Rough Rider Youth

We officially launched our Rough Rider Youth fundraiser through Zeffy, and we would be incredibly grateful for your support.

Our mission is bigger than baseball and flag football.

Rough Rider Youth is about building young athletes through Respect. Intensity. Progress. We want kids to learn discipline, resilience, teamwork, leadership, and confidence both on and off the field.

Every donation helps us continue building opportunities for these kids through:
• Practice facilities and equipment
• Player development resources
• Scholarships for families in need
• Team uniforms, cleats, socks
• Community events and mentorship
• Expanding youth sports opportunities in our area

One of the reasons we chose Zeffy is because it’s built specifically for nonprofits and allows 100% of your donation to go directly to the organization with zero platform fees taken out.

If you believe youth sports can help shape strong kids into strong adults, we’d love your support.

Donate here:
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/donate-to-change-lives-13143

Support Rough Rider Youth

Thank you to everyone who has believed in what we are building.

This is only the beginning.

Support Rough Rider Youth Athletes Rough Rider Youth exists to build young athletes into stronger people.We use baseball and flag football as the vehicle, but the mission is bigger than the scoreboard. Our program serves boys and girls from all income levels, giving kids a place to compete, grow, belong, and be held to a higher stand...

Tonight was a huge night for Rough Riders baseball.

Even with a last-minute change in location, we were expecting around 13 kids for tryouts… and 24 showed up.

That kind of turnout says a lot. It says families are seeing what we are building. It says kids want to be part of a program rooted in Respect. Intensity. Progress. And it says this thing is growing fast.

I am also very thankful for my years teaching PE, because with that many kids spread across a field, order matters. We had structure, movement, and purpose. The boys showed up ready to work, and they gave us exactly what we hoped to see: focus, effort, athleticism, coachability, and a whole lot of intensity.

There was serious talent there tonight, which is a great problem to have — but also an incredibly difficult one. We are only looking to fill about 2–3 spots, and after tonight, that decision is going to be brutal. We would love to have room for every kid who came out, but unfortunately, that is not how roster-building works.

To every player and family who showed up: thank you. Thank you for adjusting to the location change, thank you for trusting us with your time, and thank you for bringing such great energy to the field.

And of course, we had to end the night the right way — with Kona Ice. Because after a tryout like that, the kids earned it.

We are building something special. And tonight made that very clear.

These pictures capture the side of Head Coach Matt Raesz that most people do not always get to see.

Most people see the game-day version of a head coach. They see the lineups, the practices, the corrections, the intensity, the tough conversations, and the pressure that comes with leading a team. They see the standard being held high.

And with the Rough Riders, we take coaching seriously.

We believe there has to be accountability for there to be true growth. Boys do not become better players, better teammates, or better young men without being challenged. There has to be correction at practice or in a game. There has to be honesty.

But what these pictures show is what sits underneath that accountability: care, compassion, and trust.

One picture shows Coach Raesz surrounded by his players, holding his own child while pouring into everyone else’s. That says a lot about who he is. These boys gather around him because they know he is invested in them, not just as baseball players, but as kids we are trying to help grow into young men.

The second picture hits even harder.

That moment came after we lost the championship. It hurt. The boys had poured everything they had into that season, and coming up short in the final game was heavy. But for this player, there was even more behind it. He was aging up into another bracket, closing a chapter with this team, these coaches, and these boys.

That hug was not just about losing a game.

It was about the end of a season and the weight of realizing that some moments do not come back the same way again. It was Coach Raesz reminding a young man that HE mattered, that he had grown, the boys presence will be missed and that what he gave to this team meant something.

That is the part of coaching that does not show up in GameChanger or coaching from 3rd base.

It is not in the batting average. It is not in the ERA. It is not in the final score.

It is in the conversations after tough days. It is in the phone calls with parents about how to reach a kid who is struggling. It is in the rides to practice or games when a player needs help getting there. It is in the behind-the-scenes sacrifices, the worry, the patience, the second chances, and the constant desire to make an impact.

Coach Raesz coaches with intensity because he cares deeply. He feels responsible for these boys. He protects them. He fights for them. He pushes them because he believes in what they can become. He carries the weight of their growth, confidence, and experience on this team like it matters deeply.

Because to him, it does.

That is what I see in these pictures.

Not just a coach talking to a team. Not just a coach hugging a player.

I see a man who demands more because he believes there is more inside them. I see someone who corrects, challenges, encourages, protects, and keeps showing up.

