Many friends made on the Perry League field
- Published: September 25, 2026
By Coach Rob Gay
Like sand through an hourglass, summer is winding down. The passage of time often slips by with little notice, and its subtle changes often go unseen.
Our T-ball season began as summer dawned. Now, before our games even reach halftime, the trees along the hill beside Gaunt Park Pool cast long shadows across the field. With each passing week, daylight fades a little earlier.
Coach Beth took the reins and led pregame warm-ups before the game Friday, July 31, in the absence of Coach Yunus. The children seemed to enjoy the change in routine, although there was considerable debate when a lion was selected as the animal to mimic during the crawling-on-all-fours exercise.
Attendance has begun to dwindle as vacations, camping trips and other summer adventures compete for families’ time. We often hear stories of those adventures later, and we always look forward to them.
The smaller roster provided a great opportunity for players to enjoy extra turns at the plate and more time in the field.
Jamison was our first hitter of the evening, driving a hard-hit ball into the outfield on his first swing — a pattern he repeated throughout the evening.
Elle took full advantage of the extra opportunities at the plate, gaining confidence with each turn. Once she put the ball in play, she sprinted to first base wearing an ear-to-ear smile.
Cassian approached the game in much the same way, though with a much more serious expression. In a word: determined.
It was also a perfect opportunity for newcomers Gavin and Liam to experience the game. Their family discovered Perry League through last week’s article in the Yellow Springs News, and we’re glad they joined us.
Another newcomer, Daniel, brought great energy to the plate. His enthusiastic swing occasionally threatened to send the ball in the wrong direction, so Coach Beth gently reminded him where to place his feet and pointed toward the field. After a nod of understanding, he took a deep breath, drew back his bat, and connected with a solid hit. A smile spread across his face as he raced to first base, celebrating with a few joyful jumps on the bag.
I had an interesting conversation with Zorin while we were in the field. First, he wanted to make sure I had seen him hit the ball high into the sky — which I certainly had. Then he told me about his invisible bat, one capable of hitting the ball even farther. He promised to bring it to next week’s game. I can’t wait to see it.
Often, it is the encouragement of others that inspires children to participate. More often than not, that encouragement comes from the peers who share the ball field.
Heron, after watching for a while and receiving encouragement from her father, decided to join in. The peer encouragement began with cheers for batters at the plate. Before long, she expanded her participation, and ended up staying until the very end, hanging tough through our traditional “big scream” at the pole.
As is often written, the story is about much more than the ball field.
Recent weather left the soil in near-perfect condition for infield construction projects, and there was more than one underway throughout the evening. One that caught our attention was a group of seven children gathered in an oblong circle between second and third base. Josie appeared to be leading a high-level corporate management meeting for the bread-making company the children had recently founded. The discussion was entirely unprompted and surprisingly in-depth. During the meeting, Mya was recognized as Employee of the Week for her outstanding contributions. Others were assigned titles and responsibilities, and everyone had a role. The conversation, creativity and imagination shared by the group was golden. It was a privilege to witness.
As the evening drew to a close, my attention shifted to the outfield. There I saw River, who had earlier done a wonderful job as one of our ball thrower-inners alongside Oly. Now he was playing catch with Evan Collier, one of our volunteers and a member of the Yellow Springs High School varsity baseball team. Although separated by a decade in age, the two connected through the simple act of playing catch.
We’ll close out the 2026 Perry League season Aug. 7 with an abbreviated play session starting at 6 p.m. followed by our annual community potluck and trophy presentation.
We hope to see you there!
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