As was expected, the "interested" dwindled when the sessions increased in intensity and frequency. However, those who kept coming back for more formed the core of a dominating "Army of One" set to do battle from beginning to end. While their heroes and role models worked out in the golden sun of Florida and Arizona, this Army did so in defiance of the elements. When both started their respective seasons on April 1st, it was as if the roles had been reversed and the professionals paled in comparison to the amateurs. 

"There were three main goals when we started out this season", said SLA Varsity Baseball Coach Doug Herman before the team took the field vs. Sankofa in their final regular season game. "We set out to establish a J.V. squad to expand our program, finally secure a home field, and we looked to command our own destiny with solid, fundamental performances to earn the right to move up in the Varsity ranks. We obviously achieved the first two, thanks to the addition of Coach Dan Winterstein, but a solid win today will help us accomplish all three." While having the Umpires officially deem the field unplayable on the final day of the Regular Season was not how this team wanted to earn a trip to C, they'll take it. 

That Army, formed through the dark days of painful practices in swirling winds and bone-cold temps behind the ominous towers of Lee Park, never took their eyes off the prize. That Army, which would become known simply as "The Rocket", would weather all sorts of storms and suffer through hours of daily public transit to attend practices. That Army, which never let anything ruffle their feathers, had something to prove and constantly put their all on display. It was clear to anyone who glimpsed at the standings or box scores during this 2013 Season that this Army walked the talk and clobbered most who they faced. 

From the very first game, when King's most Dedicated forgot he wasn't coaching football, and chose to incessantly bark his orders instead of sending signs, to the very end when Sankofa's coach didn't lift a finger to prepare their field for battle, "The Rocket" maintained composure and completed a near-perfect season, finishing 11-1. But these warriors were gentlemen too. They dominated but never forgot where they came from. Remembering what it was like to be on the receiving end of mismatched beat downs, they moved toward their goal with class and earned the respect of everyone along the way.

"Started from the bottom, now the whole team here."

If all things were fair and equitable "The Rocket" would not yet be the material for an end-of-season article such as this. For in no sport, on any level, does a team with only 1 loss over an entire season NOT make the playoffs. Outside of their own circle of fans and divisional opponents the "The Rocket" will merely serve as a poster-child for what happens when your best IS good enough but it still doesn't get you to "The Show". So exactly how does a team that goes 11-1, leads the league in Runs Scored, and establishes the best overall Run Differential NOT make the playoffs?  

The answer is surprisingly rooted in an attempt to ensure all things were fair and equitable. Somehow this best laid plan has led to massive inequity, inconsistency and the continuation of smaller inner-city schools being further stripped of opportunities to fairly compete. In theory, the structure of the Public League for High School Baseball- four Divisions based off skill and four Classifications based off of school population- is supposed to ensure fair competition takes place. But the functional reality of this structure unfolds more like a Caste System with extremely limited upward mobility and consistent obstacles imposed upon under-funded and under-supported programs across the city. 

SLA, classified as a "AA" school based off the number of eligible boys in their student body, has been in the D-Division since joining the Public League in 2010. After fighting through a rough start (notching zero wins in its first eight games is certainly rough), "The Rocket" has surged with 29 wins for an overall program record of 29-17. During this stretch they made the playoffs twice and yet remained in D since the only way out was to win the Division. The system, which works a little bit like the English Premiere Football League, only promotes 1 and demotes another each season to ensure competition in each Division is "fair and equitable". 

While this seems to make sense, the reality is that regardless of Classification a team literally needs to be perfect to get out of D. Teams who make just one mistake along the way, like SLA this season, are doomed to dwell in D forever and suffer as a result. Fields are not maintained, if they exist at all, permanently installed equipment is regularly stolen, major transportation issues are a daily reality, many games are only afforded one umpire instead of at least two, and the level of competition is inconsistent at best. 

