Communication is key in all walks of life, especially in sports.

Whether it be between a point guard and a post player or a quarterback and wide receiver, all the most successful sports teams have communicated effectively.With that being said, communication is exactly what saved this year's District 11 Tennis Tournament.Back on Feb. 17, District 11 Treasurer and the head of the District 11 Tennis Committee Tom Moll received an email that the back roof of the West End Racquet Club had collapsed. The West End Racquet club was the previous site of the District 11 Tournament. It gave District 11 the advantage of being able to hold the tournament without ever having to worry about weather problems because it housed eight indoor courts.So, now that the West End Racquet Club wasn't available something had to be done and done swiftly.Enter the District 11 Tennis Committee, which is made up of tennis coaches and athletic directors. The District 11 Tennis Advisory Board along with Moll got to work quickly and came up with a plan that seems to be more efficient than in year's past."The most important thing to highlight is how well this committee worked together to come up with a good plan," said Moll. "We have some great people on this committee, a variety of people that can give different perspectives and I think that helped a lot."The new plan looks like this;The first two rounds of AA tennis will be held at Parkland High School on Wednesday. The quarterfinals and semifinals will also be held at Parkland on Friday. The first two rounds of AAA tennis will be held on Wednesday at Saucon Valley and the quarterfinals and semifinals will be held on Friday at Parkland.The AA and AAA finals will be held at Lehigh University on Monday April 28."I think the plan that we have come up with works very well time wise," said Moll. "I think you'll actually see the tournament move faster with the way we have everything setup. Lehigh University is also a great facility to have because it's an indoor facility, meaning we don't have to worry about weather. Their facility also has bleachers at every court, so spectators have a place to sit and watch. I think everything is going to work out pretty well."The District 11 Team Tennis Tournament will be held on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at Northwood in Easton.**********BASEBALL7-ELEVEN - Marian's offensive fireworks continued this past week, as the Colts are now averaging 13.4 runs per game and 12.6 hits per game, while combining for a team batting average of .425. Marian has scored 11 or more runs in each of its last seven games, while the Colts have tallied 11 or more hits in seven of their eight games this season. Ironically enough, Marian has combined for 30 runs and 29 hits in its two losses this season (a 17-16 loss to Tri-Valley and a 16-14 loss to Shenandoah Valley)**********BACK ON THE HILL - Reigning TIMES NEWS Baseball Player of the Year Brett Kosciolek took to the mound for the first time last Thursday in the Blue Raiders 6-2 victory over Tri-Valley. Nursing a sore elbow for much of the season, the Tamaqua junior has been relegated to playing first base in Tamaqua's first seven games. However, against the Bulldogs, Kosciolek came on in the seventh inning and pitched one inning of relief to preserve the win.**********STEALING BAGS - It's no secret that Marian loves to run, but in Monday's 16-14 loss to Shenandoah Valley, the Colts ran rampant on the base paths by stealing 15 bases in 15 attempts. In that game, Frank Nietz had four stolen bases, while KJ Snerr and Rob Hinkle added three steals apiece. For the year, Marian is 58-for-63 in stolen bases (92-percent). Nietz is 13-for-14 on the base paths, while Hinkle is 12-for-13. However, Marian isn't the only team running wild in the TIMES NEWS coverage area. Last Thursday against Jim Thorpe, Northwestern accounted for nine stolen bases.**********THE TASTE OF VICTORY (PART I) - Three TIMES NEWS baseball teams captured their first wins of the season this past week. Last Thursday, Weatherly snapped a six-game losing streak with a 3-0 shutout of Moravian Academy. After starting off the season 0-7, Northern Lehigh finally broke into the win column with a 5-1 victory over Pius X on Monday. Over the weekend, Panther Valley (winless in its first six games) tasted its first victory of the year with a 13-0 shutout of Lincoln Leadership Academy. However, the Panthers weren't done there, as they captured their second win in as many games with an 11-4 victory over Columbia Montour Vo-Tech on Monday. After being shutout in its first four games and having only scored two runs in its first six games, Panther Valley combined for 24 runs in its two-game winning streak.**********SOFTBALLTHE TASTE OF VICTORY (PART II) - In addition to three TIMES NEWS baseball teams winning their first games this past week, two local softball team got in on the action with their first victories of the season. Following an 0-6 start, Panther Valley rallied for its first win of the season in Saturday's 9-8 victory against Shenandoah Valley. With the game tied at 8-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Panther Valley's Cassidy Ryan scored from third base on a wild pitch to secure the walk-off victory. Last Wednesday, Jim Thorpe earned its first win of the season with a 14-2 victory over Notre Dame of East Stroudsburg. After starting the year 0-6 and combining for just 13 runs in those first six contests, the Lady Olympians posted 14 runs against the Spartans. Then, just 24 hours later, Thorpe won its second game of the year against Weatherly by a score of 4-0. The win marked the first time the Olympians have won two or more games in a season since 2010. In addition, it was the first time since 2004 that Jim Thorpe has won-back-to back games in a season.