Seal Beach PONY Baseball held its 2015 Annual Coach’s Classic on Sunday, April 26, at McGaugh Fields.
The Coach’s Classic has become a league family tradition started in 2012 by Shetland Commissioner Scott Ellison.
“I just wanted to create an event to get all the coach’s involved and give back to our league … friendly but competitive softball games with our players’ families and friends cheering us on,” Ellison said.
The event was an exciting day for Seal Beach families hanging out at the field and watching their favorite coach play.
Four teams of coaches from the league played multiple softball games including winner and loser brackets and then a final championship game for the Coach’s Cup Trophy. The championship game was an exciting win for Team Ellison winning 14-10 against Team Farmer. This is the second time Team Ellison has won the trophy.
T-Ball Commissioner Jason Prince said, “Good time for all the baseball families to be together, I enjoyed playing games where there’s no pressure to win. It was great to see the coaches actually play and practice what they preach on the field.”
The games were highly competitive and none of the coaches went down without a fight. “I was really surprised at the high level of skill these coach’s have, they played phenomenal,” said PONY parent Martha Wittenberg.
Plays at the plate, pulled hamstrings, sore backs and knees, cuts and bruises all attributed to an exciting day. Let’s just say that most are recovering from the event with ice and Ben Gay!
Kids Classic Wiffle Ball
The kids had their very own “Kids Classic” playing Wiffle Ball. “It was great seeing our kids playing ball between the games, great for our baseball community,” said PONY parent Cheryl Smith. Donations of $5 per family were collected at the infamous Snack Shack, where you can get your slushie, Dodger Dogs and your very own “chilli billy.”
The taco cart was going strong and the line was never ending for tacos, beans and rice. The event raised nearly $2,000 for the league.
The next Seal Beach PONY Baseball’s family event will be the Home Run Derby and Beep Ball with the Orang County Braille Institute on Saturday, May 16.
For more information, visit www.sbpony.com.
