Each spring, NRPA encourages agencies to host a free Pitch, Hit & Run (PHR) Presented by Scotts local competition from March through early May. The event offers boys and girls ages 7 to 14 the opportunity to compete and advance separately through four levels of competition based on the skills used in baseball. Seven hundred and twenty youngsters nationwide will advance to one of 30 team championship events in Major League ballparks, and the top 24 competitors nationwide will earn an all-expense paid trip to MLB All-Star Week to compete at national finals.
In 2013, eight of the 24 PHR national finalists began their journey by competing in local and sectional competitions hosted by their local park and recreation departments. From big cities to small towns, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities these finalists experienced can be attributed to their local departments. The towns of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, and Frankenmuth, Michigan, became two of the most recent recreation departments to place youth players on the field during MLB All-Star Game festivities.
Eight-year-old Banks Hartman competed in Fuquay-Varina’s local competition and continued to advance to the national finals at Citi Field in New York City. “The experience that Banks had from his first competition in our town all the way to the finals in New York was absolutely phenomenal,” says Fred Hartman, Banks’ father. “I hope the town chooses to host a local competition again because they did a terrific job last year, and I fully expect a huge turnout this year! Banks is excited to get back out there and take another swing at it!”
Similar excitement was experienced in a small town in northern Michigan where 14-year-old Laura Farnsworth advanced from the Frankenmuth Parks and Recreation local competition. “We are very blessed to have such an active recreation department for such a small town” says Laura. “PHR is one of the best opportunities I have taken advantage of, and the reward was more than I expected.”
With some of the largest softball and baseball tournaments in Michigan, the town welcomes visitors for the event organized by the park and recreation department. “PHR adds so much to the program,” says Laura’s father, Mark Farnsworth. “Now that someone from Frankenmuth has won, girls and boys are practicing to make it to the national finals like my daughter did. It is a great feeling to see kids practicing every day to meet these goals.”
Below are the 2013 national finalists who participated in their park and recreation department’s local competition:
Jaden LyBurtus: City of Santa Maria Recreation and Parks, California*
Haley Loffer: Hayden Community Services Department, Idaho
Laura Farnsworth: Frankenmuth Parks and Recreation, Michigan*
Banks Hartman: Town of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
Jacob Hufnagel: Upper St Clair Recreation and Leisure Services, Pennsylvania*
Jackson White: St. Andrews Parks, South Carolina
Parker Lee: Friendswood Parks and Recreation, Texas
Colten Shumway: Cedar City Leisure Services and Recreation, Utah
* = Participant was national champion in his/her respective age and gender group
Danielle Taylor is the Senior Editor of Parks & Recreation Magazine.