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14u Voodoo cracks top ten at usssa national championships
14u Voodoo cracks top ten at usssa national championships
July, 2017
Voodoo posts a 5-2 record while competing in the 2017 USSSA C Class National Championships in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Undefeated in pool play, Voodoo was awarded the #1 seed of their pool.
Voodoo vs Lightning Elite - Pool Play - W 9-8
Voodoo vs Wild Magic - Pool Play - W 2-1
Voodoo vs Rampage - Pool Play - W 13-4
Voodoo drops their first bracket game and fights back through the losers bracket to finish 9 overall.
Voodoo vs Louisville Bats - L 0-8
Voodoo vs Rampage - W 10-1
Voodoo vs Ascension Outlaws - W 3-2
Voodoo vs Overdrive Elite - L 3-5
14u Voodoo claims pony regional championship
14u Voodoo claims pony regional championship
June, 2017
KYAAs 14u Fastpitch Softball All-Star team claims the PONY regional championship for 2017. Voodoo goes undefeated in pool play and tournament play to claim the championship.
Voodoo vs Crowley - Pool Play - W 2-0
Voodoo vs Crosby - Pool Play - W 6-4
Voodoo vs Youngsville - W 15-1
Voodoo vs Crowley - W 12-5
Voodoo vs Kinder - W 4-2
Voodoo vs Kinder - W 3-1
PONY East Section - Runners-Up
PONY Regional - Champions
KYAA Summer Shootout - Champions
KYAA LAUNCHES BASKETBALL PROGRAM
KYAA LAUNCHES BASKETBALL PROGRAM
November, 2016
Kaplan Youth Athletic Association in an effort to diversify and become a more complete Youth Athletic Association has announced that they will now provide basketball to the youth of our community. This a a very big and very new venture for our program as basketball has never been provided by KYAA.
BART BAUDOIN NAMED ‘CITIZEN OF THE YEAR’
BART BAUDOIN NAMED ‘CITIZEN OF THE YEAR’
December 27th, 2016
Kaplan Area Chamber members honored Bart Baudoin as the ‘Citizen of the Year’, Larry’s Super Food as the ‘Business of the Year’ and the Kaplan Fire Department as the ‘Volunteers of the Year’ at their annual banquet held at the American last Wednesday.
During his acceptance speech, Baudoin was too emotional to speak, but managed to say he was astonished he had received the honor. Later, he was able to express his gratitude on his social media page.
“Unbelievably humbling experience tonight,” said Baudoin. “Never have I been so lost for words. I wanted to say so much, but couldn’t.
“For those of you who know me, know that I do not like being the center of attention. I do not like awards and I do not like the recognition, but tonight was so humbling. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
Nominated by the Kaplan Youth Athletic Association Board of Directors, following is an excerpt from the nomination letter.
“Bart is a rare and exceptional individual and you will find only a handful in our community like him. He gives selflessly of his time to so many. He never asks for acknowledgement or glory. His satisfaction comes from seeing so many enjoy his efforts.”
12u VOODOO PLACES 3rd AT PONY WORLD SERIES
12u VOODOO PLACES 3rd AT PONY WORLD SERIES
August 1st, 2016
For the second year in a row Voodoo produces a very strong showing at the PONY Softball World Series.
Starting off strong and going undefeated until the Semi-Finals our ladies ended up placing third out of 21 teams. Congratulations ladies. Everything that you have achieved has been earned through your hard work and dedication.
From Coach Ryan,
Just wanted to say a very heartfelt thank you to everyone for making this softball season such a success. I've alway said that a great team consists of players, coaches, but most importantly parents. This year, more than any other year I have coached, I always felt like I had the support of the parents. I know playing as many games as we did was a sacrifice of both time and money, but I hope the memories that were made were far more priceless. I know they were for me and somthing I will never forget.
