PERRY, Ga. — The Perry Junior League is sending another team to the Dixie Youth Baseball World Series.
This time around, it’s the 8U All-Stars, who won their Dixie Youth AA State Championship game on June 25th. They’ll be rewarded to with a trip to Hattiesburg, Mississippi with a chance to take home a DYBWS championship.
For some of these boys it won’t be their first shot at it, six of them made it to this stage last year.
It’s been a long journey for all the players and coaches involved, though a rewarding one according to head coach Spencer Shugart.
“It’s been great. I wasn’t supposed to be the coach, it was kind of last minute that I ended up being the coach. Through the All-Star season and the work they’ve put in, it’s been great,” he said. “They put in a lot of work and really, it’s just encouraging for me to watch them grow in how they respond. That’s something we talked about, how they respond and how they endure, it’s been really fun to watch and really encouraging for them to grow in that perseverance.”
It’s not easy to keep a group of kids eight and under focused and motivated through a season that’s months long, even the pros have trouble staying focused at times.
Though Shugart found something that helped keep them on the right track: Faith.
“For our team, I can’t really speak for anyone else, I talked to the kids about trying to build them character and why they do what they do,” he said. “We just have a saying, it’s out of Colossians, ‘We play for the glory of God, not just for playing baseball.’ Whatever we do, whether we eat or drink, we do it for the glory of God. That’s something that we talk to our team about. We also just let them have fun. If we win or lose it’s not the end of the world; it’s just a baseball game is what I tell them. Do whatever they do for the glory of God. Our joy is not found in winning or losing; we find that in the Lord.”
The team roster is as follows: Levi Arnold, Jeremy Clark, Madden DeVoursney, Will Greer, Hudson Guy, Hayes Hamsley, Karson Harper, Cameron Ivie, Collin James, Greyson Miller, Owen Shugart, Kaden Walker.
The coaches for this season were: Spencer Shugart, Nick James, Jacob Harper, Griffen Hamsley.
The DYBWS will start July 27th and go through August 1st.
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