Two-Day Stop in Clearfield – The Progress

Potter Baseball Tour makes a two-day stop in Clearfield
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
From the first note of Bruce Springsteen’s “Glory Days” to the crack of the wood bats to the murmur of fans reminiscing about their own childhood, nostalgia was in the air Tuesday at the Lawrence Township Rec Park.
The inaugural Potter Baseball Tour rolled into town to take on the Clearfield Babe Ruth All-Stars, and from the opening bat toss to determine who would be the home side, it was clear things were a little different for this game.
But simple nostalgia isn’t the only thing that tour director and founder Jeff Potter has in mind.
“Obviously the nostalgia is good, but what that does is get people interested again,” he said.
“I think one of the big points is we wanted to equate baseball with fun and the community. We wanted to give people … a reason to come back – to coach, to watch, to watch kids, to just contribute in some way. And the whole tour is about giving back to the game.”
In fact, Clearfield’s 8-5 victory over the Pirates Tuesday was secondary to the tour’s other goals.
“The idea that it’s not just winning – the game itself is what counts,” Babe Ruth head coach Sid Lansberry said.
There was no better example of the fun-first approach than Bigler native Kurtis Krise, who played for Lansberry’s high school squad at Clearfield this past season.
Already seeing varsity time as a freshman, Krise would normally be a part of the Babe Ruth All-Stars, but instead was given the opportunity to play and travel with the Potter group.
“We were able to pick one kid, and Kurtis, at that age level, was on the varsity team this year,” Lansberry said. “So why not him?”
“He didn’t have a great day today, but I bet you he’ll get better. He’s going to get more out of this (the Potter tour) than he would playing in the Babe Ruth league.”
The right-hander was the Pirates’ starting pitcher on Tuesday, but probably won’t be dwelling long on the final boxscore after earning the loss in two innings pitched, while coming up empty in the batter’s box and striking out a couple of times.
Yet when asked about his experience with Potter, his response comes swiftly.
“It’s been real good,” Krise said. “I’ve learned how to treat people with more respect.”
Pitching against his close friends and teammates was a new and interesting experience for Krise, who’s relishing the opportunity to meet new people – it’s his first time playing with people he’d never met before.
So far it seems to be going well for a kid who says his goal for the tour is “becoming a better person and a better baseball player.”
“It was different because I’m not used to pitching to my teammates. At first I didn’t know how it would be, but (his Potter teammates are) really nice guys and they’re all like me. We like the same stuff and we all get along.”
Even in defeat the Pirates and their old-time striped socks upheld the Potter philosophy – holding heads high after a mistake, sprinting back to the dugout with no rebuke after a strikeout and hustling down the line regardless of the situation.
“These (Potter) kids are so well-disciplined,” Lansberry said. “These kids aren’t all-stars, but I bet by the end of their tour they’re all better players.
“I think it’s an ideal situation for a 15-year-old to go on tour, stay in motels, play baseball. It’s like being in the minor leagues.”
In many ways, that’s what Potter and his tour are trying to accomplish – a better way for kids to enjoy the game of baseball. The hope is that the joy is spread at each stop – with the Pirates playing all over Pennsylvania, Maryland and Ohio during an 18-city trip – and others will remember the best parts of the game as well.
“It’s a basically like barnstorming, which they used to do a lot in baseball, and going town to town,” Potter said. “Not only did I want to go around and play baseball in different towns, I wanted each of the towns to kind of celebrate baseball.”
At each stop the Potter group is holding clinics, home run derbies, team get-togethers and charity work to try to re-engage the community with the sport.
Everyone involved in the tour, from the umpires to the field workers to the concession workers to the lecturers and clinic coaches are working free of charge.
“It’s all their way of giving back to the kids,” Potter said.
Clearfield was a must-play destination from the beginning, as Potter and Lansberry connected about two years ago.
The whole concept sprang from a book that Potter wrote about the evolution – often for the worse – of baseball, with a critical eye for many of the sport’s problems at the youth and developmental level.
Lansberry, a Clearfield baseball mainstay, discovered the book on Amazon and immediately connected with the ideas Potter discussed.
“I bought his book, read it in two days and thought, ‘This guy could be talking about Clearfield,’ ” Lansberry said.
“The stuff he talked about was stuff that I had been through over the years – little league coaches winning at all costs, parental (interference) – and I thought, ‘Man, this guy nailed it.’ ”
Lansberry reached out to Potter, and the two immediately began corresponding. In many ways, it was their discussion that pushed the author into creating the tour.
“Sid was kind of an inspiration for the whole tour,” Potter said. “He had read my book and he actually sent me a very nice letter, and people don’t send letters anymore, they email or they call. But he actually hand-wrote a letter and the last sentence of his letter was, ‘I’ve coached high school baseball for 35 years. After reading your book I’ll be a better coach.’
“It wasn’t that I wrote such a good book. The whole point is that Sid, after 35 years of coaching, understands that there are still things to learn, and he’s willing to learn. Those are the types of coaches we need.”
Potter forged ahead with crafting a traveling baseball tour that he though could spread the positive aspects of baseball he remembered but felt had slipped away in a sporting culture obsessed with dollars and the next big thing.
Potter felt like he could reach out and help even more people, and the book, which took two years to develop and write, turned out to be the perfect launching pad for his concept.
“I was tired of hearing how nobody was happy with baseball,” Potter said. “When we were kids it was all about baseball and having fun, playing pickup games, and everyone was happy. Coaches were good coaches and they got out there for the right reasons.
“Baseball today, especially youth baseball, has a whole lot of problems. There are a lot of people involved that shouldn’t be, and it’s all money and showcases and travel ball. Kids are not learning good life lessons, and they’re not learning how to be good teammates. They’re not learning to be disciplined.”
Based on Krise’s comments, the tour seems to be working. The next step after the 2010 tour – which closes with a game at the Pittsburgh Pirates’ PNC Park – is growth.
The initial response has been enough to hope that next summer could see bigger and better things as people latch on to Potter’s concepts. Lansberry doesn’t think that will be an issue.
“Hopefully, maybe we can do it next year,” he said. “Maybe in a different format. The first year is kind of grabbing at straws because nobody knows what to expect and how to go about it.
“Anyone that’s had anything to do with youth sports can appreciate the things that he’s saying. … It must be the same all over.”
The Potter tour continues its activities today with a tour of the Brookville Wood Products and a 5:30 p.m. matchup with the Punxsutawney VFW team.