Cajun Express Summer Classic - 1st Place
KYAA Summer Shootout - 1st Place
PONY Section Tournament - 2nd Place
PONY Regional Tournament - 2nd Place
PONY World Series - 3rd Place
KYAA 13U VIKINGS WIN PONY SUPER REGIONAL
KYAA 13U VIKINGS WIN PONY SUPER REGIONAL
July 13, 2016
Congratulations to KYAA's 13u Vikings for winning the 2016 PONY Super Regional Tournament. With the win, our Vikings move on to play next week in Houston for the 2016 PONY Coast Region Zone.
KYAA BASEBALL SHINES AT 2016 FROG CITY TUNEUP
KYAA BASEBALL SHINES AT 2016 FROG CITY TUNEUP
June 20th, 2016
Great weekend of baseball for our boys in Rayne, Louisiana.
8u - Champions
10u - Runners-Up
12u - Runners-Up
KYAA's FASTPITCH PROGRAM PARTICIPATES IN 2015 PONY WORLD SERIES
KYAA's FASTPITCH PROGRAM PARTICIPATES IN 2015 PONY WORLD SERIES
12u VOODOO PLACES 5TH
12u VOODOO PLACES 5TH
July 20th, 2015
KYAA's 10u and 12u All-Star teams competed in the PONY World Series July 14-18, 2015.
The teams departed en-route to Highlands, Texas on July 14th. Opening ceremonies was held at Stallworth Stadium in Baytown, Texas on July 14th at 6pm. Our all-stars were among the 110 teams announced during opening ceremonies.
July 15th
Our 12u Vermilion Voodoo opened with a 9:10am pool play game against PYSBA Angels out of the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. Voodoo was able to come away with a 5-4 win highlighted by a Homerun from #15 Jayden Baudoin, the first of her career.
Our 10u Kaplan All-Stars played there first pool play at 12:40pm and were downed by Hutto Xtreme 14-0.
Both teams were back in action at 7:40pm for their second pool play games. Voodoo was unable to get anything going and dropped the game 6-1 to Sebastian Bombers, a very good team out of south Texas. Our 10u bounced back and fought hard but ended up losing 8-4 against Dayton All-Stars.
July 16th
Voodoo played their third pool play game at 11:30am and dropped a nail biter against Hondo Fury. They finished pool play with a record of 1-2 and earned the 3rd seed in the green pool. Coach Bart Baudoin said, we put ourselves in a tough position giving up an early lead, but fought back hard and gave ourselves a chance to win the game at the end. Voodoo left the bases loaded in the bottom of the last inning.
Our 10u was back in action at 12:40pm against Granbury Blaze and lost the contest 9-5. They finished pool play with an 0-3 record and were given the 4th seed in red pool.
Voodoo opened with the first bracket game of the tournament and were downed 6-1 by Buffalo Valley Gold. We put ourselves in the worst possible position you could to start off bracket, Baudoin said. Losing your first bracket game puts you struggling through the losers bracket for the rest of the tournament, we were at a pretty low point in the tournament at this time.
10u's first bracket game again Manchaca was a hard fought battle and they came up just short losing 5-3. They fought hard and never gave in. Coach Wendy Smith said, although we haven't pulled out a victory yet, the girls spirits are up and they are enjoying playing ball. They improve with each and every game and continue to prove why they are here. We are all very proud of this amazing group of young ladies.
