Brock is in his fourth year of coaching baseball for Rigby High School. Rigby is a town with a booming population of 4,000. Main street looks like a movie based in the 50's with neon lights on even the funeral home and a diner name "Me 'n' Stans" When you picture a country song music video, the place you picture looks like Rigby, and the people in town could star in that video. I seriously love it there. Such a small town feeling and a place where life literally just moves slower. If there is anything exciting that happens in Rigby, EVERYBODY knows about it.
Well, about two years ago, the people in Rigby realized that for the first time in a decade, the high school baseball team had coaches that actually knew what they were talking about (meaning Brock and Ray Swanson, head coach). The parents got involved, the kids got involved, the community got involved, and it is starting to become a thing. The youth baseball programmed has doubled in size in the last two years and the community has started sponsoring an American Legion baseball team during the summers, which are heading into within the next few weeks.
But in the current moment, for the first time in over a decade, Rigby Baseball hit two big goals. 1. Earned double digit wins (they really only play about 20 games during high school season since the snow stays until mid march). 2. Made it to the district tournament!!! They had to win a play-in game for the tournament on Saturday and they did, with a walk-off home run. The first game of the tournament is tomorrow, so keep those fingers crossed!
I try my hardest to go to as many games as I can, and I have been lucky enough with work to make it to all but a few. I have always loved going to baseball games. Some of the parents thought it was odd that I came at first since I don't have a boy playing, but they are now my baseball family and I enjoy watching the games with them rather than by myself like I did when we first got married.
The boys are making such great progress with their baseball skills and knowledge. They still have a long way to go, sometimes I wind up knowing more about the game than the players, but again, they are making progress. When people at work or in our ward ask why I am such a dedicated Rigby Baseball fan, I tell them that those boys, are like my boys. I feel like Brock and I have a responsibility to be good examples for them and help those who are LDS get ready for their missions. But mostly I am a fan because of all of the time and effort that my sweetheart has put into this team. While he does get paid a little for coaching, it surely does not account for the amount of hours he spends at practice, games, bus rides, post-practice hitting instructions, etc. And while there are days when he comes home frustrated because the boys are being teenagers, I know that he loves being Coach and that the boys respect and look up to him in so many ways. I am proud of him and how much he has helped these boys, the program, and the ripple effect that it has started in the community.
Not the best picture, but a shot of most of the field with Rigby on defense
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