When first starting the game of baseball, most kids are groomed with one goal in mind should they choose to pursue a professional career: win enough games to be crowned the World Series champion. Now, while this is a great accomplishment only achieved by a select few individuals, the important thing to remember is it isn’t only one person who can win the title; it takes the collective skills of an entire team.
And for head coach Scott Emmerman, his team just exemplified this statement.
Preaching a form of brotherhood and consistency from his young group of players, coach Emmerman‘s team went to Lumberton, North Carolina and won the final machine pitch World Series tournament against South Carolina’s representative.
“Our goal this year was to go to the (World Series) and win after finishing in third place at states last season”, said Emmerman. “Having the dedication from not only the players but also their parents makes it realize just how special this accomplishment is.”
Their path to the title was nothing short of domination. Starting out through district play, the team went undefeated, winning each matchup handily. Following the district win, they went to states and won seven straight following a loss in the opener. Victory in Lumberton, however, wasn’t going to be easy. According to Emmerman, “Once reaching the World Series, to win we needed to win six games. They (South Carolina) beat us in one game, which set up a rubber match for the championship, which the boys won 6-2. They work so hard, this group of kids, never getting down, always picking each other up, and never being selfish. Baseball is a game of failures, and our boys know what it’s like to experience the failures needed to bring about success.”
And that brotherhood Emmerman preaches? That brings familiarity and friendship. “We have a core group of kids who have been together here since junior rookies, and they do everything together. They hang out together, train together, you name it. And it builds a sense of trust that they can utilize later in life, because trusting your teammates can ultimately decide victory or defeat.”
