NABF 16U National Championship Tournament

July 26, 2013

On Tuesday, July 23rd we did what all parents know is eventually coming, but dread all the same.  We put our 15 year old son into the car with his coach and two other players to make a 24 hour track across the country in order to play in the NABF 16U National Championship baseball tournament in Michigan.

Matthew is not your normal, ordinary 15 year old kid.  He is far advanced both mentally, emotionally and physically than his age implies. He has a love for, as well as a dedication to baseball that he developed at a very young age.  He has worked very hard over the past three or four years to accomplish his goal to play baseball on into college and into the professional ranks.  His drive and accomplished abilities have gotten him noticed and moved up to an elite group of 16U players that have proven to be very formidable on a National level and have earned their place in the NABF National a championship tournament.

After having not missed a single baseball game that he has played in over the past three years, it was incredibly difficult to let him go off that far without traveling along with him, but financial difficulties have caused us to not be able to make the trip, so it would have been heart breaking for him to be denied this opportunity.

We excitedly sat in front of our I-Pad yesterday and watched a live, play by play Game-Changer display as Matthew and the Allen Baseball Club won their opening game at the NABF World Series against Team Cincinnati by a score of 3 to 1 very disappointed that we weren't able to be there to share in his excitement while also coming to the realization that there will be many more bittersweet experiences to endure throughout his baseball career, however long it may last.

COACH SKIP ALLEN

If you look up "Class Act" in the encyclopedia, this picture is in there.

COACH MATT COULSON

Most of these guys would run head first into a wall without question of this guy told them to.

PHOTOS FROM 16U TOURNAMENT 7-13-2013

http://youtu.be/IhkfCelhwII

July 14, 2013
http://youtu.be/IhkfCelhwII

So far, we have had a great weekend with The Allen Baseball club with the team finally seeming to come together, and not a minute too soon as we prepare to head into the NABF 16U World Series in Michigan in 2 weeks.

Matthew started out the day on Friday by going 2 for 3 with a hard hit double into the gap in left center field followed up by a single to left with 2 runs scored in route to a 11 to 1 victory.

The team came out a little flat in the second game and ended up losing by a score of 9 to 6 with Matthew going 0 for 2 with a pop fly and a hard hit ground ball where he was thrown out at first.

On sunday, the team seemed to come out with a purpose winning the first game convincingly by a score of 13 to 3 where Matthew went 1 for 1 with a single to left and was hit by 2 pitches.  He scored all three times that he was on base.

In Saturday's final game, Matthew went 1 for 3 with a walk-off line drive double that was hit all of the way to the wall in the right center field gap scoring 2 runs causing us to exceed the 8 run rule in the 6th inning.  (See the you-tube link above).  Matthew also made a highlight-reel catch in the outfield on a long fly ball that was caught over his shoulder in the middle of a full out sprint toward the fence.

 

This Week In Allen Baseball July 1, 2013

What a week it has turned out to be!  From despair and disappointment to excitement and pride in a bunch of boys who have exceeded most, if not all expectations and have pushed forward showing a rare level of commitment, despite the difficult things that are required of them.

First of all, the ability to play well and maintain a high level of concentration and competitiveness despite several days in a row of triple digit temperatures is a feat worthy of respect. Saturday, especially reached a staggering 106 degrees and our boys had to play two afternoon games.  We unfortunately won the first game handily and followed that up with a loss to a team that is compiled of all but two signed and committed college players, led by a D-1 pitcher who rarely threw a pitch under 90mph unless it was a nasty breaking ball to keep our hitters off balance.

Throughout the unbelievably trying events on Saturday, Matthew struck out three times  and managed to get one line drive base hit into center field which made for a long, depressing ride home, expecting to be denied an opportunity to play at all on Sunday.

Imagine our surprise when we were notified that we would get a chance to play a final game at noon on Sunday.  Not the championship game, mind you, but a chance for the boys  to redeem themselves.

Tyson Joseph pitched a gem on Sunday backed up by some amazing field plays at third base, short stop and especially left and center field, where several amazing catches were made at crucial times that kept the game within manageable limits.

Matthew had an RBI base hit in the second inning and followed it up with another RBI base hit in the 5th inning to account for our only two runs giving us a 2 to 1 victory and surely a mental momentum shift for a very talented team that had had it's share of recent difficulties.