JULY 1, 2016
A11
T he C oast News
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Take me out to the ballgame has special meaning for Haferkamps
sports talk jay paris
T
he Haferkamp family is super cool. Or is it su-
per nuts? You decide, but the Carlsbad clan did something that nearly everyone addicted to baseball has pondered: What would it be like to visit all 30 Major League stadiums? The Haferkamps found out over a five-year trek that has resulted in a dynamite book, “Let’s Hit ‘Em All.” Parents Steve and Dayna Haferkamp were only half of this bunch hooked on baseball. Their sons, Grant and Jack, were also along for the ride and according to the adults, were the instigators of this mission, which is dear to all Seamheads. The Haferkamps were attending a Padres game in 2008 when Grant and Jack were selected to assist in the pre-game activities. “That was so special and they were so excited,’’ Steve said. “The next day we were having breakfast and they said they were thinking about doing all the stadiums. It was totally their idea that we do it. We figured if we were going to do it, we had to do it as a whole family and while the kids were young.’’ Singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” never gets old. But 30 different venues over five summers with young ‘uns so small they still fit in their parents arms? Steve and Dayna just shrugged. “It didn’t take us long to consider doing it,’’ said Dayna, born and raised a dedicated Pittsburgh Pirates fan. “We got out the pen and paper and started mapping it out.’’ So the journey began, as the Haferkamps rode a collection of planes, trains and automobiles to reach their nirvana that revolved around the No. 30. “It was everything we thought it would be and more,’’ Dayna said. Which is evident in their book, which includes pictures of every venue that make you feel as if you’re riding shotgun with the Haferkamps. The second stop of their trek was Pittsburgh’s PNC Park. While the Haferkamps were introducing another generation to baseball’s pull, Dayna was felling the tug on her heart. “This was really a testament to my mom,’’ Dayna said of her late mother, Della Marie Cochran. “She was all about family and spending quality time together. We wanted that spirit to
The book, “Let’s Hit ‘Em All,” is published through Mascot Books. The book was written by Dayna and Steve Haferkamp. Courtesy photo
live on and build a legacy that we could pass on.’’ But the excursion became more than just about baseball. It was about interacting with others, learning about different cities, discovering what makes America — and Toronto — great and is it possible to eat too many hot dogs? “We learned that what you find out when you are in these different places that you can just talk to people and everyone is connected through baseball,’’ Dayna said. “When you would engage in conversations it was just amazing.’’ While also underscoring what makes baseball so grand. There’s down time between batters, a causal rhythm that every game possess which allows strangers to become friends in the moments when the action on the diamond takes a break. Steve had a go-to line that never failed. “You guys from around here?’’ he asked as a tourist, knowing what came next. “They would give you the history of the stadium, tell you where the best microbeer stand was and everything else,’’ Steve said. “At baseball games, people are really open. At football games, people are in a rush, a hurry, not to miss a play. Not so at baseball games.’’ While absorbing the nuances of every contest — they saw a no-hitter in Cincinnati — it was before the first pitch that often had its biggest impact. The cheery Haferkamps made sure their sons met the people running the games and not just those running on the field. They made nice with ushers, parking lot attendants, concession workers — you name it. “The most important thing we wanted to get across to the boys was to make sure they were respective and learned their pleases, thank yous and to look people in the eye when they met them,’’ Dayna TURN TO JAY PARIS ON A14
Sports Sabers ‘reloading’ for new hockey season By Tony Cagala
ESCONDIDO — Centerman Ben Evans took two high sticks to the face, got a cut above his eye, busted a lip, shattered a tooth, and needed at least five stitches all before the tryout was through. Evans, 20, a hockey player from Denver, Colo., was trying out for the San Diego Sabers, Escondido’s hometown hockey team. Though not to add salt to his wounds, Evans most likely wasn’t going to make the team. “Ben’s a great kid and I would love to have him here, but he’s also played in this league on another team, so his rights are currently owned by another team,” said Mark Haupt, assistant coach and media relations manager for the Sabers. Having a contract with another team makes it all the more difficult for other organizations to try to obtain players. The Sabers are part of the Western States Hockey League (WHSL), an amateur athletic union sanctioned Tier II Junior A hockey team, which claims the Escondido Ice-Plex as their home arena. First entered into the league as the San Diego Surf from 2001 to 2008, the team changed their name to the San Diego Gulls in 2008, which lasted until last year when the Gulls of the American Hockey League, the minor league affiliate of the Anaheim Might Ducks returned to San Diego. The 2015-16 season was the team’s first time as the Sabers. Now, the Sabers are entering the 2016-17 season with another new start, too — the team’s owner and general manager Jim Cavataio brought in Haupt and head coach Joakim Falt. The organization wrapped up a three-day tryout in June, with more than 30 players hoping to make the team. “Out of that, there were some pretty good players that we’re interested in,” Haupt said. “I thought all in all, it was a very good showcase and there was some good talent out there.” The hope was to sign at least five or six players from the tryouts, with the rest of the roster being rounded out later on. This year, the Sabers open the season with a three game series in Arizona against the Hawks starting Sept. 30. Their first weekend series at home is slated to begin Oct. 14 against the Las Vegas Storm. “This division has a highly-skilled talent level,” Haupt said. “The influx of European players coming over here has made the entire league really good.” Last season was a struggle for the Sabers, though, finishing with a
More than 30 players take part in tryouts for the San Diego Sabers, an amateur athletic union sanctioned Tier II Junior A hockey team in the Western States Hockey League. The team plays home games at Escondido’s Ice-Plex. Photos by Tony Cagala
9-40 record, with three overtime losses over the course of their 52 game season. It’s one of the reasons why Cavataio, the team’s general manager and owner, brought Haupt and new Falt in. “The wins and losses are great and we always strive to win,” Haupt said. “But the development of the young man and moving them on to college to play hockey in college and go to school, or moving them on to the pro ranks, speaks volumes for your program.” But don’t call it a rebuilding season. “I would say in a Junior A level you’re always in a position where (you’re) not so much rebuilding but you’re reloading,” Haupt said. “I think San Diego has a good core here even though we blew it up a little bit.” Haupt added they’re not only looking for good hockey players but for good character kids. Liam Ritchie, who came down from British Columbia, Canada to try out said it was pretty interesting to see a good number of Canadians trying out for the Sabers. “I like to see all these Canadian boys come down here, it’s pretty fun,” Ritchie said. Towering over the other players, Ritchie, a defenseman by trade, stood 6-feet, 10-inches tall — not really normal for a hockey player — and that wasn’t including his skates. “The weather’s nice up here,” he said though. But the height, he thinks, helps him out on the ice. “It’s like a quarterback situation, you see over people when you play,” he said. Following the tryouts, Ritchie said he liked it here in San Diego, especially the weather and gave the team a verbal commitment to play. On Wednesday, the
Ben Evans, 20, a hockey player from Colorado gets injured during tryouts for the San Diego Sabers.
Sabers announced they had signed Ritchie to this year’s roster. In a statement issued from Cavataio, he said the team is looking for great things from Ritchie this season. “His size and quick speed will help our team defensively,” Cavataio
said. At 15, Mason Kohn is one of the younger members of the team already signed. It will be the Carmel Valley resident’s first year with the Sabers. The talent he’s seen already, even at the tryouts, TURN TO SABERS ON A14