Former FC Mustang overseeing city recreation program.
Seccer Cole is right back where he started.
As a young child growing up and playing youth baseball, he was a natural on the fields back then and now he appears to be a natural in his new position with the Parks and Recreation Department.
Cole, a 2001 Forrest City High School graduate has come full circle.
As program recreation coordinator for the Forrest City Parks and Recreation, Cole oversees both the girls softball side and the boys baseball side of the two, four-field complex.
As one of many Forrest City youths who came up through the Parks and Recreation Program, Cole began playing ball in the TBall League and worked his way through Junior Babe Ruth.
"I started t-ball on the girls side of the complex and eventually worked my way over to the boys side of the complex," Cole said.
But the trip ended in high school. He never played high school baseball, but he did play basketball and tennis for Dwight Lofton.
"It's not that I didn't want to play Mustang baseball," Cole said. "It was because high school baseball and tennis overlapped and I really loved the game of tennis and I was okay with that."
Cole, as part of the Mustang tennis program played his way into the state tournament and achieved All-Conference status.
Following graduation from Forrest City, Cole attended the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) and was a part of their tennis program from 20012005
Seeing beyond his high school and college years, Cole already knew that returning to Forrest City to oversee the recreation program was something he wanted to do. His college major was leisure and recreation.
"I've always been big on the Parks and Rec complex area," Cole added. "Growing up and playing ball here was always just natural thing. It was a no brainer for me. I knew I wanted to come back and give back."
For Cole, this year is the year he should have had last year.
"I took over the program prepandemic," Cole said of the Covid 19 virus that interrupted and eventually stopped the program's summer recreation during 2020. We actually had the program up and running before the pandemic stopped everything, putting Cole and the program back at ground zero." The saving grace was simple. "A lot of people came back together and now we are back rolling," Cole said.
This summer's youth baseball and softball program, which opened last week, houses 28 teams in seven different age groups including a coed softball team. Cole is okay with those numbers.
"We signed up close to 300 kids this season," Cole said. "And that is a good start for this program. All we can do is take those numbers and continue to build back what this program used to be. That doesn't mean that we need to return to the old ways, we need to embrace the upgrade ways. What we really want to see is a year round recreation program, including basketball, flag football and soccer."
The program also signed up close to 60 adults for the co-ed league and closer to 75 is you count the umpires.
This summer's program is comprised of an 8-team T-ball league, a three-team, pitching machine league, a three team 10-12 league, the six team co-ed softball league, a three team 10under girls softball league, a two team 12-under girls softball league and a three team 16under girls softball league.
"Last year, pre-Covid, we did not field any girls teams at all," Cole said. "This year we have eight in three age divisions and that is a huge step in the direction we are headed. The process is long but I think it will pay off for the program. I have to stay focused on the bigger goal, just to get the girls out here, make sure they are safe and make sure they enjoy begin part of this program."
Each of the leagues are scheduled to play games on Tuesday and Thursday nights and the current overall league schedule will play into the first week of July. The T-Ball and boys baseball games begin at 6 p.m., while the girls softball and the co-ed league games begin at 7 p.m. Other upgrades include the existing fields as well as embracing new opportunities for the community.
"We want to bring back the baseball and softball tournaments," Cole said. "In the past that has always been a great draw for the city as well as providing revenue for the existing businesses by bringing in out of town teams."
Cole knows it won't happen immediately or all at once.
"I just have to take it one step at a time," Cole added. "We are past Covid and back up and running and now we will see where this thing goes from here."
That being said, Cole said that while most Covid restrictions have been removed, he will continue to encourage the bringing of masks just as a precaution and keeping safety on everyone's minds.
"That to me is just a no brainer," Cole added. "My goal now is to get through this first year and build from there."
“A lot of people came back together and now we are back rolling.” – Seccer Cole, recreation coordinator