Countless hours and a state title later…

PERRY, Ga. — Many athletes play their respective sports with a particular motivation. Some athletes compete as a pastime or a form of meditation. Others compete simply for the love of the game. Though all of these things and much more may be true, this PJL All-Star team is preparing to accomplish more than just their youth championship goals.

For Manager John Whitaker, winning a state title was more than just another earned accolade.

“Winning the state title again this year was such an honor for our team and for PJL,” Whitaker said.

After a great stretch of tournaments and games, this exact all-star team was defeated in last year’s World Series game in Laurel, Mississippi.

“After falling short last year, we set a goal as coaches and players to return this year, and it always feels good to accomplish your goals,” the PJL manager said.

Practices, workouts and perfecting a skilled craft are a yearly grind for most athletes. For this PJL All-Star team, the work began in last year’s off-season. According to the coaches, achieving this milestone took countless hours of bonding and chemistry building.

“Since the summer of 2021, the coaches and the majority of these boys has practiced and played a lot of baseball with this year’s state title in mind,” Whitaker said. ”It took countless hours both working with the team and on their own time to get better.”

Coaches Keith Barker, John Whitaker and Trent Barnes have excelled in preparing their All-Star team. While preparing for the Dixie Youth World Series, this PJL has a few more weeks to prepare. To these players and coaches it is more than a game. According to Whitaker, “it’s so much more than baseball.”

Adding to his previous remarks, manager and coach John Whitaker continued.

“The life lessons learned from playing baseball with a team like this, are huge not only for these young players, but also for us coaches,” he said. “Accountability, sacrifice, tenacity, mental and physical toughness, reliability, respect, the correlation between hard work and success, leadership, working with one another — the list just goes on and on and on.”

Having an unbreakable bond with teammates on the playing field is a feeling like no other. Sharing a favorable pastime while achieving a unified task is crucial at a young age.

“We have a great time as a team and it never fails,” Whitaker said. “No matter how hot, cold, rainy or dry after a 3-3.5 hour practice, there are 5 or 6 kids begging for another bucket or throwing with a teammate. 

“What we have is special because the boys love baseball, they are unbelievably talented and they love each other.  Also, the parents have bought into what we are doing and they endure those long hot practices without complaint.”

Coaches of the 8U All-Stars would like to leave the following message for readers: “We’d like to give a special thanks to our sponsors who have come together and supported us big again this year. Please check out our sponsors and consider doing business with them.”

Members of the 8U All-Stars include: Jase Arrington, Huntley Ashley, Easton Barker, Tucker Barnes, Blaine Beatty, Tucker Jenrette, Gunner Salter, James Sutton, Gage Taylor, Kristian Vandersee, John “Whit” Whitaker and Levi White.

“When you achieve something you have worked really hard for there are a multitude of reactions,” Whitaker added. “There were tears or joy, and laughter, a bunch of hugs and smiling. The celebration when the walk-off double was hit driving in the winning run. it is a day we won’t forget. It was a great day. We hope to represent the state of Georgia, Houston County and Perry well with both our talent and our sportsmanship,” Whitaker said.

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