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Show THE PARK RECORD B-7 SATURDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1 997 SPORTS EDITOR Dave Fields 649-9014 ext 1 10 Sports. Field notes... f i by Dave Fields Freckleton gets the MVP Today 162 youngsters will don pads and helmets for the final regular-season little league football game of the year. Some of the teams will play in the Cougar Bowl in November and one team, eight-and eight-and nine-year-old Gremlin World, can make it to the playoffs with a win today. One year ago, the entire Park City District 27 had a combined three wins in its first year in existence. exis-tence. This year, not counting today's games, District 27 has 15 wins. Before last year, eight to 15-year-olds wanting to play football had to be driven to Salt Lake or settle for a backyard game with friends and siblings. sib-lings. As a parent of two young boys, Brian Freckleton wanted his children chil-dren to be able to play football if they desired. He also followed the Park City High School football team and realized the need for a feeder program. "We really do have a good community com-munity and I wanted to give something some-thing back," Freckleton said of his desire to bring little league football to Park City. Another parent, who had been driving his son to Skyline High School to play football, heard Freckleton thought Park City needed need-ed a little league football program. After first offering to help coach, Freckleton then called the parent back and said he would help organize orga-nize the league if it was viable. After several bagel and coffee meetings' with Ute Conference officials," offi-cials," Freckleton and the other organizers orga-nizers Richard Vincent, Scott Hardman and Al Noertker decided to hold a meeting with interested parents. In his own words, Freckleton said he and the other parents were "very naive." It cost $35,000 to outfit District 27 with all the equipment significantly signifi-cantly more than the parents anticipated. antici-pated. League officials told the organizers to expect little success in the first four years. Fifteen wins against long-standing district teams in Park City's second year is more than any football fan, parent or coach could have hoped for. Corporate and private donations helped offset the $35,000 tab but Freckleton still carries some of the debt of his lofty goal. One day, Freckleton hopes to be standing on the sidelines coaching one of his son's teams. But it looks like it might be a while. His five-year-old son Mitchell is gung ho to hit the field but still has to wait three years. Freckleton's oldest son, Beau, is eight and old enough to play next year but thinks he might play soccer for another year. But for Freckleton, who plans estates when he's not planning football foot-ball programs, little league now exists and that's the important part. "Just to see those kids out on the football field is enough for me." A UPPER LIMIT FITNESS WAREHOUSE 6 Months Same As Cash! Financing Available y Credit Cards Accepted! Star Trac Treadmills -Voted- "f3est Bu by several leading consumer publications three years in a Row! Orem 224-8306 1354 So. State (Next to Ultimate Electronics) UPPER LIMIT Soccer season ends for 1 ,200 young players Recreation Services volleyball and Bitty Basketball under way by Dave Fields OF THE RECORD STAFF Monday marked the last day of games for 1,200 soccer players ages four to 14 participating in the Park City Recreation ServicesBasin Recreation Youth Soccer program. This year's enrollment ballooned along with nation-wide increases in youth soccer participation. "It's by far our fastest growing sport," said recreation coordinator Ken Fisher. In 1990, 600 young players took part in local recreation soccer programs. This year's program, which began Aug. 18, needed 97 teams to handle all the kids who signed up to play soccer. Each team played between 14 and 18 games throughout the season. Part of soccer's attraction is due to the team play that doesn't isolate individual indi-vidual performances. "It's not an intimidating sport," Fisher said. "It's action packed." And for every good team there is a good coach. Each of the 97 teams had volunteer coaches and some assistants. "Without the volunteers, the program pro-gram wouldn't happen," Fisher said. Unlike years past, there will be no official spring soccer season but Recreation Services is planning a drop-in drop-in program. Parents and kids can sign up and then when the young players reach the field, they are split into impromptu teams. Fisher said the program pro-gram is more casual but gives young Ferguson named to Salt Lake 11 -year-old TMMS student heading to Las Vegas for baseball tournament by Dave Fields OF THE RECORD STAFF In his first year of playing T-ball, Fred Ferguson made a triple play. "He was the only player that knew what he was doing," said his mother, Linda. r , Ferguson was four, now he's an 11-year-old sixth-grader at Treasure Mountain Middle School and still playing baseball. Over