14U Black Diamond Aces

12/25/2021

Merry Christmas

11/25/2021

11/12/2021

Thank you to all of the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve this country!

08/15/2021

End of the year party for the boys. Thank you to all the and parents for getting the boys replica World Series Trophies, Banners and personalized shirts! Congratulations again on a great year and can’t wait to come back next year reloaded!

06/29/2021

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One of my friends asked "Why do you pay so much money for your kids to do all their sports”? Well I have a confession to make; I don't pay for my kids to to do sports. Personally, I couldn't care less about what sport they do.

So, if I am not paying for sports what am I paying for?

- I pay for those moments when my kids become so tired they want to quit but don't.

- I pay for those days when my kids come home from school and are "too tired" to go to their training but they go anyway.

- I pay for my kids to learn to be disciplined, focused and dedicated.

- I pay for my kids to learn to take care of their body and equipment.

- I pay for my kids to learn to work with others and to be good team mates, gracious in defeat and humble in success.

- I pay for my kids to learn to deal with disappointment, when they don't get that placing or title they'd hoped for, but still they go back week after week giving it their best shot.

- I pay for my kids to learn to make and accomplish goals.

- I pay for my kids to respect, not only themselves, but other athletes, officials and coaches.

- I pay for my kids to learn that it takes hours and hours, years and years of hard work and practice to create a champion and that success does not happen overnight.

- I pay for my kids to be proud of small achievements, and to work towards long term goals.

- I pay for the opportunity my kids have and will have to make life-long friendships, create lifelong memories, to be as proud of their achievements as I am.

- I pay so that my kids can be out on the field or in the gym instead of in front of a screen...
..I could go on but, to be short, I don't pay for sports; I pay for the opportunities that sports provides my kids with to develop attributes that will serve them well throughout their lives and give them the opportunity to bless the lives of others. From what I have seen so far I think it is a great investment!

~Unknown

06/28/2021

Somehow each year keeps getting better and better! The boys rattled off 12 straight wins the last 2 tournaments including 5-0 this weekend winning the 14U Open USSSA SUMMER SHOWDOWN! The boys are once again bringing the 1st place trophy back home to Southern Illinois after beating a great Kentucky Prospects “Bishop” team and then winning the Championship against a very good Missouri Bulls team! It’s been an amazing year to watch these boys grow and become a Force to be reckon with now and down the road! See ya next year boys!!

06/23/2021

‼ Must read ‼

Message from anonymous college coach:
I was at a recruiting tournament this weekend and the things that made me walk away from games where I was watching kids I was interested in recruiting were:
1. Parents screaming from the sidelines at umpires and girls on the field (including their own child).
2. Kids leaving the dugout. Running to their parents during the game and talking about coaching decisions, umpires, and asking for special treatment and snacks during the game from their parents. (This might sound harsh, but I don’t want a kid who runs to their parents and complains about everything and needs to be coddled during the game).
3. Dirty looks towards umpires and talking back to umpires.
4. Inability to recover after a strikeout, hard inning, or call they didn’t agree with.
5. Lack of hustle. Walking everywhere and talking back to coaches or treating teammates disrespectfully.
We recruit the family and the athlete. We recruit attitude and effort. We recruit athletes who can recover after failure and push through mistakes. We recruit athletes that keep working hard when things get hard or when a play or call doesn’t go their way. We recruit grit and athleticism, mixed with knowledge of the game. We recruit kids who don’t give up and blame others for their circumstances. We recruit kids who run out pop-ups and don’t give up on the play. We recruit kids who recover! We recruit kids who lead! We recruit kids who want to COMPETE!
If you want to be recruited, be present for every play and every action performed on the field. You never know who’s watching in the stands.
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