Troy Baseball Boosters celebrates 65th year

TROY — A nonprofit is celebrating more than a half-century of helping kids play ball.

The Troy Baseball Boosters were incorporated in 1961. The nonprofit works to ensure children have the chance to play the sport and learn the lessons it offers about life.  

“Baseball is a sport in which you will fail more often than you succeed, and it’s important to learn how to deal with failure as well as success,” said Alan Wilson, the Boosters’ chairman, in an email. “We also utilize our high school-age players to become umpires, giving many of them their first job in life. Along with all of this, we offer a yearly scholarship to players who have been involved in making an impact in our organization.”

The Boosters have league options for different age groups that provide both competitive and non-competitive ways to play as kids advance in their abilities, including the Tee-Ball League, Instructional League, Farm League, Rookie League, Minor League, Major League, Mustang League, Pony League, Colt League, and Bronco League.

“Our enrollment has ebbed and flowed over the years. At the height of the league, we peaked around 2,000 players; (now we) tend to average around 500 or so players,” Wilson said. “We attribute this mainly to many different youth sports options existing, and the rise in the prominence of travel sports.”

He said their season starts in August, with volunteers organizing logistics for spring.

“Our board works diligently to make sure uniforms, equipment and scheduling are all in place for the start of play in the spring,” Wilson said. “Most teams will play a 12-13 game schedule, and we do our best to end the season prior to the Fourth of July.”

Rich Shelton has been involved with the Boosters since the 2010s. His involvement started with his son playing tee ball in 2014, which led to him joining the board in 2015.

 “The games, watching them compete, is always fun,” Shelton said. “It’s been our favorite activity with my wife and I. In terms of the board … it opened up some social aspects, right? Meet new people, making new friends. We’re all like-minded guys, right? Give back to the community, (and) make sure kids have a good time playing ball.”

Don Harbin has worked with the organization for around 27 years. He has also served on the board and coached four of his sons through the Boosters’ programs. One of his children played through high school, while the others played from kindergarten to fifth grade.

“We lived in Troy,” Harbin said. “My kids went to Troy Elementary School, and it was word of mouth (that brought us to the Boosters).”

Wilson said that after digging through the group’s history for this milestone, it feels good to be a part of the league’s journey through time. 

“The core vision of giving all players an opportunity has survived the years, mainly because of the volunteers behind the organization, and we have seen our fair share of outstanding volunteers pass through our organization,” Wilson said.

He also spoke to the importance of adapting to the times while keeping the core vision of making sure all players have an opportunity to play. 

“This has proven to be tricky at times, but we do our best to accept feedback and try to put it into action,” Wilson said. “A few years ago, we started our Troy STARS program, which gathers players from around the league to participate at a few local tournaments around the state. The intent was to give families a travel-style baseball option without breaking the bank.” 

Wilson said he looks forward to more years of playing ball.

“We hope to continue our strong relationships with the city, school district and community for years to come,” he said.

For more information, visit troybaseballboosters.com.