SAINT CHARLES, Ill. — Baseball is said to be America’s pastime, and the boys of the St. Charles Knights 10U Blue team are discovering why as they become immersed in the many facets of a more competitive game. The Knights 10U Blue team, which is coached by Nick Benhart, Jason Denk, Eric Achtien, and Javy Hernandez, is a first-year travel team that consists of boys in the St. Charles District 303 community. According to Achtien, “The nucleus of our team is made up of kids who came out of St. Charles Baseball’s house league, and many played on our house ball tournament team last year. Being a first-year travel team there is a lot to learn, as the game in travel ball is played faster and takes some getting used to. The pitching is faster, the hits are harder, and base running is more aggressive.”

Achtien shares that the goals of the Knights 10U Blue team are simple – “To make sure the kids want to continue to play baseball in seasons to come while progressing their fundamental development and baseball IQ.”

For young athletes and their parents, the decision to pursue a “travel” team in any sport is not an easy one, and the St. Charles Baseball organization is trying to make this jump a little less stressful by offering a more progressive approach to higher levels of competition. Achtien explains that the St. Charles Baseball program combined both the house and travel divisions into one program two years ago, which allows them to offer a baseball experience for children of all skill levels. “Children start as early as 4 years old in our program with tee ball and progress through coach pitch, kid pitch, and finally graduate to the culmination of our development program in minors where we start our true competitive program.” He goes on to say that after playing in the “minors,” children may choose to play travel baseball against other towns/organizations or continue with an in-house team and play local teams throughout the Tri-City area.

“For those kids who like playing in-house league but want a little extra competition, we introduced our tournament team program six years ago.” Achtien explains that this program allows for three extra tournaments against other towns at the end of their in-house season, and players are selected at an open tryout at 8U, 9U, and 10U age levels.

And while the boys on the Knights 10U Blue team are getting their first taste of travel baseball and learning to play at a higher level, they are also learning how leaders are formed. At the 10U level there are no named team captains or team leaders, but Achtien says these roles do begin to manifest themselves. “It’s the kid who picks up the others while they are down. It’s the kid who doesn’t hang his head. It’s the kid who carries the coach’s message onto the field. It’s the kid who is always ready for that next play. It’s not the loudest kid, the biggest kid, or the most talented kid – it’s the kid who notices the small things and knows when to approach a teammate or when to let him be.”

As for pregame rituals or traditions, the Knights 10U Blue team tends to stick with what works. “Baseball is a superstitious sport,” says Achtien, “and when you are hot you don’t change a thing (except for maybe your underwear).” The boys conduct the same pregame warm-up before each game; however, this year they chose to emulate one of the older teams in the program and begin every game by circling around the starting pitcher, who then leads them in a rally chant before they take the field.

The Knights 10U Blue team is a cohesive group, but Achtien stresses that they welcome new members with open arms. In fact, earlier this season they added three new players, and now, toward the end of the season, “you would never know they weren’t part of our program from the beginning.” Achtien goes on to say that “We are always looking for good quality kids who like to grind, don’t give up, and love the game of baseball.” St. Charles Baseball will be holding open tryouts the third week of July for their River Bandit tournament teams (8U, 9U, and 10U) and their Knights travel teams (9U – 18U). “Providing an experience for any child who wants to play baseball is the true win of our program,” he says. Visit https://stcbaseball.sportngin.com for more information.

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