JBA CLUTCH Shags for the 2017 NorthWoods League All Star Home Run Derby
After a successful trip with one team in 2015, we decided to bring all six to Kansas City this year!
Another summer, another great performance by the JBA! After all of the fun that our original CLUTCH team had last year in Kansas City, we brought all six teams and their families to experience just how great it is to visit and play in one of the best baseball cities in America. Taking all of our teams could have been a logistical nightmare, but thanks to all of the hard work and planning that Coach Jirschele was able to do, it turned out to be a great 4 days of baseball fun!
Locker Room and Dugout Tours
On Thursday and Friday Morning, the CLUTCH families and players were led on a locker room and dugout tour by Coach Mike Jirschele. Mike is the 3rd base coach for the Kansas City Royals, so to have a such a great coach and leader of men take the teams on a tour was a special privilege and treat. The families got to see the inside of the players locker room, getting to see how many uniforms, shoes, gloves and extra equipment the Royals players each had provided for them. A quick jaunt past the replay room, trainers room, and the indoor hitting cages and then out onto the field and Royals dugout completed our tour.
How great is the JBA? Great enough that even Major League All Stars want to play for us!
We left some hats in the Locker Room with a few of the Royals.....maybe you recognize Eric Hosmer and Jarrod Dyson? Word of the JBA coming into town spread like wildfire! It wasn't long before our hats were one of the hottest items in that locker room! When their playing careers are over, they will always have a spot reserved for them amongst the JBA coaching staff! Big shoutout to both Hosmer and Dyson for not only being All Star caliber players and world champions, but for also showing their love for the JBA! Two players that many of our boys aspire to be like.
Royals vs Twins
One of the great things about attending a Royals game is that there isn't a bad seat in the house! During our time in KC, the Minnesota Twins were in town and wouldn't you know it, the Royals stayed hot and swept a 4 game series! The CLUTCH were there for Thursday and Friday night games, and Alex Gordon was the big hero Thursday night, hitting a Grand Slam to put the Royals ahead. A little credit goes out to Marek Woytasik, who went out on a limb and called the shot to Right Center!
Championship Saturday Shootout
at Webb Park
CLUTCH headed on I-70 to Oak Grove, Missouri, about 30 minutes east of Kansas City for a one day tournament. All 6 teams played their 2017 age groups, which meant full baseball rules for everyone. Our 2016 8Us put up a great fight, playing two games of kid pitch with full lead offs and stealing. The 9Us also got to experience full baseball rules and did well for their first time. The older teams, being a bit more experienced at the game, did well. Our 10Us continued their dominant summer, going 3-0 on the way to another trophy presentation. The 11Lime team split their 2 pool games and the 11Navy took 2nd place in their tourney. The 12U team, after dropping their first game, bounced back to utterly destroy their two competitors to take home their first trophy of the 2016 season.
A great way to end the summer season for the 2016 CLUTCH!
