{"id":59723,"date":"2021-05-19T13:45:45","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T18:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=59723"},"modified":"2021-05-19T13:45:48","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T18:45:48","slug":"larks-baseball-helping-to-unite-the-hays-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?p=59723","title":{"rendered":"Larks Baseball helping to unite the Hays community"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>BY ETHAN BOOE<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hays Larks summer baseball team has seemingly created an everlasting symbiotic bond between the program and the community of Hays. The team will celebrate its 75th anniversary in Hays this June. The Larks recognize that they thrive every year because of host families and a variety of special events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Hays Larks help unite community\" width=\"790\" height=\"444\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_WMueJJY19E?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a lot that goes on behind the scenes of putting this program on the field,\u201d said Frank Leo, head coach of the Larks. \u201cWe can\u2019t do it without the support of our community, without the support of our host families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"59808\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59808\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?fit=1140%2C641&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1140,641\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Frank Leo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?fit=370%2C208&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?fit=790%2C444&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?resize=264%2C148\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59808\" width=\"264\" height=\"148\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?resize=150%2C84&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?resize=370%2C208&amp;ssl=1 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Frank-Leo.jpeg?w=1140&amp;ssl=1 1140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 264px) 100vw, 264px\" \/><figcaption>Coach Leo<br><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Many of the players joining a team may be from multiple states away or even overseas. The Larks often have these players and host families play a huge role in helping the summer months run smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Keith Harper, assistant coach for the Larks, believes the players that come in have no idea what to expect when they come to Hays, but near the end of the season they almost always end up wanting to play for the Larks again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBy the end of the summer many of them tell us \u2018I want to come back because I\u2019ve never experienced anything like Hays,'&#8221; Harper said. &#8220;That\u2019s what we do it for, to let those kids come in and experience one of the greatest baseball places in the country.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leo said he tells host families you can have all the money in the world and maybe try to put players up in homes, but being a host family tops the list. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;There\u2019s nothing that\u2019s going to replace having host families where players have an instant family here in Hays, a support group,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with host families, the Larks have a variety of special events throughout the summer that allow them to interact with the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Former Lark and Hays native, Ryan Ruder, thinks the players helping out in certain places throughout the community has really gone a long way in creating great relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt really just brought everyone together,\u201d Ruder said. \u201cThe community really welcomes players from all over the country throughout the summer, and it\u2019s always neat to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the 75<sup>th<\/sup> anniversary of the team approaches, Leo looks back at all the people who helped get the program to where it is today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome great memories for a lot of people over the years, but we can\u2019t do it without the support of our people of Hays,\u201d Leo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 75<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;anniversary celebrations start on Thursday, June 17 and go through the weekend games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Larks were previously a part of the Jayhawk Collegiate League, but complications with COVID last year led to them joining the Rocky Mountain Baseball League. The team plans on playing in the RMBL for the 2021 season starting on June 4<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"790\" height=\"484\" data-attachment-id=\"59809\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/?attachment_id=59809\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?fit=1454%2C892&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1454,892\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Hays Larks 75 info\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?fit=370%2C227&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?fit=790%2C484&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?resize=790%2C484\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-59809\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?resize=1024%2C628&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?resize=150%2C92&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?resize=370%2C227&amp;ssl=1 370w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?resize=768%2C471&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75-info.jpeg?w=1454&amp;ssl=1 1454w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 790px) 100vw, 790px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BY ETHAN BOOE The Hays Larks summer baseball team has seemingly created an everlasting symbiotic bond between the program and the community of Hays. The&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":59807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4540,7349],"tags":[14105,14180,394,11177,2802,103,290],"class_list":["post-59723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-baseball-sports","category-sports","tag-ethan-booe","tag-frank-leo","tag-hays","tag-hays-larks","tag-ks","tag-tiger-media-network","tag-tmn"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tigermedianet.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Hays-Larks-75.jpg?fit=1200%2C894&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=59723"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59814,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59723\/revisions\/59814"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/59807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=59723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=59723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tigermedianet.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=59723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}