A local travel baseball team won a world series championship. The Sand Mountain Storm Baseball team is a 10U travel baseball team based out of Geraldine, Alabama. The “U” stands for “under,” indicating the players may not be over the age of 10 to qualify to play. The Sand Mountain Storm team players range in age from nine to ten. The players are from the northeast region of Alabama. A travel team plays at an elite level, commonly traveling out-of-state to competitions. Travel teams are not affiliated with a school.
Coach Josh Strange (Geraldine, AL) and Assistant Coach Jai Rogers (Pisgah, AL) train the Sand Mountain Storm team. Coach Strange has coached for approximately ten years for several different high school teams and little league teams. This is the first travel ball team, however that he has established from the ground up. He gives credit to his assistant coach, Jai Rogers, in helping him develop the team.
The first tryouts for the team were held in November 2020 and practice began shortly after. They began playing in March of 2021 and continued until the end of July, at which time, they traveled to play in the World Series. The team played in several tournaments throughout the season. They won runner up in four tournaments and took home the title of 10u division champions in the Perfect Game 10U Gulf Coast World Series Championship in Orange Beach, Alabama by defeating the Mississippi Marlins in extra innings with a final score of 9-8.
Since the team is still fairly new, they raise money through donations and fundraising to help provide the funds for the tournament fees as well as uniforms and any equipment that is needed. They have put on a corn hole tournament, sold candy bars, and sold tickets to raffle off popular items.
“We have tried to make it as cost efficient on the parents as possible by allowing the boys to raise the money themselves,” said Coach Strange. “This in turn also provides a sense of accomplishment. I like to hold my kids accountable whether it be on the field or off. By doing these fundraisers, it is a way to hold them accountable and to teach them the art of working hard which can help prepare them for their life ahead.”
Baseball players motto: “Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.” – Babe Ruth
Follow them on Facebook at Sand Mountain Storm Baseball.
— Marla Ballard’s Who's Who appears in the Times-Journal Wednesday and weekend editions.
(1) comment
The team came together for a few months, and now they're back. Their goal was to bring home the trophy from the World Series of Travel Baseball.The Great Lakes Travel Baseball League is a summer league that plays at various fields throughout the Midwest. The team is made up of players from all over the region and many are new to travel ball, much less playing in a league that requires special equipment and travel to different locations. Well, now I also have to visit here about online games that I could play through casino in order to earn money and have fun in my leisure time.
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