Bloomfield, Missouri - The 60th Annual Bloomfield Christmas Tournament seeds have been released.  The 16-team tournament begins December 26, 2016.

Hayti has earned the #1 seed followed by #2 Dexter Bearcats, #3 Doniphan, #4 Malden, #5 Bloomfield, #6 Kennett, #7 Portageville, #8 Twin Rivers, #9 East Prairie, #10 Bernie, #11 South Pemiscot, #12 Gideon, #13 Van Buren, #14 Puxico, #15 Holcomb, and #16 Richland.

25 games over four days at the Bloomfield High School gym should make for an exciting Christmas break!

Game times for December 26th:

10:00 a.m. Hayti vs Richland

11:15 a.m. Dexter vs Holcomb

12:30 p.m. Doniphan vs Puxico

2:00 p.m. Malden vs Van Buren

3:30 p.m. Bloomfield vs Gideon

5:00 p.m. Kennett vs South Pemiscot

6:30 p.m. Portageville vs Bernie

8:00 p.m. Twin Rivers vs East Prairie

Quarterfinals are slated for December 27th and semifinals are scheduled for December 28th. 

Consolation game will be at 4:00 p.m. on December 29th.

5th place game will be held on December 29th at 5:30 p.m.

3rd place game will be 7:00 p.m. on December 29th.

Championship game will be at 8:30 p.m. on December 29th. 

The ShowMe Times will bring complete Christmas Tournament coverage live from the Bloomfield gym!

Broseley, Missouri - The 2016 Lady Royals Christmas Classic Tournament is slated to begin Saturday, December 17th at Twin Rivers High School.

Seedings were released on Saturday, December 10th.  The Lady Bearcats earned the #1 spot followed by #2 Neelyville, #3 Naylor, #4 Kennett, #5 Doniphan, #6 Charleston, #7 NMCC, #8 Greenville, #9 Portageville, #10 Chaffee, #11 Malden. #12 Twin Rivers, #13 East Carter #14 Kelly, #15 Campbell, and #16 Clearwater.

Saturday, December 17th Games:

Charleston vs Malden at 9:00 a.m.

Dexter will play Clearwater at 10:30 a.m.

Greenville will play Portageville at 11:30 a.m.

Doniphan vs Twin Rivers at 1:00 p.m.

Kennett will play East Carter at 2:30 p.m.

Naylor will play Kelly at 4:00 p.m.

NMCC will play Chaffee at 5:30 p.m.

Neelyville will play Campbell at 7:00 p.m.

Quarterfinal games will be on December 19th, semifinal games on the 21st and the championship game at 7:30 p.m. on December 22nd.

Consolation game will be at 3:00 p.m. on December 22nd with 5th place at 4:30 and 3rd place at 6:00 p.m. on December 22nd.

Dexter defeated Twin Rivers 79-61 in the 2014 Championship game and in 2013 the Lady Cats defeated Neelyville 63-45 in the Championship.  They also won the 2012 and 2011 Lady Royals Classics.

Dexter, Missouri - Athletes earned their first time letters during the annual Fall Sports Recognition program.  The Bearcat Booster Club purchases the letter "D" for all first time letter winners.

Mr. Travis Miller and Mr. Hank Trout presented the letters.

Cross Country - Matthew Chesser, Nate Drivas, Lucas Goodrich, Cole Barker, Jonni Hill, Margo Nea and Shelby Smith.

Volleyball - Maycie Martin, Blair Rogers, and Megan Trout.

Football Cheer - Maci Rauls

Football - Luke Becker, Ryder Foster, Colten Gibson, Jake Harris, Haden Hillis, Mason Keena, Ethan Martinez, Brody Pollock, Joe Rice, Seth Rogers, Brock Simmons, and Dalton Warren.

Dexter, Missouri - There are nine seniors on the Dexter High School Kickin' Cats Dance Team.  Once these girls graduate there will be a big gap to fill by Lara Simmons, Kickin' Cats sponsor.

These young ladies practice as much as they can throughout the week to bring you one great entertaining half-time show during the evening basketball games.

Pictured are from left to right: Haley Cornett, Taryn Fortner, Myca Sutton, Caroline Powers, Jackie Kiger, Kelly Ash, Hailey Anderson, Kaylea Murdock, and Angel Maze.

Columbia, Missouri - The Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) Board of Directors approved a recommendation at its November meeting, which would place a daily limit on pitching for student-athletes based on year in school.  This past June, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) changed Baseball Rule 6-2-6 to state, “Each NFHS member state association will be required to develop its own pitching restriction policy based on the number of pitches thrown during a game to afford pitchers a required rest period between pitching appearances.”
 
The recommendation came to the Board from the Baseball Advisory Committee, which voted unanimously to use the Pitch Smart requirements that were suggested by USA Baseball and MLB.  Instead of using age groups we grouped them by grade.  The committee decided to be more restrictive on the Middle School group and limited their maximum number of pitches.

Senior/Junior Year in school have 105 Daily Max Pitches*, Required Rest Pitches 0 Days 1-30, 1 Day 31-45, 2 days 46-60, 3 Days 61-75 and 4 days 76+

Freshman/Sophomore Year in school have 95 Daily Max Pitches*, Required Rest Pitches 0 Days 1-30, 1 Day 31-45, 2 Days 46-60, 3 Days 61-75, 4 Days 76+.

Seventh/Eighth Graders 85 Daily Max Pitches*, 0 Days 1-20, 1 Day 21-35, 2 Days 36-50, 3 Days 51-65, 4 Days 66+

*Finish current batter when maximum pitch count is met.
*Can only pitch two days in succession and then a minimum one day rest period is required.
 
The need for pitch count restrictions comes from an increase in the number of overuse arm injuries in recent years.  Since the purpose of education based athletics is to focus on the intentional development of the educational, socials, physical and emotional well-being of each student athlete, developing a restriction to put the health the student ahead of the result of the game is the right thing to do.
 
 General Guidelines for Pitchers:
·   Do not exceed 100 innings pitched in any 12 month period
·   Take at least 4 months off from competitive pitching, including at least 2 months off from all overhead throwing
·   Make sure to properly warmup before pitching
·   Make sure a proper dynamic and static stretching plan is in followed prior to throwing
·   Avoid playing for multiple teams at the same time
·   Avoid pitching in multiple games on the same day
·   Avoid playing catcher after pitching

General Guidelines for Coaches/Parents:
·   Educate Pitchers on proper mechanics and throwing techniques
·   Monitor pitchers for signs of mechanical breakdown and fatigue
·   Take immediate action if a pitcher complains of pain
·   Consult a traner/doctor/trained coach upon completion of game pitching activity
·   Put in place and follow a prescribed pitching rehabilitation program.

Guidelines for Tracking:
·   Exchange verification forms prior to the start of the contest.  The opposing team will fill out your form
·   Track pitch counts for both teams to assure accuracy.  Coaches should verify pitch counts after each half inning.
·   The home team will be the correct count if there is a dispute.
·   Both teams will sign the forms at the end of the contest.
·   If a pitcher hits the MAX number during a batter, they are allowed to finish the batter in the box.
·   Pitch counts apply to regular and post season contests.
·   Pitch counts will be entered into the MSHSAA website within 24 hours of the contest.  Not entering the pitch count will result in a $25 fine.

Article provided by MSHSAA Communications Director Jason West
Missouri State High School Activities Association