Programs offer much more than a game

Isaac Paden’s involvement with the Fremont Parks and Recreation baseball program began long before he worked there.

Starting with the program when he was in the sixth grade, the Fremont native said he gained a lot from the program, and for the most part, the program hasn’t changed since it began in its current form in 1980.

“I started kind of late,” Paden said. “But that’s when I first found out about it. I played all the way through ninth grade.”

The program starts with students who just finished kindergarten.

But Paden was impressed with the program.

“I liked it so much that I stayed with it through high school and college. I worked as a scorekeeper and as a coach,” he said.

Now, the 27-year-old Paden oversees the program as the department’s recreation program coordinator.

“In our program every kid plays,” Paden said. “Nobody rides the bench. We take kids at all levels even if they’ve never picked up a bat before. We work with them so they can learn to play the game. If there’s a more experienced player, he can get in some more playing time to improve his skills.”

Team practices for the program start June 2 with games starting June 4.

“We want to get them out there playing and having fun,” he said.

But, as Paden knows first-hand, there’s more to what the children can gain from the program than learning to play the game.

“It’s a great way to make new friends outside of a school setting,” he said. “I’m still friends with a lot of the kids I played with when I was in the program.”

But in Fremont, there are different baseball programs for boys.

While the Parks and Recreation Department program offers boys a chance to experience more of the game, the Fremont Nighthawks program provides boys with a chance for more competitive play.

Nighthawks president Mike Diekmann said the Fremont-based nonprofit baseball organization has two separate programs: An in-house league of about a dozen teams for 9-to-14-year-olds and six select traveling teams for boys 10 to 14 years old.

Major activities for the Nighthawks programs starts in February each year, Diekmann said. Registration is held for the in-house leagues with games starting in late April. Practices start about one month before.

Indoor training and conditioning for players on the select teams start in February with the seasons starting April 1, he said. Tryouts for the teams are held in July after the seasons end.

He said that allows players to try out when they’re still thinking about baseball.

“That puts everybody on an even keel,” he said.

But Diekmann said just because the Nighthawks are more competitive they don’t lose sight of what’s important.

“We always preach having fun. That’s the main thing. Our focus is fundamentals, really learning the game, helping them learn and hopefully end up playing high school baseball. We teach each position, how to catch, how to pitch, how to throw, each of fundamentals of baseball. The kids learn a good attitude and a good work ethic.

“We actually try to teach positions,” he continued. “We try to teach the game. I think Fremont offers a lot of kids with baseball skills and knowledge. From my point of view, competitiveness helps the kids get better. We’re not all about winning. We could care less. We just want to teach them the game.”