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34 economist suntribune sports thursday june 6 2002 big guy puts the fun back into youth sports hes my kind of coach standing midinfield his sixfoot 235pound frame towering over a team of atten tive 10 year olds he looks every part the intimidating punjab from an orphan annie comic strip but appearances are sometimes deceiving for stouffvilles joe palmer has but one goal in mind to put the fun back in softball funs the name of the game says this mite house league coach not hits runs and errors this theory which he weekly puts into prac tice is obviously working for win or lose his boys leave the park with their faces wreathed in smiles to firsttime spectators palmers approach to the sport may seem strange at seasons start he talks not to the players but to their parents i tell them the way it is if they dont like it they can leave he says the conduct of some specta tors disgusts him and some coaches too a kid should never be ridiculed in public he says theres a time and a place and it isnt during or even after a game the same goes for treatment of umpires sure ill speak to an official if i think hes erred but ill never chew him out i do it quietly an umpire like a player is only trying to do his best palmer 41 is a native of east york moving from scarborough to stouffville six years ago a son warren 7 is a member of his team a second son kevin 7 plays fivepitch advance palmer knows what gameplaying is all about during his salad years he participated in every sport in the book jim thomas team i played for fun he recalls and this is how it should be part of the problem he says too many parents see their sons as future pros and expect them to play this way either that or a dad wants his son to attain a skill level he never had ive seen kids leave the park in tears he notes this shouldnt be and it wont be that way if palmer has his way palmer recalled one incident where a parent went absolutely bananas over what was per ceived as a bad call even before the umpire could respond he stepped in and calmed the father down this isnt a game where theres a pro contract waiting in the wings when the kid comes home the dog will still lick his face and hell go to school the next morning nothings changed palmer uses what he describes as the clothes peg treatment when setting out his lineup as the start of each game a peg representing a play er is moved one notch down this means the leadoff batter will be first to the plate two or three times a season and every boy plays every game not always the same positions palmers main concern is not with players but with parents of players he believes a coach should be equally involved in whats going on off the field as on and not just in softball but in other sports as well improper conduct by parents is not nego tiable says palmer i make this point early andit seems to work putting fun back in softball is palmers motto what he learned as a boy he imparts to his he hopes its contagious sdss coachs camps teaches youngsters the fundamentals youngsters seeking to improve their basket ball or volleyball skills can do so during the sum mer months as instructional camps for these sports will be conducted at stouffville district secondary school in july and august jim fletcher longtime teacher and coach of the sdss senior boys volleyball and basketball teams will stage his annual fletchs fundamental basketball and volleyball clinics a series of five weekly basketball clinics will be held starting from the week of july 812 for boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 11 j another coed camp will be held for youths between the ages of 1 1 and 15 from july 15 to 19 during the week of july 22 a boys camp for those between the ages of 1 1 to 14 will be held the following week a girls camp for those between the ages of 12 to 15 will be held the final clinic is for boys between the ages of 14 to 17 during the week of aug 12 camp hours are from 9 am until noon cost is 100 per camper during each camp youngsters will learn basic basketball rules and skills as well there will be games and foul shooting contests for those interested in volleyball a coed camp will be held for youngsters between the ages of 8 to 15 from aug 6 to 9 enrollment is limited for this camp which will run from 9 am until noon cost is 90 per camper for further information fletcher can be reached at 905 9851542 or by email at fletchesidirectcom sdss is off ninth line north of main street sports digest mother nature foils team 3 in quebec mother nature didnt do the the stouffville- based team 3 red racing team any favors when it took to its snapon toolscanadian forces monte carlo to the track at st eustache quebec for the cascar auro pronapa 150 race last saturday with billy rowse jr qualifying in the 24th start ing position for saturdays feature the uxbridge resident drove his vehicle to a 20thplace finish that was called on lap 97 of the 150lap event due to rain it is too bad the rain came when it did the car was starting to work well on the new rubber we put on the right rear and we could have been a top 15 car tonight it is just too bad said rowse jr as the team packed up the hauler in the rain the team heads to its firstofthree road course events of the season on june 15 and 16 for the clarington 250 at mosport international raceway near oshawa this event will be the first time that the team will run two teams under the team 3 red umbrella rowse jr will be campaigning the snapon toolscanadian forces team 3 red 3 and will be joined by teammate chris fowler in his canadian forcessnapon tools team 3 red 30 both drivers have had success at the road course events in the past and are looking forward to the event -v- jlls staff photosjoerd witteveen the ball stops here stouffville district secondary school spartans infielder jessica carnrite makes a stab at corralling this ground ball that was hit by an aurora high school batter during mondays yraa girls softball quarterfinal contest at memorial park carnrites throw to first retired the batter but the spartans saw their season come to an end when they suffered a 43 loss outdoor pool set to open for at least one more year by jim thomas correspondent although whitchurchstouffvilles lebovic leisure centre remains the focus of attention the 40yearold out door pool is alive aquatic supervisor micole ongman said recently opening day for the outdoor pool located along with lebovic in memorial park is june 22 weather per mitting the summer schedule con cludes aug 25 the outdoor facility will operate weekends only from june 22 to july 1 the hours are 130 to 330 pm 530 to 730 pm from july 2 to aug 25 its 130 to 330 pm weekdays 630 to 8 pm tuesday and thursday 130 to 330 pm and 530 to 730 pm on weekends some people actually prefer swim ming outside ongman said while others are detrimentally effected by the sun the flexibility indoor and outdoor pools is nice we like to keep everyone happy ongman admits she has no idea how long this twopool arrangement will last this will be a town council deci sion she says ongman explains she and aquatic programmer carol bain will oversee both sites along with assistance from hired supervisors micole ongman says the outdoor pool still serves a purpose and is a viable option dur ing the summer months as to the outdoor pools condition ongman says theyll know better when fillup begins early this month with the lebovic pool in full opera tion ongman is encouraged with the reception its received from residents during one recent week 1629 indi viduals clicked through the turnstiles 1500 during another prior week its not unusual to have three and four birthday parties on a weekend birthday parties have taken off like crazy she notes