Where in the Burbs is Big South -- 10/22

Hi there Bandits Nation! The past few weeks have been hectic with softball activity and I've been trying to get out to as many of you as I can. Thanks for all of your patience in me getting these blogs up! 2 weeks ago I was at the Thornwood High School meeting the Stone City Sharks, Crown Point Bulldogs, Illinois Outlaws and the Homer Hawks.
The weather was chilly but the softball was hot and it was great meeting everyone there. Saturday October 17th I was fortunate to be part of the Omega Delta youth banquet.
Thanks go out to Dan Gaichas and Tony Belmontes for inviting me and for a great afternoon.
Everyone with the league should be proud of what you have accomplished for the girls and the best is yet to come as your league grows.
The Bandits look forward to seeing all of you at a few games in 2010. Before heading to Chicago Saturday I stopped at Sportstation in Tinley Park and talked with James, Fred, Kevin and their staff. If you're in the area stop in and let them know you read about them here.
I handed out Bandits media books from the 2009 season and they have a few there if you let them know you read about them here. Sunday the 18th I stopped by the NSA tournament in Kankakee and talked with players coaches and parents from the Plainfield Force who won the 10u Bash Championship.
Congratulations to Tony Pusateri and Team OAK 12u on winning their Championship. Upcoming events include October 24 & 25 in Kankakee at the River Road Sports complex for the NSA Howling Tournament. This is the fundraiser for the fight against Cystic Fibrosis and I will have Bandits merchandise with me.
If you're in or close to the Steger IL area I am going to try and be at the softball clinics Joe Formentini is having November 7 & 8. If you're interested in the clinics they are having let me know and I'll get you the contact information. See all of you soon as Bandits Nation continues to grow and gets to your town.

Where in the Burbs is Big South -- Fall Edition part 1

Hi again Bandits Nation. I hope all of you have been enjoying your fall and counting down until opening day.
September 20th I visited Lemont High School and talked with players and coaches from the Illinois Outlaws, Lemont Rockers, Chi Town Express, Oak Lawn Ice and the Bulls/Sox Academy. It was a lot of fun on a Sunday morning to come up and watch your teams play and I look forward to talking with all of you soon.
September 27th I was at Kankakee Community College and talked with a few players and parents from the Parkland Cobras (Thanks Coach Heather Tarter for the Parkland Softball tee!) Lincoln Land Loggers, South Suburban College and the Kankakee Cavaliers. If you get a chance go out and support the local junior colleges as well as other colleges and universities' softball programs. You can learn a lot from watching these athletes both as players and as coaches.
Thank you's to the Omega Delta Youth Baseball and Softball league for the invitation to come up and be a key note speaker for you banquet in October. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and having some fun during the award ceremony.
If your league, team, business etc is looking for a Bandits representative to come out for an event please call the office at 877-7-BANDIT. You can also email me at chendrickson@chicagobandits.com or on twitter @chrishndrcksn.
It's getting exciting ... I've been reading Commissioner Cheri Kempfs notes on twitter about the upcoming season and you will want to be part of it! Let us know your teams and leagues and we'll work together to bring you up in 2010 to experience and meet the Bandits.

And a special congratulations to Peaches James (photo first above) who gave birth to her first child a few weeks ago. We welcome the newbie to the Bandits family!

Where in the Burbs is Big South -- Sept 8

I hope everyone in Bandits Nation had yourselves a great Labor Day weekend.

September 5th found me in Beecher Illinois checking out the Beecher Bobcats girls softball double header. It was a lot of fun talking with players and coaches from the Bobcats and Crete Crush and getting them excited for next season.

Bandits Nation grew with the players, coaches and parents from the Priairie Central Hawks. These girls are from Fairbury Illinois and will bring the excitement and noise when they come up in 2010 to see us play. I also saw the Illinois Outlaws 14u team and talked with their coaches and some of their players. We had some good conversations about softball and look forward to having the Outlaws coming out and seeing us.

Sunday found me at the Sportstation in Tinley Park and talking with Jim Garner. We had a very positive conversation and I'm looking forward to putting what we talked about into action. When you stop in Sportstation let them know you found out about them here and welcome them to Bandits Nation.

Special shout and props to Jessica Walters and Lincy Jones from the Starke County All-Stars from Indiana. They came up and watched the Bandits beat the Thunder and I know how much they loved making the trip: so much so that they gave up going to a tournament to come be a part of the Nation for the 1st time!
There are a few tournaments still scheduled this fall and I'm hoping to see everyone again. You can send me an email (chendrickson@chicagobandits.com) or find me on Twitter and say hello.

Where in the Burbs is Big South -- August 31

Hello Bandits Nation!

The past weekend found me at the Chicago-land Speedway in Joliet IL where I volunteered a few hours with the Indy Downforce fan club. I attended the Twitter get together before the race as well as the Downforce pre race party and was able to meet some great people as well as Indy drivers like Sarah Fisher, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon and others.

The weekend also was great to talk Bandits softball as I saw players and coaches from the Elite team and learning how their season went. I'm looking forward to talking with all of you soon and getting together for your fundraisers and having the Elite come to see us next summer.

I also met Morgyn Edwards, Avery Edwards, Alyssa Tomas and Elizabeth Dodson from the Lone Tree Crushers team. The Crushers are just southeast of Iowa City and are huge fans of Stacy May and the Bandits. We spent a lot of time talking about the Bandits and bringing the Crushers out for a game. These girls and their parents still have a lot of energy and I hope to see them play next spring.

Keep the updates coming for games, tournaments and events you have going on. I'll try to make as many of them as I can and have some fun meeting and talking with all of you.

- @chrishndrcksn

Where in the Burbs is Big South -- Aug 28

Hi there Bandits fans! If you're like me and others in the office you've already started counting down until the 2010 season and the Bandits working hard to get the Cowles Cup back where it belongs.

Congratulations to Cat Osterman, Amanda Williams, Aaron Moore and the Thunder organization on winning your 1st Championship. I know that when we play again in 2010 the rivalry will go up a notch or 2.

Being with the Bandits isnt just going to softball games and tournaments all the time. If you follow the Indy style racing league I am going to be in Joliet Saturday having some fun and talking about Indy Downforce but Bandits and NPF softball as well. I was fortunate to meet Ed Carpenter who drive the #20 Vision Racing Menards car on August 27th in Crest Hill.

There are several other drivers and teams I am hoping to meet and talk with. I will be at the Indy Downforce trailer from 1pm-3pm so stop by and say hello.

There are travel teams that have already done tryouts and set rosters for next season. If you would like to come up and experience Bandits Nation drop me a line or call the office at 877-7-BANDIT to arrange times we can all meet. As schedules allow I will come to you and your team talking about the Bandits and what we can do together.

Speaking of travel teams, special congratulations to Isabella Ferguson on making the Illinois Outlaws team. And I would be bad by not wishing Laura Harms good luck with her travel team the Team Oak Stars 16u. Laura was one of the original Bandits and retired after 5 years with the Bandits and 6 years in the league on August 16th.

NSA tournaments are coming up in the Kankakee area, who else is hosting tournaments? Let me know and I'll get there to show the softball love!