The Official Blog of OC Athletics
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Former Lady Eagle play-by-play announcer Mike Sanders, an OC alumnus, won election to the State House from Oklahoma District 59 on Tuesday.
The Republican Sanders won the race with 11,092 votes, compared to his opponent, Democrat Don Russell’s 2,929 votes.
Sanders, whose enthusiasm and signature call, “Oh my chickens,” helped make him beloved on OC’s old KOCC radio station, told the Enid News & Eagle that he will continue working on economic development, reforming workers’ compensation and keeping the doors of rural hospitals open.
Sanders has worked for U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas as a field director, worked on George W. Bush’s presidential campaign, worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and was director of White House interns for three years. He also has worked for the Department of Rural Development.
Oklahoma House District 59 covers territory in Blaine, Canadian, Dewey, Kingfisher, Major and Woodward counties.
Friday, July 18, 2008
OC’s Rhein Gibson won the State Amateur Championship, one of the biggest tournaments in the golf-rich state of Oklahoma. Click here to read the recap of title-winning day in the Oklahoman, and click here to read the recap in the Edmond Sun.
Click the icon below to see a compilation of the tournament TV coverage on Oklahoma City’s local stations.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Hello OC Baseball Fans,
It has been a few weeks since I last wrote about the status of the new baseball facility and about how our eight-week fall season ended. We are currently in our finals week and all of our players are studying hard to complete their finals and then head home for the holidays.
The construction of the new baseball facility had progressed nicely until this bout of icy weather arrived. I have been working with Jackson Greene, an alumnus of OC and the baseball program, to complete the outfield fencing. Jackson is the owner of Greene Country Fence and has graciously consented to assist us with the design and construction of this large and important phase of our new facility. Once we finish the fence construction, we will paint the fence a ballpark green color; it should be one of the very attractive features of our facility.
The other major project that is underway is the construction of our two dugouts. Mike Hancock, owner/operator of Basement Contractors, is overseeing the construction of this project for us. Last week, Mike and I did the layout for the dugout footings, which were dug and poured on Thursday. As soon as the weather clears up, plumbers will rough in the plumbing and then Mike’s crew will pour the floor, walls and ceiling of both dugouts. Both of these dugouts will be large and spacious enough to accommodate a team and all of their gear. Built directly behind each dugout will be a player dressing facility with restrooms, an athletic training room and a coaches’ dressing room. This will be an outstanding addition to our new facility.
We also are currently working on are the completion of the large netted backstop that will span from dugout to dugout, the design and cost estimate of a large center area of chairback seats, and the arrival and installation of a new inning-by-inning scoreboard sponsored by Arvest Bank.
We ended our fall workouts with a five-game intrasquad series by dividing our team into two teams that were coached by our outfield defensive coach, Aaron White, and our strength and conditioning coach, Brian Madden. Our pitching coach, Jared Smith, handled the pitchers for both teams and yours truly umpired the event; I much prefer coaching to umpiring.
I was encouraged by the talent and effort of all our players. It was an even and competitive series won by the White squad three games to two. The deciding run of the series came in the bottom of the seventh inning of the fifth game; a single by Josh Henry with one out scored the winning run.
After the holiday break, we will return to campus to begin classes and workouts on January 7 in preparation for the February 8 opening of our three-game series with Peru State (Neb.). We hope you will make plans now to be at this historic day as the tradition of baseball is brought back to the OC campus.
Until then, we wish you Happy Holidays and hope that the time with your family and friends is an enjoyable one. Please continue to remember the players and coaching staff in your thoughts and prayers as we work hard to prepare for the upcoming season. Also be praying for the completion of our new facility in time for our season opener. Please keep checking in with me for new program updates as we approach the beginning of the season.
God’s richest blessings for all,
Chuck White
Monday, September 24, 2007
Hey Baseball Fans,
Friday was a big day for OC; baseball came alive and we performed well in our first scrimmage. It was a marathon; we started at 4:00 pm and played 21 innings straight.
We divided the 21 innings into three seven-inning groups and fared pretty well with such a young group. We lost the first seven 4-2, won the second seven 6-4 and tied the third seven 3-3.
As coaches, we saw a lot that we have to work on, but we were very encouraged by what we observed. Our pitchers all did well overall. We need to eliminate walks and stay ahead in the count. Coach Smith has done a good job with them and was encouraged by the results from his staff.
Offensively, we hit the ball well. We were aggressive at the plate for the most part and hit line drives and sharp ground balls. We hit two long balls on the day; Josh Balch hit a laser for our first tater and Tyler Gipson hit a towering two-run shot in the second seven innings. We missed far too many signals, but I am not worried; that will take care of itself with time.
Defensively, we booted the ball in a few crucial situations, but with practice that will improve also. Our players just need to understand how much quicker the game is at the collegiate level and adapt their play to speed of the game.
All things considered, our coaching staff was pleased with what we saw, but by no means are we satisfied. We have two more weeks of practice before our next scrimmage and I expect significant progress in our next competition.
Probably the biggest encouragement I experienced with our team on Friday was the camaraderie they have already developed in the short time we have been together. As the team spirit and camaraderie grows, I believe good things will happen. We have a group of outstanding young men and I have really enjoyed being around them.
