OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Baseball season is underway and high school students are showing their talents on the diamond.
In recent years, baseball has become more of a suburban sport and the inner city has seen a drop in numbers of kids playing the game, but that may be changing.
Most metro area schools attract students who want to play football or basketball. Most schools have home courts or home fields. But over the years, baseball diamonds haven’t shined bright in Omaha’s inner core. The lack of places to play and high costs of training and select teams widened the baseball and softball gaps.
“Back then you didn’t have kids that played year-round. That probably happened in the last seven to eight years. And just the parent investment of time, energy and money. And now these kids in the city pay up to $400 a month for training, and that’s just the training, not the actual baseball. And so it’s made the gap larger,” said Jerry Kreber, Omaha Central baseball coach.
New facilities level the playing field
Kreber has been around metro baseball for 25 years. He says it’s tough to compete with western metro schools that have newer facilities.
“We played one home game against Omaha North at the Papillion La Vista sports complex. It was a completely different zip code — Omaha North versus Omaha Central,” he said.
But things are getting better for inner-city baseball. A few years ago, North High School grew its own baseball and softball facilities a few blocks away from the school on Ames Avenue.
Miller Park has a baseball field that serves Police Athletics and Community Engagement leagues, named after fallen Omaha police officer Kerrie Orozco.
And now with the help of a grant from Major League Baseball, there’s even more hope that more kids in the city’s urban core will be attracted to baseball, with Central High School’s brand new baseball and softball complex at Boyd Park.
“A facility like this evens the playing field. It gives the students that elect to come in our attendance area an opportunity and a year-round facility for softball and baseball to train affordably and seriously,” Kreber said.
“Hopefully with this new facility we’ll be able to bring in more girls, but yeah, we’re still building, still getting our feet on the ground and building a program,” said Tashiana Coffiel, Central softball coach.
Both players and coaches agree there is plenty of baseball and softball talent in Omaha’s inner city. And a brand new shiny diamond just might be the magnet to attract the players.
“Everybody wants new and shiny,” Coffiel said.
Any revenue generated from activity in the complex goes to OPS. Outside groups are able to use the facility with the approval of the district.
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