PAGE- 19 July 2016
WWW
.azindiatimes.com
You may think it’s getting HOT in Arizona, but noth-
ing is stopping the passionate cricketers from play-
ing Cricket in the Arizona heat.
AZTBC, PPL, Big Bash, ACA are just a few names
out of many that run different leagues in the Valley.
Most of these leagues have their own cricket passion-
ate players formed Organization Committee (OC)
who will volunteer a number of hours in planning,
organizing, scheduling, working with City and many
more tasks to run the tournaments smoothly.
Call out for Heads Or Tails.
Arizona Tennis Ball Cricket (AZTBC) is one of the
oldest and a premier not for profit league organiza-
tion in it’s 8 th year of Winter & Summer tourna-
ments, while the number of teams have grown from
4 to 16 from different parts of the valley with over
500 registered players ranging from 16 years old to
45 years old of different nationalities and professions
including students, businessmen, officeworkers, en-
gineers, doctors etc.
Arizona allows us to have advantage of the great
outdoors weather where we can enjoy 10 months of
Cricket, distinguished between summer & winter.
The Winter tournament is played during weekend
mornings from September to April on grass turfs in
community parks, while
When it comes to the sport of Field Hockey in Ari-
zona, there is only one name that stands out – the
Phoenix Scorpions Field Hockey Club. Conversely,
the Scorpions have placed Phoenix as one of the
must visit destination for the sport in the US among
field hockey enthusiast and players.
The Club was started in late 1998 by a small group
who had moved to the valley of the sun from differ-
ent parts of the US and Canada. Gradually the group
organized, created awareness and recruited players
from all ages and today the Scorpions have over 200
members and host the largest a nual field hockey
tournament
Phoenix Scorpions Kids during the practice
session.
in Arizona. The Cactus Classic Field Hockey Tour-
nament, which is organized by the club and held each
spring in Phoenix, attracts teams from across the
US, Canada, Mexico and England. Last year, there
were over 40 teams participating in the tournament,
which consisted of Men’s, women’s, Mixed, Under 16
and Under 13 divisions. Relying on the perfect play-
ing weather and conditions along with a world class
playing facility, the Scorpions have managed to de-
liver an outstanding event each and every year. Part
of the Scorpion’s main objectives has always been a
strong emphasis on Junior Development. The club
also
Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton trying his hock-
ey skills at this year’s tournament
invites prominent hockey coaches from the US and
India in order to provide training to the newer play-
ers. A few of the Scorpion’s junior players have gone
on to qualify for the National Junior Field Hockey
team.
In order to meet its objectives, the Scorpions pro-
vide a year-round junior development program for
boys and girls and adults of all ages. During each
practice session, the coach focuses on specific drills
and training routines, designed to enhance and com-
plement the skill level of each player. This way, kids
are learning new skills while strengthening existing
skills.
In addition to playing hockey, the Phoenix Scorpi-
ons provide a social setting for all members and their
families in order to interact and enjoy the diverse
cultural backgrounds of each member. Throughout
the year, the club will host picnics and special events
celebrating this diversity and its members. As part
of its commitment and outreach to the community
these events are open to all friends and field hockey
enthusiasts. Please visit their website for updated in-
formation, practice schedules and photos.
“Membership is open to all ages and skill levels. You
can find more information about the Phoenix Scor-
pions at
and also join
them at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/
PhoenixScorpions/info and sign up to receive up-
dates and information about their club activities.
Summer flood light Cricket
tournament starts
Valley Field Hockey Club in
its 18th year
Desi Devils
Heads Or Tails had an opportunity to chat with the
defending tennis ball champions, DesiDevils captain
Rakesh Mopidevi & previous captain Shanky Ven-
katraman, DD one of the many cricket clubs in the
Valley, and has been a dominant team in the tourna-
ment for the last few years. The two times summer
champions of 2014 & 2015 have won four consecutive
finals, over multiple seasons, and made it to last 5
finals of the AZTBC tournaments.
DesiDevils teammembers after winning the
2015 Summer Tournament Championship
As in life, there are some changes as people move
out pursuing professional career, injuries, vacation
and family commitments, it’s sometimes tough to
form a good playing 11. The summer tournament
makes it even more difficult with families on vacation
and soaring summer temperatures. At other times,
there is a problem of plenty, especially towards the
knockout stages where they have to pick an 11 from
15-16 available in the roaster.
A sports enthusiast has been actively playing cricket with various teams in
the valley since last 14 years. With a lot of passion & expertise mentored
many young players. Ameet has a deep understanding and capability to
provide superior sports coverage in Arizona. He not only covers sporting
events, but also translates knowledge so that general readers get the most
from the story. if you love sports, you’re already halfway there.
“ Do not take life too seriously.
You will never get out of it alive.“
Thoughts to Inspire
Elbert Hubbard
Heads Or Tails,
in conversation with Mayur Jain, Pan-
kaj Likhmania and Ramakrishnan Vaidyanathan, the guys
who took over as the OC of AZTBC in 2008, expressed
their gratitude towards the community and the sponsors
for their continued support. The leagues wrap up with the
family award ceremony banquet dinner night presenting
over 150+ awards and recognition of Best Batsman, Best
Bowler, Best Fielder, Star of the Season, Man Of The match
and the Championship Cup.
The Top 3 teams in AZTBC Summer League (until June
end 2016) - AZ Spartans, Indus & Desi Devils.
The Top 3 teams in PPL Summer league (until June end
2016) - Wolverines, Pacers, Desert Eaglez
The scores can be followed on
and the
‘Live” scores can be tracked on
or crichq
app on your Android & IOS smartphones.
Summer tournament is 3
months long, played under flood
lights on baseball fields during
May, June & July”.
OUT STANDING ATHLETE
Name :
Sport :
Awards :
Mahanth Chirravuri
Golf
*
Won 12 tournaments in 2015
& 2016 in JGAA (Junior Golf
Association of Arizona)
*
Finished second in IMG Junior
World Golf Championship in
2015.
*
Current ranking (USA) : 1 st
place in his age group (12).73rd
place in entire Arizona, under 18
years.
AMEETNAINANI
By. AMEET NAINANI
