The Boys of Summer (and Spring and Fall)

Local 9-and-under ball club gaining momentum after being together for two years

Lake Norman Currents | June 2019

By Aaron Garcia

A little over two years ago, the team now known as the Triple Crown Lookouts 9-and-under baseball team in Denver made its debut, and the results were extraordinary.

What does player Zac Phillips remember about that game?

"Not really anything," he says with a shrug. "It was just a ton of 7- and 6-year-olds."

It's a fair point. It's also a reminder that some memories are better held by the adults. Besides, the players have had enough success in the past two years to make that opening game a distant memory. As of early May the Lookouts have a 14-4 record. In four tournaments so far, they've won two championships and finished second in another.

In what should come as a surprise to few, there are statewide rankings for 9-year-old baseball teams. Several, in fact. The Lookouts, thanks to their success so far in 2019, are ranked anywhere from No. 1 to fifth among those lists, a testament to the level of ball they're playing right now.

Which, to hear Coach Matt Phillips tell it, really goes back to that first game.

"We went out to that first tournament ... and got absolutely waxed," recalls Matt.

A new rulebook

The 13-1 clobbering came courtesy of a team from Matthews. It was the group's first game together after the roster was picked as a group of East Lincoln Optimist Club league all-stars following the spring season.

Kids' feelings at that age, just like their bones, seem to be made of rubber. The coaches, however, didn't want the summer to be filled with similar experiences for the boys, so Matt developed a set of rules the players and coaches could learn and abide by. The guidelines emphasized having fun, doing your best, paying attention, putting your team and teammates first, and being good sportsmen and servant leaders.

Matt explains that it was his way of setting a culture for the program that didn't include 12-run losses.

"The kids really responded to it," recalls Matt.

Within a few weeks, the club started winning and advanced deep into the Cal Ripken state tournament, where they beat that same team from Matthews, 8-5.

The rules, says player Josh Beam, have made a big difference.

"It helps your confidence go up because you know how you're supposed to behave," says Beam, who pitches and plays third base. "If you have people pitching fits, it's not going to be fun."

Keeping it going

All-star teams like the one Matt coached in 2017 disband at the end of the summer, and the players re-enter a player pool that gets redrafted every year. Matt, though, had a different idea and began trying to convince the parents and players on the team to forgo their spring seasons at East Lincoln Optimist in favor of starting a new travel ball team that would exclusively play higher-level tournaments.

"It took quite a bit of convincing," says Matt.

Convince them he did, however, and the team went 19-7 over the course of the 2018 spring and fall seasons, which also included a good chunk of the summer.

Some attrition was to be expected, especially with the taxing schedule. That opened spots for new players such as Christian Cherry, whose mom, Jaclyn, says the team's structure and level of competition has made sacrificing her weekends worth it.

"I don't think we would've joined this team if it wasn't for the atmosphere," says Jaclyn.

The last rule

The roster, which also includes Jake Hollifield, Blake Hunter, Tanner Matile, Beckett Rinkus, Carson Rivenbark, Maddox Robinson, Daniel Smith and Nick Wuerdeman, is combining for a blistering .383 batting average this season while scoring an average of more than nine runs per game. Now, headed into the meat of their spring schedule, which concludes at the end of June before picking back up a few weeks later for the fall season, the Lookouts are hoping to continue winning and building on their rankings.

There's one more rule, however, that Matt hopes will keep his players focused despite their success.

Rule No. 7: "Be the best we can be on the last day of the season," recites the coach.

If they can do that, there will be plenty more moments worth remembering.