Building character on the baseball field

CREST HILL – Since 1960, the Crest Hill Baseball league has been providing valuable entertainment and life skills to boys in and around the city.

Mayor Ray Soliman knows. He played in the 1960s when the league used fields near Chaney-Monge School.

“It was small at the time and we played down at Chaney-Monge School before the league grew from that, moving to Richland grade schools,” Soliman said.

Soliman, who frequents Crest Hill Baseball games, said President Joe Marshall was a big reason the league has seen continued success. Joe started coaching in 1979 and his teams have earned several honors from the city throughout the years.

Crest Hill Baseball is the smallest youth baseball league in the area, according Marshall. But despite its size, it has done well in recent PONY baseball competition, winning the state championship in 2007 and 2012, and runner-up in 2011.

But the youth league isn’t just about the accolades. Marshall and his wife, Donna, have molded it into a community-wide learning environment where several generations of boys have learned life skills and discipline along with how to pitch, throw, hit and slide.

Joe Marshall manages the fields and outdoor preparations while coaching two PONY league teams and the Richland Junior High School team in the fall. Donna Marshall runs the concession stands, financial accounts and equipment.

“This well-run organization, over many years, has been instrumental in shaping young boys into successful young men,” Soliman said. “And we are proud to have them represent the city of Crest Hill.”

Marshall saw his son play in Crest Hill Baseball during the ’80s. Now he has two grandchildren in the league.

“It’s fun getting to see them play,” he said. “We try to go to all their games, too.”

His son, Matt, coaches for the mustang-level team Tasty Waffles and said the league is like family to him.

“There’s a lot of kids playing that grew up around Crest Hill,” Matt Marshall said. “A lot of people keep coming back and that tells you it’s a good organization.”

Matt Marshall remembers helping his father prepare the baseball fields for the league every day in the summer, which helped him build discipline and structure. And now that’s what he tries to pass on to his two sons who are in the league.

But Matt Marshall also recognizes the difference between his and the current generation of kids.

“It’s nothing like it was,” he said. “This generation doesn’t get the structure like I did.”

Matt Marshall said video games, electronics and other forms of entertainment mean kids spend less time playing outside, so the impact the league has on kids is even more vital. He often sees parents enroll their kids with the intent to build structure and character that they don’t find at home.

“These kids – sometimes they don’t have fathers or mothers – build relationships with other kids, too, and that helps them out,” Matt Marshall said.

Damon Shiffer, the manager for the Paradise Pools & Spas team, played under Joe Marshall on a couple all-star teams during the ’80s.

“We had a lot more kids around the area that liked to play so it was a bigger league then,” Shiffer said. “No one was inside playing video games or computers.”

But there are kids like Matt Marshall’s 10-year-old son, Tyler, who still goes out to rake the field with his grandfather because he loves the sport.

“It’s really cool because I have a lot of experience now and it’s just about having fun,” said Tyler, who is in his seventh year in the league. “Baseball is really important for me and it’s just my favorite thing to ever do.”

Shiffer, who also has a son he coaches on his team, sees one major advantage of Crest Hill Baseball – any kid can be in the spotlight even if they aren’t the best players.

“It’s a small enough league that no kid is lost in the shuffle,” said Shiffer. “More kids have a chance to be on all-stars than not. It makes the kids feel proud and better that they accomplished something.”