News & Info
Field Improvements for 2007
Every year MVPBA tries to improve the condition of the fields that we use. The Tahoma School District allows us to use the fields for free in exchange for helping them maintain the fields. This is a ood partnership for us as there are not enough King County fields to host all of our games/practices throughout the season.
Field improvements that were done in the 2007 season, sponsored by MVPBA are:
- Black Diamond Elementary (added infield dirt and regraded the infield)
- Glacier Park #1 and #2 (regraded infields)
- Cedar River #1 (cleaned up grass growin in the infield, added infield dirt)
- Hobart (added bleachers)
- Lake Wilderness #3 (added infield dirt)
- Lake Wilderness #2 (added infield dirt and regraded infield)
- Tahoma Middle School 80 (rebuilt pitchers mound)
- Tahoma Middle School Lower (added infield dirt and regraded infield)
- Tahoma High School 60 (contributed half the cost of installing a french drain system)
Congratulations to Duane Henkel, Winner of ESPN MVP Award
In 2006, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and ESPN partnered together to present a Most Valuable Parent (MVP) Award. This award is for a parent or coach who has played an important role in a local baseball league. From over 8,500 nominees submitted for this award, our very own Maple Valley Pony's Duane Henkel was selected as one of the 12 winners from across the nation.
Besides being past president of Maple Valley Pony Baseball and Fastpitch (59 teams), he also helped coach Tahoma Middle School's 7th Grade Baseball team to a league championship and a 16U summer select baseball team. In addition, he umpires youth baseball games, runs coaches clinics, gives pitching lessons, runs baseball camps, and is the tournament director for numerous youth baseball tournaments.
An ESPN camera crew followed Duane around for the day. They interviewed him at the Tahoma High School baseball field and shot footage of him coaching the Maple Valley Stallions baseball team to victory against the Graham-Kapowsin Eagles. The segment on Duane aired in August during the Little League World Series.