By Lyndsey Peace, Editor-in-Chief
Hardin-Simmons University’s baseball team will be hosting the 10th annual Baseball Golf Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Diamondback Golf Club.
The event started in 2009 and the baseball team has hosted it ever since, with the exception of last year’s tournament being cancelled due to weather.
In 2009, parents of the HSU baseball players organized the event. “The purpose of [the tournament] initially was to generate an event to help bring some of the alumni baseball players back and try to raise money to get a new scoreboard,” said Steve Coleman, head baseball coach at HSU.
While the event continues to be a fundraiser today, the emphasis is no longer on fundraising. Instead, the event is more of an opportunity to connect current players with past players. “It’s a chance for current players to interact with some of the [alumni].One of the things we do at the end [of the tournament], we will have awards and prizes, but we’ll have the guys go around the room and introduce themselves and say what years they played here,” Coleman said.
The players not only have the chance to make personal connections, but potential professional connections as well. “It’s great for our current students to meet some of these [alumni] and get to network with them,” Coleman said.
Aside from the current players meeting past players, former teammates from HSU’s baseball program enjoy the opportunity to play in the tournament because it serves as a reunion. “[Alumni] had a time period when they were here together as teammates, which is special for them, but now they’re living life. They’re scattered all over the place and raising kids and have different jobs,” Coleman said.
Last year when the tournament was cancelled due to weather, some of the alumni from the baseball program made their own plans to get together and play golf in a different city. The former players want to stay connected, and the Baseball Golf Tournament provides them with that opportunity every year. “That’s what I enjoy the most — watching the alumni have a chance to get back together and reminisce. This event is a way to bring the past with the present,” Coleman said.
Although the tournament is geared toward those involved with the baseball program at HSU, it is open for anyone from the community to compete. “It’s not just for baseball players. We’ll have friends of our program, parents will play and we’ll have some corporate sponsors. It’s really open to anybody,” Coleman said.
Registration for this event has now ended, but if you are someone interested in supporting the HSU Baseball Team, contact Coach Coleman.