Every team that has escaped the dungeon of D- Boys Latin ('10), Ben Franklin ('11), Del-Val Charter ('12) and now University City ('13)- have all accomplished the necessary feat of perfection. This leaves younger teams like SLA on the outside looking in when a C-Division team drops down and then goes undefeated. This was the case with Ben Franklin and Del Val in previous seasons. While SLA had their eyes squarely and legitimately set on a Divisional Championship this season, their coach knew that an early season loss to University City would come back to haunt them. In response, he started wearing number 11 on his jersey to signify the number of wins they would NEED to have for a legitimate shot at the top spot. SLA won their final 9 games, and over that stretch remained perfect at home, tossed 2 "no-hitters" (Nick Manton and Jeff Schwartz), outscored their opponents 97-13, and further clarified they belonged in a higher Division all along.

The unfortunate reality is that D is a "one-and-done" league. Unlike the higher Divisions, where teams can actually make mistakes, lose games and still make the playoffs, D-teams MUST be perfect to move up. This unfortunately motivates coaches to abuse their best and brightest players in their attempts at perfection. On more than one occasion this season SLA opponents had their best starters throw well over 100 pitches in a single game. In three cases they hurled over 200. Coaches were inclined to repeatedly throw their best starter in every game instead of develop a full rotation of pitchers. Seeing the potential for long-term injury, many are talking about implementing pitch count limits on players as they do for International Little League World Series players. 

Aside from their offensive prowess, SLA impressed by consistently using multiple pitchers, none ever throwing over 100, which ensured all were legally available for every game and healthy enough to do so. It also opened up more opportunities for everyone to contribute to the team's success. While the results speak for themselves it was uncertain what would happen by the end of the season. In hindsight, SLA wishes it had all their starters for that game vs. University City. Perhaps they are the ones who end up undefeated, but the point here is that one loss shouldn't have been the death knell for a shot at post-season play. SLA was forced to remain perfect and hope for Univ. City to slip up and they almost did. But with come-from-behind-wins against Sankofa, West Philly and Randolph U.C. pulled it off to finish undefeated, win the Division, face Nueva Esperanza in the AA Classification Playoffs, and give the school something to be proud of in its final season of operation.  

But what about SLA? Shouldn't finishing just 1 game behind an undefeated team get them to "The Show"? The answer is yes. Well, that is if it was still 2012. 

However, this year an out-of-nowhere and unexplained new development unfairly snapped SLA's streak of consecutive playoff berths at a time when they clearly had built a team to go deep in the Tournament. Only 1 AA team would qualify for the Tournament so that a school- Mast Charter- that doesn't even play in District XII could compete. As a result, SLA which beat everyone but U.C. doesn't get in at 11-1. No clarification for this decision was ever provided, but it should have been seen on the horizon since District XII leadership has slowly but surely been limiting the number of D-Division teams that qualify for the tournament. 

In 2010 and '11 three teams from AA got in, in 2012 just 2 made it, and now only 1 would earn a berth. The rationale behind the shift was that it had been a long time since a D-Division team won a playoff game. According to the current League leadership a D team has never beaten an A or B-Division school and the latter automatically make the tournament regardless of record. With the focus squarely put on the Public League having the best possible team to represent the City in State competitions, no mind was paid to any of the Little Engines That Might-Could compete on that level. But anyone paying attention to the growth and performance of specific AA-Class D-Division programs, while higher class-programs dropped significantly in quality, would have seen this coming well before the first pitch on Opening Day. So the result is as follows: A-Class (Rush 6-5), which lost to SLA 12-1 gets in. AAA-Class (King 6-6), which blew a 4-0 lead to SLA and lost 8-5, gets in. And AAAA-Class Bartram (9-3), which blatantly ducked SLA in the final week to ensure they had their best pitcher available for the playoffs, gets in. This leaves SLA on the outside looking in on account of that one loss to U.C. which represents AA-Class. 

While SLA's near perfect season isn't for naught- they will move up to C since Univ. City is closing- a plan is in the works for a D-Division Tournament of Champions at SLA's home field at Mt. Airy Park. Invitations will be sent out to the top 4 teams in D in an effort to provide these forgotten programs with some high-stakes games. For Seniors, this will be all they get in terms of meaningful games as their High School Baseball careers come to a close. SLA would be the #2 Seed, right behind undefeated University City, and would face the squad from Bartram that ducked them. Univ. City would face Randolph (9-3). The winners would play for the Championship and the losers in a Consolation game. The Tournament is expected to take place after the official PIAA Playoff brackets unfold prior to Memorial Day Weekend.  

