Posted: 8/6/03

FL 13-A baseball team finishes 8th at nationals

Joe Drennan
Sports Editor

The Forest Lake 13-A traveling baseball team spent July 19-25 in Amarillo, Texas playing a little baseball.

The team wasnít there merely to play a few exhibition games. No, they were there to play in the AAU National Baseball Tournament.

The Forest Lake team earned their way into the tournament by taking second place at the Mendota Heights Tournament earlier in the summer. To fund the trip players washed cars, bagged groceries, and worked the bingo tent at the Fourth of July carnival.

The national tournament kicked off on Fri., July 18, with an Olympic like opening ceremony that paraded each participating team around the field. On Sat. the baseball began.

ìWe opened the tournament with a big win over a Texas team, something like 23-6,î head coach Steve Johnson said. ìThat really got us going and it let us know we could compete in the tournament.î

Being in Texas in July meant being in the heat if you were outside during the day. ìWe would try and get a practice in in the morning before it got hot, then the games would be in the evening,î Goodyear said. ìIf we played a double header, it meant our first game would be at 9 a.m. and the second one around 7 p.m.î

The purpose of the trip was certainly to play baseball, but there had to be some other form of fun for the players and their families. A nearby water park was the place to stay cool while having fun, and the Palo Duro Canyon was a place for the players and their families to hike and learn about American Indian wars.

The coaches even came up with a little fun of their own as they organized the ìCoaches Cup.î The parents, coaches, and players submitted their names in a mock draft and every one was drafted to play in a scrimmage game. Everyone was awake early the next morning as the game began at 9 a.m.. ìIt was just something to kill time during the day and have some fun,î Johnson said.

As the tournament wore on, the Forest Lake team gave it their all. After the final out, Forest Lake finished eighth in the national tournament. ìI kept stressing that we were in the championship side of the play-off bracket,î Johnson said of the teams tournament appearance. ìWe hung in there the whole time, in fact we were two runs away from playing in the third place game. Thatís how good these kids played.î

Despite not winning the national championship, the Forest Lake team was happy with their success. ìIt was quite humbling,î assistant coach Lee Goodyear said. ìAll the teams were all-star teams, one team even flew in a kid from Georgia to play.î

The teams top ten finish secured themselves a spot at next years 14-A AAU National Baseball Tournament which will be in Orlando, Florida at Walt Disney World.

They may not be the national champions, but they still are the eighth best team in the USA.

ìAll these teams came from towns of a million people or more,î Goodyear said. ìOne team will have something like 400 kids trying out for it next year.î Johnson added, ìWe had coaches telling us they were flying players in for games.î

Next season may seem far away, but Johnson is already thinking about it. He plans on taking a few weeks off, then having a meeting with parents to come up with a fundraising plan for next years team to get them to Florida. He said it will be hard because some kids may not be on next years team because the boys are at a point in their lives where their bodies are changing and some of them will be stronger than others, not to mention their success will draw a larger turnout at tryouts. ìEvery kid has the opportunity to make the team though,î Johnson said.

Coach Johnson plans on coming back to coach the team next year. ìIf I didnít get a second year with these kids I would feel my job wasnít done.î he said. ìThere is still a lot I want to teach them.î

ìWe had an incredible season and it was wonderful we could do what we did,î Johnson said. ìWe all stuck to the same goals.î

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