A new baseball club is being formed in the area, aiming to bring success to the diamond in the same way the Mighty Mites and Wildcat Takedown Club have done for their respective sports.
Shawn Trent and Dylan Klewer, along with other coaches and volunteers, are founding the Cassville Baseball Club for ages 9U-13U, with tryouts set for Aug. 1, Aug. 2 and Aug. 4.
“The main thing is we don’t want to take away from the city teams, but our mission is to provide Cassville with more baseball opportunities outside of southwest Missouri,” Trent said. “We want to play other teams, other towns, see different pitching and play competitive games that challenge the kids. We plan to train our coaches, and our goal is to enhance the skills taught at the city level and help bridge the gap between city ball and school ball.”
Trent is the newly hired head coach for Cassville baseball, and he is an assistant for the softball team.
“I coach high school softball with Coach V, [Lori Videmschek], and I know what she wants to do, so I run some of the same drills and do the same things with the junior high team so they are prepared for high school,” Trent said. “Wrestling and football have youth programs like this, and we want the same for baseball because we want to bring high-level baseball to Cassville.”
Trent said the club will play on the weekends, and all age groups will travel together.
“We may only have two or three teams this year, but even that will help us in the future to be more competitive with the Auroras and Monetts,” Trent said. “We will also travel as a program. So if one team goes to Ozark, all the teams go. We want it to be if our 9s are playing and our 10s are off, we want the 10s over there cheering on the 9s. We want to look good and be organized.”
Plans for the upcoming season include 6-8 possible tournaments, with Trent hoping to grow that number in the future, as well.
“I have been told the community wants someone to step in and do something, and this is a start,” Trent said. “It will take parents and kids getting involved and buying in. We also have all the high school coaches involved, as coaches or volunteers, which will help a lot to get the community involved.”
The Cassville Baseball Club will host tryouts for 9U on Aug. 1, 10U-11U on Aug. 2 and 12U-13U on Aug. 4. All tryouts are from from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Cassville High School baseball field. To be eligible, the player must attend the Cassville school district.
Pre-registration is at https://forms.gle.6fyjh9RLEPwm2XqL6. On-site registration begins at 5 p.m. on tryout nights.
There is no cost for the tryout, and evaluation and selections will be made by the high school and Club coaches. Players should dress
Players should dress like a baseball player (hat and baseball pants), and should bring a glove, bat and any other necessary equipment. Catchers must bring their own gear.
Players selected to join the Cassville Baseball Club will be required to sign a letter of commitment, accompanied by a $225 player fee payment. The Club does provide fundraising opportunities to help cover the cost.
Alternate tryout dates may be available. Anyone interested and who is not able to attend the set tryout date may email cassvillebaseballclub@gmail.com.
