Off season service: East Limestone’s Middle School’s baseball team gives back

Published 10:39 am Wednesday, November 29, 2023

It’s a whole new season for the East Limestone Middle School baseball team.

“You know, middle schoolers are kind of pushed to the side because there’s no state playoffs — there’s nothing for them ‘to play for,'” said coach Taylor Thaxton, “so we are trying to find things that they can get out and do and take some pride in.” 

In the off season, it’s not uncommon to find student athletes relaxing, conditioning or playing another sport, but what might be less common is the team coming together to serve their neighbors.

For the seventh and eighth graders on East Limestone’s baseball team, it’s a yearly requirement. For the last two years, Thaxton finds an organization for the boys to work with so that they are able to give back to their community.

“We’re making it mandatory, it’s something that all of our kids have to be involved in. If they’re involved in basketball, there’s no basketball play date on that, we made sure of that,” Thaxton explained. “So, they’ll all be there. We really look forward to it. It’s just one of those staples we have to do now.” 

The young men will be working with House of the Harvest from 7-9 a.m. by serving the community prepackaged bags of goods, handing out bags and stocking shelves.

“We’ve been trying to do a Christmas project, just trying to reach out to the community, taking up goods and stuff,” Thaxton said. “I’ve been trying to find something for our kids to get out and actually help serve the community — give back — not just take up donations. … Actually see how good they have it and fortunate they should be.”

For Thaxton, this project is really about laying foundations on more than just the baseball field. 

“I’m a big believer in starting them early. These kids are 12, 13-years-old, and I believe that they can start now in seeing that they can give back and how fortunate they are. I feel like that can better them to be a future leader and a better person overall,” Thaxton said.

He hopes that these things help shape the character of his players, and several of the returning players seem to be letting it take root.

“The kids have actually come up to me saying, ‘Coach, what are we doing for our winter project this year?’ They’re eager to get started,” Thaxton said. “It’s something we always take pride in. I’m really fortunate to have a group of guys who want to have that initiative to serve and give back to their community.”

In fact, Thaxton joked that the biggest challenge was going to be the wake up call. 

“It’s like I’m gonna tell them, Some of y’all haven’t even been up at 6 a.m. before, but you’re going to have to be this Saturday.”

While Thaxton and his students may be working with House of the Harvest to remember what the holidays are all about, the organization is open year-round. 

“House of the Harvest began in August of 2015 as a school food pantry, ran by the Student Council at Sparkman Middle. … The project began as an opportunity for the students of Sparkman Middle to serve their own,” the website for House of the Harvest noted.

In November of that year, the Harvest Volunteer Fire Department donated their old facility to allow the organization to grow and become more than a delivery service, paving the way for more than 150 families to receive weekly groceries and at least nine middle schoolers to be reminded of the spirit of Christmas.