October 28, 2021 – Hudson Falls, N.Y. — Driving to work at Hudson Falls High School each morning, Varsity Baseball Coach Greg Smith passes by the Hudson Falls Little League fields just outside the main entrance. With the current COVID-19 pandemic canceling both the 2020 and 2021 little league seasons, there have been no players on the fields in nearly two years. And while Hudson Falls CSD Buildings and Grounds crews maintain the grass outfields, the infields were looking a little shaggy.
“Seeing the fields looking like that was frustrating,” said Varsity Baseball Coach Greg Smith. ”I enjoyed all the years coaching Little League and watching my own boys play baseball on those diamonds.”
So Coach Smith started contacting every current student that played Varsity or Junior Varsity baseball last year. In all, nine boys came out on a bright Saturday morning. The Buildings and Grounds department was waiting with hand tools and weed whackers. Altogether, they worked for about two and a half hours pulling weeds and edging the dirt infields.
“While we were working the boys told about a hundred stories about their games on the little league fields,” said Coach Smith. “Who hit home runs, who stole bases, and how many batters they hit. It was a fun morning, and it was good to see them do a little manual labor!”
After the work was done, Coach Smith rewarded the team with a pizza lunch. Just like the old baseball saying goes, “If you offer pizza, the teenagers will come.”