“Help The Jays Take Flight”

This past Thursday night I had the privilege of being invited to sit in on a meeting of the Big Bend Baseball League.  (See Jump Starting The Jays on this page).  I say privilege because they thought enough of me to invite me to this meeting.  That plus the fact that Homer Hirt was there and any time I can spend time around an octogenarian I figure it’s a privilege.
The Big Bend Baseball league started several years ago and last year was the first year that Jackson County had a team.  For those not familiar with the league it is basically geared to young men ages 18-30 that enjoy still playing the game of baseball.  I say that age range simply because you have to be at least 18 to play and most men over 30 aren’t in much baseball shape anymore.  But if you are over 30 and can still play the game at a competitive level we’ll I’m sure they’ll give you a shot.
While the overall league has been very successful, our Jackson County Jays team has not prospered as some would have hoped.  Logic tells folks that with five high school baseball programs in the county, there ought to be an ample supply of young men that would like to play for the Jays.  Throw in a few from Chipola, a few that are home from college or have been out of school for a few years but still want to play and you’d think there would be no problem finding at least 9 guys to play on any given Sunday.
Some of the communities around Jackson County have been able to raise ball clubs without too many problems.  Calhoun (Horseman), Washington (Bruins), Liberty (Diamond Dawgs) and Chattahoochee (Red Birds) have had a lot of success in getting plenty of players to come out. If those communities can do it our community should be able to do it.  
My personal opinion is that the missing ingredient for the Jays right now is a coach.  What is needed is a former coach that still wants to be involved with the game.  Someone who can come out of retirement, so to speak, and has the experience of managing a team.  Maybe there is an ole ball coach sitting around that has fished all he wants to fish or has gardened all he wants to garden.  Heck if nothing else it might be a good excuse to tell the wife that her honey do list will just have to wait until fall (and cooler weather).
So if you are an ole ball coach looking for something to do, the Jays might just be your ticket.  If the Jays could get a coach, and the right coach, Simply Put, I think the Jays could take flight.  
       
From the Front Porch: Uncle Bob said lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.