Without suggesting that it’s the only way to build a program, I’ll share the approach used by Bedford Legion. Bedford has historically been very successful at the Little League level and has enjoyed some success with Babe Ruth All-Stars and the Black Flies AAU program; however, not all of the players ended up at the same high school. Manchester West, Trinity, Guertin, Brady and Derryfield were destinations. Bedford players helped Jutras (Goffstown also played a big role) have some very good Legion teams over the years, but some players also played for Sweeney and Post 79. With the opening of the new High School in Bedford, came the opportunity to bring Legion ball back to town – Bedford won the state crown in 1989 and disbanded the following year. We started with a Junior Team and a young, knowledgeable, high-energy coaching staff – parents support the team in administrative roles. Winning the state championship in year one was a very pleasant surprise and brought some positive attention to the program. The original plan was to stick with Junior Legion at least until the high school was full and to work closely with Jutras to feed their Senior program. For whatever reason, Jutras was not interested in double rostering Bedford Junior Legion players which accelerated the timetable for starting a Senior program. The Junior coaching staff moved up and were backfilled with like minded coaches with the philosophy being 2 teams 1 program. Although 2009 didn’t bring any state championships, both teams had winning records and just missed the playoffs. The vision is to create a well defined path for players from tee-ball through Legion and encourage collaboration between the levels. There will always be players who seek “greener pastures” but well coached, adequately funded, competitive teams will hopefully be attractive to most. The high school program should be the beneficiary of this approach. 11 of the 14 players from last years varsity roster played senior legion baseball last summer (9 for Bedford – 2 for Jutras) and another 6 from the JV roster played junior legion – a few were double rostered. Keep in mind Bedford had no seniors last year. The senior team also benefits from Merrimack players and welcomes them as an integral part of the long term success of the program. Depending on their home address, eligible players from Amherst are also welcomed to tryout for either team. The majority of the players workout in the off season and the Legion program sponsors a reasonably priced indoor “spring tune-up” before the high school season starts. Having 2 lighted, 90’ diamonds in town certainly helps as well – the lights for both fields are the by-product of fundraising initiated by the Babe Ruth board and a testament to collaboration at all levels.
Matt – if you can convince your parents to move to Bedford before 31-Mar, we could use a great shortstop. JK and good luck energizing Milford baseball.