The Athletic Committee of the Department of Nebraska American Legion met on October 25, 2008 to set the calendar for the Summer 2009 season.  The big news to come out of the meeting is that the 2009 Class A Juniors and Seniors Area Tournaments will be played during the same six-day period in 2009 rather than having Juniors Tournaments play their tournaments a week earlier than the Seniors as in past years.

According to Athletic Committee Chairman Don Kiviniemi, Jr., the schedule change was brought about by a shift in the dates of the Class A Senior Legion Regional Tournaments and American Legion World Series, which have been moved up a week to alleviate conflicts with players returning to classes.  This year's American Legion World Series ended on August 26, well after many students were due back in school.  Next year's ALWS will run from August 14 through 18, and the 2010 Series dates are August 13-17. 

Even though they were eliminated from the ALWS on the second day of the tournament (August 23), the NP Dodge Wildcats players and coaches faced a number of problems related to the late end of their season.  Classes at Millard West High School began on August 13, meaning that players missed eight days of class while playing in the Central Plains Regional and the ALWS.  According to Head Coach Frank Ryan, a teacher at MWHS, his paycheck was actually docked for missing several days of classroom duty while coaching a "non-school activity" comprised entirely of Millard West athletes.  Similarly, Wildcat multi-sport athletes intending to compete for starting positions on the Wildcats' football team were disadvantaged by missing pre-season football practice.  Wildcats' pitcher, Tyler Niederklein, a Nebraska baseball recruit, was expected to be a leading candidate for the quarterback position, but his absence during the critical pre-season period led to a position change to receiver for the three-sport standout.  All has worked out well, as the Wildcats are currently ranked #2 in Class A, and Niederklein is among the top five receivers in the state with 19 receptions and a 58 yards per game average. 

The issues arising from playing late into August affected not only returning high school students but also 2008 graduates making the transition to college.  One 2008 Millard West graduate on the team found his college schedule reduced to just nine hours when two professors would not admit him to class after missing so many classes due to playing in the ALWS.  Coach Ryan noted, however, that for the most part, colleges attended by his recent graduates were very cooperative in making special arrangements for the late arrivals. 

Meanwhile, the late post-season schedule of Nebraska's other regional tournament contender, Associated Fire Protection, put starting second baseman Anthony Dunn in a very difficult position.  Participating in the tournament would mean that Dunn, a two-sport recruit at Doane College, would miss pre-season football practice, possibly costing him an opportunity to compete for considerable playing time at the quarterback position.  Dunn, a key player for the Titans as a senior infielder, hitter and starting pitcher, reluctantly elected to forego participation in the regional tournament to report to pre-season football camp at Doane.   He took over quarterback duties from a returning senior in the second half of the Tigers' third game and has started five of six games since.  A similar situation to Dunn's occurred in 2007 when PI Midwest senior Zach Thoma, a University of Kansas baseball recruit, regretfully elected to forego traveling with his state championship team to the Central Plains Regional Tournament in Marshall, Minnesota (a tournament that was deluged by rain and finished in the Minneapolis Metrodome) in order to report to fall baseball practice at KU. 

Overall, the decision by the American Legion to move the ALWS up by one week should help resolve some of these kinds of problems for the participants.  The state committee's decision to play the Class A Juniors and Seniors at the same time was a consequence of that policy change.  (Class B and C Senior Legion area and state tournaments dates are not affected by the change.)  Another consequence of the schedule change is that the All-Class Championship Series, played for the first time last season with a game between the Class A National Division Champions and the Class A American Division Champions following a game between the Class B State Champs and Class C State Champs, will not be played since those state tournaments will be a week apart in 2009.  The National Division Champs will host the American Division Champs on August 1st to determine the Class A State Championship, and the Class B Champs will host the Class C Champions on August 8.  The Athletic Committee, which put on a nice banquet last year for all four teams prior to the All-Class Championship Series, will contribute $1,000 towards banquets to be put on by the host team in each of the two 2009 tournaments ($500 each).  

2009 Tournament Dates:

Other significant actions taken at the Athletic Committee Meeting dealt with the following topics:

1.  Eligibility.  Rule 1.0.2 has been amended to clarify that a player is eligible to play only for the Legion team from the high school that he attends.  If no such team exists, the player is eligible to play only for the team closest to his parents' domicile.   If the parents' domicile is not located within the attendance zone of the school that the player attends, the player has a one-time option to choose whether to play for his high school team or the team closest to his parents' domicile.  After such election, the player may only play out his remaining elibility for the team selected.  He may not change from year to year.  (Note:  according to National Rule 2.B.2, If the parents are divorced by a court order, that player may play for a team of either parent’s legal and permanent domicile subject to certain notification requirements and documentation to be provided in a timely fashion to the state Legion office.)

2.  Legion Baby Rule.  The Legion Baby Rule remains as in the past.  According to the National Rules, "American Legion Baseball competition in 2009 is open only to players born on or after January 1, 1990.  Players in college who meet that age deadline shall be eligible for the 2009 season.  A player in college must play for his previous Legion team.  (See also change to Rule 3.01:  if the last team played for no longer exists, a player may play for the next closest team to his parents' domicile.)

3.  Dual Roster Players.  In the past, a maximum of three Junior Legion players could play on an affiliated Senior Legion team only after their commitment to the Junior Legion had been completed.  The approved change allows up to three Junior Legion players to play for the both the Junior and Senior Legion teams until the start of Junior Legion post-season competition.  Those dual rosters are then are to play exclusively for the Junior Legion program until after the Junior Legion program is completed.  The deadline for submitting a list of dual roster players to the state Legion office is June 22, 2009. 

Members of the Athletic Committee are: 

Rodney Kreikemeier, West Point

Larry Weinandt, Fremont

Bill Kern, Crete

Robert Achzinger, Gering

Jason Sidel, Holdrege

Jim Sidel, St. Paul

Joe Ruzicka, Seward

Larry Konken, Hershey

Don Kiviniemi, Jr. (Chairman)

Additional Information:

|  Nebraska American Legion Baseball Website | National American Legion Baseball Website |