This Fourth of July marks the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, and 64 teams are spending their holiday week with USA Baseball at the 14U Arizona National Team Championships.
Baseball is widely remarked as “America’s pastime” because of the welcoming atmosphere, contagious energy, and intense emotions that come from competing and watching the sport.
For the athletes playing in the USA Baseball tournament during the week of the Fourth of July, there is a common feeling of gratitude alongside the understanding that there’s no place they’d rather be. For the coaches, they are appreciative to lead their players into a historic holiday memory that hopefully lasts a lifetime.
The collective pride of being in the atmosphere of USA Baseball during this time of year carries a lot of weight for Braves Baseball Academy coach Gus Rico and his staff. “Just the fact that it's USA Baseball… it's a different kind of feeling,” he said. “I can't even explain it to be honest with you… you're proud to wear it.”
From a player perspective, Mason Metcalfe from the Braves is excited to be present in the moment. "It's a big deal, especially the 250th and we're playing at USA [Baseball] and all the complexes,” he said. “It's really special with a special group… it's a great opportunity to be with everybody during this time of year.”
The teams at Champs Arizona understand that their experience this year is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to celebrate the 250th anniversary at a USA Baseball event. “It's a big deal for everybody,” said Metcalfe.
At Champs, teams are here to play baseball and compete, but Rico doesn’t want to lose sight of the overarching goals that he and his staff share for the week. “We're trying to teach these young men that it's more than baseball, and [to respect] the game,” he said. “We want to compete and win, but at the same time, we appreciate the game we all love in America.”
Though the circumstances of playing in a historic moment carry potential mental weight and pressure, the players make the most of the tournament through the only way they know how: to have fun.
“The main key of [baseball] is to have fun, and if you're not having fun, there's no point,” Metcalfe said. “Especially when everybody's here at USA Baseball, everybody's having fun because it's a big opportunity.”
The sport of baseball draws a large audience because of the type of fun Metcalfe mentioned. At Champs Arizona, teams spent the day rounding up pool play games and are ready to keep the fun going with more time spent together as a group during the holiday.
Though all teams have a day off tomorrow, the Braves are spending the afternoon around more baseball as they head to Chase Field to watch the local Major League Baseball team, the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rico shared that no matter how they celebrate tomorrow, they will “celebrate the Fourth of July as a family, one big unit.”
Metcalfe is thankful to be with his team during the historic holiday because of how close they are as a group. “It's just a big family, so no matter what we're doing on our off day, we're always having fun doing it,” he said.
Metcalfe expects the experiences and memories from being together for the Fourth of July to translate when it’s time to return to bracket play at Champs Arizona. The bonding from this week, “brings everybody together… it builds family.”
The energy and memories from the week so far make Rico feel thankful to be at Champs Arizona and make him even more excited for what lies ahead later in the week. “I was honored to get invited to this tournament, and I am here to get these kids better and give them the best experience, along with [the] parents,” he said. “I'm having a lot of fun out here.”
Competing at a USA Baseball event during the 250th anniversary week is something only the 64 teams of Champs Arizona will have the memory of. As the week continues, Champs Arizona will continue to celebrate America’s pastime with bracket play resuming on Sunday, July 5th.
