In this era of ultra-competitive travel baseball and the non-stop chase for exposure to Division-I schools, one organization is leaning into the opposite direction.
The Long Island Blackfish, started by Ben Grodski, was formed just after the pandemic and were seeking to create a different type of experience than most travel organizations on Long Island.
“It was very simple,” said Grodski, a teacher in the the Westhampton school district. “We wanted to give kids a safe place to play. They might not make the big teams. Most of these kids were cut by teams but we wanted them to know it’s not about what you are now – it’s what you can be.”
Grodski is someone who was taught by one of the best coaches of all-time, John Calipari, while playing at UMASS in the late 80s. Calipari, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA men’s basketball history and took the Minutemen to the Final 4 despite not being a basketball powerhouse.
“I take some of those experiences with me today. Baseball is a game of failure. Life can be filled with failure. There are a lot of great life lessons that can be earned from it. Dealing with failure is important for kids. We are just looking to give al of these kids a chance.”
The Blackfish compete in the Town of Brookhaven league as well as various local tournaments. Although the wins are hard to come by, the kids maintain a positive attitude and are alway excited to play.
“The Town of Brookhaven offers fantastic facilities and we are lucky to be around that here.”
Grodski added that their program is “a different type of thing – we are outmanned most nights. We might have a team of right fielders but they will all have a chance to play shortstop here.”
The most rewarding thing is seeing progress from his team.
“Watching them get better is a really cool thing. Our goal is to get them to make their JV and varsity teams.”
Grodski’s oldest son plays college baseball at SUNY Cobleskill. He mentioned that he was not always the best player on his team and didn’t appear headed to play in college.
“My son was sometimes the worst kid on his team, nobody thought he would even make the JV team but he was a late bloomer,” and his son is now 6’6 and pitching in college.
“I have nothing against the bigger organizations – but there are thousands of kids that hit their growth spurt later and they can become studs a year or two later than other kids.”