Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008

Olberding trying to piece together Legion team

by Kenneth Lassiter

Seeing a lack of opportunity but adequate talent in the area, a Nortonville native is taking steps to try to put together two American Legion baseball teams from three county school districts.

Branden Olberding had been thinking about the lack of any local summer league action for high school players for a while and decided he would try to take matters into his own hands.

“We haven’t had a Pony League around here for years now,” said Olberding of the once usual source for high school players to play baseball over the summer. “I know we’ve got a lot of Jefferson County North kids who are wanting to play ball, and since there’s no high school baseball program in this district either, I figured maybe we could get a Legion team going.”

Olberding researched the state activities association rules and settled on trying to cull a team from the Oskaloosa, JCN and Valley Falls school districts. There will be a junior team of kids 17 and under that Olberding will coach and he is still looking for coaches for the senior team of players from 17 to 19 years old. Play would start in late May and continue until mid-to-late August.

Once Olberding had the idea to try to get the team started, that’s when all the logistics came into play. He chose “Panthers” and a teal and black combination as the team’s mascot and colors as a neutral choice among the three school districts. Now it’s a matter of finding players, umpires, confirming a place to play and getting all the other particulars done.

“It’s a little more than what I thought it would be going in, but I’ve gotten plenty of good interest,” Olberding said. “I think the talent is there. We do have some kids around that play, but a lot have to travel elsewhere to do it.”

Olberding talked to a Legion representative in Nortonville, who expressed a positive attitude toward the move. He also plans to use the fall and winter months to get all the pieces in place for moving the team from an idea toward a reality when spring 2009 rolls around. The team would play in the league with teams from all over the northeast region. A team from Doniphan County made the national American Legion tournament this year.

Olberding is planning to have a spring tryout camp, and said the team would likely play its games at Nortonville unless other arrangements need to be made. He said he is also seeking business sponsors for the team. The cost to play for the players would tentatively be between $150 and $200.

“There are costs just to get into the league as well as all the uniforms and equipment that’ll have to be bought,” he said. He said he plans to host a men’s and co-rec softball tournament in Nortonville Sept. 27 to help raise money for the team. “I’m slowly working things out. I’ve gotten almost more interest than I’d like from players but that’s OK. I’d really like to see this become a strong thing in the county every summer.”

For more information about the team or sponsorships, call Olberding at 913-886-2712.