As the sun starts to set on a magical season, and SLA Varsity Baseball says farewell to Nick Manton, Abe Musselman, Jordan McLaughlin, Mike Sanders and Matt Rinaldi, at least they stayed true to their mascot. Much like an actual rocket engine, which thrusts forward by rapidly throwing back its exhaust, "The Rocket" will continue to surge with the contributions of all who weather the storm to be a part of this "Army of One". 

As was expected, the "interested" dwindled when the sessions increased in intensity and frequency. However, those who kept coming back for more formed the core of a dominating "Army of One" set to do battle from beginning to end. While their heroes and role models worked out in the golden sun of Florida and Arizona, this Army did so in defiance of the elements. When both started their respective seasons on April 1st, it was as if the roles had been reversed and the professionals paled in comparison to the amateurs. 

"There were three main goals when we started out this season", said SLA Varsity Baseball Coach Doug Herman before the team took the field vs. Sankofa in their final regular season game. "We set out to establish a J.V. squad to expand our program, finally secure a home field, and we looked to command our own destiny with solid, fundamental performances to earn the right to move up in the Varsity ranks. We obviously achieved the first two, thanks to the addition of Coach Dan Winterstein, but a solid win today will help us accomplish all three." While having the Umpires officially deem the field unplayable on the final day of the Regular Season was not how this team wanted to earn a trip to C, they'll take it. 

That Army, formed through the dark days of painful practices in swirling winds and bone-cold temps behind the ominous towers of Lee Park, never took their eyes off the prize. That Army, which would become known simply as "The Rocket", would weather all sorts of storms and suffer through hours of daily public transit to attend practices. That Army, which never let anything ruffle their feathers, had something to prove and constantly put their all on display. It was clear to anyone who glimpsed at the standings or box scores during this 2013 Season that this Army walked the talk and clobbered most who they faced. 

From the very first game, when King's most Dedicated forgot he wasn't coaching football, and chose to incessantly bark his orders instead of sending signs, to the very end when Sankofa's coach didn't lift a finger to prepare their field for battle, "The Rocket" maintained composure and completed a near-perfect season, finishing 11-1. But these warriors were gentlemen too. They dominated but never forgot where they came from. Remembering what it was like to be on the receiving end of mismatched beat downs, they moved toward their goal with class and earned the respect of everyone along the way.

"Started from the bottom, now the whole team here."

Before the first pitch was thrown, Rush's Short Stop nonchalantly asked his teammates where they were going to celebrate after beating up SLA. Four inning innings later he was chirping at SLA's 3rd Base Coach claiming they weren't showing class by running hard on the base paths to build a 10-run lead. The innings in between his two comments were a textbook example of how psychological the game of Baseball can be, why Rush fell out of C division last year and how the Rockets continue to surge. 

After striking out the first two batters he faced, Rush's starter- Anthony Moore- walked Jeff Schwartz on four pitches, became visibly frustrated when he stole second, and seemed to lose his composure when called for a Balk. Schwartz was awarded third and easily scored on the next pitch when Kevin Courtney ripped one through that same Short Stop to make it 1-0. 

The psychological impact of a run scoring without a hit continued to unnerve Moore who was called for a total of three Balks in the game. The second put Mike Sanders in scoring position and Moore uncorked a wild pitch allowing him to reach 3rd. Although Sanders didn't score, the scene was foreshadowing for what would unfold in the third and fourth innings where the Rockets would score 11 times.

Moore threw hard, but the Rockets were patient the second time around the order. Ethan Reese fought off a bunch of pitches, eventually ripping a single up the middle and Abe Musselman was hit squarely in the back to reach 1st. With the runners moving, Jeff Schwartz notched his 31st and 32nd RBIs of the season on a rip into Center. Schwartz advanced to 2nd when Rush's defense tried to throw out Musselman at the plate. Kevin Courtney continued his hot hitting with an RBI (19) single to Center, making it 4-0. Mike Sanders came back in to pinch run, stole 2nd and 3rd and then scored on Nick Manton's groundout to the right side to make it 5-0. 

