A strong tradition continues

NEW ULM -- Tradition.

One of the meanings for that word that appear in Webster's Dictionary is "the handing down of customs from one generation to the next."

Tradition in New Ulm has always been their strong baseball program, from youth to the amateur level. The success that this city has enjoyed in baseball has been something that other communities have wanted to copy for years.

Any program is only as strong as its foundation, and in the case of the baseball program that foundation begins with its youth program and the New Ulm Junior Baseball Association.

It is a foundation that remains strong.

"Our numbers are up this year," said president Rick Kamm. "We added a 7-year-old league (to an already running 8-year-old league). We have 86 kids in that 7- and 8-year-old league that are starting out learning baseball."

That is coupled with 87 9- and 10-year-olds to go with 83 11- and 12-year-olds and 64 13- and 14-year-olds.

"Junior baseball decided to add that 7-year-old program and we sat down with Todd Hoffmann and talked about what we wanted from that program," said Kamm.

What they wanted was a program for those young people that taught the basic fundamentals of the game of baseball and did not stress wins or losses.

"The fundamentals like catching, running, hitting and still having fun," commented Kamm. "But they are still learning the game and know how to play the game so when they advance up to the summer legion programs and the high school programs, they are fundamentally ready to play the type of baseball that New Ulm does."

HOFFMANN RUNS NEW PROGRAM: Hoffmann, who played baseball at New Ulm High School runs the new 7- and 8-year-old program. "I, like everyone else, am a volunteer," he said. "This is the first year for the seven year olds and it has been a good success. We only stress the fundamentals and teach them the proper fielding techniques. And they have fun doing the things that they need to do."

He said that the young kids listen very well, "and the parents have been super this year. They encourage their kids and that helps a lot."

TOURNAMENTS BEGIN: Each age group (with the exception of the seven and eight year olds) have two tournament teams that will play "the best quality baseball tournaments that we can find. They know already what to expect."

This past weekend, New Ulm sent a 12-year-old team to Eagan where they finished third against Twin Cities teams. "They know how to play together; they win as a team and they lose as a team."

Besides sending teams out of town, New Ulm is a hotbed not only for Legion tournaments but also Junior Baseball tournaments as each weekend in June, North Park is filled with out-of-town teams. That means money in the coffers of New Ulm businesses and hotels.

Teams from Burnsville, Brainerd, Shoreview, Waite Park, St. Paul, Rochester, St, Croix, Wis., and St. Francis are just a few teams that come to New Ulm, not only to play baseball but to see the City of Charm and Tradition.

"We hope that what we are doing in the youth program helps keep the baseball tradition going strong in New Ulm," Kamm said. "As a board, our goal is to keep that tradition going."

JUNIOR BASEBALL PAY OWN BILLS: The Junior Baseball Association pays their own way with fundraisers that keep the youth program strong.

"We have a breakfast on June 3 at St. Mary's Church (on the weekend of a 'B' qualifying tournament for 11-year-olds). We also have a volunteer stand at Heritagefest; those are our two biggest fundraisers," said Kamm. "We raise all of the money for our program ourselves; we charge $91 per each kid, but out of that fee they can sell candy bars, raffle tickets, and breakfast tickets. So if the kid sells all of this, all that he has to pay is a flat fee of $25. That is very nominal."

Junior Baseball supplies the uniforms for the players through sponsors. "We buy most of the equipment but we have not bought bats since each kid seems to have their own now."

PROGRAM MAKES IMPROVEMENTS AT NORTH PARK: The Junior Baseball Association has also made improvements to North Park by purchasing items to help the field.

"That is a goal for us to try and get North Park very pleasant," said Kamm.

One of the steps taken was when the Junior Baseball Association paid $7,000 for a sprinkler gun for North Park. "The City of New Ulm came to us and we wanted to know what we can do for them and that was one thing that they wanted to do," Kamm said. "They (City) eventually wants to plant grass on the (dirt) infields and they would need a water supply."

Future plans are to build some new batting cages outside. "Plus, we feel that a lot of the teams that we play in tournaments have been playing baseball since January. We have the facilities of an indoor batting cage (which is paid for entirely by the New Ulm Baseball Association; no fee is charged to any player), but we would like a place where they can throw. We are looking at keeping the (North) park up as much as we can. We have asked (City Park and Recreation Director) Dave Bechtold what else can we do to help them. We will work very close with the City in the future."

So, as you can see, the Junior Baseball Association is a group that gives, rather than only takes in keeping a New Ulm tradition strong. So maybe you can take a run out to North Park in the next few weekends and enjoy young kids playing New Ulm's game -- baseball.

And if you are interested in helping out with the program, the NUJBA will be happy to have you.

STROMDAHL TO OHIO: Brad Stromdahl, a catcher who played baseball last year for the Marshall A's, has signed a contract with Canton, Ohio in a Class A Independent League. That means that Marshall has lost two good players in Stromdahl and pitcher Chris Pack, who teaches and coaches in Hayfield. He will probably play for Rochester.

BREWERS PLAY TODAY: The New Ulm Brewers and the Essig Bluejays will meet this afternoon in Essig in a 2 p.m. contest. The game matches the Brewers (4-0) and Essig (3-0) in a battle of two top amateur teams in the area.

SCOREBOARD ARRIVES: The new scoreboard for Mueller Park has arrived and will be set up in the near future. It is an all-electric board with team names also appearing in lights.