The events from the past 7 days have made a profound impact on me and our community and as I was sitting in someone else’s home we were evacuated to (wondering if I was going to have a house to return to), I started to think about all of the people in my life that I am thankful for… besides the obvious ones (my family), I kept thinking about our softball family… our ICE-20 families and I prayed that they were safe. As word came in that they were safe, I was so thankful for each and every one of you. Many of you reached out to us to make sure we were OK and we truly felt the love and support…

All of the sudden, the little stuff in my life did not matter… just you did…

We returned to our home to find it still there… others were not so lucky.

We must keep everyone in our thoughts as we try to move forward remembering that each day is special, each one of you are special… remember to hug and love your friends and family… EVERY DAY!

These events have shifted our reality and things have changed for our softball teams.

First… we will not be practicing in the Conejo Valley until I am convinced that the air is safe to work out in. When the ground cover is destroyed (by fire), even the smallest of breezes can kick up dust particles that may or may not be unhealthy to breathe. We will not expose our girls (and coaches) to this potential risk.

This Saturday’s practice will be at Apollo High School in Simi Valley which is far enough away from the fire zone that even with wind, the dust from the fire zone will not impact us. The address is 3150 School St, Simi Valley, CA 93065. The fields are located on Blackstock Ave (just south of Los Angeles Ave and School St. A huge thank you to Simi Valley Girls Softball, Mike Crowder (Bownet parent) and our own John Dalmau/Michael Lee for facilitating this temporary change in venue. Both Bownet and ICE-20 will practice from 9AM to 12PM as there are multiple fields.

Second. The NSA tournament for the 24th and 25th have been cancelled … This is due to some teams not being able to play because of the fires.

We will continue to practice and work to make our athletes better but safety will be the number 1 priority so schedules, tournaments, etc may keep changing so we thank you for your understanding and flexibility.

These are challenging times and we will get through it with the love and support we all have for each other.

See you all on Saturday.

Jeff