Evan played [a version of] travel baseball for The Blues in 2022, out of St. Joseph. In dramatic fashion that team collapsed for the 2023 season, leaving him stranded and teamless. Long story short, he found a home on a 14U Lakeshore team called Thunder, which required him to "play up," meaning he was one of the youngest on the team. We were relieved to have a team to play on, seeing as our local public schools don't have middle school baseball teams.
His coach was "old school," and was not gentle (putting it mildly). Evan handled this well, and learned lessons in dealing with adults who struggle communicating their positive intentions, while maintaining focus, effort, and confidence. The season was not successful in terms of wins, but they had strong moments. Evan improved and learned so much. He's quite coachable, I'm proud to report! He earned a spot as a starter (second base), and moved up in the batting order over the coarse of the season.
looking pensive, ready to play
Evan ⚾
Evan up to bat on our local high school field for a tournament game.
Banner hung, Evan on second in the background
Evan on first, chatting with the other team during a break in the action.
This is a rec game.
In order to play travel ball (Thunder), players have to also agree to play rec ball. Rec is lower stakes. His rec team was mostly made up of Thunder players. They won most rec games. They seemed to a strong rec team, but weaker travel team. Anyway, rec was fun and uplifting. He got to pitch a bit more for rec games.
Rec team photo
Evan ⚾
We are likely teamless again for the 2024 season. He needs to try out for local travel teams, and there has even been chatter that Burke and another dad may coach a travel team for next season. We'll see where Evan lands. In the mean time, he keeps taking baseball lessons. He is casually strength training, and waiting on a growth spurt to bring more power to his game.