Rush got 1 run back off 3 consecutive singles, but Nick Manton, who remained perfect on the season in 4 appearances by striking out 7 and only issuing 1 Walk, got some great defense from Mike Sanders whose catch in Right stranded runners on 2nd and 3rd. The Rockets continued to prove they can play Small Ball as well as mash it up by scoring 7 more runs off just 1 extra-base hit in the 4th to put it out of reach. The win moved SLA just 1/2 game out of first place behind University City who was in action against Gratz. 

Kevin Courtney led The Rocket attack, reaching base in all 3 plate appearances, going 2-2 with a Double, 4RBIs and 2 Runs-scored (by Mike Sanders). SLA finished their 3-game road trip a perfect 3-0 and rides a 7-game win streak back home to Mt. Airy where they have outscored their opponents 82-9 in 5 games. Their next game is on May 6th vs. Bartram (7-2). 

The students of the inaugural class of SLA-B will be chosen from the students who interviewed for SLA in the fall. Students who are still on the waiting list for SLA can email their interest toadmissions@scienceleadership.org; teachers interested in working at SLA-B should send copies of their resume and a cover letter to teaching@scienceleadership.org.  

For the full story, check Jenn Wright's story at SLAMedia.org.

This is an incredible honor for SLA, and it continues the wonderful partnership between SLA and TFI that has brought speakers such as Dr. Stephen Squyres and Bill Gates to the school. 

-- Mr. Lehmann

Manton's dominance continued as he struck out the next two batters he faced and got out of a jam as two reached base on errors. The Rocket was back at it again in the bottom of the 2nd when Stephen Eager-White turned the order over again with a screamer down the line to score one and move another Rocket to 3rd. Ethan Reese brought in two more by forcing a quick throw on an infield single that got past their First Basemen. Jeff Schwartz, who had already tripled and doubled in the first inning alone, put down a sacrifice bunt to move a runner but ended up reaching on a low throw. 

The 16-run Rocket attack was also fueled by Abe Musselman who went 3-3 and racked up 3RBIs in the 2 spot; Freshman Mike Ostrowski who reached base on all 3 plate appearances and ripped an RBI-double in the 1st; Mike Sanders who worked a walk and later scored on a single by Ethan Reese; and an RBI-single by the Rocket's Big Man Raekwon Smith. While Freire's defense consistently stopped themselves from making it a competitive game, SLA's attack was a fine balance of power-hitting and small-ball efficiency. Nick Manton, who earned his 2nd win of the season for SLA had a final line of 4IP, 0ER, 0H, 7K, 0BB, producing the 2nd unconventional "No-Hitter" in team history. 

SLA looks to ride this energizing wave into a 3-game road trip next week against University City (Mon, 4/8), Lamberton (Wed, 4/10) and Sankofa Freedom Academy (Fri, 4/12). Shortly after the game ended, Varsity got word that their J.V. counterpart also had their way with a 12-4 road win over Mastbaum. Diamond Blenman pitched lights out for the second straight game, Jordan McLaughlin hit a triple and also struck out every batter he faced in relief. J.V. has their Home Opener at Mt. Airy Park against Olney on Tues, 4/9. 

Rockets on 3, 1…2…3, ROCKETS!!!

Rough Cut Productions proudly presents its first annual film festival showcasing student work from the past academic season. Varying in length and content, all of the films in the showcase make it abundantly clear that age is not pre-requisite for professional filmmaking.

The films included in this inaugural show run the gamut of storytelling via content, style and format, but all come back to skills honed through our video production courses.

Come to The Franklin for an evening of films that will entertain, provoke thought, inspire and most importantly celebrate the amazing work of these young artists.

A Q&A session with the filmmakers along with a reception will follow the film screenings. This event is free, and open to the SLA community and their guests. The Musser Theater has a 250 person capacity, so reserve your ticket early.

Rough Cut Productions proudly presents its first annual film festival showcasing student work from the past academic season. Varying in length and content, all of the films in the showcase make it abundantly clear that age is not pre-requisite for professional filmmaking.

The films included in this inaugural show run the gamut of storytelling via content, style and format, but all come back to skills honed through our video production courses.

Come to The Franklin for an evening of films that will entertain, provoke thought, inspire and most importantly celebrate the amazing work of these young artists.

A Q&A session with the filmmakers along with a reception will follow the film screenings. This event is free, and open to the SLA community and their guests. The Musser Theater has a 250 person capacity, so reserve your ticket early.

