Randy Johnson and Tom Glavine, and sports legends Yogi Berra, Tom Seaver, Carl Yastrzemski, Carlton Fisk, Jim Palmer, Tony Gwynn, Rod Gilbert, Joe Frazier and Gossage. Some other auction items are box seats to see Barry Bonds play the New York Mets at Shea Stadium, New Jersey Nets tickets, a night at the Dana Holcombe House and dinner at local restaurants. For an additional $25, Gossage will autograph a Babe Ruth baseball (only one autographed ball is allowed per ticket and Gossage will not be signing any other items). To purchase a ticket, visit www.newtownbaseball.com. Tickets can also be bought at Newtown Parks and Rec, Bagel Delight, Olympia Sports, Coach’s Deli or Dr Henry Gellert’s office. The banquet will run from 7 to 9:30 pm and all proceeds go to the betterment of the Babe Ruth Baseball League. The monies will be used for improving fields and improving the experience for all of Newtown’s baseball-playing youth.

 

Youth Tennis

In its upcoming fourth season with the Newtown Parks and Recreation Department, Dave and Greg’s Tennis will be providing new tennis options for young players. Among the new tennis programming options are two sessions of match play, a program meant for juniors ages 9 through 16 who are able to get their serve in consistently. Juniors will be given strategy tips from a certified adult instructor while playing matches. Additionally, there will be two new afternoon camps this summer starting July 24. As in previous years, Dave and Greg’s Tennis will offer clinics for eight weeks (two four-week sessions) starting June 26. This includes lessons for tiny tots (ages 4-7), beginner (grades 2-4), beginner (grades 5-10), and intermediate/ advanced (grades 5-10). Also, there will be a junior camp offered August 21-24 in the morning hours. All classes will be held at Dickinson Park. For more information contact Greg Sansonetti at (203) 375-6545 or to register call Newtown Parks and Recreation office at (203) 270-4340. Dave and Greg’s new website can be accessed at www.fairfieldcountytennis.net.

Sunday Slo-Pitch Softball

The Newtown Men’s Sunday Slo-Pitch Softball League is gearing up for another season and any new players or teams interested in participating should contact Jim Dudeck at 270-7877 or jdudek1846@sbcglobal.net.

Wiffle Up Tournament

The 3-on-3 Wiffle Up Tournament will start off the 2006 tour by making its debut in Danbury on Saturday, June 3. This is a Wiffle© Ball tournament, now in its 10th season, which will reach 15 different cities with stops in Richmond (VA), Columbus (OH), Manchester (NH) and Chicago (IL). The top four teams from each tournament will earn the right to advance to the Wiffle-Up World Championship Tournament at the North Branford Sportsplex in North Branford in October. Individual Wiffle Up tournaments are bracket play with a single elimination playoff system. Each team that enters is guaranteed a minimum of three games with the possibility of additional games in the playoffs.  Teams will have the choice of competing in either a Medium Pitch or Fast Division. For more information on rules or how to register a team, visit www.wiffleup.com or call 1-866-777-WIFF (9433). Deadline for entry is noon on Friday, June 2.

Namath/Dockery Football Camp

The annual Joe Namath/John Dockery Instructional Football Camp will return to Nicholls College in Dudley, Massachusetts July 9-19. The camp is open to boys ages 8 to 18 and will feature contact and non-contact programs as well as visits from current and former NFL players like Justin McCareins, Dan Klecko, Kareem McKenzie, Willie Ponder, David Tyree and Winston Hill. Visit www.joenamathcamp.com for further information.

Trumbull Hosting Special Olympics

For the second consecutive year, Trumbull High School and Hillcrest Middle School will host nearly 700 Special Olympics athletes on Saturday, May 13 for developmental aquatics and Saturday, May 20 for track and field, aquatics and tennis, as they take part in the annual Regional Games sponsored by the Southwest Region of Special Olympics Connecticut (SOCT).  Gymnastics competition will take place at the Trumbull YMCA on Saturday, May 20. Male and female athletes eight years and older who have intellectual disabilities will compete in aquatics, track and field, tennis and gymnastics as they prepare for participation in the 2006 Summer Games in June. Corporate and business sponsors at levels ranging from $10,000 to $1,000 are being sought. For additional information on the Regional Games – to enroll an athlete, to volunteer on-site support, to offer financial assistance, or to cheer for the Special Olympics Athletes – call the Stratford-based Southwest Region at 203-380-9990 or visit www.soct.org.

 

Skill Development Basketball Clinic

A Skill Development Basketball Clinic will be held at the Western Connecticut State University O’Neill Center in Danbury. The clinic will be hosted by Connecticut Young Gunns Basketball Program. Session II will meet May 8-11, 6 to 8pm (ages 9-11 and 12-14 boys only) and Session three will meet June 5-8, 6 to 8 pm (ages 7-9 boys/girls and 11-14 girls). Call Jay Riccitelli at 203-927-0670 or visit www.CTYoungGunz.com for further information.

H.O.P.E. For Habitat Golf

A golf outing benefitting H.O.P.E for Habitat will be held Thursday, May 18, at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. It will be a 10:30 am shotgun start with registration opening at 9 am. Cost is $110 per player and that includes greens fees, cart, lunch and dinner. H.O.P.E. is a partnership between AW Hastings & Co and the Greater Springfield Habitat for Humanity project. For further info, contact Melissa Roberge at 800-394-2728, ext. 2748.