Archive: Sports

Summer recreational sports - that is hardly the phrase that one would think could draw community strength and successful competition into the same sentence.  In Lansing, however, recreation, sports, accomplishment and community involvement come in the same package, which helps to promote some of the most successful teams in the area to even higher levels of competition.  Each year, adults and youth alike participate in summer baseball and softball leagues which travel around the region to compete in tournaments throughout the summer.

This entirely community-run league embodies community in its running - parents take the time out of their schedules to run practices and attend games while youth gain the opportunity to participate throughout the summer in a sport they love.  When children grow out of their gloves and move onto larger ones in larger places, they give back to the community what they can.

Take Brett Hotchkiss, a junior at Ithaca College and 2003 Lansing High School graduate who competed on the Varsity Baseball Team which journeyed to the NYSPHSAA Class C Championships in 2002, narrowly missing a slot in the final game.  "Brett gives back to the team now," said Mike Herzog, coach of the Boys Under 12A Team this summer in Lansing.  "He comes to what he can - practices and games.  He helps the team with the mechanics of the game, which really makes a big difference."

Other community figures, such as Tom Ford, the head coach for Cornell University's Varsity Baseball Team give what they can as well, despite various obligations and undoubtedly demanding schedules.  His daughter, Joslyn, plays in the summer league.  Ford comes down to help youth with the fundamentals of the game. 

"Parents in the community really help out," said Herzog.  Some may couch for a season, while others are there for years, but when it comes down to it they all make a difference.

The community certainly aids in the success of Lansing teams, but this success could not come about without the dedication and skills of the athletes themselves.  Many children start playing sports as soon as they can walk - and as soon as they know it they are building unity with team members as they hit a waffle ball off of a tee at five years of age.

This is certainly true of Herzog's team, many of the youth on which have been playing with one another for years.  Since the travel season began only a month ago, the boys team has proven to be a powerhouse as it has swung its way to victory upon victory, winning its first tournament against eight teams at home and posting equally impressive performances as the season continued.

"We have a very well-skilled group of kids," said Herzog.  "We expect excellence."

Excellence, that is, that is built upon the foundation of a strong community.

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