It’s a job for machines but pride in their town gets Tremont kids and parents out to try and make the field better.
just now
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by the Maine Seacoast Mission.
TREMONT—On Sunday, October 4, Tremont resident and community motivator Jayson Clough rallied the unofficial Tremont Kickball Team for another game. However, this game had a dual purpose.
Before playing kickball, but not necessarily before an ice cream sandwich or two was eaten by the players, kids and their parents spent some time trying to make the town’s athletic field a little better.
The playing surface, which is set up as a baseball field with chain link backstops, a pitcher’s mound, and bases, is ill fit for any serious competition. Unlike most baseball fields, the surface is not clay but stone fines with grass and weeds encroaching well into the infield.
Any play that requires sliding into a base or a flying leap to catch a ball can be damaging to skin and clothes.
Packed down by years of occasional use, and lack of maintenance, the fines and dirt form an almost unpenetrable surface yet the weeds and grass manage to sneak through and expand their hold on the infield a little bit each growing season.
Bare hands, hands with gloves, rakes, hoes, and any imaginable handheld implement simply scratched the surface. Yes, those areas that were worked looked better, but the truth of a fast and easy return next year lurked just below the surface.
Video courtesy of Jayson Clough.
But still they tried, squatting, kneeling, scraping, and pulling, filling five gallon buckets, all in an attempt to give the kids what they deserve: a playing field that isn’t being reclaimed by nature as it sits idle except for occasional schoolyard play; a field you would be proud to invite potential opponents to and one that doesn’t require any manual labor by the players before playing.
The first kickball game occurred on August 2 and was the idea of Clough, a Tremont resident.
“It just came off the top of my head. I figured Sunday is a good day to get together. Just came right off the top of my head and I put it on Facebook, to see whose coming,” he said about that first game.
Clough put his idea for a community kickball game on his Facebook page on July 28 to see what would happen as “just an opportunity for kids and families to do something.”
Clough has a deep love for the Town of Tremont and a belief that its adult residents should try to pass that love on to future generations, as well as a sense of pride and place in the community.
Not much better proof of kids being the future of community could be offered than what happened that first game when approximately 15 kids and adults showed up.
Since then, there have been two more games including the most recent which was the weed pulling adventure of October 4.
In the course of those three games, a casual observer would have noticed that the kids were excited to play but not many of them knew much about kickball or baseball, whose rules kickball mimic, during the first game.
By game three, that knowledge and those skills were already getting noticeably sharper. The art of base running, catching pop flys, and the satisfaction of getting an out by throwing the kickball at a runner, and actually hitting them, were all in effect.
Video: Shaun Farrar/BHS
What did all of this show? It showed what Clough thought, that while some Tremont kids may not have all of the resources or financial advantages of some other kids from other towns on Mount Desert Island, those kids from Tremont still deserve the same opportunities and given those opportunities, they will learn, grow, and blossom.
Clough’s idea was contagious and soon after he posted his initial thoughts on Facebook, people wanted to help and started to offer help through donations of both money and equipment, and ideas.
One of the people that Clough wants to recognize for her ideas, planning assistance, and help with the actual events is Laura Apsgar. Clough says she has been instrumental in the forward motion of the community building kickball movement.
Additionally, though it can’t be finalized until a town meeting vote in May, the Town of Tremont has since created the Tremont youth/community assistance program as a way to accept funds for monetary assistance for Tremont kids’ athletic related ambitions.
Clough himself would like to see the kickball venture grow into a sort of unofficial league that includes other local towns. One of his thoughts is how cool it would be if Tremont’s field was rehabilitated and it could host kickball games against other nearby towns who wanted to field teams.
Video courtesy of Jayson Clough.
The kids have proven their interest and motivation and the benefits of sports are widely recognized for helping kids prepare for adulthood.
The parents and community members haven proven their support for the idea.
Now all Tremont needs is someone to step up and make that infield something that you wouldn’t mind inviting your friends to play on and a fresh summer so the community building can continue to grow.
According to Clough, there will be one more kickball game on Sunday, October 25, from 11 – 12:30. This game will be halloween themed so feel free to play in your favorite costume.
Clough also said that he wants to continue the momentum throughout the winter and is working on potential activities. If you have any ideas feel free to message him on Facebook.
LINKS TO LEARN MORE
For Tremont’s Kids, a Sunday Kickball Game Has Become One Man’s Promise to Do More.
Tremont Youth/Community Assistance Program Gets Firm Support From Select Board.
What Tremont Is Doing For Its Kids.
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