Sports

Playing sports can bring friends and families together, as members of the Pride 14-and-under softball team will attest. The team’s core group is built upon two sets of cousins and local friends who’ve played together for seven seasons.

An Excelsior Springs-based baseball club is making up for a delayed start to the summer. That team is the Knuckleheadz.

A season-ending injury sidelined Klayton Glaspy physically, but not emotionally. Glaspy, a junior-to-be at Excelsior Springs, saw his high school varsity baseball season cut short on May 9, when Excelsior Springs faced Raytown South at Ray South.

to PRO High heat, drop kicks, random observations and points that amuse are all part of the wide, wide world of sports at the community and national levels. It’s unfortunate that Excelsior Springs and Richmond don’t play each other in varsity 11-man football anymore.

 

With the all-star break approaching for Major League Baseball (MLB), I feel inspired to share some reflections about baseball. But not about MLB.

Rather, I feel inspired to reflect on Excelsior Springs High School baseball.

In the five weeks or so since I covered my last Excelsior Springs ballgame, my appreciation of the season I witnessed has grown. Following the Tigers on their journey to finishing third in the Class 4 state tournament is among the most amazing rides I’ve taken during my many years in sports journalism. Here were a few of the thrills:

The college signings of members of the Excelsior Springs High School baseball class of 2023 continue. Recently, Broc Dusek signed a letter of intent to play for Central Methodist University, a Fayette-based NAIA school that plays in the Heart of America Athletic Conference.

Another crop of young baseball players could be joining the Excelsior Springs High School program in a few years. The potential Tigers play for the 12-andunder Crushers.

Many high school, college and pro sports coaches would probably agree that the foundation for sports at those levels of competition is created in youth athletics. The Arsenals, an 11-and-under baseball team consisting primarily of Excelsior Springs kids, is working to prepare athletes for those levels.

Mason Danner has chosen to continue his education – and his baseball career. Danner, who graduated this spring from Excelsior Springs High School, has committed to study at and play for Park University, a Parkville-based NAIA school.