Amarillo’s Youth Sports Scene Is Thriving

Amarillo is full of a bunch of little ballers—football, baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, etc. We have so many kids that are out there competing every day, every weekend.

They put in countless hours of practice, working on their craft anywhere they can find. Whether it be at a facility or in their yard, the work is happening.

When Practice Goes Beyond the Fence

Sometimes, the kick isn’t perfect, or the pitch isn’t a strike. Other times, a ball will fly into someone else’s yard. There are a couple of different ways to handle this, assuming it didn’t break anything.

One of those ways is to be angry about a kiddo chasing their dreams and berate them or their parents for the ball ending up in their yard. I’ve seen it time and time again. Nothing like knocking down a kid’s confidence, right?

Then, there is the way this gentleman in Amarillo handled it, and it has to be the most heartwarming thing I’ve seen in at least the last few months.

A Pitching Prospect in the Making

Sonia Medina’s daughter is an aspiring young softball player who pitches for her team, West Texas Lightning. Anyone who has tried to pitch in baseball or softball knows it can be one of the hardest things to learn.

She was out in her yard one day working on it when one got away from her and disappeared into a neighboring yard. I’m not sure if she couldn’t find it at the time, but the neighbor ended up coming by and dropping the softball off.

Read More: Fight Between Parents Highlights Youth Sports Stupidity In Texas

Searching for a Stranger’s Kindness

Sonia ended up making a post on Facebook to see if she could find out who the person was, as she wanted to thank them for returning the softball, but also apologize for the wild pitch that ended up with the neighbor.

However, it became apparent days later that an apology wasn’t needed, and in fact, turned out to be the setting for one of the best things I’ve seen.

A Gift That Left Everyone Speechless

Softball returned, the person showed back up a few days later, and dropped a package on their doorstep. What was inside stunned everyone.

A t-shirt was inside the bag, and emblazoned with the message, “The Off Season. That’s Where Champions Are Made”. That wasn’t all, though. The person who bought the shirt included a personal note that said,

“Just a gift from a former athlete that achieved his success by working his butt off. Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. Keep putting in that work.”

 

A Coach’s Perspective on a Powerful Moment

As a dad of athletes and a coach of teams, I can’t tell you how this made me feel. I don’t tear up often, but this did it for me.

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Jamestown’s track and field team will host a camp June 30 to July 3 at Strider Field.
Submitted photo

The Jamestown track & field team will be hosting its annual Speed Development Track Camp June 30 to July 3 at Strider Field.

Students in grades 1-8 from all area schools are invited to participate as they work on speed and agility drills to help build coordination and speed development. Camp will run from 9-10:30 a.m. each day with a track meet on the final day.

For children also participating in the football camp, supervision will be provided from 10:30-11 a.m. Students are strongly encouraged to bring a snack/drink for the 30-minute break. The football camp and track camp are separate camps and there is a separate fee for each camp. Registration forms can be found at: https://www.jpsny.org/departments/athletics/youth-camps-clinics

Contact Cristin Hockenberry at Cristin.m.hockenberry@jpsny.org for more information.

MADERA, Calif. (FOX26) — The City of Madera carries a proud racing tradition to this day. If you need an example, just look at the Madera Speedway; it’s hosted races for half a century.

In the shadow of that Speedway, sitting there for almost as long, is the Good Times Quarter Midget racing club, which has children aged 5 and older all revved up.

“This is like Bristol Speedway for little kids,” said one former racer, Grayson Wise.

Raelynn Culbertson of Biola kept her reason for racing short and sweet – “Making friends and driving my car.”

“It’s just something completely different,” said Dale Robinson of Atwater.

Good Times runs races throughout the summer in Madera. Cody Jessop is one of a few former club members still helping out around the track.

“Over the years, families come and go and kids get older,” Jessop said. “All these tracks are starting to close. They’re starting to go away.”

They’re trying to keep “Good Times” from running out of time, or else it will meet the checkered flag.

“Currently, we’re kind of small,” Jessop said. “Truly, I’m really hoping that by the end of this year, we’re sitting double, if not triple our membership.”

The club has introduced racing to countless children, in Madera since 1987 and in Hanford before that, ranging from amateurs to future NASCAR drivers. lt leaves a lasting mark on racers.

“It taught me about brotherhood and community, because this is one of the only sports where your family is actually together and working on cars and helping each other compete,” said Wise.

Multiple NASCAR drivers began their career by quarter midget racing and hitting the Madera track, notably Jesse Love, Tyler Ankrum, Alex Bowman, Cole Custer, Dean Thompson, Dylan Cappello and AJ Almendinger.

Current Good Times racers have fallen in love with the sport and their quarter midget cars. They don’t want to see their club go.

“I feel like I’d be a totally different person if I didn’t know about it or if I didn’t race in general,” said Robinson.

The club long carried the nickname of “The Best-Kept Secret in the Valley.” Now, they don’t want to be a secret anymore.

If you are interested in joining the Good Times Quarter Midget racing club, you can register on the website or send an email to president@goodtimesqm.com.

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