Neighbor sports

Baseball, softball

Registration:ŒRolling Meadows Youth Baseball will hold registration for the 2008 baseball season from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Community Center, 3705 Pheasant Drive, Rolling Meadows. The league is open to players 7 to 14 years old. Anyone with questions, call Chris Hauer at (224) 659-0609.

TSA Programs: The Sports Academy-Northwest will offer training programs for baseball players who want to train and sharpen their skills:

• High School Preseason Training Camps: freshman "A-Team" primer and sophomore, junior and senior "Starters" prep: Sundays: Dec. 30 to Feb. 17.

• Juan Acevedo Pitching Clinics for eighth grade through high school: Wednesdays and Sundays, Jan. 9 through Feb. 20.

• Lefty "Pick-off" Clinic for ages 10 and up: Dec. 26 and 27.

• Baseball Fundamentals Camp for second through eighth grade: Dec 26 to 28, Jan. 2 to 4.

• Private pitching and hitting lessons are available from TSA baseball professionals and former MLB players, including former Red Sox, Twins and Cubs "Fireman of The Year" pitcher, Bill Campbell.

• Five-Week Hitting Clinic for second through eighth grade: Sundays, Jan. 27 to Feb. 24.

• Strength and Conditioning/Speed and Agility Clinics: baseball-specific training for maximum performance and injury prevention.

• Team America 2008: Tournaments and sightseeing in Italy and Sicily July 20-30. A few positions are open on the International Travel Baseball teams (14U and 16U); to schedule a private tryout, contact peter@tsanorthwest.com.

For details on programs, dates and prices, visit www.tsanorthwest.com, e-mail info@tsanorthwest.com, or call (847) 279-3934.

Camp-Clinic: Registration is open for the 8th Annual Wildcat Fastpitch Winter Softball Camp-Clinic for female athletes between the ages of 9 and 14 years old. There are no residency requirements. The clinic starts Jan. 6 and will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Wheeling High School Field House, Elmhurst and Hintz roads, Wheeling.

Pitching instruction will be limited to the first 20 requests.

The cost is $80 for the January-February clinic. The number of participants is limited to 50. Mail registration fee, along with participant's name, address, age and what session you are interested in, to: "Wildcat Clinics," c/o Rick McCoy, 567 Briarwood, Wheeling, IL 60090. For information, call (847) 520-4249 or wcatsb@comcast.net.

Miscellaneous

Winter camps:ŒThe Northwest Special Recreation Association will hold Winter Break Camps Jan. 2 to 4 in the northwest suburbs. Three full days of action are planned, including crafts, gym activities, swimming and socializing. A community outing will be planned for one of the days. The cost for all camps is $67.50. They will be held at the following locations.

• 6310 Frosty's Kids Camp, Jack Claes Pavilion

• 6330 Camp Chillin', Wheeling Community Center

• 6340 Winter Wonderland Camp, Bartlett Community Center

• 6320 Urban Adventures Too, NWSRA/Park Central, communities outings planned daily

• 7720 Winter Fun Gymnastics Camp, Palatine Community Center (for NWSRA gymnasts only)

For information, call (847) 392-2848, ext. 264, e-mail bselders@nwsra.org or go the Web site at www.nwsra.org.

Soccer

Skills clinic:ŒThe Buffalo Grove-Hot Shots Soccer Skills Clinic for boys and girls 6 to 9 years old will be held on Thursdays from 6 to 6:45 p.m. Jan. 17 to March 6. The clinic is designed to help players get ready for spring by developing and enhancing soccer skills. Techniques are refined through ball manipulation exercises, games based on technical themes and small-sided soccer games designed to enhance repetition and enjoyment along with promoting healthy competition and encouraging good sportsmanship.

For more information, call Steve Duman at (773) 991-6682, or e-mail steve@hotshotsspons.org.

Wrestling

Annual meet:ŒThe Sharks Wrestling Club will host its annual meet Sunday at Maine East High School, 2601 Dempster St., Park Ridge. Over 45 clubs participated last year fielding more than 500 young wrestlers in competition. The meet runs from early morning until late afternoon with 11 matches in progress at any given time.

Parents of children who are interested in the sport and range in age from 5 to 14 years old should call Mike Conrad at (847) 299-7531 for information on club membership or meet participation.

Winter program: The Junior Patriot Wrestling Club program for youngsters in third to eighth grade offered at Stevenson High School will teach wrestling fundamentals and instill values of hard work, self-discipline and the importance of goal setting. The season begins in December and ends in March (optional spring workouts will continue March through May). Practices will be held two or three times a week and will each last for one or two hours. The team will compete in five to seven tournaments and wrestle against other clubs in head to head dual meets. The fee is $260. No prior experience in the sport is required.

Anyone interested may join this club at any time. For information contact PREP at (847) 634-4000, ext. 1300 or visit the Web site at www6.district125.k12.il.us/prep/.