Announcements

Order your CHS Baseball mask today!

Oct 31, 2020
Well, the Pandemic is still here so we wanted to offer an updated mask for the boys and families this winter.
In order to produce, we need to order at least 75, so we need to gauge your interest.
The price is:
1 for $10
3 for $25
Please email Lauren Rutkin (lbrutkin@gmail.com ) with a count how many you want for your family by Wednesday Nov 4.
No need to pay until we know we are going to move forward.
The material is like performance material.
Our order will have about a two week turnaround.

Fall spirit wear sale opening soon!

Oct 22, 2020

Get ready!  We are planning on opening the online store very shortly.  In addition to having the opportunity to replenish our Cougars clothing and gear just in time for the upcoming holidays,  it also will be our only fundraising activity for this fall.  So we can look good and do some good for the program at the same time.  More info will be coming out in the next few days.

Keep an eye out for off-season training info SOON!

Oct 22, 2020
We hope everyone is doing well.  As a follow-up from our note a couple of weeks ago,  thank you very much for filling out the interest surveys.  We had about 2/3 of the returning families respond. It was invaluable for our planning. As with most activities in 2020,  it is taking a bit longer than we had planned to get the specifics of the options out to everyone for your review. We hope to have them out next week.  Until then here is a brief synopsis of where we are.
1) Strength and Agility Training.  We are working on final proposals from both of last year’s gyms/trainers D&I Fitness and GameChanger Fitness.
As in last year we are working on a 12 week program starting in Early December ending at the end of February/first week of March. These will be sessions with dedicated training staff for CHS participants.   Offerings plan to include options for sessions  2 or 3 days a week.   Due to COVID-19 the gyms are at reduced capacity so will affect size of players per session-fewer and may impact scheduling.   Players interested in training prior to the start of the CHS program can make arrangements directly with the gyms.
2) Skills Training.   The skills training is a bit more dynamic.   Last year we held our skills training at Millburn Sports Academy.   That facility is no longer available and neither is the West Orange Armory which the rec baseball program had used last year.  We feel we have a very good option to share with everyone that will address a number of the items that were highlighted in the feedback questionnaire from the training last year.  It is a larger facility with a layout that provides good options in spreading out the players and workouts.  Like last year we plan on having this training run for 8 weeks starting in early January running to early March.  We are very close to be able to share details on this offering which we are very excited about.
3) Other training options is a pitching program which we explore once we get the skills and fitness offerings ironed out.
As part of the details on the offerings, we will share the COVID19 safety protocols and plans that each facility has put in place.
It is our intent to provide details on both the Skills and Fitness options next week for every one’s review and next steps.
As always please reach out with any questions, requests etc and stay healthy.

All the Last Dance details

Jul 14, 2020
We made it. Thanks to everyone who has been helping to make baseball a reality for our players.
Tuesday 7/14 starts the Last Dance Tournament.  It’s the opportunity for our Seniors and their teammates to play as a team as intended prior to the cancellation of the Spring Season.  222 NJ Teams representing High Schools all over the state are playing in something like a College World Series Tournament.
The first round consists of pool play of three games.  Our pool includes Livingston, Millburn, Hanover Park.  The 2-0 team coming out of our pool plays another Essex County Pool leader to determine who advances in the tournament rounds.   All teams play 3 games.
We are playing in Livingston at Brandon Tevlin Fields (200 Okner Parkway Livingston, NJ 07039).  Game 1 is Tuesday 7/11 at 7:30 against Millburn. Game 2 is on Wednesday, at either 4 or 7:30, based upon the result of our game tomorrow.  Thursday is Game 3; time and location (may not be Livingston) is TBD.
Spectators are invited to attend and should arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the game.  Bring a lawn chair, mask and water etc as needed.  Spectators are expected to be socially distanced.   The team is composed of the Seniors and selected players from the Spring Junior and Sophomore classes.    All families in the CHS Baseball Program, including freshman families, are invited to cheer on their team-mates.

Celebrate our seniors today

Jun 17, 2020
Location : Cameron Field
Date: Wednesday June 17
Time: 6:00PM
–  Coach Muirhead will be our MC. 
–  All players who are comfortable and wish to attend are invited to congratulate and salute their senior teammates 
–  All players attending must bring and wear a mask and follow outdoor social distancing guidelines.  We’ll have hand sanitizer available.
–  Parents you are invited as well – please note that we are still at the 100 person gathering, so based upon our overall numbers we may need to spread out a bit.  
I estimate the formal part of the event should take 20-30 minutes and that since this group hasn’t had the opportunity to meet since way too long, I assume folks will want to do some good social distanced hanging out.
Usually there is food at this event however, like everything else this year is unique, so any beverage or snack you may bring to Cameron is strictly BYO.
 

