Team’s trip goes beyond baseball

Bags, bats, balls and bases.

Members of the McHenry County Youth Sports Association’s 15-and-under select baseball team took it all on its recent trip to the Dominican Republic, and it wasn’t just for their own benefit.

The team donated a significant amount of equipment to Dominican players, who helped show the players from McHenry County not only a level of baseball they never had seen, but a level of poverty many never would have known.

For those life lessons, as well as the high competition the MCYSA Select team faced while staying in Santo Domingo from June 16-22, coach Eric Raucci was grateful.

“The things these kids were able to experience down there, a lot of it transcends baseball,” Raucci said. “It was an extremely positive trip.”

Raucci and head coach Gregg Sibigtroth initially were interested in taking a select group of 15-year-old players from within the MCYSA baseball program to the Dominican Republic to play in the R Z International Championships when the two were invited last summer.

Last July, when the Dominican’s R Z team competed in the annual USSSA Tournament in Crystal Lake, MCYSA coaches became intrigued by the idea of traveling to play the game.

It took about 6 months to plan the trip, Raucci said, but it was worth it.

Raucci and Sibigtroth selected three players from within five MCYSA baseball teams to assemble their Dominican Republic team.

“This team will not play together again,” Raucci said. “But these were essentially the best 15-year-olds in McHenry County. We felt like we had great representation and talent on the team.”

MCYSA Select finished 4-6 overall against teams that, in some cases, were already preparing players for Major League Baseball.

The tournament was at the New York Mets’ training facility, where local players had a chance to see and practice with players who either already had turned professional or quickly were heading toward a career at the highest level.

“Just the way that these kids saw the game being played was fantastic for them,” Sibigtroth said. “To see how another country views and plays the game, and how they see baseball as a way to get out of the country, I think that was one of the best things our kids could [gain] from the experience.”

The R Z team, which won the tournament, will travel to Crystal Lake at the end of July to participate in the USSSA tournament as well.

MCYSA has a standing offer to return to Dominican next summer for the same tournament as well, Sibigtroth said.

He said the MCYSA Board of Directors would discuss another trip sometime this fall.