Without competing with skiing, snowboarding, football, basketball, soccer or any other sport kids enjoy playing, baseball in Park City is getting more specific, more focused and more community-based from here on out.
Parents, coaches and directors have put together an initiative to put Park City baseball on the map locally, statewide and nationally.
Already on the list of helpers are former Major League Baseball players Rheal Cormier, Mike Morgan and Robin Jennings to go along with a completely new coaching staff at Park City High School.
There’s also a completely new philosophy being implemented in the programs as well, and it’s not just PCHS baseball that’s getting a makeover; it’s local baseball in its entirety.
Dave Howard, director of player development in this baseball restructure, who has lived in Park City since 1983, played in the Philadelphia Phillies’ organization as a catcher. Howard has seen a talent pool in Park City being underused for quite some time and has been a driving force behind this makeover along with George Trevino, Tyler Walton and others.
“The biggest thing is trying to get the community of Park City to realize there is some baseball talent here, and start developing that from eight years old on up,” Howard said. “We want to tie in into the high school.
“Much like a major-league organization would, you have minor-league teams, but they have the same philosophies all the way up and down.”
Park City’s new head coach this spring will be Lou Green, a two-time All-American and former member of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim organization.
“(Lou’s) going to oversee it and teach all the coaches how to coach,” Howard said. “That’s our overall plan.”
What many parents and coaches want to see is baseball no longer going unnoticed.
“I see kids with abilities, but they aren’t given the looks because we are a small town,” Howard said. “If we can get to the point where we develop a good solid program, winning state titles, more kids are going to get looks.
“Success breeds success.”
The Park City Avalanche will be a team of youngsters eight years and up who will learn to play the game a consistent way through their middle school years and into PCHS. It’s an initiative to simplify the game for kids and learn different aspects and fundamentals at different times of their young playing careers.
“If we’re going to win, we have to develop a system,” Howard said. “I’m just trying to keep uniformity all around.”
Howard said he’s working on acquiring corporate and private funds to help install artificial turf on the Park City High School baseball field that will allow the team to use it a month prior to the usual starting date.
He also has big plans for opening day in the spring, trying to get the community more involved. He talked about using batgirls, and even mentioned a possible Jimi Hendrix-esque Star-Spangled Banner before the game.
Howard reiterated that these changes cannot be made without the help of the community and that the team anticipates numerous meetings throughout the winter and into the spring about getting the specifics down.
He was, however, adamant about his passion for the game and wants the talent pool in the small town of Park City to be used.
“For those people that say this is snow country and baseball doesn’t have much of a chance: I grew up in Minnesota, and of the city league I played in, three guys I played against are in the Baseball Hall of Fame,” he said. “It can be done.”