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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Steve Ruzich, | ||||||
| 4 | baseball coach at South Suburban College (SSC) in South | ||||||
| 5 | Holland, on being inducted into the National Junior College | ||||||
| 6 | Athletic Association (NJCAA) Hall of Fame; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Steve Ruzich will be officially inducted into the | ||||||
| 8 | NJCAA Hall of Fame on May 23rd in the opening ceremony for the | ||||||
| 9 | 2014 World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado - annual home of | ||||||
| 10 | the NJCAA Division I World Series - where his Bulldogs have | ||||||
| 11 | made 2 past appearances; this recognition is a rare | ||||||
| 12 | accomplishment - the NJCAA Hall of Fame began in 1982 and the | ||||||
| 13 | Selection Committee has only chosen 89 members since that time; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Steve Ruzich has earned 10 NJCAA Regional Titles | ||||||
| 16 | and 10 Region IV Coach of the Year awards during his tenure at | ||||||
| 17 | SSC; he also has earned 2 District Coach of the Year Awards and | ||||||
| 18 | 2 Chicagoland Pitch and Hit Club Coach of the Year accolades; | ||||||
| 19 | and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Steve Ruzich's record at SSC includes 26 winning | ||||||
| 21 | seasons with 1,010 wins and 587 loses; he now joins just 12 | ||||||
| 22 | other active coaches with 1,000 wins in the entire NJCAA and is | ||||||
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| 1 | one of even fewer to have earned all 1,000 wins at the same | ||||||
| 2 | college; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, During his tenure, Steve Ruzich has coached 14 | ||||||
| 4 | All-Americans and his program boasts an 80% graduation rate, | ||||||
| 5 | including 252 players that have continued on to 4-year | ||||||
| 6 | institutions; 22 of his players have been drafted by Major | ||||||
| 7 | League Baseball teams, 5 of whom have reached the big leagues; | ||||||
| 8 | the SSC baseball team is widely recognized as producing leaders | ||||||
| 9 | and talented baseball teams; and | ||||||
| 10 | WHEREAS, Steve Ruzich is well-known as a director and | ||||||
| 11 | coordinator of local parent-child baseball camps which have | ||||||
| 12 | attracted thousands of participants to SSC's Main Campus in | ||||||
| 13 | South Holland; he has also worked for the Chicago White Sox as | ||||||
| 14 | an instructor in their fundamentals area at Cellular One Field; | ||||||
| 15 | and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Steve Ruzich was an All-American catcher at the | ||||||
| 17 | College of Saint Francis and was drafted in 1985 by the Chicago | ||||||
| 18 | White Sox; after a brief pro stint, he took over the SSC | ||||||
| 19 | Baseball Team in 1987 and now also serves as SSC's Athletic | ||||||
| 20 | Director; therefore, be it
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| 21 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 22 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
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| 1 | we congratulate Steve Ruzich on being inducted into the | ||||||
| 2 | National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame, and | ||||||
| 3 | wish him many more years of success; and be it further
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| 4 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 5 | presented to Steve Ruzich as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 6 | respect.
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