The CCAC Attack is a new travel baseball team organization fielding six squads from ages 9-14, and the teams have all enjoyed success right out of the gate. “We’ve been pretty successful early; we’ve won all five tournaments we’ve been in so far,” said Jason Nolin, the coach of the 9-and-under team. “We’ve been lucky to have a lot of success as a first-year organization. All our teams ages 9-13 have qualified to participate in the (Baseball Players Association) World Series in their respective age groups. So it’s a lot of success as a whole for the program.” People who put together the teams saw a need in the community and sought to fill it. “In the past nothing like this has been offered for our kids in our communities to compete at the travel level,” Nolin said. “And none of this would have been possible if the CCAC hadn’t given us a home; a place to practice and a place to play our games. “In doing that, they’ve really allowed us to operate the organization at a very affordable level for parents and their kids. A lot of travel organizations will charge as much as $1,500 for a kid to play travel baseball. With the CCAC allowing us to use their facility and play there at no cost, it has as allowed us to keep our costs down. And that’s been a great thing for the kids in our community.” While the teams have enjoyed a measure of on-field success, the emphasis is on more than coming out on top in games and tournaments. “Winning these tournaments is a lot of fun for the kids and the parents; I’m not going to lie about that,” Nolin said. “But the biggest thing we’re doing here as coaches of the CCAC organization is teaching these kids a lot of everyday life skills, teaching them how to deal with adversity, how to win with class and lose with class, and hopefully these things will stay with them throughout their lives. “I know I’ve been very lucky as a former youth athlete to have had a lot of coaches who were a big influence on me and I think in general that’s the goal of all youth coaches; to try and pay that forward to the kids that are playing nowadays. I know our goal as an organization is to strive to provide positive instruction, with an emphasis on teamwork and sportsmanship, and for the coaches to pass on their knowledge of the game to the kids.” Ryan Weaver, board president of the Attack organization, said the coaches keep close watch on player health. With workouts beginning in January, an emphasis is placed on the basics to help guard against injury. “We start in indoor training after the New Year’s break and get the boys actual hitting drills and fielding drills and throwing drills so we have good, fundamental mechanics so we can hopefully have better outcomes while we are in the field of action with the training they’ve had in the offseason,” Weaver said. “We’re very sensitive to the health of our players. We always give them a lot of time off. We want the young arms to rest and let their bodies grow the way they’re supposed to. We keep a close eye on the pitchers to make sure they’re taken care of individually.” Weaver said because the players and their families spend a lot of time together, a camaraderie develops within the team. “It’s great to see not just the kids come together as a team, but even the parents and family members come together to create another family for everybody,” Weaver said. Tryouts for the 2016 teams will be in the fall. For more information, contact Weaver at (574) 551-8748.
