Receiving an email, phone call or text in regards to equipment is a privilege. Growing up and playing baseball, here in Sisak Croatia, I remember we use to have only a dozen baseballs in the clubhouse, couple of bats, and gloves that needed some love. I remember having a glove that had jeans patched. Good times for sure. During practice, if someone would hit a foul ball, we all would stop the practice and go look for that ball. If it took 30 minutes to find it, we searched till it was found. Today it is amazing to witness that Croatia has a Little League established. Ten years ago, David offered full Little League equipment to suit up 4 teams. It was like hitting a brick wall. No one had the vision; Little League is not what was the focus in that time. Since that day, history has shown coaches in Croatia and Balkan area (baseball, football, hockey), can look at the kids today don’t lack what they did when they played. The players join the club and receive their glove, bat, helmet, uniforms. Each coach remembers the humble beginnings, and each coach has stories about how little equipment they possessed and how little it took to make them happy. How a glove, bat, and baseball inspired us to dream. Now we as coaches are on the giving side and for the first time, we can witness how our eyes looked like when we received that first gift of equipment. Each coach now is proud to see kids looking athletic in their uniforms. To have any Major League Baseball team shirt in our days of beginnings was rare and if you had one. Now we see Yankees, Dodgers, Astros, Braves, Marlins, etc. running around during games and it gives that Little League atmosphere, to play ball! That is in essence of what kids need growing up, playing. I heard from many coaches that equipment they received helped them beyond the measure. Personally, I have witnessed how much parents are engaged now in their kids sports club. When I was growing up, many parents not knowing the game of baseball, were simply not involved. Most would not come and watch games, but today, many parents volunteer and they have learned about the game, and involve events with the entire family. I’m amazed to see how in 10 years, here in Croatia, we have now Little League. Barbecue get together events, fundraiser events, tournaments with fun zones for the kids, etc. Many players from the past are becoming coaches today and that has raised the level of the baseball skills. Some clubhouses have at least 2 coaches working with kids couple of times a week. Some club houses have their own academies. Just wow right. I can see that in couple of years, if not even soon, there will be athletes who will have a chance to play baseball in US. We already have couple of players that had amazing opportunities across the world to play baseball. Coaches have taken full responsibility to coach their kids the best that they can, because they learned during a more difficult time. Playing baseball on soccer fields, sharing equipment, not having a coach and today we have the equipment, baseball fields, and thanks to Little League, all these clubhouses are working and challenging each other to be the best they can be. You can see how coaches are dreaming and kids and their families have accepted baseball as part of their lives. One day Croatia will have a Little League team at the World Series and who knows, one of these days, players playing in MLB. It is not impossible, it is possible. | 
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