Sometimes the best thing for new youth baseball teams is to gain experience against stiff competition.
Last weekend, the Oconto Falls and Lena 10U baseball squads came away winless at a 12-team Shawano Youth League tournament, but there were encouraging signs for both teams.
Oconto Falls coach Rob Clark noted it was his team’s first appearance at a tournament.
“It is a tough tournament; there are teams from all over the state,” Clark said. “They never gave up and kept trying.”
Clark said the team could improve in the future, if the players remain together and play as a cohesive unit.
“They really have not played together all season long,” Clark said. “But the kids get along real well.”
For Lena, the tourney was about gaining experience playing among stronger teams.
After the team lost two tough games in qualifying pool play, Lena held Hortonville to four runs in the preliminary round.
It was just the players’ second year together, coach Rich Shallow said.
“In this age group there are more kids into the game than any other; it is a big group of kids that like to play,” Shallow said. “This is the only age group. The rest of the age groups are too small.”
Shallow said the squad possesses some talent.
“The kids that have played the most can field and hit pretty well,” Shallow said. “I really hope these kids stay together and play in the high school ranks in the future.”
Currently, Lena has a co-op high school program with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy in Marinette.
Shallow said Lena’s squad needs to take advantage of any tournament opportunities as the kids grow older.
“Experience is needed,” he said. “The kids don’t have that big of an opportunity to play many games in the community because we are small.”
