Holiday Pitch-a-Thon: Fun and Excitement on the Mound

1, 2, 3…. The pitches just kept coming and coming. But this time there were no umps and no batters to contend with and the pitchers were all pumped and eager to do their best for team mates of a different sort - those in need of snow suits.

On Dec 19^th the Orleans Amateur Fastballl Ass’n saw 25 of its players and just as many of its members take part in a Holiday Pitch-a-Thon for the Snow Suit Fund. The goal of the 20 pitchers was to collect pledges based on the number of pitches they could pitch in the allotted time; and in doing so they each hoped to raise enough money to donate a new snow suit to a boy or girl in need.

The boys and girls that took part in the Pitch-a-Thon ranged in age from 7 to 23 years. After a 10-15 minute warm up period, they pitched for 45 minutes. Few of them even wanted a break for water as they were so focused on doing what they came to do – the windmill pitch. And that is just what they did. All of the pitchers were overwhelming and surpassed their goal. Whether they were feeling a little under the weather, or whether they just finished a wrestling competition; they were focused and diligent in their efforts. Click here to see photos of the event.

In total, the twenty pitchers pitched 5434 pitches; the highest amount recorded by one pitcher was 500. What was really amazing about these pitchers is that almost half of them just started learning the windmill pitch in October. Parents, Grandparents, brothers, sisters, members of the board and of the Snow Suit Fund that came to watch and cheer them on were very proud of them and their accomplishments. Not only were these 20 pitchers able to share their warmth for a child this winter season; they were also able to raise enough money to purchase a digital video camera to aid in their pitching analysis and development.

On Jan 4, Ken & Pam and two of the pitchers, Katie Naylor and Megan Baker, who took part in the Holdiay Pitch-a-Thon toured the Snowsuit facility. After which, they presented a cheque to Joanne Andrews of the Snowsuit Fund for $700 – enough to keep 20 children warm this winter season.

Thanks goes out to the hard work of the pitchers and the catchers that helped make this event successful: Hartley, Zander, Jean-Francois, Brandon, Brent, Nicolas, Alexandre L, Gabrielle, Catherine, Tynan, Alexandre F, Megan, Danielle, Nicholas, Marc-Andre, Sebastian, Steven, Roch, Pat, Matt, Alex, Katie, Laura, France, Yves, Jean, Wayne, Chantal, Kim and Pam. Thanks also to Mary for her support in this event. We couldn’t have done it without you all!