Clinton 14 U baseball concludes season at Mount Zion Tournament

MOUNT ZION – Saturday’s game against the Champaign Blaze was not just the season finale for Clinton Travel Baseball’s 14 U team.

For head coach Ryan Hopper, it was possibly his finale in the Clinton baseball family. He received a job offer to teach junior high physical education in La Harpe, which is on the west side of Illinois.

“I’ve coached some of these kids since they were 10 years old, and I’ve really enjoyed this group,” Hopper said. “We’ve had a lot of great memories. We’ve won a lot of games over the past few summers, so I told them I hope they keep working hard and I wish nothing but the best for them in the future because I’ve really enjoyed every one of these kids.”

Unfortunately, he will not go out on a winning note, as Clinton lost its final two games in the Mount Zion Tournament.

“This could be the last time I coach this group,” Hopper said. “I was wanting to go out on a little bit more of a positive [note], but I’ve got a lot of great memories here. I can’t say anything negative about any of these kids. I’ve really enjoyed it.”



For the complete article see the 07-06-2012 issue.

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