July 17th
10u's second bracket game was at 12:30pm and were eliminated from tournament play by Rayne All-stars 8-3. We had some sad little ladies today, said Smith. But they played their hearts out, never gave up and just came up a little short. Not a single moment of this summer would have been possible without the support of our families, friends, businesses and the community of Kaplan and the surrounding communities. With the start of our All-star season, we as coaches started with modest goals, but primarily for the team to grow and learn during the summer. With two first year pitchers, and only four 10 year olds, the team was fairly young. However, this team proved resilience and talent in their first tournament by winning games and competing strongly against other seasoned teams. After our first tournament, we set our goals higher. Our new goal was to qualify for the World Series. It became something we talked about often with the team. We never thought what was initially a dream would become a reality. When the regional tournament in Youngsville, Louisiana came time, we knew what we had to accomplish to qualify for the World Series. Once again, these ladies delivered every time they stepped on the field. Through rain delays and lightning storms, they were always ready to play. We walked away from the regional tournament with a 4th place finish and qualified for the World Series. There was no turning back from here. As parents and coaches, we could not tell these players NO. The fundraising had to begin fast. Hotels had to be booked, vacation time requested...so much to do in just two short weeks. The outpouring of support from our friends, families and community was unbelievable. I know the experience they just had here this week will be one that will never be forgotten. They were able to participate in opening ceremonies with 100+ teams, traded pins with these other teams and cheered together. Although we came up short in our games, the girls played hard and competed well every time they stepped on the field. We faced some much larger, faster teams, but our spirit was never diminished. These girls are true champions! I believe both players and coaches alike learned from our experience and are already preparing for next year. I would like to personally thank each and every person who helped make these young ladies dreams a reality.
Voodoo was back in action at 2:00pm and were impressive with a 12-2 win over CPYL All-stars. Jayden Baudoin slams her second home run of the tournament.
After about an hour and a half break Voodoo was once again up for their 3rd bracket game. They came out firing on all cylinders and routed Westlaco Kaos 12-2. Yesterday at this time we were at a pretty low point. You could see the disappointment in their faces, said Baudoin. They showed up today with something to prove and survived to play on Saturday.
July 18th
Being in the losers bracket, Voodoo had the 8:00am game against BYBSA Heat and came away with another victory 8-4. Voodoo surrendered an early 3-0 lead to Heat giving up a Homerun in the top half of the inning. They fought back in the bottom half to cut the lead to 3-2. From there they took control of the game. We saw an opportunity to utilize the bunt in our favor. We have quite a few really good bunters on our team and we have good speed on the bases. We were able to manufacture runs when we needed them and played great on defense, said Baudoin.
Voodoo with the win, was back up playing at 11:00am against Buffalo Valley Gold who had handed them their first bracket loss a day earlier. We knew if we kept playing good defense, put the ball in play and minimized the mistakes, we had a shot at this one, said Baudoin. Voodoo did not flee away from seizing the moment and came away with a 5-3 victory.
As teams started being eliminated and only 6 teams remaining this put Voodoo in a position where they had to play back to back. We were running out of gas, said Baudoin. We had four very hard fought games in the blistering Texas heat, but the fight and resilience i witnessed the last two days has me walking away today with a smile ear to ear, said Baudoin. Voodoo was unable to get anything going in the game and were eliminated from tournament play by the Sebastian Bombers 8-0. They finish the tournament with a 5-4 record and 5th place.
This experience has been amazing. What both of our teams have done this year shows the work that has been put into our fast pitch softball program. We are in the 3rd year of our program. We had two teams qualify for the World Series and one of our teams ended up placing 5th of of 21 teams. I could not be any more proud than I am today. This speaks volumes about where we are headed as a program. These 25 ladies have paved the way and given every team of the future something to strive for. I cannot tell you how proud and honored I am to be part of KYAA. A special thank you needs to go out to the citizens of Kaplan. The expense of playing in an event like this is tremendous. Together, both of these teams were able to raise right at $15,000 in only two weeks. It shows that our city is made up of very caring and very generous families.
Voodoo 12u
SATS All-Star Warmup - 1st Place
PONY Sectional - 2nd Place
PONY Regional - 3rd Place
PONY World Series - 5th Place
TEAM VOODOO PLACES 1ST IN SATS ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT
TEAM VOODOO PLACES 1ST IN SATS ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT
Monday, June 22nd, 2015
KYAAs 12u Fastpitch Softball Team placed first this past weekend in the Scott Area Team Sports Allstar tournament held in Scott, La. Team members include Coaches Bart Baudoin, C.J. Chargois, Ryan Hebert and David Packard, Janiya Small, Lexi Broussard, Kinley Duhon, Maddie Campisi, Carina Chargois, Je Johnnie, Jayden Baudoin, Molly Sistrunk, Jozie Jameyson, Ava Hebert, Gabrielle Marceaux, and Lauryn Packard.
