It’s usually during sickness and injury that people work with medical professionals, but the Rehabilitation Services Department at Cass County Memorial Hospital is ahead of the game. Laura Hickman, DPT, ATC, and Erin Johnson, PTA, now offer a throwing clinic for area softball and baseball teams. Together, they teach proper warm-up exercises, mobility drills, and stretches.

Erin Johnson& Laura Hickman (Photo submitted)

The goals of the clinic are to help athletes prevent injury and improve their throwing technique. Laura and Erin were both high school athletes who suffered season-ending injuries, so they know first-hand the dangers involved and the importance of preventive care at a young age. “We want to teach them about protecting and strengthening their bodies in the correct way,” said Erin. “If someone had said to me at 16 or 17 – you’ll have this body your entire life, so take care of it – it would have made a difference.”

The Griswold softball team was the first to host the clinic for its players, and Peggy Hansen, Head Coach, says that the team now incorporates the stretches and drills into their everyday routine. “The girls start as soon as they arrive at practice,” said Hansen. “Each girl is leaving the (exercise) bands in their softball equipment bags and will do this as their game warm up also.”

Coach Hansen noted that in addition to the exercises, it was helpful to have Laura and Erin onsite during the practice. “While Laura and Erin were watching the girls do these stretches …we could see why some of the girls have had sore elbows and shoulders before,” said Hansen. Because of their experience and background in physical therapy, both could see weaknesses in muscles that the mobility drills and exercises should build.

Overall, Coach Hansen is pleased with the outcomes of the clinic. “I am seeing better results with our throwing since they started this because they are getting their arms in the right position,” she said. Laura and Erin hope they can work with more area schools’ baseball and softball teams this season. “We want athletes to perform at their best ability, and prevent injuries that would sideline them or cause bigger problems down the road,” said Laura.

In the future, the CCMH Rehabilitation Services team plans to incorporate injury prevention clinics with other sports and athletic groups throughout the year. For more information about the throwing clinic, or to schedule a clinic, contact Laura or Erin at 712-243-7564.

(Press Release)

The 7:20-a.m. Sportscast w/Jim Field.

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Baseball:
Atlantic 2, Denison-Schleswig 1
Red Oak 5, Shenandoah 4
Glenwood 11, Creston 1 (5 inn)
Harlan 7, Kuemper Catholic 6
Lewis Central 10, St. Albert 1
CAM 12, Boyer Valley 1 (5 inn)
Treynor 11-4, Griswold 0-0
Tri-Center 9-17, A-H-S-T-W 4-9
Missouri Valley 7-4, Audubon 5-3
Logan-Magnolia 14-15, Riverside 2-0
IKM-Manning 6-3, Underwood 1-1
Fremont-Mills 21, Clarinda Academy 9
Nishnabotna 15, Essex 0 (4 inn)
East Mills 11, Stanton 10
Lenox 7, Central Decatur 2
Nodaway Valley 2, Wayne 0
Orient-Macksburg 3, Mormon Trail 2

Softball:
Exira/EHK 5, West Harrison 0
Griswold 6-4, Treynor 4-5
Missouri Valley 13-13, Audubon 3-3
Logan-Magnolia 10-9, Riverside 0-2
IKM-Manning 10-16, Underwood 0-1
Shenandoah 9, Red Oak 3
Creston 4, Glenwood 0
Kuemper Catholic 7, Harlan 4
Lewis Central 6, St. Albert 2
Stanton 13, East Mills 3 (6 inn)
Essex 14, Nishnabotna 5
Sidney 8, Bedford 7

Atlantic is halfway to defending their Class 3-A state girls golf championship.  Atlantic shot a team score of 356 on Monday and lead second place Beckman Catholic, who shot 363.  It is a fairly tight race, as the rest of the field includes Clarion-Goldfield-Dows at 368, New Hampton at 369, MOC-Floyd Valley and Monticello both at 375 and Nevade and Williamsburg each with 385.  Brooke Klostermann of Beckman Catholic leads the tourney with a first day score of 75.  That puts her two strokes ahead of Atlantic’s Brooke Newell who shot 77.  Also for Atlantic, Erin Olsen shot 86, Sarah Fixmer 94, McKenna Den Beste shot 99 and Mary Hayes carded a 117.  Kuemper Catholic’s Courtney Snyder is tied for 10th after posting an 85.

