Ladies and gentlemen, Nazareth Area High School's Danny Wilk presents his wiffleball story

Hello.

One of the best parts of this job is the opportunity to meet unique people -- both young and old. A couple of my favorite high school athletes from years past include Bethlehem Catholic's Adam Bednarik and Easton's Justin Grant. Like Bednarik and Grant (who have since graduated high school), Danny Wilk of Nazareth is full of personality but also respectful and humble at the same time. That's a rare combination for a teenager.

Anyway, here's an opportunity for Wilk to show you a little bit of his personality.

A senior at Nazareth Area High School, Wilk is an outstanding student and football player (confirmed by several teachers and coaches) who plans to continue his academic and athletic careers at the University of Pennsylvania. He recently organized and starred in a wiffleball tournament, and requested I write a story about the event. Instead, I let him write the story.

Keep on readin (it's pretty funny) with photos included ...

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Anthony StamponeRyan Cordero makes a catch during the 2010 Mark Yankowy Wiffleball Tournament.2010 Mark Yankowy Invitational

Where: Lower Nazareth Rec.

When: Sunday, April 11, 2010 beginning at 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Notable Players: Dan Wilk, Shawn Mitchell, Glenn Klemka, Doug Peppel, Kyle Dauscher, Rob Ryan, Taylor Magditch.

Information

There were 6 total teams and we played pool play to determine seeds for the actual double elimination tournament. Games were only 3 innings long, we played only 2 outs per inning, and we played 3 on 3. I invited individual kids throughout this past school week via legit invitations (I attached a copy of one) and the teams were selected out of a hat once we got there. Some guy riding a bike on the road we called over and had him throw out the ceremonial first pitch. We played on 2 fields. There was a basketball court and we used the fencing around it for fair/foul/home runs and then tennis courts and we did the same thing. When we first got there, the 18 kids were the only people in the park but there was softball and little league practice later so tons of people showed up. The dads soon recognized some of us and lined the fencing, heckling, cheering, and stayed for most of the tournament. It made for a really good atmosphere. We played slow pitch, but the wind made the balls dance pretty good. We used garbage cans as strike zones.

For the 2010 championship game, undefeated team At Least We’re White met the losers bracket champion, Crack of Dawn. Shawn Mitchell stood on top of a garbage can and sang the National Anthem into a tennis racket literally everyone at the Lower Nazareth Rec took their hats off. It was 1-0 CoD going into the bottom of the 3rd inning. With Doug Peppel on the mound, one out, and runners on first and second, Dan Wilk stepped up to the plate and hit a walk off 3-run home run to win the 2010 Mark Yankowy Invitational.

We have no idea who Mark Yankowy is. There is a court yard at NAHS that the seniors can eat lunch in and there’s a tree there. The tree has a plaque at its root saying Mark Yankowy, so naturally that’s who we named it after.

Anthony Stampone isn’t the best wiffleball player and could not participate because of his knee so we invited him to take pictures of us while we played.... check Shawn Mitchell’s Facebook.

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Anthony StamponeDanny Wilk prepares to hand the mic (tennis racket) to Shawn Mitchell, above, who sang the national anthem prior to the 2010 Mark Yankowy Wiffleball Tournament. Awards

The Iron Slugger (a spray painted chrome wiffleball bat given to the person with the most HRs) – Joey Pietroforte

The K-King (spray painted chrome wiffle ball given to the pitcher with the most strikeouts) – Doug Peppel he throws a mean knuckle

The Mark Yankowy Award (a pair of pom poms given to the person who showed the most spirit and love for the game – as voted by the players) – Anthony Stampone

Tournament MVP (as voted by the players) – Dan Wilk


Interviews

Shawn Mitchell:


“I give the tournament a 93% approval rate. It was a shaky start, a few players couldn’t show up due to other reasons. We just went out there and did what we do best and that’s play the game of Wiffle Ball.”

“Some people may say that a tennis court and a baseball court may be illegitimate fields to play Wiffle Ball, and you know what I say.... they just need to play for the love of the game.”

“I just want to thank David A. Mahoney for inventing Wiffle Ball in 1963 and to Mrs. Albanese for putting all those picture online. I feel we really took a major step forwards for the game of Wiffle Ball.”

Glenn Klemka


“I felt it was a great tournament. We showed up, had a great time, and the rest was history.”

“The crowd was great. The fans came out to support their daughters playing softball and they ended up standing along the fences watching and cheering for us. That’s what I call a good day.”

“I just wanted say thank you to all our sponsors: Goodyear Tires, David’s Sunflower Seeds, Ticonderoga Pencils (HB #2), Clover Farms Iced Teas, and Sonic.”

FROM MIKE BLOUSE