POLAND — The sounds of children laughing and the pinging of aluminum bats echo throughout the

By Jon Moffett

POLAND — The sounds of children laughing and the pinging of aluminum bats echo throughout the Poland community. These sounds remind Poland residents of their rich sports history.

Children in Poland have the opportunity to play baseball each spring. Playing baseball gives them a chance to have fun. It also gives them a chance to be part of something special.

The Poland Community Baseball Association began in 1950. Today, nearly 650 boys and girls ages 5-18 have a chance to play a sport they love. These children learn the game, as well as vital life lessons.

Even failing, said coach Jerry Williams.

“[This game] teaches you to fail,” Williams said. “I think that you can’t learn to succeed unless you’ve learned to fail. They become better and learn how to succeed. ... It teaches teamwork and I like seeing the young kids improve.”

Two teams from the PCBA take the field on a recent muggy Thursday night. On this night, Williams’ Poland Dairy Queen team is taking on the boys of Youngstown Hard Chrome.

Parents sit outside the fence in the sweltering heat and stifling humidity. High temperatures won’t stop them from cheering on their children.

It rained earlier in the day, but there has been no dampening of these children’s spirits.

Both head coaches have a son on their team. They are trying to give the kids a few final instructions before the first pitch is thrown.

Some parents sitting on equipment buckets near the dugouts keep score.

The 9- and 10-year old boys are practicing on the diamond. Seemingly oblivious to their coaches’ words, some boys are already playing the game. Infielders squat down and pretend to take ground balls, before raising again to make pretend throws to teammates.

In the outfield, some boys sway from side to side, trying to pay attention. From a park-area in left field, even younger children, some the siblings of players, sing out chants and laugh gleefully.

The players have complete focus when the game is going on. There are many overthrows, a lot of pitches that hit the backstop and some confusion on the base paths. But the kids are trying.

Williams’ son, Michael, 10, sits behind home plate, just the way his dad did. The elder Williams started playing Little League at age 7. He played catcher for most of his Little League career, before moving to the outfield as he grew older. He played baseball as a student at Youngstown State University.

Across from Michael on the mound stands Christian Nemeth.

Nemeth’s shaggy blond hair hides his eyes at times, but it can’t hide his determination. His favorite player is Ken Griffey Jr.

Though he pitches instead of playing the outfield, Nemeth tries to emulate his hero.

“He’s fast, and he moves quick,” says Nemeth of Griffey Jr. When Nemeth burns around the base paths, his idol stays in his mind.

Hard Chrome head coach Jerry Velasquez watches as his team, including his son, Brian, 10, from the other dugout. Velasquez has been involved with baseball since he was 8. He too began his baseball career in Little League, just like Williams.

Velasquez’s fondest memory as a player was a perfect game that he pitched while part of the Boardman Little League.

“That was pretty special,” Velasquez said.

The sun begins to fade into the horizon and two other teams stand anxiously outside the fence. Williams and Velasquez’ teams are finishing up their game.

Though the outcome was a decisive one in Dairy Queen’s favor, it doesn’t stop the lesson of sportsmanship. Both teams line up on the baselines and high-five and congratulate each other on a good game.

Velasquez feels one game isn’t nearly as important as the growth throughout the season.

“[The most beneficial thing is] watching the kids who are less athletic than the others improve and get better over the course of the season,” said Velasquez. “I like seeing the joy on their faces when they get to do that.”

To the kids on the diamond, they are simply playing a game they love. But to the league, these children serve as the latest installment to the already rich history of Poland baseball.

Williams’ team may have earned the victory, but both teams walked away as winners. The children learned important lessons through Thursday night’s game.

Lessons, as Williams might put it, of how to succeed.