The CRUSH 9u Travel Baseball Team

Hello all. Coach Chad Kovarik here. Many may have heard already, but I announced in December that I was retiring from coaching after approximately 15 years. Thinking back in January of 2021 when I created the Cape Coral CRUSH, I did it to give my son and his buddies a chance to create a team, while he was at 7u, to play competitive baseball with other teams around the state, etc. I had no idea by time he was playing his 8u season that this little organization from Cape Coral would go on to win the 8u National Championship in July of 2022 and also become the winningest 8u team of all time.

My intensions were not to coach the team forever, it was just to give my son and his buddies a good foundation to start from at such a young age. With the successes we had, I believe this happened and it is now time to retire and watch him and his teammates grow to their fullest.

I am pleased to announce my son Chase and his teammates will be playing for the Florida Cobras 9u team led by Brandon Fitzpatrick, a family member of Cy Young finalist Alek Manoah. Brandon is young and full of energy and the kids relate to him well.

I want to say thank you to the family members of the CRUSH for your dedication. Thank you to the fans of this team and thank you to the opposing coaches, who have reached out to me so often offering support and recognition. Now I will be watching you guys coach from the bleachers when you play against the 9u Cobras and 9u Rivals, who my son guest plays for often.

It has been a blessing to coach so many kids over the years and the CC CRUSH will always carry a special place in my heart! Thank you!

Another fantastic finish to this fall season. Although there was no Santa this year at the Santa slam(thank you Hurricane Ian) the players had enough Christmas cheer to spread around and looking great in their festive jerseys.
From this Crush team to your family at home we wish you the merriest Christmas!

Well done Crush. Full weekend of Baseball, Birthdays and Baseball cards.

Watch out the Crush team has their Christmas Jerseys and are ready to play. Word at the North Pole is that Elfie, Rudolph and even the Grinch will be sporting the jersey this weekend so keep an eye out for them.

Photos courtesy of the "paparazzi sister" team

Congratulations to Owen Fiedler for earning the Suncoast Fall Classic MVP award.

Owen and his family moved to SW Florida from New York on Aug of 2021 and found their way to the Crush Baseball team. Owen has been swinging off a T since he was 18 months old and is now an exceptional pitcher and baseball player!

Owen always has a hop in his step and a smile on his face and and was even spotted by his mom sleeping with his trophy the morning after being named MVP.

Owen you are a pleasure to have on this team!!

Congratulations to Daniel Serena for earning this seasons first MVP award!!

Daniel was playing in a tournament with his Rec Ball All Star team and watched The Cape Coral Crush play and said to his mom “I AM GOING TO BE ON THAT TEAM”.

Daniels mom and dad say he is absolutely loving the team and the Cape Coral Crush is honored to have him and his family as a part the Crush baseball family. Daniel gets his determination from his parents who have made the commitment to drive over an hour (one way) to practice so he can play for The Cape Coral Crush.

Congratulations Crush for winning the Suncoast Fall Classic.

In the face of adversity and challenge being a true athlete means you have to overcome all physical, mental, and emotional curve balls that are thrown at you.

This Crush 9u baseball team has proven they have true grit and talent for preforming the way they did the past two weekends.

This 9u team has had very little field practice time (can count on one hand how many full practices) because of all the heavy rain in the area this season. In addition to the wet practice fields there have been multiple tournaments canceled and now post hurricane hardly any local fields are open for play. All of this on top of living in a disaster area where each player and families are continually working and serving to help rebuild. Many families had substantial damage to their homes, out of school for weeks, no power, no water and some still displaced.
AND YET..... these players find a way to craft their talent and skills and brought it in full force this weekend!

Well Done 9u Players and CRUSH Families!!!!!

The CRUSH 9u Travel Baseball Team played last weekend in the Suncoast Fall Select Super NIT.
Crush came back post Hurricane Ian on fire winning two games on Saturday securing the First Seed. Due to heavy rain in the area Saturday evening the remaining tournament bracket play was canceled.
Cape Coral Crush was awarded First place including their first ring of the season.

Photos from Scrimmage.