TEAM KAYENNE PLACES 2ND IN SATS ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT
TEAM KAYENNE PLACES 2ND IN SATS ALL-STAR TOURNAMENT
Monday, June 22nd, 2015
KYAA’s 8u Coach Pitch Softball Team placed second this past weekend in the Scott Area Team Sports Allstar tournament held in Scott, La. Team members include (front) Makayla Davenport, Jessa Lopez, Chloe Harrington, Drew Kass, Abbigail Ford, Alyssa Harrington, Claire Richard, Ellie Marceaux, Addyson Hebert, Mackenzie Nunez, Bailey Landry (back) Coaches Vernon Landry, John Hebert, Chris Harrington and Jeremy Richard.
KAPLAN CO-ED SOFTBALL
KAPLAN CO-ED SOFTBALL
Tuesday, November 18th, 2014
KYAA would like to extend a thank you to all teams that have participated in our inaugural Adult Co-Ed softball Fall Session. Our Co-Ed program was established this year to provide a competitive, but fun outlet to the adults of our community and surrounding communities, as well as sto provide a means of generating funds for our youth program for continued improvement to our facilities.
Session Champs - Pop's Softball
Session Runners-Up - MSM
KYAA RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT FROM TEXAS RANGERS BASEBALL FOUNDATION
KYAA RECEIVES $10,000 GRANT FROM TEXAS RANGERS BASEBALL FOUNDATION
Tuesday, September 30th, 2014
Kaplan Youth Athletic Association (KYAA) was the proud recipient a grant through the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation for the amount of $10,000.
KYAA President Bart Baudoin and KYAA Vice President Johnathan Hebert traveled to Arlington, Texas on Wednesday September 10, 2014 to formally accept the grant during a special pre-game ceremony to honor all organizations receiving grants this year.
This grant will be exclusively used for the purpose of upgrading Rost Field which is the fastpitch softball field. The dugouts will be reconstructed as well as the backstop area. A batting cage and bullpen area will also be added to the facility.
Work on Rost Field started on September 6, 2014.
Baudoin said he was googling about grants to help pay for needed upgrades to the baseball field and came across Major League Baseballs Baseball Tomorrow Fund.
“After I found this,” said Baudoin, “I started googling MLB teams to see if they offered grants. I came across the Texas Rangers and filled out the application and sent it in and was thrilled when we were accepted.
The president said the Ranges gave out grants which ranged from $2,500 to $10,000. They were approximately 12 other recipients of grants.
“KYAA has an unbelievable board of directors that donate countless hours to working on the fields as well as everything else that goes into preparing for a baseball season,” said Baudoin.
“We are asking if anyone is able to come out and lend a hand to assist in the field work it would be greatly appreciated. If you are able to help you can contact me at 337-258-2402.
VOLUNTEERS ARE KEY TO SUCCESS OF KYAA
VOLUNTEERS ARE KEY TO SUCCESS OF KYAA
Wednesday, September 24th, 2014
Dennis Hargrave spends countless hours each week mowing the grass and keeping all four of Kaplan’s baseball league fields west of Kaplan in immaculate condition.
His salary for his 16 hour days...not a penny. All these hours are strictly volunteer work.
“I love it,” said Hargrave. “My youngest son will be in T-ball next season, so I have a long time to be involved.”
Hargrave currently sits on the Kaplan Youth Athletic Association’s (KYAA) board as the Parks Commissioner. He is responsible for grass cutting, fixing fences, and chalking the fields for each game, every day.
But Hargrave is not alone. He said the entire KYAA board works just as much as he does, and most of it is behind the scenes.
“We have a fantastic board who all work tirelessly together as a team so the kids can keep playing ball in Kaplan.
“When one member cannot do his assigned project for whatever reason, another member takes over and makes sure all is done.”
