2024 Mid Summer Reflections

It's an exciting time of year for the MYAS, as we have spent recent months preparing for the summer baseball season. We continue our preparation for the upcoming 20th annual Gopher State Tournament of Champions (GSTC) by confirming the field of teams that have accepted their berths and awarding at-large berths to fill the field. We’re also making sure our host groups, tournament directors, and umpire assigners are in alignment and ready to go. Finally, our staff handles the multitude of tasks that are essential to the success of our programs.

MYAS summer baseball events also include the Gopher State Rec Championships; the Gopher State All-Star Series for 13–15-year-olds; and the Rising Stars Baseball Showcase for the 9–12-year-olds. We want to uphold the standards that we've established for these premier events and other programs by creating ways to amplify and elevate the experience so that our young athletes can be proud to be part of it.

One of our exciting new developments is a GSTC Seeding Reveal release on July 3, 10, and 17. Announcements will be made for the 19 different ages/levels of the upcoming Gopher State Tournament Champions via Facebook and MYAS.TV.

We hope that will just add excitement before anyone knows their playing schedules, because the coaches seed the tournament based on season resumes. There is anticipation for all participating teams as to where they end up being seeded in this culminating event.

As much as we plan and prepare for the summer baseball season, the weather has certainly presented us with challenges this spring and early summer. Some of our communities have had historic levels of rain, which require additional administrative services for schedule modifications. Multiple times games/tournaments couldn't be played because the baseball diamond was literally underwater!

The weather, of course, isn't anything that anyone can control, so we made the decision to reduce the number of Gopher State Baseball League games that count from 16 to 14. This helped to lessen the stress for many people by eliminating the need to reschedule multiple games.

One positive thing that I am thrilled to report is what I'm hearing from umpire assigners and the pool of people available. Compared to two or three years ago, we're in a much better place! This is not to say that we have an abundance of extra umpires, but we have added a lot more to the roster. I'll give kudos to Tony Schrepfer, our Director of Officiating Services, because he's done a great job with training, continuing education, correspondence, and development in baseball and basketball. Last year, we had 700 people that went through youth official/umpire training, and this year we've had nearly 1,100. It's cool to see the number of people registering — including high-school aged officials.

I also can't help but look back to my article from a few months ago, where I reflected on celebrating the 20th year of the Gopher State Tournament of Champions. I think back to its beginning and the number of participants who have moved on to collegiate or professional careers. When I hear from past participants about the memories or moments created through their participation, it only makes me want to continue to push forward. Even though we occasionally have to deal with some negative stuff along the way, feeding the positive dog invigorates us and gets us excited.

In the early years of the GSTC, we only offered 12 different age levels. Now we have 19, and there are still waiting lists and at-large teams wanting to get in. We love seeing the excitement on social media, with teams showing off their “Ticket Punched” signs after all the different invitationals that serve as GSTC qualifiers.

The last thing I want to share happened in mid-June in Fridley. A memorial tournament was held to honor Mike Spencer, former fire chief of the city, who died a few years ago after suffering a massive heart attack. He loved the kids and the community, and we were able to have 22 teams over three different age levels play in his namesake tournament, in partnership with Fridley Baseball Association. And just for fun, Fridley Baseball hosted a Home Run Derby as part of the 14AA tournament experience. I had the privilege to be the master of ceremonies to not only honor Mike, but also to do my best Michael Buffer impersonation. There was so much excitement, and dads were able to pitch to their sons. It was special for so many people, and I was humbled to be a part of it.