A new youth baseball program, targeted for players ages 7-10 of all skill levels, is taking root in Iola.
If all goes as planned, organizers hope the SEK Impact organization will benefit the baseball community for years to come.
The inaugural summer season comes to an end this weekend for SEK Impact’s 8-and-under squad, with a tournament in Lenexa.
The group’s 5-7 record belies their improvement through the summer, noted coach Aaron Franklin, who helped get the SEK Impact program off the ground.
Three of the losses came from the top-ranked team in the state (two of which were by one run), and two other defeats came when the squad was playing against a higher level of competition.
Coaches from other teams have taken note as well. Franklin pointed to the top-ranked squad that has proven to be SEK Impact’s foil this summer.
“Their coaches praised our kids saying they have improved every game and they were not looking forward to playing us anymore,” Franklin said.
“I believe we have a really good shot at winning this tournament this weekend. The boys have come a long way. And they are all a great bunch of boys with awesome attitudes,” he said.
THE SUMMER season’s conclusion won’t leave much of a break.
Tryouts for fall are at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at Riverside Park’s Diamond 2.
The season starts at the end of the month.
“To date, our youth traveling baseball programs have not really had any continuity between age groups,” Franklin said. “We are developing an organization that area kids can look to for technical instruction from experienced coaches in an environment that seeks competitive travel baseball experiences.”
SEK Impact draws kids from Allen, Neosho, Woodson and Anderson counties.
Roughly 30 youngsters have been a part of the program this year, although the 9-and-under group became what was essentially a developmental squad with no games after losing a couple coaches and players due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
The 8-and-under squad’s tournament this weekend is its sixth of the year.
WHERE SEK impact differs from past youth baseball efforts is in its continuity.
Franklin envisions at least four SEK Impact squads, 7-and-under, 8-and-under, 9-and-under and 10-and-under, if numbers are sufficient.