**********I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M FEELING 22 - Last Thursday against Lincoln Leadership Academy, Lehighton's Autumn Bickert and Allison Armbruster combined for a three-inning no-hitter, in a game the Indians won by a final score of 22-0. The 22 runs is the most by a TIMES NEWS area team (baseball or softball) this season. The previous area-high was 19 runs, which was accomplished by the Marian baseball team and the Palmerton softball team.**********HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT - Last Wednesday, Northwestern tallied 20 hits in a 17-9 Colonial League victory over Saucon Valley. Cailie Rehrig had four hits, while Lydia Danner and Claire O'Dea added three hits apiece for the Lady Tigers. Coincidentally, in Northwestern's previous game (against Palisades), the Tigers banged out 19 hits, which gave Northwestern 39 hits in a two-game span. Then, on Tuesday, Lehighton combined for 20 hits in a 17-7 Mountain Valley Conference victory over Pocono Mountain East. Amanda Loudon and Jocelyn Hunsicker recorded four hits apiece to lead the Lady Indians. The 20 hits by Northwestern and Lehighton ties the Palmerton softball team for the most hits in a game (baseball or softball) this season by a TIMES NEWS area team. The Lady Bombers accomplished the feat in a 15-11 loss to Bangor on April 8.**********TENNIS'DA BEARS - With a 13-2 overall record, Pleasant Valley is the first spring sports team from the TIMES NEWS coverage area to officially clinch a District 11 playoff berth. However, late last week, the Bears' hopes of a Mountain Valley Conference championship fell by the wayside, as undefeated Stroudsburg (13-0) handed Pleasant Valley a 5-2 setback. Both of the Bears losses this season have come against Stroudsburg (Pleasant Valley also lost to the Mountaineers 4-3 on April 2). Pleasant Valley is 13-0 against everyone else on its schedule. No. 1 singles player Jon White is 14-0 on the season, while No. 2 singles player Jon Walmach is 14-1 on the year.**********TRACK AND FIELDSHUPP SHINES - On Saturday afternoon at Shippensburg University's 88th Annual Jack Roddick Invitational, Palmerton's Austin Shupp not only won both hurdling events in the Class AA competition, but he also established an all-time TIMES NEWS area best in one of them. In the 110 high hurdles, the Blue Bombers senior broke the tape in 14.59. Then, in the 300 intermediate hurdles, he turned in a winning mark of 38.42. That time not only won the event by over two seconds and set a new Palmerton school record, but it also set an all-time TIMES NEWS area best. Shupp's time broke the old standard of 38.65, which was set by Tamaqua's Derrick Keich in 2006.**********SETTING THE BAR HIGH - Tamaqua's Rebecca Minehan not only captured a first place in an Invitational last week, but in doing so, the Tamaqua senior added her name (for the second time) to the all-time TIMES NEWS area best record book. The Blue Raider pole vaulter cleared 10-6 at the Breslin Relays at Mount Carmel last Thursday to easily win the event. Minehan, who also cleared 10-6 last year at the Schuylkill League Championships, remains tied with Pleasant Valley's Jillian Metzger (who cleared 10-6 in 2004) for the all-time TIMES NEWS area best girls pole vault record.**********PULLING DOUBLE DUTY - Duel-sport athlete Zach Svetik pulled double duty last Thursday for Palmerton, seeing action in both the Blue Bombers baseball game and track meet. After pitching three innings in relief for the Bombers in a 9-1 loss to East Stroudsburg South on the baseball field, Svetik quickly changed uniforms and finished second in the 3200 with a time of 11:08.00 on the track against Northwestern. In the baseball game, Svetik pitched the 3rd-5th innings, allowing one hit and one walk, to go along with two strikeouts.**********CUNNINGHAM STRIKES AGAIN - For the second time in as many weeks, Northwestern's Trista Cunningham won four individual field events in Tuesday's Colonial League tri-meet against Wilson and Saucon Valley. Cunningham dominated the competition by placing first in the shot put (33-3), discus (96-3), long jump (14-8 ) and triple jump (31-11 1/2). On Thursday, April 10, Cunningham captured the same four events in a tri-meet against Palisades and Notre Dame of Green Pond, making the Northwestern senior one of only two TIMES NEWS area athletes (joining Panther Valley's Richard Nase) to win four individual events in a single meet, and the only local athlete to accomplish the feat multiple times this season.**********A RECORD THROW - In Palmerton's Colonial League meet against Northwestern last Thursday, Gerald Pereira set a new Palmerton school record for the restricted flight javelin with a throw of 169-10. He broke the old mark of Zach Heller's from 2006 which was 167-10. Steve Kocher holds the record done with the old style javelins when he threw 189-1 back in 1976.