Tripletown Aces Baseball Program brings Red Lion area youth together
RED LION, Pa. — Last month on a pleasant July evening, Rich, Emily and I (Team SYC Sports) had the privilege of meeting some of the athletes, coaches and proud mommas and poppas of the young gentlemen of the Tripletown Aces Travel Baseball Program at a practice taking place in Red Lion. We quickly learned that this program is not just about producing stellar baseball players, but more so about the development of these young community members into stellar pillars of the community! To find out how the program began we spoke with founder and President, Kevin Lawrence. He tells us that the program started 9 years ago entirely by accident when his eldest son innocently asked why baseball season was ending, just as summer was starting. In the ensuing 9 years, the program has gone from a question, to a team, to a philosophy, to a movement.
Kevin elaborates about the foundations and core beliefs of the program further: John Wooden is the most successful coach in the history of college basketball. His teams won 10 NCAA national championships, including 7 consecutive. In 40 years of coaching, 11 at the high school level and 29 at UCLA, Wooden’s teams won more than 80% of their games, including four perfect seasons. Wooden was named the National Coach of the Year 7 times. But who inspired Wooden’s leadership? Who was the man behind the legend? Piggy Lambert was Wooden’s coach at Purdue where the star player and his mentor led the Boilermakers to a National Championship in 1932. At the end of one season, Coach Lambert was asked how good of a job he did as a coach that year. Coach Lambert responded unexpectedly, “Ask me in 20 years and we’ll see how successful these boys are. Then I’ll be able to tell you if I succeeded as a coach.” There’s a lot of insight to be gained from the stories of Coach Wooden and Coach Lambert.
We won’t truly know for 20 years how successful the Tripletown Aces Baseball Program has been. In two decades, we’ll be able to count the number of loving husbands, doting fathers, committed community servants, and generous benefactors who donate their time and talents to enriching the lives of others who once wore the Aces black and red. It will be then, when the young men who are now between 9 and 15 years old, are in their 30’s and 40’s that the true winning value of the Aces program will be quantified. If the young men who are wearing the Aces’ script ‘A’ in 2022, are scripting better lives for themselves and others in 2042, then the program was a success. If they are not, then the 103 tournament championships that the program has amassed since it began in 2014 will be worthless.
The Tripletown Aces Baseball Program is a youth development, athletic and mentorship organization that blesses and enriches the lives of young men and their families through athletics, education, community outreach, strategic partnering and charitable endeavors based in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. In other words, the Tripletown Aces Baseball Program is a travel baseball program that is more concerned about developing the abilities of their players to register future wins, by leading productive and meaningful lives, than it is about winning on the scoreboard.
We want to win, sure; but, we are less concerned about our team’s score at the end of 7 innings than we are about the quality of their life in 70 years. Our program takes the long view. Our development window for our players is measured not in weeks and months, but rather in years and decades. Successful seasons are less important than meaningful lives. Like Piggy Lambert, the inspiring, if not oft forgotten, man behind the most successful collegiate basketball coach in NCAA history, the Tripletown Aces Baseball Program is designed to be the driving and mentoring force behind the men who will go on to become the most successful adults possible. And while most elite travel sports programs are judging success by the number of players those programs can lead to college scholarships, the Aces program is seeking to redefine success. For the Aces program, success is defined not by the number of players the program can lead to college scholarships, but rather by the number of players who learn to lead themselves.
Just as Coach Wooden encouraged his players to discipline themselves so nobody else would have to, the Aces program teaches players to FLY, or to First Lead Yourself, so that nobody else will have to lead them. This summer, players on 13 Tripletown Aces teams will be sacrificing runners into scoring position; in two decades, those same players will be sacrificing their talents to enrich their communities. The current success of the Tripletown Aces can be measured in their 103 tournament championships and thousands of games won over the 13 teams. But the real measure of the program won’t be obvious for 20 years.
Upon speaking with some of the athletes, it is clear that the sentiment of the program truly resonates with them. Fulton Beard, who plays on the 10U team with Coach Ilgenfritz, is in his third year with the program. A rule he lives by is to play hard and have fun, and he tells us “If our fundamentals slip, then Coach Ilgenfritz encourages us to make corrections. His goal is to help us get better.” In regards to his teammates, he tells us that everyone is incredibly nice and supportive, “If someone strikes out, then they will pick him up.”
Zach Williams, 15u player lead by Coach Lawrenece, tells us that he has had the pleasure of wearing a Tripletown Aces jersey for four years. For the first two years, he contributed as a guest player and “for the last two years, I have been blessed to be a full time member of the team!”
This bright young man has clearly learned a lot from his mentors at home and with the program, as he tells us “I believe that it is imperative to treat all teams with esteem. Baseball is a time-honored tradition and should be played with dignity and reverence. The field is a majestic place where anything is possible. I have learned to never expect certain outcomes based on a team’s previous record.”
He continues “It is crucial that all players be extended the courtesy of top notch sportsmanship and regard. Baseball is an elite competition requiring great athleticism and elite mental strategy! Over the past nine years, I have seen so many young men give up on this spectacular adventure that we call baseball as the expectations and requirements of the game have proven to be too much of a challenge. I pray that my drive for baseball never wavers and the game challenges me for many more seasons!”
Zach tells us that one of the things he appreciates the most about his coach is the open communication they share. He loves the praise that he receives when he makes an amazing play; however, he states, “I am so appreciative that my coach respects me enough to provide constructive criticism when I didn’t make the play in the manner in which I should have. I have full confidence that my coach has my best interests at heart and that I will continue to grow into an exceptional player.”
When asked about his favorite part about his team, he says “My team holds players accountable! I am grateful that my team is very encouraging and is able to pick me up after a poor at bat or an error on a play. The expectation is that I do the same for my fellow team members. I know, as a pitcher, that my teammates will perform to the best of their abilities to help me secure the win for the team. I don’t feel as though we have super egos on the team. We are all talented ball players and showcase our abilities each and every game. I appreciate that we know that it takes all of us to play a complete game!”
Coach Al Lipscomb coaches the Tripletown Aces 16U team, and is a seasoned veteran at it. He started coaching in his 20s for a local legion baseball team and has been playing or coaching baseball for over 40 years. A proudest coaching moment was when he was able to talk a kid out of quitting the game he loves, he is still playing today! He says that one of the fundamentals that he focuses on is teaching athletes “to always compete is more important to me than winning.” When asked about a legacy he hopes to leave as a coach, Coach Lipscomb says, “My hope is that my players know that I cared for them most as young men and second as baseball players.”
To gain a parents’ perspective, we spoke with Landen Dehoff’s mother, Christine. She couldn’t contain her excitement when talking about the program and the benefits to the young men. She went on to tell us what a family the teams become over the years. She tells us that they all are watching their children out there on the field, but it is really one big family. To them (the parents,) “they are all of our boys out there!”
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