After a devastating loss to Del Val, which is doing a great impersonation of a buzz saw as they cut through the entire division en route to a 7-0 record, SLA needed a big win like this to bounce back into playoff contention. Also, it seems that the Flyers needed the Rockets to win again as well. After the 10-3 drubbing they took last night while trying to clinch the series, the Flyers look like they need a little help from their friends. It's kind of eerie how these two teams are intricately linked. Stretching back to the 2010 playoff run, which found the Flyers down 0-3 to the hated Boston Bruins, anytime the Rockets win a game so do the Flyers. After dropping their first 8 contests in embarrassing fashion, never getting closer than a six-run loss, SLA Coach Herman had enough of losing. His pre-game speech against Comm Tech, which beat them 13-5 in their first game of the season, was curt and to the point. "Look, I am so tired of losing and I know you are too. I got tickets for the Flyers tonight and I'll be damned if getting mercy ruled again by a team we can beat is going to make me miss the start of the greatest comeback sports has ever seen. Let's just do the things we work on in practice and beat these guys. We are better than this. Start playing for one another and it will start to click". And click did it ever. With several starters missing the game, SLA stomped all over Comm Tech 25-10 for their first win in team history. Later that night the Flyers won in overtime 4-3 and started what has become exactly what Coach Herman predicted. 

The rest of that series against the Bruins found the Flyers battling back from deficits and shutting down the high-octane Bruins to even the series at 3-3. Funny thing was that the then 1-8 Rockets has also won two more games of their own, and each game happened on the same day the Flyers were slated to do battle. So it came down to the final game of the season for the Rockets, while the Flyers and Bruins set to duke it out in Boston for Game 7 on the same day. Just like the Flyers, the Rockets fell behind 3-0 to University City, but then all hell broke loose when several players threatened and actually tripped a Rocket on the base paths. Coach Herman called a timeout, and much like the magical time out called by Flyers coach Peter Laviolette at the end of the first period that led to a critical goal, the Rockets responded with cooler heads and hotter bats. SLA went on to score 13 unanswered runs to crush University City 13-3, all the while the SLA bench chant of "Let's Go Flyers" grew louder as each run crossed the plate. The Flyers completed the most epic and improbable comeback in sports history later that night with a 4-3 win over Boston to advance to the Eastern Conference Championship and eventually the Stanley Cup Finals. 

But the connection continued in the 2011 season as well. Whenever the Rockets won so did the Flyers, and while both made the playoffs, the Rockets for the first time in school history and the Flyers with high expectations to return to the Finals, both were bounced early on. This brings us to 2012 and the "one for the ages" Keystone State matchup of Flyers-Penguins. Save for the now most infamous modern hockey game this past Sunday at Wells Fargo Center, which the Flyers won 8-4, the link between the Rockets and Flyers is very much intact. Last week the Rockets beat their nemesis and playoff rival Randolph 14-4, and the Flyers came back to win Game 1 4-3 in overtime. The Rockets had that 400ft Walk-Off 10-8 win over University City on Friday when Raekwon Smith crushed a major league home run in the bottom of the 7th, which was followed by the Flyers trouncing the Pens 8-5 to take a 2-0 series lead. The 189 penalty minute game on Sunday happened with SLA idle, but then the wheels came off both teams. Short an impressive comeback to stave off the Mercy Rule for a few innings when they were down 13-1 in the 4th, the Rockets couldn't claw back to truly make it a game against the Del Val juggernaut, and the Flyers also got thumped by Pittsburgh 10-3. So while today's matchup between the Rockets and Strawberry Mansion was what their Coach considered the beginning of a playoff mentality to ensure the playoff were still a reality, SLA players and Coach all felt that the game had much greater implications.

SLA got it started early with Ethan Reese's lead off triple. Stephen White walked and Jeff Schwartz brought them both home with a rip shot to Mansion's Short Stop who took too long to throw to first. Ethan was running on contact, and Stephen went for home once the throw was off line to first. By the time the top of the SLA order was up again, Ethan Reese had already struck out 7 including the side in the 3rd. Reese got another single to lead off the third. He would finish the day 4-4 with the triple, 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. Stephen hustled hard down the line and reached on an error when Mansion's first basemen couldn't handle the throw. Reese scored and two quick steals later Stephen was on third for a heartbeat before Jeff Schwartz brought him in to make it 4-0. 