That is not just baseball.

That is mentorship. That is leadership.

Respect. Intensity. Progress.

That is what we ask from the boys.

And that is what Coach Raesz gives them.

Championship games teach lessons that stay with you.

Against the Bucs, we did not start the way we wanted. Our energy was low early, we came out a little flat, and we had to work our way back into the kind of baseball we know we can play. That is something we will learn from.

First, credit where credit is due: the Bucs are a talented team with a strong mindset. They came ready to play, put pressure on us, and earned the championship. The game before us was Bucs vs. Loco Beach Coconuts, and both teams had hitters put balls over the fence. That says a lot about the level of competition our boys were standing in the middle of. That is the kind of environment that makes young athletes grow.

Even in a tough game, there were still positives worth recognizing. Our boys batted .400 as a team, reached base half the time, had 6 total hits, including 2 doubles, scored 5 runs, and stole 12 bases without getting caught once. That shows hustle, awareness, and the ability to keep creating opportunities.

Ronan came through with a big double and brought in 2 runs. Johan, Jaxton, Callan, Ben, and Joey all added hits. Jax, Asher, and Nolan found ways to get on base and help create opportunities for the team.

On the mound, Nolan gave us 2 strong innings with 5 strikeouts, and as a team our pitchers struck out 7 batters in 3 innings. That means our pitchers were competing and giving us chances to make plays.

And when we step back from one game and look at the whole season, the growth was explosive. This team went from learning who we were to earning the King Seed and making our first championship game in five seasons. That does not happen by accident. That happens because boys show up, families support, coaches invest, and a team decides to grow together.

The lesson is simple: we have the ability, but championship moments require energy, focus, and urgency from the very first pitch. That is part of our next step.

I am proud of this team. Proud of what they built. Proud of the way they grew. Proud of the standard they raised. And proud that this group has the kind of character that can take a hard lesson and turn it into progress.

Respect. Intensity. Progress.

Youth sports are competitive.

Yes, we absolutely want our team to win.

But HOW we win matters.

We prepare hard, we push our players, and we care deeply about the outcome. But one thing we have always told our boys is this: while bad calls absolutely exist in sports, we do not blame the umpires for the outcome of a game. Complaining about officials teaches athletes to look outward instead of inward. We tell our players to keep their heads up, stay composed, and keep producing — make plays so big the game cannot be determined by one missed call.

This team has been built over many seasons. Tournaments where we took loss after loss. Hard lessons, growing pains, and games where nothing went our way. Through all of it, we kept showing up — developing skills, refining fundamentals, adapting to new players and personalities. And after every one of those losses, we walked across the field, congratulated the teams that beat us, and meant it. That's Respect. We don't turn it on and off depending on the scoreboard.

A good coach teaches baseball. A great coach teaches perspective, resilience, accountability, and composure. A great coach competes fiercely while still acknowledging the effort, athleticism, and progress of a kid standing on the other side of the field — because we are rooting for all of these boys, not just our own.

This spring, everything we've planted is starting to grow. Our boys are playing their best baseball and becoming exactly the kind of young men we set out to build. That's Intensity — channeled the right way.

Yes, the scoreboard matters.
But who these boys become matters more.

We're still going to teach our boys to shake hands, keep perspective, and carry themselves with character — whether they win by 10 or lose by 1.

To every kid on that field Saturday — we see you. We respect the work. Now let's go compete the right way and let the game speak for itself.

Let's ride, Rough Riders.

Respect. Intensity. Progress.

13-1 win tonight.

Really proud of this group. The energy was there from the start, the communication was constant, and the boys kept encouraging each other every inning. You could feel them playing together, not just as individuals, but as a team that trusts each other and plays for one another. Pitching set the tone and stayed in control all night—exactly what we’ve been working toward.

We also started a new tradition—every time a runner scores, they get to throw on the Rough Riders cowboy hat to celebrate. Safe to say the boys loved it, and it brought even more energy to the dugout.

This is what it looks like when things start coming together.

We are having open tryouts for next season May 22 6-7:30pm https://forms.gle/UkoLrspSiSWa1bk59

Respect. Intensity. Progress.

Friday night, practice done right.

These boys showed up, worked hard, and earned this. After the reps, the competition, and the focus, we wrapped it up the best way we know how—pizza and time together as a team.

Moments like this matter. This is where friendships grow, trust builds, and the team becomes more than just players on a field.
We’ll keep working. We’ll keep building.

Respect. Intensity. Progress.