Halloween weekend, Ferguson will be competing in a tournament in Las Vegas that will include teams from around the western United States. After playing in the spring league here in Park City, Ferguson attended the Baseball Academy Fall Ball practices. At the end of the season, 30-35 young players tried out for Baseball Academy's All-Star team. Ferguson made the team and will play center cen-ter field, although he prefers catching. "That's what I prefer but the guys in Salt Lake can catch a lot better, they're really good," Ferguson said. Before discovering Fall Ball, Ferguson played football in the fall. But now that he's found a way to play hard ball even more, there's no more football. "Baseball's my favorite," he said. Ferguson's 11- and 12-year-old All-Star team will play five games in next weekend's tournament. When the young baseball player is not hitting, catching and fielding, he can be found on the slopes of Deer Valley. Ferguson is a member of the Deer Valley Freestyle Team. He took up skiing four years ago when his family moved to Park City from Alabama. He said comparing the two sports is difficult. "You use more of your body in freestyle than in baseball," Ferguson said. "It's hard to compare the two.. .snow and no snow." il TRrtC Ml) Salt Lake 973-7303 815 West 2400 South (Just Off 9th West) Like sters wanting to get out and kick the ball a chance to do so. Volleyball and Bitty Basketball leagues are currently cur-rently getting under way for the fall season. Fifteen teams are competing in the two volleyball vol-leyball divisions competitive competi-tive and power. Games started start-ed last week and run through Dec. 17. A record number of young basketball players signed up for the Bitty Basketball program pro-gram that starts Oct. 27. Two hundred pre-school through second-grade-aged children will be playing with six-to-eight-foot baskets and smaller balls. "That program is huge," Fisher said. "It has more than doubled since last year." Fisher said he anticipated 120 kids signing up for Bitty Basketball. Junior Jazz basketball, for third through eighth graders, starts in December and the sign up closes Nov. 6. Adult basketball begins Dec. 4 and the sign-up ends in the middle of November. Another adult volleyball program will begin in January. The much-publicized broom ball program, which never got off the ground last winter, has been scrapped. Attempts were made at building build-ing an ice rink last winter on the Softball field but Fisher said the program is off for this winter. ( i ' ' '' . r - ''. " '- ' i ' r, PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDA FERGUSON Fred Ferguson plays center field and catcher but will be in the field during a Halloween weekend tournament in Las Vegas. l--Y : 1 I ,7 h, . K ' i;i I'd ; "Good Neighbor service makes State Farm unique. . . my poliqholders swear by it year after year." ;. N ' j P - Bryan Daybell 1912 Sidewinder Dr., Suite 101 Park City, Utah 84060 (801) 649-9161 ITATI fM Suite Harm Insurance Companies Home Offices: Ulfx.iiTiington, Illinois INSUIANCI a good neigblnr. Stale Farm is there ' - . . it .. . . . : ,.....' '.. ... t &, SCOTT SINE PARK RECORD Two local soccer players enjoy the final game of the season last Saturday. Ninety-seven Ninety-seven teams took part in the Park City Recreation ServicesBasin Recreation Youth Soccer program this summer. ! All-Star team M I W.lW $ ?i 3 m - i - -T v .i-:-v ..... ' " . -....',.'..'.. PCRC tennis j pros "worK' in Cancun Pretorius and Berwald j attend seminars on tennis; business and psychology j Park City Racquet Club tennM profesj-sionals profesj-sionals Warren Pretorius and Skosi Berwald did a little homework in paradisf recently. j The national executive committee meetings of the United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) were held in Cancun, Mexico Sept. 14-22. Nearly 1,500 teaching professional, coaches and industry leaders attended the event. ) The two pros attended seminars dh new teaching techniques and drilling. Berwald attended a specialty course cm sport psychology and motor learning and Pretorius sat in on a business-related course. v "I believe that continuing education for tennis pros is critical to keeping tennjs programs exciting at the club level; and tp introducing new programs, techniques and equipment to players," Pretorius said. i The Executive Committee discussed issues related to USPTA and the sport of tennis, including new developments in education and certification for tennis professionals pro-fessionals and coaches, the increase in tennis participation and the expanded influence of USPTA professionals in the sport. i The USPTA Intermountafn Convention will be held at the Yarro.w Hotel and Park City Racquet Club April 1-5, 1998. Pretorius has lined up an impressive list of guests for the Intermountain meeting. - Beautiful Brighton Estates -Bonanza Flats- htfFW' i tin m Y A Frame Cabin 1 Acre Aspen Covered Lot Gentle Slope- Sun All Day! 900 sq. ft. 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