In the 4th TJ Nicolella, who was hit by a pitch, would scored to make it 5-0 on Reese's third hit of the game, and SLA broke it open in the 5th with four more runs. Ian McClendon got it started by working a lead-off walk and then stole second. Abe Musselman ripped a shot at the short stop who bobbled the ball and Ian scored when the throw to first was off-line. Abe stole second a moment later, but it didn't matter because Raekwon Smith smacked another monster shot, this time to right center for a triple and the RBI. It seemed as if Rae was going to be stranded at third after Vernon Holt struck out back-to-back Flyers I mean Rockets, but Jhonas Dunakin came through batting in the 9th slot with a hot-shot double down the line just past a diving third basemen to make it 8-0. Ethan Reese brought him home with his team-leading 4th hit of the game to stay perfect at the plate and quickly stole 2nd and 3rd. Coach Herman whispered in his ear, "you are the winning run, so get a move on the second there is contact", as he made it to third. Stephen White, who went 2-4 with 2 runs scored, an RBI and 3 stolen bases on the day ripped a shot to left, but it was right at their fielder. lose to walking off with the mercy rule victory then and there, SLA had to settle for a 9-0 lead going into the 6th. 

But this added some drama and some extra Ks for Reese as he struck out Mansion's deadly hitter Bynum for the third time in the game. Their other huge threat, starting pitcher Vernon Holt, worked a walk and then stole second and third. Trying to do it all on his own, Holt got greedy and tried to steal home, but Reese fired in time for Schwartz to apply a hard tag to Holt's face as he slid in to preserve the shutout. Rees struck out their cleanup hitter Croxtin for the second time on the day, and SLA moved to the bottom of the sixth looking for just one run to wrap it up. 

Jeff Schwartz got the party started with a roaring double down the third base line, and then stole 3rd on the next pitch. 90 feet away from victory, no outs. Holt walked McClendon who worked the count and quickly moved to second on catcher's indifference. That brought up Abe Musselman, who had a double and a triple in the game against Del Val, and continued the hot bat with a single to win the game and finish 3-4 with 2 RBIs and 1 run scored. Shortly after the teams lined up to shake hands Allen Harmon walked over to their coach and engaged him in conversation to distract him long enough to ensure he got the full brunt of the water bucket, a ritual that has carried over since that first win back in 2010. Soaking wet, Coach Herman passed out game balls and "pickles for triples" as he shouted "second place boys, we're in second place!"

So after the 10-0 methodical dismantling of Strawberry Mansion, Flyers fans should feel a bit more at ease going into tomorrow's Game 5 in Pittsburgh. After all, as the Rocket goes so go the Flyers. Perhaps the Rockets should start wearing Orange to clarify their affiliation, and perhaps Ed Snider can pay for the uniforms. Season tickets also seem to be in order. Just sayin'!   

Fresh off handily beating their arch rival and divisional nemesis Randolph for the first time last week by a final count of 14-4, SLA Baseball stepped foot onto some unlikely hallowed ground at  35th and Oxford in Fairmount Park. In the final game of the 2011 season the Rockets were heavy underdogsagainst a strong Strawberry Mansion team. But SLA was surging as well in recent "must win" games, and crushing Freire 16-1 in just 3 innings of no-hit ball by All-Star senior Brandon Williams helped set up the "win and you're in" contest. In the end, that game- a nail-biting, see saw, war of attrition- ended in dramatic fashion with Williams forcing Mansion's best hitter to pop up with the based loaded to secure the 14-12 victory. The win gave SLA an 8-4 overall record, completing a lightning-quick turnaround from the previous 4-8 inaugural campaign, and shockingly propelled SLA into the city playoffs for the first time in school history. Had they lost the game they would have been knocked out by way of head-to-head tie breaker with their bitter rival Randolph, but in beating Mansion they leap frogged them and secured the #2 seed in the playoffs. That team would go onto hold toe-to-toe with the Philadelphia Charter Academy, a B Division powerhouse with a stacked lineup- for five innings before finally relenting. The season ended, but the magic was just beginning. While SLA lost a talented core of seniors- namely John Desalis, Marshall Johnston, Anthony Seeley and Brandon Williams- the team retained it's young core of underclassmen who played pivotal roles in creating a team that believed in itself. 

