RENEGADES BASEBALL TEAM ‘GIVES BACK’ TO COMMUNITY
Boys spent the day doing yardwork and 'hanging out' with ECSDD workers
The Renegades baseball coaches are teaching more than the fundamentals of baseball; they’re teaching the fundamentals of good citizenship, too.
Coaches Todd Tonche, Eric Ross and Brandon Barnes had their 10-year-old ball players doing yard work and just hanging out with people on a recent Friday.
“Our goal was to give back to the community, because they’ve supported us so much,” Tonche said. “We wanted them to see there’s more to life than just baseball.”
The youngsters raked leaves and did general outdoor cleanup at Harmony Home, St. Anthony Catholic and Trinity Lutheran churches and Campbell Elementary School.
The youngsters also spent a couple of hours at the Eastern Colorado Services for the Developmentally Disabled, playing board games and cards and just talking with the workforce there.
“That was a really cool experience,” Tonche said. “The kids talked all day about the people they met and what they did there.”
The Renegades is a traveling club team made up mostly of boys from Sterling, Caliche and Merino. They’re in their second year of playing together, and nearly all of the boys also play on teams in the Sterling Baseball Organization. Since the Renegades season of March through July overlaps with the SBO season, it’s not unusual for the players to play together one day and then against each other a few days later.
“It’s fun to see them develop those friendships and see them learn each other’s playing styles,” Tonche said.
The Renegades play about 40 games in tournaments in Nebraska, Colorado and Wyoming. Tonche said he hopes to keep the team together until they are old enough to play Legion ball. Members of the team are Colin Mackintosh, Remington Ross, Kacen Rockwell, Reece Etl, Porter Tonche, Brody Barnes, Braylen Busmente, Creo Mekelburg, Braxton Monheiser, Cash Machamer and Bryce Schoemnerg.