It will always a good day to be a Natural!

This week our youngest son Owen played the final game of his summer baseball season.  His team played close to 90 games together from April to June, but still somehow the season seemed short.

This team came together in the fall of 2009 through mutual friends and school contacts, with the desire to play baseball at a high level in the right way. It was a hodgepodge group of sorts, with players coming from several different cities and school districts throughout the county. From the first season this team was different. The players, coaches, sibling and parents all got along which lead to a positive environment. The boys accepted each other as teammates and became good friends.

 Through the years, players have left for various reasons and new ones joined the team. Each addition was welcomed in as if they had always been there. Of the current 11 players only 5 are original to the team, but there has never been an "us" and "them" attitude. When you put on the Naturals uniform you are one of us.

The five original Naturals on the current team.

  Our coaches have created a culture of respect. Respect for the game, the team and yourself. The boys encourage each other and hold each other accountable, but in a loving way. No back biting or finger pointing. It is a team sport, a group effort. They enjoy being around each other and it shows.  We have been around sports enough to know that this is definitely not the norm. Other people see this in our team as well. Each season we receive compliments from opposing teams, umpires and other officials on the conduct of our team on and off the field. These boys have been taught the game of baseball, but more importantly they have learned what it means to be a good teammates, friends and young men.

Our Coaches

The siblings are the same way. There is a group of them at every game. They rarely bring anything to keep themselves occupied, they make their own fun. They get along and look after each other. They miss their own activities in order to come to the games and are disappointed when it is time to go. They too have welcomed in new additions to the group with open arms.

The parents know their roll on this team. They are the fans. They cheer for not just their boy, but for the rest of them as well. They sit as a collective, supportive group. They don't coach or make calls from their side of the fence and maintain the same level of respect that is expected from their sons.  All of the parents have jumped in to give rides, provide water, Gatorade, lunch, dinner, whatever anyone needed without thinking twice. We have been more like a family than a team in a lot of ways.

For two summers in a row, we have had players get injured during the season. The families have rallied around those boys through prayers, texts and other acts of support. Someone recently called these boys  a Band of Brothers and they really are.

The end of this season holds more significance than any other. These boys are headed to high school in the fall and the future of our team is uncertain. Some boys may choose to play baseball at a different level in preparation for college recruitment, others may choose to give up baseball all together to pursue other interest or devote more time to their primary sport. Regardless of what happens moving forward, the memories we've made, the fun we've had and more importantly the relationships we've built through this team will stay with us long after we've left the ball park. It will always be a good day to be a Natural!

2014 J.C. Naturals 14U-AAA Baseball Team

"You'll talk about the memories you make on the diamond 
for the rest of your life."
-Baseballism