The field was already built, the players were already there, but members of Chief Pontiac American Legion Post 377 knew some improvements needed to be made.
The refurbishment of Post 377’s baseball field was thrown back and forth for years, but with a college development program starting next year, this summer was the time to act.
‘I think it was a case of us watching the games out here and seeing the kids get bad hops and trying to run the bases and it was just getting unbearable,? said Doug Brady, who along with Jim Howard focused the American Legion’s efforts.
The gravel infield was turning the most routine ground balls into an adventure and small patches of grass in the basepaths were the only comfort to a sliding player’s knees and elbows.
‘Me and my dad used to come up here and take ground balls and they would just be flying everywhere,? said Mark Brady, who plays on the Chief Pontiac 19-and-under team.
What made the project so appealing to many of the members of the legion, parents and players was the field’s potential. The backdrop of the field in the summertime is a dense and vibrant forest, which the outfield fence skirts along the edges. When the players are on the diamond, the whole scene has a 1950’s postcard feel.
‘It’s a nice setting for baseball. Most high school fields are cookie cutter (in design),? said Aaron Phillips, coach of the 19-and-under team.
The make-over of the American Legion Field went quickly. Work was completed on June 1 and took about six weeks ? and thanks to a kind heart sympathetic to the cause, was inexpensive.
‘I can remember thinking ‘This field could really be a cherry,?? said Mike Robinson, president of Homefield Turf and Athletic and founder of the Clarkston Riverdawgs. ‘We did (the installation) right, and they didn’t scrimp on the materials. That’s why I got involved.?
Homefield Turf and Athletic dug a base about three feet into the ground and packed the new infield with red clay dirt. Both dugouts were also sunk into the earth, giving them a more authentic look and feel. According to Robinson, his company’s services were provided at close to a 95 percent discount.
In the end, the work on the American Legion Field cost Post 377 $6,000, which was initially loaned to them by one of their members and paid back by the fund-raising efforts of Chief Pontiac 19-and-under and 15 and 16-year-old teams.
According to Howard, the American Legion hopes to add a scoreboard in the next couple of years and plans to reseed the entire field before next season.
Aside from spearheading the campaign to refurbish the field, Howard coaches the 15 and 16-year-old Chief Pontiac team with Steve Woodhull and Jeff Harvey.
With skinned knees and torn jerseys in the past, the American Legion Post 377 has big plans for the Chief Pontiac teams.
‘We are going to bring the best talent in Oakland County here,? said Brandon LaDuc, assistant coach on the 19-and-under team and coordinator of the Chief Pontiac Collegiate Developmental Baseball Program.
LaDuc is the founder of Western Mountain Baseball, a program based in North Carolina which sent 47 athletes to play at the collegiate level in the past six years.
‘We are going to get kids collegiate instruction and one on one interviews with college coaches,? said LaDuc, who in the past was a member of the Dakota Wesley University coaching staff.
The first round of tryouts for the Chief Pontiac CDBP will be held on Aug. 28 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information on the development program, visit www.eteamz.active.com/chiefpontiac.
The American Legion Post 377 baseball field is located at the end of Mary Sue Street off Maybee Road, just east of Sashabaw Road.