Senior Day on Wednesday June 17

Jun 15, 2020
We will honor our Senior Varsity Baseball players on Wednesday, June 17th at 6:00 PM, at Cameron field.
Our seniors are:
Sam Fleetwood
Daniel Fox
Jack Hamant
Noah Haniph
Joe Lintern
Ethan Messeri
All are 4-year CHS Baseball veterans and have risen through the SOM Rec baseball program and played for the Cougars town teams.
Since the outdoor gathering size has been lifted to 100, we are now able to invite the rest of the baseball team, with the okay of their parents, to join the seniors at Cameron on the sidelines of the field.  Coach Muirhead has already relayed this message to the players on the Wednesday team call.  All local and state Covid guidelines to be adhered to.
On Tuesday, we will send out a final note with more detailed logistics.

Thank you for supporting our food drive

Jun 11, 2020
The food drive was a huge success! We received 12 bags of food, and the larger food drive received around 75 bags in total. It was a really nice way to give back to the community, and everyone at the OLS food pantry was very thankful. Thank you so much for your support.

CHS Baseball Food Drive

May 18, 2020

As you all may well know, the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of every single Columbia High School baseball player. On May 5th, our spring season was officially canceled, ending the careers of our incredible senior leaders, and postponing the hopes and goals of a league championship for our entire program. Our seniors were so dedicated to the CHS baseball program for the past four years and incredible mentors for all CHS baseball players, so we wanted to honor them and give back to and help out those who are struggling during this time in need in our surrounding communities. To do so, we are starting a Columbia High School Baseball food drive, donating all food and proceeds to the MEND Hunger Relief Network of Essex County, and the Our Lady of Sorrows Food Pantry in South Orange.

If you are interested in helping we are looking for healthy, non-perishable foods; MEND’s most needed foods are:

Hot and Cold Cereals

Shelf-safe Milk

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Pasta and Canned Pasta Sauce

Canned Tuna and Chicken

No-or-low-salt Canned Vegetables

Canned Fruit (in juice, not syrup)

1 lbs bags of Rice

Dried or Canned Beans

Mac and Cheese

Granola Bars, Crackers, and Cookies

Please drop off in bins starting Monday, May 18th at any of:

60 Jefferson Ave, Maplewood, 179 Village Rd, South Orange, 270 Tillou Rd South Orange 36 Clinton Ave, Maplewood, 10 Burnet St, Maplewood

The boxes will be out front of the houses and emptied daily from May 18th, till June 1st.

We can also pick up donations from you homes if you email *chsbaseballfoodrive@gmail.com* and specify your address and a pick up time

Additionally, if you would like to help out but can’t donate food, we will also be taking monetary donations for MEND

*Please email any questions to chsbaseballfoodrive@gmail.com*

Thank you for all your support and please continue to social distance and follow CDC and WHO guidelines to get us back to baseball as soon as possible,

The CHS Baseball Food Drive Team

(Jacob, Jack, Cole, Tyler, Sam, Derek)

We need your player profiles and photos

Apr 29, 2020

As soon as you receive your quarter-zip, please do the following:

1) Fill out the player profile

2) Send us a photo of your player in their new quarter-zip. The photo should show the player wearing their quarter-zip and their black 2020 Cougars team cap. Please make it a shoulder-height picture with the bottom of the picture showing the player’s name and the Columbia “C”. A neutral solid background is best. Photos should be medium resolution.

Please upload the picture to Google Drive (preferred) or email it to Pam Bachorz at pbachorz@yahoo.com.

Once we collect all profiles and photos, we will post them to the Rosters section of this website. Pix will be posted by graduating year and in alphabetical order.

The quarter-zips are coming!

Apr 29, 2020

The signature clothing item for this year’s Boosters Team “Player Pack” and the final piece of the pack that was provided to each player back in March, has finally been shipped to us and is now ready for distribution. Thanks to Debbie Altamore and Coach Muirhead for putting together the entire package, including the quarter zip that includes the player’s last name. We hope each player enjoys wearing and showing off their Cougar gear with pride.

In the next day or two you will be receiving a message from one of the Booster Board Members to arrange for a convenient time for them to deliver the quarter zip to your home. Target date for delivery is Saturday. We will practice good social distancing in dropping the item off and sharing a moment of congratulations with each player for making the 2020 CHS Baseball Team.