Mooseheart Tee Ball World Series a smash with young players

Mooseheart hosted its second annual Tee Ball World Series on July 31. The game featured a blend of Mooseheart children with children from Mooseheart staffers and Moose International employees.

Children from preschool to age 9 got a chance to show what they had learned in a summer of weekly education in America's national pastime. The youngest players were 3 years old.

"The kids have a great time out there playing and being the center of attention," Mooseheart Executive Director Scott Hart said. "That is especially true when it comes to the Tee Ball World Series. They talk about it for days in advance."

Hart doubles as the pitcher and instructs the children through the summer. He said he sees their growth through the summer, and those enhancements take place in areas both on and off the diamond.

"It's their time in the spotlight," Hart said. "In this case, they have it reversed and there's a crowd watching them instead of them being in the stands watching the Red Ramblers play on the field or court. They enjoy being the focus of attention. They always want to know the score and who won. Oddly enough, this year's game was a tie, so that's two years in a row for that."

At such a young age, Hart said fundamental instruction is a focus. Some of the older children knew where to run, how to hit and even threw toward correct bases. But the youngest players were, in truest form of the sports cliché, "just happy to be here."

While many events at Mooseheart involve only the students of the Child City, this is one of the events where children can compete with Mooseheart staff children - and even offspring of staffers of Moose International, whose headquarters building sits on Mooseheart property. Hart had two of his own six children playing, and a further three helping the younger athletes learn the game.

"This helps build a community where families are here together, where kids are playing and parents are watching in the stands," Hart said. "The parents and family teachers have been out watching the children play and have had some good, solid conversations."

The need to have helpers from the older population at Mooseheart is also important. While Hart and some of the campus' Family Teachers and other staffers help as instructors, there can never be too many helping keep the youngsters focused and safe on the diamond.

"They help the kids find their positions and make sure they're standing in front of them when the big hitters come up so they don't get hurt," Hart said. "They also help some of them find their way to first base. Some of our kids hit the ball, and the first thing they want to do is pick it up and carry the ball with them to first base, which may be funny, but isn't exactly part of the rules."

Another constant in Mooseheart's tee ball program is the committed involvement of Mecca Moose Legion 9. In 2009, Mecca 9 provided initial equipment and some prizes for all participants. This year, every player had a T-shirt, more equipment was purchased, and there were medals for all participants as well as more prizes. Hart spiced the medal ceremony with his usual list of certificate-earning categories, some serious and some very lighthearted.

"The medallions showed that everyone's a winner at the end of this," Hart said. "It was nice to hand out some certificates and then end the day with a nice cookout. Mecca 9 has helped incredibly in getting this going, and it was great to see some of them here for the World Series."

Mooseheart Child City & School is a 1,000-acre community and school for children and teens in need of a secure home, located just south of Batavia. Since its founding in 1913, Mooseheart has operated a complete, accredited kindergarten to high school academic program, plus art, music, vocational training and interscholastic sports. Mooseheart is currently home to roughly 230 students, ranging in age from preschoolers to high school seniors. Applications for admission to Mooseheart are considered from any family whose children are, for whatever reason, lacking a stable home environment.