BY NOAH GRIFFITH | FOR THE OBSERVER
The Phenix City West 8U All-Stars are one of three teams representing Alabama at the USSA Rec All-Star World Series in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, July 10-14, and they will do it loud and proud.
There will be somewhere around 36 teams in the tournament from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and others all around the country. Regardless of their performance, Phenix City will stand out among stout competition with their contagious energy on and off the field. That goes for the kids and the coaches.
โWho has it better than us?โ strength coach Andre โDreโ Wadley shouts for the world to hear before they play each game.
The team only has one answer: โNobody!โ
Along with that chant, which coach โDre wears printed on the back of his team t-shirt, the team lines up to do the griddy on their side of the field before each game. During games, hype man and third base coach, Joseph Thomas, awards a wrestlerโs belt at the end of each inning to the player who gets the biggest out on defense, and the team mimics the Atlanta Braves โtogetherโ celebration โ locking their fingers in a motion over their head after getting a base hit.
โIt keeps the kids loose,โ said head coach Kasey Kiker, who began coaching when his son, second baseman Luke Kiker, began playing at age 3. โYou know, I never thought Iโd be wanting to do stuff like that in baseball, but theyโre 8 and theyโre having fun. Iโm not trying to get too serious with them right now.โ
That is exactly the attitude that Kiker said allowed them to battle back from a 16-1 loss in game one of the state tournament at the beginning of June to win their bracket and return from Oxford, Alabama, as champions of the 7A bracket.
After losing their first game by 15 to South Bibbโs 8U Gold All-Stars, the team felt defeated. Kiker said thatโs when their attitude was challenged the most, because they felt like they practiced too hard the past month to not be competitive.
โI didnโt want our whole experience at state to be so serious and to say we lost every game and had a miserable time,โ Kiker recalled. โAfter the first game when we lost, some people were like, โNo, no oneโs going swimming. No oneโs doing all this.โ I said, โYou know what? Weโre going to swim and play arcades. Weโre not going to have our whole experience ruined over a loss.โโ
The next day, the team returned to the field and rallied from behind to walk off to beat South Bibbโs Purple All-Stars, 22-21. From then on, their confidence was boosted, and they won their next four games, including a 15-9 win in a rematch against South Bibb Purple in the championship game.
The team stayed positive through adversity and, consequently, rediscovered their swagger. Starting fresh in day two, PC West significantly cut down on errors, began to hit the ball harder and rediscovered their aggressive brand of baseball, with smiles and celebrations all around.
Kiker said that group cohesiveness is what the squad hopes to carry with them to the World Series.
โWeโre on a streak right now, so we just want to build on that,โ he said. โWe have a bunch of solid players, but we donโt have the egos that come along with the superstar mentality. Iโll take a group full of solid ballplayers that support each other over superstar egos any day.โ
PC West is guaranteed to play a minimum of five games in Baton Rouge, including three in pool play to determine seeding before double-elimination bracket play begins on July 12. Kiker said he is making sure his team realizes competition in Louisiana will be tough, but it wonโt be the first time the team has risen to the occasion. He said they are pumped up for the opportunity to do it again.
Before they can make the trip, however, they need some help from the community to make it possible. Taking the team 6.5 hours to Baton Rouge comes with a lot of costs, so they are fundraising to try to lighten the financial burden.
On Friday, July 5, there will be a fundraising concert by Jake Harrelson at T-Bones Steakhouse in Phenix City. On Saturday, July 6, the team will be selling donuts at Danโs Hardware in Phenix City. Kiker said the sooner the financial distraction is resolved, the more time and energy the team will have to make sure they are good stewards of those donations with quality performance in Louisiana.
โWeโre very excited for the opportunity to represent our state and our city,โ Kiker said. โWe finally have the experience of winning a big gameโฆ We have a chip on our shoulders, and that chip is driving us to show everybody that we can play baseball and weโre really good.โ