The fall baseball team began practices and conditioning in September. The fall season is not considered the team’s primary season, but is a beneficial practice in preparation for the spring season.

Each year, players from every grade round up for the fall season, where they will be asked to attend every practice where the coaches will analyze the players to see if they are eligible enough to be on the official team.

Without the coaches, the fall season would not occur. Among the coaches are head coach Paul Barnes, assistant coach John Brown, assistant coach David Flores and coach Al Schwack.

“The coaches are great. I love them. They act like [family] and they treat me like I’m their son,” senior Eric Lassman said.

The school does not fund the fall baseball season simply because it is not the actual season for the year. The parents, coaches and volunteers must be persistent to make the season happen.

Without the baseball parents, half of the events this season would not be possible. The parents are a necessity for the team.

“Baseball has a great group of parents. Between the time and effort, baseball is a very time-consuming sport. [From] Monday through Saturday, everybody has family and homework, but the parents make it happen. They do a great deal of work on and off the field,” coach Brown said.

There are many ways that the team funds the program. They promote fundraisers and do a lot of sales within the baseball team.

“We do a lot of fundraisers [such as] brick sales, banner sales and family nights. We go to different restaurants throughout the county for family dinner nights. We’ve got a good group of parents and a good group of kids that actually want to go out and make things happen. The program kind of pays for itself,” coach Brown said.

The brick sales are a form of raising money where a family buys a brick and their names are engraved on them, then they’re paved into the sidewalk by the baseball field.

Both players and coaches are hoping for a strong fall season this year. They all have high expectations that they plan to meet.

“We plan to win everything. [We want to] win districts and go to regionals [this coming spring],” senior David Flores said.

The district games and regionals are the main goal of the team and the most important games of the whole year for all of the players and coaches.

“We are a solid team this year. With our [talented returning players] we can win districts and go to regionals if we focus and keep our head in [the game],” Lassman said.

The fall season brings in a lot of new players. All of the incoming freshmen interested in baseball and playing for the school participate in the fall season.

“[The new players] have a lot of potential. They have a lot of skill involved, and I feel like they can make a big impact on our team,” Lassman said.

The whole team coming together has brought up many friendships and close bonds that will last throughout their high school lives and maybe even after.

“I’ve met a lot of kids and made a lot of friends. I’ve really progressed as a player. I’ve gotten bigger and better,” Flores said.

The  team is in a new district this year. They will be playing two new teams: Flanagan High School and West Broward High School.

“We should expect plenty of good games. It should be a pretty interesting season,” coach Brown said.

The players and coaches are excited and prepared for the season. The players will be able to practice a lot and work hard before the spring season rolls around.

Photos: Shania Hodges