MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – A youth baseball program at Miller Park has grown from roughly a dozen players to nearly 200 ahead of its upcoming season, after a local man worked with the city to restore the long-dormant park.
Miller Park opened in the late 1990s and sat unused for more than a decade before William Ray partnered with the city of Mobile to revive it.
“I just seen the value in this park. It was just here; no one was using it. I’m raised from Mobile Parks & Rec, I came from Aaron Park, and I wanted to give back to the city of Mobile with parks and rec,” Ray said.
With help from coaches, Ray got the park up and running and launched the Miller Park Astros youth baseball team. Last year, the Astros won the 6U championship in the city’s Parks and Recreation League.
Following that title, parent interest surged. Ray said families began calling because they wanted their children, driving the roster from about a dozen players to nearly 200 this year.
“I just think a lot of parents saw our work ethic with these kids and you know we build confidence and leadership in our boys, it’s more than sports with us. We want all our players to leave here and become leaders. We let them have fun. At the end of the day winning’s going to come but it’s about having fun,” Ray said.
This season, the Astros will field approximately eight teams for players ages 4 to 13. A girls’ softball team has also been added to the program.
The Astros have a few weeks of practice remaining before the season opens in early April. It’ll be a lot of work with so many player, but Ray says it’s all worth it.
“All these kids are our future, and I just want to mold them to be young men and young women and know they can do anything in life as long as they put their mind to it,” Ray said.
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