While the seniors are gone, some now playing in college, the spirit and heart of the team is very much intact, and as the team stepped onto the fresh dirt of their greatest triumph the veterans of that war felt something in the air. The weather was almost exactly the same, the field seemingly untouched since they danced around Brandon on the mound and ritualistically drenched their coach with the water bucket. The implications were also nearly identical. SLA is 2-2 this year, but their record does not reflect the calibre of a team that should be 4-0. More importantly this game, against a very different opponent in University City, was still seen as a "must win" for SLA considering the difficulty of their remaining schedule. 

SLA finds itself in the opposite end of the equation having beaten University City in each of its previous three meetings. While the games themselves have never been close, the air most assuredly has. On numerous occasions the players for UC have verbally and physically threatened SLA players, deliberately thrown at our batters' heads, and have tripped us on the base paths. SLA was expecting the game to be ugly, but their coach made it clear that the ugliness must be one-sided. "They are going to try to get into your heads because they know you are better than them. It is a tactic of compensation. Do not give into them. Do not let them get us into a position where we beat ourselves. Remember that this is a very mental game. Think of their insults like clouds and let them float by".

From the outset it was clear this game would be tense, but SLA is used to that especially on this field. The see saw would swing back and forth, but SLA stayed true to the team mantra of "win the inning", and every time University City would put a run on the board, in fact never more than two in an inning, SLA responded to take the frame. SLA did remarkably well with two outs, and proved to be a very difficult team to put away. For instance, with two outs in the bottom of the first Ian McClendon ripped a shot to third that was too hot to handle. Jeff Schwartz followed suit and quickly SLA had runners on the corners in time for Nick Manton's rip to center to drive them both home and tie the game. SLA scored two more to take a 4-3 lead in the second in similar fashion. After TJ Nicolella led off with a single and reached second on a throwing error, Ethan Reese bunted him over and beat out the throw to first. Nicolella would score on the ensuing throwing error by U.C.'s pitcher and Reese would come around to score on Jhonas Dunakin's rip down the first-base line. Two outs, no problem. 

While this speaks volumes of SLA's composure and how quick they can manufacture runs seemingly out of nowhere, the most impressive aspect of their game has been their defense. Setting a record in a Public League game, SLA recorded six put outs on the base paths including a double play where Ethan Reese faked a throw to second long enough to bait the runner on third to try and go home. Reese spun around and shot a laser beam home in enough time to nail a sliding runner and for Jeff Schwartz to match Reese's throw to third to Raekwon Smith who applied the tag on U.C.'s dumbfounded clutch hitter. While U.C. was most definitely not disciplined on the base paths, which undid a couple of monster triples by their better hitters, SLA displayed the opposite type of presence on the bases. Tallying nine steals, including Jeff Schwartz's swipe of home in the third, SLA also simply worked the bases like professionals and turned every miscue U.C.'s defense made into runs. 

However, for all their mistakes on both sides of the ball, University City tied the game at 5 in the 4th. However, once again SLA responded and won the inning to take a 7-5 lead off with three consecutive singles and another 2 two-out double by Ian McClendon. It seemed the see saw would never stop tilting back and forth though as U.C. tied it back up at 7 and eventually took an 8-7 lead going into the 6th. It could have been much worse considering U.C. had the bases loaded off of walks in the 5th, but once again SLA's defense rose to the occasion catching an undisciplined runner on his way home and another in a run down at second. With the game tied and the bases loaded U.C.'s best hitter was up. He had already ripped a triple to left, but was caught at home on the double put-out in the 2nd. Ian McClendon came in as the closer and did just that by striking him out on a mixture of pitches, the last of which was smoked right by Rivers. 