In Class 2-A, Treynor is in fifth place, 34 strokes back of Alta-Aurelia after a day one score of 376.  Treynor is led by Madelyn Deitchler who shot 86 and Ally Anderson who posted a 91.

In Class 4-A, Madison Hance of Creston is tied for 11th place after shooting a 90, and Sara Sweeney of Carroll carded a 92.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Mike Fiers and four relievers combined on an eight-hitter and Carlos Gomez had a first-inning RBI single in the Milwaukee Brewers’ 1-0 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday night. Fiers (2-5) allowed four hits in six innings, one shy of his season high, and won for the first time in six starts since May 2 at Chicago.

Johnathan Broxton, Neal Cotts, James Jeffress and Francisco Rodriguez combined to allow four hits without walking a batter in Milwaukee’s fourth shutout of the season. Rodriguez finished for his ninth save. The win comes a day after the Brewers beat Arizona in 17 innings.

Jaime Garcia (1-2) worked seven sterling innings and Kolten Wong and Mark Reynolds had two singles apiece for the Cardinals, shut out for the fifth time but first time at home where they’re among the best in the league at 20-7.

CHICAGO (AP) — A person familiar with the situation says the Chicago Bulls plan to introduce Fred Hoiberg as their new coach today (Tuesday). The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday night on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been finalized. Hoiberg had long been rumored as the replacement for Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last week after five seasons in Chicago.

The Bulls announced in a release that they would make a major announcement today (Tuesday). Hoiberg went 115-56 with the Cyclones, including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back Big 12 tournament titles. He had open-heart surgery in April.

AMES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg boarded a flight to Chicago on Monday to meet with the Bulls about their open coaching vacancy. Hoiberg told reporters at the airport in Ames, Iowa, that he has meetings set for Monday night but no deal with the Bulls has been finalized. Hoiberg had long been rumored as the replacement for Tom Thibodeau, who was fired last week after five seasons in Chicago.

Hoiberg says the speculation that he was leaving the Cyclones after five seasons has been “extremely tough,” adding that he didn’t want to comment on anything because there wasn’t anything firm to talk about. Hoiberg is 115-56 with the Cyclones, including four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and back-to-back Big 12 tournament titles.

With KJAN Sports Director Jim Field.

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Softball:
Atlantic 11, Exira/EHK 0
Clarinda 13, Bedford 3
Clarinda 23, St. Albert 0
St. Albert 4, Bedford 3
Martensdale-St. Mary’s 10-12 Guthrie Center 0-0

Red Oak Tournament
Pool One
Riverside 7, Essex 6
Red Oak 12, Riverside 8
Essex 12, Red Oak 0 (4 inn)
Pool Two
Griswold 8, Shenandoah 0
Fremont-Mills 6, Shenandoah 5
Griswold 14, Fremont-Mills 1
Championship Round
5th Place: Shenandoah 7, Red Oak 0
3rd Place: Riverside 14, Fremont-Mills 1
Championship: Essex 7, Griswold 6

Winterset Tournament
Van Meter 14, Harlan 6
Winterset 17, Harlan 0
Chariton 8, Nodaway Valley 6
Nodaway Valley 5, Earlham 2
Chariton 11, Interstate 35 5
Interstate 35 12, Earlham 6

Maple Valley Tournament
Logan-Magnolia 10, Maple Valley-Anthon-Oto 1
Logan-Magnolia 10, West Monona 0 (6 inn)
Maple-Valley-Anthon-Oto 8, Hinton 4

Bishop Heelan Catholic Tournament
Lewis Central 11, Sioux City North 1 (5 inn)
Woodbury Central 5, Lewis Central 1
Charter Oak-Ute 12, Sioux City North 7
Sioux City East 12, Charter Oak-Ute 2 (5 inn)
St. Edmond 14, Sioux City East 1
Spirit Lake 7, Bishop Heelan Catholic 3
Sioux Center 11, Bishop Heelan Catholic 5

Baseball:
Shenandoah 12, Sidney 2
Boone 3, Lewis Central 1
St. Edmond 7, Kuemper Catholic 6
Kuemper Catholic 8, Alta/Aurelia 6
Lawton-Bronson 5, Nishnabotna 1
Lawton-Bronson 11, Logan-Magnolia 8
Coon Rapids-Bayard 3, Van Meter 0

Interstate 35 Tournament
Southwest Valley 6, East Union 5
Wayne 14, Southwest Valley 4