As you enjoy watching the American Legion World Series (ALWS) games, have you ever wondered about the young men playing the game -- where they are from and how they got involved in American Legion (AL) baseball? With a program that involves 65,000 players each year, AL baseball is one of the oldest amateur athletic programs in existence. In fact, the World Series is celebrating its ninetieth anniversary in 2016.
As for those players, chances are they come from rural areas like our own, and many of them might have had a family member (like brothers, fathers or maybe even grandfathers) who played AL baseball. In fact, Justin Hawkins, the 2015 ALWS player of the year, was the third generation of his family to play for the same ALWS team - both of his grandfathers and his father had also played for the Newbury, S.C., team in years past.
As for the rural aspect, "we tend to be more popular in rural areas," explains Steve Cloud, assistant director of American Legion Baseball, National Headquarters. "We still have some representation in more urban settings, but there just tends to be more community connections in rural areas and a lot of community buy-in." Those are precisely the reasons why Shelby was such an excellent choice for the home of the ALWS, Cloud says.
The American Legion offers two age ranges of teams for players: the junior program is for players from 13-17 years of age, and the senior program is for those 19 and under. Many players begin playing at the junior level and then move into the senior level in later years. While the average playing career of an AL player is two years, having a player participate for three to four years is not uncommon, Cloud says.
Of course, quite a number of the players move up to the next level before aging out of the AL program. Some suggest that as many as 50 percent of today's major league players participated in AL baseball at some point in their youth. While some players go into the draft, others might receive scholarships or be recruited onto college teams, Cloud says.
But for those competing on the AL teams each year, the road to the ALWS can vary greatly from state to state. While North Carolina has around 60 teams, other states such as Pennsylvania and Minnesota sponsor many, many more - as many as 500+ teams. For states with that many teams, there are multiple levels of tournaments that ultimately lead to a state championship team. Nearly every state uses a double-elimination tournament to determine the winner.
After winning their state tournaments, teams move on to one of six regional tournaments. The tournament winners then move on to the ALWS. By the time their teams get to Shelby, most of the players will have participated in about 50 games, and some will have played close to 70 games. But all of them typically will have won five games at the substate level, five games at the state level, and five games at the regional level.
After they get to the ALWS, the teams are divided into two divisions, "Stars" and "Stripes." The top two teams in each division then play in semi-final games, and the two winners of those games then play for the ALWS championship.
Whether from Hawaii or from our own state, the road to the ALWS is often long, and few will make it so far. But for all who do make it, the World Series will undoubtedly be a memory of a lifetime.
ALWS games are scheduled for Thurs-day, Aug. 11 - Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. For more information about game times, ticket
availability and other details, visit
americanlegionworldseries.com or search for "American Legion World Series" on Facebook.

By April Hoyle Shauf

Special to Shelby Shopper