[Today's guest columnist is Joel Crozier: assistant captain of Whiteford W.A., creator of the WSEM Championship Trophy, an all-around do anything for wiffleball kind of guy, and possibly future WSEM front-office material.]
When Austin Bischoff first appeared on the WSEM scene, he was just a seventeen-year-old kid filling in for the Flying Squirrels late in the regular season. Players began to take notice, however, when he took the mound against the Warriors and DeLoppes, and posted two complete game shutouts. He soon became the Squirrels’ ace; in the last two weeks of the regular season and the playoffs, he allowed only one run over 46 innings while striking out 120 batters. When the newly revived Squirrels nearly upset the DeLoppes in the second round of the playoffs, Austin Bischoff became a major topic of discussion: “This guy is up there with Dennis Pearson!” “Does Whiteford even exist?” “Hey Carl, you know if they’ve got any like him left on Craigslist? Or was it Ebay where you found him?”
However, Austin was no wiffleball newbie. Like Carl Coffee, Austin was actually the founder and commissioner of his own league: the Whiteford Wiffleball Association.
The origins of wiffle activity in Whiteford trace back to Austin’s elementary school years, when he and close friend Joel Crozier experimented with various bat-and-ball games. They moved from tennis ball baseball to blooper ball to a game called smallball. Unfortunately, because they often played one-on-one, these games didn’t work well when they got older and stronger. That’s when Austin discovered the ultimate one-on-one game: wiffleball.
From the moment the two boys, now in eighth grade, watched a well-thrown pitch break three feet on its way to the strike zone, they were hooked. They researched pitching methods, built a strike zone, bought bases and a home run fence, and began forming a league. They launched a web site and recruited players from their school to join.
Whiteford's roster for Beat It: Colin, Austin, Joel, Justin, and Evan.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear many of other kids didn’t have the same love for wiffleball. The league operated sporadically over the next few years, with only three players actually competing in more than a couple of games. Organized tournaments fell flat on two occasions. Although their games were always intensely competitive, and usually featured high quality pitching, Austin and Joel wanted to find some real competition against other people who enjoyed the game as much as they did. During their search, they discovered a league known as Downriver Wiffle.
Austin contacted the commissioner, Carl Coffee, and a wiffleball relationship was born. As Downriver Wiffle evolved into WSEM, Austin tried to form a team and enter a tournament in Monroe. After the Fourth of July tournament was canceled, Austin got a chance to play organized wiffleball anyway — for the Squirrels. You already know how that turned out.
In the second round of the playoffs, Joel went with Austin to see what the league was all about. He liked what he saw. After the tournament, he and Austin had a long conversation about forming a team for the next season. The first step, of course, would be to enter a team in the end-of-season Beat It tournament.
They contacted Justin Hughes, a leading hitter on Whiteford’s varsity baseball team, and Colin Lake, a superb fielder who could also smash a wiffleball. Austin’s little brother Evan rounded out the team at five players. After Joel and Austin made jerseys, the Whiteford Wiffleball Association was no longer a league — it was a team.
In a great day of wiffleball, the WWA gave Austin the perfect present on his birthday: the Beat It championship. Joel missed most of the tournament due to a fall baseball obligation; with the new rotation rule in effect, someone needed to step up. Justin, who had never pitched in a wiffleball game before, was a pleasant surprise, shutting down the DeLoppes in a crucial playoff game and pitching most of the championship game. When he got in a jam, Austin showed his managerial prowess and faith in Joel, who took the mound, managed to escape the inning, and closed out the tournament.
Plans for WWA's field expansion for the 2012 season.
The WWA has big plans for its first WSEM season. They recently unveiled plans for their home field (name to be determined). Preseason odds released by Brandon Corbett generously list the team as a favorite. Austin, officially named the WWA Captain, and Joel, Assistant to the Captain and Head Publicist, plan to have a pool of players to draw upon throughout the season. They also want to utilize a full pitching rotation throughout the regular season (Austin, Joel, Evan, Justin, Colin, …?) for added versatility in the playoffs. Most of all, they are excited to be playing the game they love with others who are as enthusiastic about it as they are.
However, Austin was no wiffleball newbie. Like Carl Coffee, Austin was actually the founder and commissioner of his own league: the Whiteford Wiffleball Association.
The origins of wiffle activity in Whiteford trace back to Austin’s elementary school years, when he and close friend Joel Crozier experimented with various bat-and-ball games. They moved from tennis ball baseball to blooper ball to a game called smallball. Unfortunately, because they often played one-on-one, these games didn’t work well when they got older and stronger. That’s when Austin discovered the ultimate one-on-one game: wiffleball.
From the moment the two boys, now in eighth grade, watched a well-thrown pitch break three feet on its way to the strike zone, they were hooked. They researched pitching methods, built a strike zone, bought bases and a home run fence, and began forming a league. They launched a web site and recruited players from their school to join.
Whiteford's roster for Beat It: Colin, Austin, Joel, Justin, and Evan.
Unfortunately, it soon became clear many of other kids didn’t have the same love for wiffleball. The league operated sporadically over the next few years, with only three players actually competing in more than a couple of games. Organized tournaments fell flat on two occasions. Although their games were always intensely competitive, and usually featured high quality pitching, Austin and Joel wanted to find some real competition against other people who enjoyed the game as much as they did. During their search, they discovered a league known as Downriver Wiffle.
Austin contacted the commissioner, Carl Coffee, and a wiffleball relationship was born. As Downriver Wiffle evolved into WSEM, Austin tried to form a team and enter a tournament in Monroe. After the Fourth of July tournament was canceled, Austin got a chance to play organized wiffleball anyway — for the Squirrels. You already know how that turned out.
In the second round of the playoffs, Joel went with Austin to see what the league was all about. He liked what he saw. After the tournament, he and Austin had a long conversation about forming a team for the next season. The first step, of course, would be to enter a team in the end-of-season Beat It tournament.
They contacted Justin Hughes, a leading hitter on Whiteford’s varsity baseball team, and Colin Lake, a superb fielder who could also smash a wiffleball. Austin’s little brother Evan rounded out the team at five players. After Joel and Austin made jerseys, the Whiteford Wiffleball Association was no longer a league — it was a team.
In a great day of wiffleball, the WWA gave Austin the perfect present on his birthday: the Beat It championship. Joel missed most of the tournament due to a fall baseball obligation; with the new rotation rule in effect, someone needed to step up. Justin, who had never pitched in a wiffleball game before, was a pleasant surprise, shutting down the DeLoppes in a crucial playoff game and pitching most of the championship game. When he got in a jam, Austin showed his managerial prowess and faith in Joel, who took the mound, managed to escape the inning, and closed out the tournament.
Plans for WWA's field expansion for the 2012 season.
The WWA has big plans for its first WSEM season. They recently unveiled plans for their home field (name to be determined). Preseason odds released by Brandon Corbett generously list the team as a favorite. Austin, officially named the WWA Captain, and Joel, Assistant to the Captain and Head Publicist, plan to have a pool of players to draw upon throughout the season. They also want to utilize a full pitching rotation throughout the regular season (Austin, Joel, Evan, Justin, Colin, …?) for added versatility in the playoffs. Most of all, they are excited to be playing the game they love with others who are as enthusiastic about it as they are. What to watch for:
- Bitter rivalries against the Squirrels (Austin’s a traitor!) and Thunder Ducks (think battle for the Clown Shu).
- Possibility of lighter, cooler alternate jerseys
- Closing of League Lineup site, opening of new team site
- Updates on field construction
- Promo vid!
- Video recaps/highlights of games
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