The field is coming along nicely. I mowed the infield and dugout wings for the first time on Sunday afternoon and it looked good. It is still bumpy as all new sod is. It will just take some time to top dress the grass and get the dirt surface where we want it, but it is beginning to take shape.
I called a pipe company on Monday and shared what we needed with the yard manager. He was kind enough not only to donate some pipe for our backstop, but also to deliver the pipe for free. God is good; He does provide.
Thanks for checking in with us this week and I hope that you will continue to our website each week as I update my baseball blog. Please keep the coaches in your prayers as we lead these young men and also remember our players as they work hard in the classroom and mature as quality young men and baseball players.
God’s richest blessings to all,
Chuck White
Head Baseball Coach
Oklahoma Christian University
Friday, September 14, 2007
CHUCK WHITE, Baseball
It has been a long time coming, but the time has arrived; baseball is back on campus at Oklahoma Christian. We have recruited 35 players and we have been working out for two full weeks. We had our first team intersquad scrimmage on Thursday. It feels good to be back on the field after a three-year leave of absence from coaching. I have to admit, though, that my legs and voice are not quite back in coaching shape. I find my legs are dead and my voice raspy after a long workout, but I am thankful for the opportunity the Lord has provided me. Many thanks to so many who have played a part in the resurrection of this tradition-rich program.
As for the squad, I do not think you could ask for a finer bunch of young men to be around. They are pleasant, courteous, attentive and willing to give all they have in our workouts. We have a lot to do as you would imagine when starting a program from scratch. You can take nothing for granted or assume that players know what you are thinking or talking about. As a new program, we are like a blank sheet of paper and we have to fill that paper with an outline and philosophy of the program we desire.
Good communication is the key. If we do not communicate well as coaches and players, we only limit what we will be able to accomplish. One of the many challenges is that all of these players come from different programs that have different baseball methods, philosophies and terminologies; we must do a lot of first-time communicating about simple basic issues because we have no returning players or previous point of reference of a season from which to begin.
Our coaching staff consists of myself and three other Christian men that I have recruited to assist me. They are young and enthusiastic and I have really enjoyed the time that we have spent together to this point. I am fortunate to have my youngest son Aaron to work alongside me as he assists with the defense working with the outfielders, instructing our hitters and coaching first base. Aaron graduated from Midwest City and was an outfield starter for two years at Rose State College. He finished up his career playing the outfield at East Central University in Ada.
Our pitching coach is Jared Smith. Jared graduated from Edmond Memorial and was a member of the OC team his freshman year when the program was suspended. Jared went on the play one year at the junior college level, then finished out his collegiate career at Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva. The final member of our staff is Brian Madden. Brian graduated from Putnam City West, then played four years at Southern Nazarene University as a catcher and designated hitter. Brian is in charge of our strength and conditioning program; he also works with our catchers and instructs our hitters. I feel very blessed to have these three fine men on our staff; their youthfulness energizes me and encourages me at the same time.
As for our new baseball facility, we are more than 60 days behind schedule because of the record rainfall that we had in the late spring and early summer. I have had to re-trench some irrigation ditch lines three times due to the frequent heavy rains, but I am happy to report that we have persevered. As of Wednesday, September 12, we have a full field of new sod. I have never been so glad to see green grass in my life; I thought we would never get our irrigation system completed. I am happy to report that we have had a few minor leaks and breaks, but the irrigation is up and fully operational. I am sure that if you have been one of the many who have driven by our new facility, you have wondered, “What are those guys doing out there? It doesn’t appear there’s been any progress.” I assure you myself that I have thought the very same thing.
This fall, as allowed by the NAIA, we will have two scrimmages. Our first will be on September 21; we’ll travel to Enid to play Northern Oklahoma College. The second scrimmage is against Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville. As much as we have to do to prepare ourselves to compete, I am looking forward to getting back on the field in a live game situation. As an athlete and a coach, that mental and physical high you feel in live competition gets in your blood. After you have been away from it for a period of time, you find yourself craving the thrill of competition once more.
We will be a young squad with only 10 transfers and the rest being freshmen, but I believe we can be competitive. It will be a challenge to compete against the mature quality programs found in the Sooner Athletic Conference, but that is the type of competition that will only make you better. I assure you ... we would not want to be in any other conference; the SAC is a great baseball conference.
My plan is to give weekly updates on the Eagle Eye Blog page (www.oceagles.com/eagleeye) so we hope you will check in regularly to see what is new in our program. As things progress, I will give you some inside perspective on our practices, and scrimmages, and also about the development of our young men both in the classroom and on the field.
We have had so much encouragement and support since announcing the return of baseball and our hope and desire is that you will make plans now to become actively involved in supporting this program with your attendance next spring. You can find our schedule on the athletic website and we will post current stats so you can follow our progress throughout the season. If you want to communicate directly with me, you can email me at chuck.white@oc.edu. I would enjoy hearing from our fans, developing new friends and rekindling old relationships. I will sign off for now, but I hope you will check back in a week to see what’s new. Until then, may the Lord bless you and your family richly.
God’s blessings,
Chuck White
Head Baseball Coach
Oklahoma Christian University