SLA tied it up in the 6th after Stephen Smith ripped one too hot for their center fielder to hold. Smith came around to tie the game when Reese's hot bat struck for the third time with another bullet right back at center. 8-8 after six with just one inning of regulation to go. McClendon confidently took the mound knowing that holding them here would mean SLA could "win the inning" and walk off with a victory. After a battle of an at-bat, U.C.'s Griffin worked a lead-off walk and then quickly stole second to represent the go-ahead run. What followed was yet another example of the professional composure SLA displayed all day. McClendon struck out the next two batters looking, and when he was in a jam with their number 2 hitter Rivers, he made the ultimate pick-off spin back to second and caught Griffin for the record setting 6th put out. Still 8-8. With the middle of the order coming up, SLA could just smell the win. 

Coach's orders were simple, "just get into scoring position", but Morel, who was still on the mound for U.C. had other ideas. The advantage seemed to swing to U.C. after Morel got Schwartz to pop up to short and lightning-quick Henry Poeng, who had come in to replace an injured Nick Manton, fell behind in the count. Henry owned the box though and got plunked on the wrist when Morel tried to motor one in on the hands. Seconds later Poeng was on third representing the winning run when Raekwon Smith stepped to the plate. Rae had struggled with timing throughout the game, and it seemed the same was unfolding as he quickly fell behind 0-2 in the count. Morel, who had struck him out three times prior in the game, smiled and went for the kill by powering a fastball right down the pipe, but Rae loaded his hands and stepped into the ball with ease. The ball simply disappeared into the crystal blue sky. As SLA's bench cleared to mob Henry as he crossed the plate, Rae simply stared off at his majestic shot wondering if it would ever arc back down to earth. 

Some silly drama ensued when the bench collectively snapped Raekwon out of his self-induced day dream in time to get him to actually run to first base to make it official. Although he robbed himself of his own Home Run trot, the soft, endearing smile on his face merely hinted at how pleased he was with himself. While players joked about how bad they felt for the outfielder having to go all the way to New Jersey to retrieve the ball, it most definitely went over 350ft and therefore would have been a Home Run in Citizens Bank Park. Impressive for a freshman's first extra-base hit of the season. Perhaps Jeff Schwartz, who was a pivotal rookie in the 2011 playoff run, said it best after the team had doused their coach with the water bucket. As he gathered his catcher's gear and helped clean up the dugout, he was overheard satisfyingly mumbling to himself, "something magical always happens on this field." Magical indeed.

1. Load all video.

2. In the canvas, resize each video track to 1/4 screen. Cam 1 - upper right. Cam 2 - upper left. Cam 3 - lower left. Cam 1 is the "base video track, i.e., video track 1... usually the wide angle, but whatever makes sense to your project.

3. Sync, or position, the three video tracks. I usually do this via audio tracks, but video works as well. Just remember that the process is tedious, and accuracy is limited to the frame rate of the video. That is not necessarily the same timerframe of the audio, but close enough, ... most of the time.

4. You can now see all of your video in the canvas. Mute the audio you do not want to listen to while editing, but do not delete yet! With the razor tool you can cut and trim, from the top clip down, to your heart's desire.

5. When editing the sequence is done you should revisit and do two things. First, resize each camera angle to full screen. A tedious process. Second, begin to trim any video on lower numbered tracks that will not be part of the full screen display. I believe this will reduce the file size of your final export.

6. Review video. If you are satisfied with the look, it is time to address audio.

7. Eliminate the audio you do not need.

8. Save your project frequently throughout the entire process.

9. Review, review, review, until you are either satisfied or sick of the whole project. Refine, refine, refine, until you are sick of the project.

10. Once you are satisfied, follow the guidelines on Moodle for MAKING VIDEO INTERNET READY

Leah Stein Dance Co.- Art in Open 2010

Jessi Teich- "Mover and Shaker"

Edited by Dominque Miller

Cam, Qyidir, Sam, and Steve's and 1st Qtr Dig Vid project

Shalia, Antoine and DJ's 1st Qtr Dig Vid project

Perry, Morgan, LaMaya and Andrew's 1st Qtr Dig Vid project

Evan, Jeremy, Anthony and Charlie's 1st Qtr Dig Vid project

Onji, Darnell, Ricky and Yousef's 1st Qtr video project

 Attach VIDEO (add content below as MULTIMEDIA)
You will need to convert to FLV format via Adobe Flash Encoder.
(All laptops have it) Here's an example of what it will look like.