GL Baseball Spring Training
The day that the squad left for spring training, they dressed up in a suit to show they mean business. The Grand Ledge baseball program every year for the past 40+ years sends a group of kids to spring training. Over the years Coach O’Keefe received multiple compliments from strangers on how nice his team looks; they wonder if the GLHS players are a college squad, rather than a high school team.
April 20, 2019
Coach O’Keefe has brought the team down to florida for many years and is looking to continue the tradition. This year the group would stay in a hotel and drive to practices in two seperate vans. Everyday the players got chances to show what the are good at as well as what they can improve on.
The team had a night out to eat, the meal was paid for by the seniors parents and it was good to hang out somewhere else eating rather than the cafeteria. The meal consisted of pulled pork and pulled chicken.
One time during the week, the kids are able to go to the beach and get away from baseball for a few hours and get a bite to eat, other than eating in a cafeteria for every meal. “It was good to get out of practice for once when we had our beach day, I was also happy to eat something other than cafeteria food,” sophomore Logan Todd said.
For the seniors, when the trip comes to an end, they look back on what they have gone through the last four years with baseball and reflect together on what they can do better for the team this season, compared to the year before. “It is bitter sweet, but all good things come to an end,” senior Braedon Stoakes said. “Now it is time to make the most of the season.”
The group of 22 players come closer together within the span of only one week, whether it was making new friends or learning someone’s name and what their personality is like. Everyone grew up a little bit and the younger kids figured out what was expected of them in the future. All in all it was a pretty good week.