MPS middle school baseball, softball season concludes with all-star games

The Montgomery Public School Middle School baseball and softball seasons were completed with an all-star game. Both games were won by the West squads. (Contributed)

CONTRIBUTED

The Montgomery Public School’s middle school baseball and softball teams recently concluded the season with the inaugural East-West all-star game to honor the top players from the eight teams. 

Floyd Middle Magnet School won the city championship in both sports and also took home top honors from the all-star game. 

The West teams, comprised of players from Southlawn, McKee, Bellingrath and Floyd, won both events over the East teams, comprised of players from Goodwyn, Capitol Heights, Johnnie Carr and Brewbaker. 

Floyd’s Ali Nelson was the baseball most valuable player while the softball game chose co-most valuable players, Mikila Lee of Johnnie Carr and Jaelyn Bolling of Floyd. 

With the season now concluded, organizers will turn their attention to the annual kid’s clinic to develop future middle school stars.

The annual Montgomery Baseball-Softball Skills Camp will be held at Garrett Coliseum on June 13 and June 20 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. on the arena floor. The camp will be conducted by area college coaches, high school coaches and volunteers, with a morning session and an afternoon session divided with a break for lunch, which will be provided to all participants.

Anyone enrolled this fall in the third grade through the eighth grade can participate in the free camp, regardless of whether they’re home schooled or attend private school or public school. Participants are asked to wear gym shoes and arrive early for onside registration from 8-8:30 a.m. A liability waiver must be signed to participate. 

For more information, contact camp coordinator David Thomas at (334) 322-4909.

The season culminated what has been a long journey for Thomas. The league developed in 2016 from a conversation with his son, then-Robert E. Lee baseball coach David Thomas Jr., who was frustrated at the lack of fundamentals with his incoming players that had no middle school participation. 

Both Thomases, with the father a former middle school and high school coach, recognized how far MPS high schools were lagging in baseball and softball with no middle school feeder programs. Together, they formed a small committee and formulated a plan to propose the reinstatement of the middle school baseball and softball programs. 

The idea was quickly shot down by MPS administrators and city officials due of a lack of funds to reestablish the programs.

Undaunted, the pair presented the idea to the Board of Education and it was later approved by the superintendent in 2018, provided the middle school committee headed by Thomas provided the funding for the baseball and softball programs.      

A survey of all the middle schools by Thomas only generated a favorable response from school officials at Dunbar Ramer, Floyd Middle Magnet and Johnnie Carr, but Thomas and his committee proceeded with a grass-roots campaign to raise funding to cover the coach’s supplement and benefits, uniforms, equipment, officials and transportation. 

By 2019, all MPS middle schools were involved and the programs were officially added to the MPS athletic family, but then COVID-19 brought all the participation to a halt in the 2019-20 school year.

In the 2020-21 school year, the MPS middle school baseball and softball programs returned to normalcy but Thomas has continued his behind-the-scenes work, which he credits to the widespread support of the community. Since 2020, Thomas has coordinated and hosted free middle school baseball and softball camps for middle school-aged students in Montgomery, first at area fields throughout the city, then at Garrett Coliseum beginning in 2023 to combat the threat of inclement weather. 

This year, the grass-roots campaign started by Thomas added the first-ever MPS All-Star Game at Gateway Park. Montgomery mayor Steven Reed showed his support by attending the baseball game to say a few inspirational words and throw out the ceremonial first pitch. Local pastor Claude Shuford, a supporter of the project from the beginning, did the same for the softball game.