At the April 25, 2022, Clover Park School District meeting of the board, one of four proposals receiving consensus to be discussed at an upcoming workshop was that made by President Alyssa Anderson-Pearson: encouragement of sports throughout the district, especially for children who might not otherwise have an opportunity to play.
Of course, as ‘head cheerleader’ for the Tillicum Crusher baseball team, I shared with my fellow board directors the life-time memories made on the diamond by the first graders at Tillicum Elementary school.
These youth would play together throughout their grade school years, cheered on by parents, community members, and teachers who held rallies in the gym before the big game and who on occasion would take the mound themselves, throwing in the honorary first pitch.
Ironically, the proposal to encourage sports participation occurred on the anniversary-eve of the Tillicum Crushers taking the field eight years ago, April 26, 2014.
Pictured here on the front page above the fold of the Tacoma News Tribune, is Gabriel Heslop who would score, as a seven-year-old, the first ever home run in Tillicum Crusher history only because he never stopped running.
Think of what is accomplished in life – the memory made that day – when you never quit.
Like a home run with the bases loaded, there’s hardly a better means to mobilize a team of community members, and engage parents in the lives of their children – and thus in their education – than that which sports provides.
Go Clover Park School District community family! Knock this out of the park!
