Jason Edwards, coach of West Point”s 10-and-under baseball team, watched from outside the dugout as Brandon Lairy made contact and raced to first base.
“If he hits it in the infield, they better be on time (with their throw) because he can fly,” Edwards said, talking about the moment as if he hadn”t witnessed Lairy”s speed dozens of times.
The moment serves as an example of how Edwards and his All-Star coaching staff has watched this group of boys mature into better players in a short period of time.
“If you”re in this as long as we have been, you see kids grow like flowers,” he added. “Just bloom out and go.
“Some struggle. Some, it just clicks with them like it”s a natural ability.”
Superstars or role player? For this team, it doesn”t matter. What”s important is making solid plays. Save the spectacular for the video games. That way, they don”t get overly excited, which can lead to errors.
So make the catch before you make the throw.
Survey the field before you make a decision on the bases.
The tournament will mark the second game this season for this group, many of which played on a traveling team Edwards coaches.
“If they can go out there and do what they”re supposed to do when they”re supposed to do it, and do it to the best of their ability, the coaches aren”t going to say a word,” Edwards said. “(We”ll) give them a pat on the back and say good job.
“But if they come out here and just want to drag around — they”re representing their town. So in that, we have to be stern and correct them. Tell them to wake up.”
Team members include: Kindrick Langford, Roe Ketchu, Seth Edwards, John Facella, Natrium Montgomery, Brandon Lairy, Grayson Easterling, Marquez Carter, Rasheed Harris, T.J. Anderson, Bryan Robert Watson, and Jake Chambless.
Swinging away
What a difference a summer makes.
This time last year, the Caledonia All-Stars were swinging at pitches thrown by coaches. The pitching strategy was to make it as easy as possible for the batter to make contact.
Fast forward 12 months. The same girls, now a year older, are facing their peers, and they”re doing the pitching. It can be a bit intimidating.
Starting Friday, this group of under-10 girls will face the best girls in their age division in the state at Propst Park.
“Most of our kids are going to put the ball in play almost every time,” coach Tim Howell said. “But there”s going to be some stiff competition this weekend in Columbus. We”re certainly looking forward to seeing how we stack up against the rest of the state.”
Because of this, Howell believes his team, which finished fourth last season in the 8-under division, has a chance to perform admirably later this week.
“I feel like we have a solid top five team,” he said. “It depends on who shows up (to perform), who comes to play, what happens from game to game. We”re going to try and work our way through it.”
Softball with an attitude
The Sassy Sluggers head into the 10-under division this week with enough confidence to match their nickname.
That”s because this team has enjoyed a successful summer schedule, complete with three tournament wins.
“They fit good together,” coach Alan Lux said. “They get along together.
There”s not one kid on there that thinks they”re better than the next one.”
After failing to win a game last season, the Sassy Sluggers have won three tournaments this summer while placing second in one and third in another.
“I think we”re a 1-2 team, I think we should — we hope if everything goes well — we hope to come in first, second, third, somewhere in there,” Lux said. “It”s going to come down to the girls and how they come out, how they want to play and leave everything on the field.”
The team is made up of one 8-year-old and one 9-year-old. The rest of the roster is 10-year-olds.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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