Liberty’s Baseball Team Plays it Forward to Help Others
Liberty’s Varsity and Junior Varsity Baseball team held a camp earlier this semester for younger boys who aspire to be great in baseball. Head baseball coach Johnny Isom and coach Craig Oglesby also were a part of the camp’s success.
Why did the camp take place and why were so many students and coaches involved to make it such a great day?
The answer is PIF – Play it Forward. Junior baseball player Bryce Garoutte started Play it Forward with a vision to hold camps for boys who want to excel in baseball, and the money raised would help create camps for underprivileged kids who want to learn the same skills.
“Our first Play it Forward clinic was fantastic!” said Garoutte. “The coaches, baseball players, and campers were so enthusiastic despite the very cold temperatures.”
The senior varsity captains and other Liberty baseball players were also a big part of the day.
“I enjoyed spending time with the kids,” said co-captain Michael Smith. “We all had fun, and it was for a great cause.”
Co-captain Justin Stephens added, “It was cool being out there teaching kids about a great game.”
Garoutte wants Play it Forward to be a ministry, where one-on-one training and equipment are offered to aspiring athletes who cannot afford it, and where the love of Christ is shared through the leaders’ actions.
His ultimate plan is to teach young athletes more about the sport in which they participate and offer them scripture-based life lessons about the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Currently we are in the process of scheduling camps at no cost for underprivileged boys through Denton Boys Baseball, Inc., in hopes of providing equipment, skills training, life lessons, and the message of Christ’s compassion,” Garoutte said. “We are researching additional clinics in other communities and through other sports and activities.”
Teacher Andrea Oglesby’s first grade son participated in the PIF’s first camp at Liberty.
“The Play it Forward baseball clinic put on by the Liberty baseball team was awesome!” she said. “It was very well organized, and the kids had a ball.”
Garoutte’s mother, Sandra, who is the director of family and volunteer development at Liberty, said that there were 43 boys at the camp, with 20 varsity and junior varsity players as their leaders.
“The name Play it Forward was derived as a play on words from the movie, ‘Pay it Forward,’ which is about a young boy who decides he wants to make a change in a corrupt town,” Garoutte said. “In the movie, he does exceptionally nice things for 10 different people and tells them to pay it forward by doing generous things for those in need.”
Play it Forward hopes to do just that by fulfilling their theme, which is to build character through sports. Garoutte wants PIF to be an organization about people using their gifts to help others.
For more information about PIF, contact Bryce Garoutte at Bryce@playitforwardtx.com.
