A baseball season to remember!

Our local associations were able to get in a lot of youth baseball and fastball this summer. And if there was a hall of fame for parents, administrators, minor ball executives, and those without titles the nominees list from this year’s class would be huge.

With Covid still hanging over our heads, unknowns were many and created all sorts of ball planning challenges right up until the umpires cried, “play ball.”  Groups started with no more than 10 players; different views of rules took place in different facilities; getting a start inside was daunting back in February.  Would anyone be able to play games?  Somehow in the face of all that, players were recruited.  Tryouts and evaluations created teams.  Meanwhile leagues were changing with no sanctioned games in the foreseeable future. Talk about working on faith.

To make it all happen, churches turned into practice facilities. Players learned to grip balls with sanitizer on their hands. Coaches had longer practices with teams in multiple groups.  Parents made sure the players were there and ready to go, then got to wait outside.

May came and it looked like we might have another lost season. And just when it seemed like the darkest of times for baseball, the switch flipped.  We should have set off the air raid sirens! It was a mad scramble as we all went from sitting on our lawn chairs holding our favorite beverage to “let’s play ball”! For many just being able to play games was an incredible victory.

We are used to heroics on the field from the players. This year the planning and execution that needed to happen without knowing we would be able to get out on the diamond and play any games, let alone meaningful ones, was as towering as a Freddie Freeman homerun. Taking those steps not knowing if the shale, grass, or just thin air would be under your next foot is not lost on any of us.

We here at Battle River Sports Excellence are extremely impressed by all of you! We are also very grateful in so many ways. It was a blessing to be able to work with so many of you this year. Together we found new ways of making many things work in very trying conditions. And thanks to you ball is alive, well and thriving!!!  Congratulations!