During the eight weeks of the baseball season, Hargrave stated some of the volunteers work from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. at all fields to make sure everything runs smoothly.
This is no small task as the league had 382 boys and girls registered during the season with ages ranging from 4-13.
“When we see our parks filled with kids and parents,” said Hargrave, “then we feel like our hard work paid off.”
The league, however, wasn’t always in tip top shape. When the league barely had 100 kids sign up, a few concerned parents teamed up to analyze where the problems lay. They wanted to bring it back to its former glory of having the parks filled to capacity every night and weekends.
“We wanted to bring it up to the same place it was when you had trouble finding a place to park because it was so full of people enjoying watching their children play ball,” said Hargrave.
With the help of the city, improvements began to the fields which included new concession stands, crimson dirt fields, fence repairs, consistent mowing, along with trash pickup every day.
“Mayor Kirk Champagne was a tremendous help to us reaching our goal,” Hargrave said. “It started to look like a real baseball field as these improvements began to take shape.
“Now that the fields were all spruced up, we bought new equipment for the kids. Most of the old stuff were all full of mold, broken or had pieces missing. Our kids deserved better.”
Another big help comes from Joanne Mire and Eric Meaux who come each morning to pick up all the trash from the night before.
“It’s a proven fact if the park looks good and is clean, people will want to come and play.”
Even though registration has tripled, their goal is to have over 400 kids next season.
The planned upgrades for the 2015 season include new batting cages, new dug outs, and a new scoreboard. (Plans are for the old Boy Scout building to be gutted and refitted to have indoor batting cages.)
Another achievement was playing with other cities instead of playing the same teams over and over. KYAA teams now plays with Crowley and Erath teams and hope to include Rayne next year.
Hargrave credits the enrichment of the program to all board members who work together as a team.
Members include Bart Baudoin, president; Johnathan Hebert, vice-president; Gladys Mouton, secretary; Ashley Painter, treasurer; Anthony Sistrunk, baseball director; C.J. Chargois, softball director; Dennis Hargrave, parks commissioner; Paula Kass, concession director; Tara Abshire, asst. concession director; and Jeremy Richard, equipment manager.
“All of these people work very hard behind the scenes to make everything run smoothly and fun for all our kids. This is not a one man effort, it is a team. It is all volunteer work with payment coming from seeing the joy of the kids playing ball.”
Another kudos goes to all the coaches who volunteered their time to teach baseball to the kids.
“This is also time consuming, yet we have so many who stepped up to the plate and became coaches.”
“We also want the public to see what we are doing, so we now have a KYAA Facebook page.
The league would like to remind anyone who attends the games that there is a no alcohol allowed at all the parks and smoking is only allowed behind the bleachers.
The only time alcohol is allowed is during the KYAA parent tournament fund raiser.
“We have accomplished so much, but we will continue to improve each year,” said Hargrave.
If you have any questions about the league, you can call Hargrave at 652-5201 or Bart Baudoin at 258-2402.
NOTE: This article ran June 11th, 2014 in the Kaplan Herald thanks to Judy Mire.
Mayor Kirk Champagne
Mayor Kirk Champagne
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
Kaplan Youth Athletic Association would like to extend a thank you to Mayor Kirk Champagne.
The Mayor, in the last two years, has pushed to provide our league and facilities with many improvements. In our 2013 season he was able to provide through the City of Kaplan a Zero Turn Lawnmower. In our upcoming 2014 season, our board, while working together with the Mayor and City of Kaplan, has been able to update and construct a new concession stand as well as provide a bathroom facility for David and Rost Fields as well as repair the bathroom facilities at both Girouard and Liner Fields. We have also worked together to begin replacing the bleachers at Liner Field as they were beginning to deteriorate and were condemned by the City of Kaplan.
Thank you to both Mayor Champagne as well as the City of Kaplan and our KYAA Board Members.
The children of this community will appreciate what we are accomplishing together on a daily basis.
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