Badges for Baseball
2024 Badges for Baseball Season 15 Recap
The 2024 Badges for Baseball season came to an end as quickly as it seemed to arrive just a couple of months ago. In between, though, were a lot of fun moments and cool experiences. The word of the summer could have been “adaptability”, especially for the Menasha group. With construction taking place at Jefferson Park, we relocated to Koslo Park for ’24. However, the Koslo experiment wasn’t meant to be. With all of the rain, and Koslo Park’s ability to retain water, the program could have been renamed “Badges for Snorkeling.” Since that name doesn’t have the same ring to it, I figured it was best to inquire about a return to our usual location. Koslo Park did provide one of those “cool experiences” I mentioned earlier, though. The participants were able to spend time on a field similar to those the lucky youth who have been chosen to go to Maryland have played on.
Between Menasha and Neenah, 70 youth signed up for our 15th season of facilitating the program. I had a lot of help this summer, as well. Eight law enforcement volunteers from Fox Crossing, Menasha, and Neenah stepped up to lend their support; including two who have been by my side since day one: Chris Groeschel and Jason Feucht. Four adult volunteers (Todd, Dayton, Alex, and Maddie) and nine high school assistants certainly made my job a lot easier. The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers continued their partnership and gave us another Friday event. It was another one of those “adaptability” moments, though. Mother Nature saw fit to dump some rain on us the night before, which made the field at Jefferson Park unplayable. Menasha Park and Rec did their best to work a miracle, but it wasn’t meant to be. So, what was supposed to be a scrimmage turned into a luncheon with the Timber Rattlers instead. Finally, thanks to the Cal Ripken Sr Foundation for making this program possible and Neenah and Menasha Park and Recreation Departments for providing us with fields to play on. I can’t wait to see what season 16 brings in 2025.
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In February 2015, Youth Go mentor Alex Steward and Program Supervisor Timothy Chappa were honored to attend the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation Aspire Gala event in Baltimore. Read more about the event.
In February 2017, former Youth Go and Badges for Baseball participant Tristain Prosper was selected as the very first Ripken Scholar Award winner!