Editor’s note: The story below, about a team from my home state of Michigan struck a chord with me, reminding me of the team that I play for, the So Cal Hustlers, started by Bobby Cole. Take away the four veterans, of which I am one, and it’s made up of 20-something players, whose enthusiasm for the game shines brightly. Two of them, Matt and Casey have fathers on the team, Doug and Ken. I’ve played again Doug and Ken for years, finally getting to call them teammates after all these years. Along with our senior statesman “Papa Joe” Salcido, the four of us skew the median age, adding 200 years to the mix. But make no mistake, the Hustlers are a young team, whose excitement about the game of fastpitch is clearly evident. It is contagious. The game will be just fine with this next generation. It just needs people like Rob Collamer (see story below) and others like many of you to introduce them to the game…..
Men’s fastpitch making inroads with next generation
By Greg ChalfinMore than 25 years ago, Rob Collamer got his start in fastpitch softball on Gary Wilson’s Great Lakes Photo team.
“He started a team so his boys could play on it,” Collamer said. “I was friends with his boys.”
Now, Collamer’s doing the same for his son Dustin and some of his friends through the newly formed Jr. Metros/Gillies team.
“I played fastpitch my whole life in the area,” Collamer said. “It was kind of tough for me to break in, so I kind of thought I’d start it for them.”
Alongside 11 players between the ages of 19 and 21, Collamer acts as player-coach in hopes of attracting more younger players to fastpitch softball. The team hasn’t had much success yet — one win in 20 games — but they’re playing tough competition to improve.
Dustin Collamer-Rowe — a 2006 graduate of Bullock Creek — played on his dad’s team last year and helped him recruit some of his friends from Bullock Creek to the team.
“It was a cool idea,” Dustin said. “I didn’t know how many kids they were going to be able to get at first, but I was able to help him out.”
But most of the team’s players were standout football players for the Lancers, and Dustin said the transition hasn’t been easy.
“There’s no contact in softball, but I have fun,” Dustin said. “There’s a lot of cool guys that we play against.”
Six of the team’s players, including Dustin, will play at a 19-and-under tournament in Frankenmuth over the weekend before returning to play for the Jr. Metros next week.
Fastpitch softball in the area appeared to be declining in recent years in favor of modified softball, but the pendulum between the two styles may be swinging back toward fastpitch with teams like Jr. Metros surfacing. Collamer said he found some of his current players in local modified leagues, and he’s happy to provide young players the opportunity to play fastpitch.
“The biggest reason I did this was I’m not a big fan of slowpitch or modified,” Collamer said. “And when I’m done playing, I’d like to come down and watch some fastpitch.”
Ice in nation’s capital
The Mid-Michigan Ice travel to the nation’s capital for a four-game set against the Washington Glory starting tonight, at George Mason University (Va.) near Washington, D.C.
Manager Tom Short’s club has already matched its win total from its inaugural 6-23 campaign, sitting at 6-4 after its first 10 games.
Gillis returns for Explorers
Manager Clint Beane’s Midland Explorers — ranked 12th in the ISC World Rankings — travels to Denmark, Wis., for the Boys of Summer tournament beginning Friday.
Pitcher Doug Gillis will make his 2007 debut for the Explorers after missing the beginning of the season with a combination of injuries and overseas travel.
Midland (17-4) has relied on two pitchers — Grant Patterson (7-2) and Mike Joseph (9-1) — this season, and Beane said Gillis’s return will make a difference if he’s healthy.
“Mike Joseph would turn into a reliever (if Gillis is healthy),” Beane said. “That would really make us a lot stronger.”
The Explorers also added pitcher Doug Sleep for this weekend’s tournament, providing Beane with another quality arm. Sleep played with the Explorers full-time in 1996 and ’97.
Midland will need all the quality pitching it can find to advance this weekend. The Boys of Summer tournament features six of the top 10 teams in the ISC World Rankings, including host No. 8 Circle Tap (Wisc.).
The Explorers open Friday against No. 16 Quad City Sox (Iowa) and play Circle Tap on Saturday.
Beane said Gillis will pitch the team’s second game Saturday against No. 19 Dolan & Murphy (Ill.).