The batting cages at Stumpy Creek Park have fallen into disrepair and are no longer usable by the 100s of kids that play there. For my Eagle Scout project, I have chosen to replace the existing cages with new, safe cages that will serve the community for many years.
Just a small donation from enough people and the kids will have a place they can go for years!
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With 3 baseball fields, Stumpy Creek Park in Iredell County, NC serves as the home field for baseball and softball players of all ages. On game day, you'll find hundreds of kids from various leagues playing at every level from Tee-ball to 17U. Unfortunately, the wooden-framed batting cages are falling apart and can not be used by anyone. Over the years, I've spent countless hours in batting cages improving my swing with my dad and other coaches, and I would like other kids to have the same opportunity.
At about $7,000 each, the cages I want to get are expensive but they are safer and will last much longer than a cheaper alternative. The ultimate goal is to replace BOTH cages. With such a large baseball community, if everybody donates just a little, we should be able to hit that goal in no time. I will be collecting donations online as well as in person at various storefronts and events at Stumpy Creek Park.
With the help of my fellow scouts and other volunteers, we will safely tear down and dispose of the existing batting cages.
Wherever possible, we will save any materials that can be reused.
Completed: July 29, 2021
Once the new cages are purchased and delivered, we will again enlist the help of scouts and other volunteers to assemble the new
frames and hang the new nets. After that, it's time to PLAY BALL! I'm hoping to be able to do this in time for fall ball in 2021.
Materials Ordered: July 22, 2021
Installation: Scheduled for end of August
My name is John Tremper, I am a Life Scout in Troop 377 out of Mooresville, NC. I have been a member of the Boy Scouts of America
since I was 6 years old, when I joined Cub Scout Pack 159 in Roxbury, NJ. The only activity I have been active in longer
than scouts is baseball, where until the Covid outbreak in 2020 I've played between 1-4 seasons of baseball every single year
since I was 5. I've played in various recreational, travel, all-star, and school leagues and I'm currently waiting for
the 17U spring rec season to begin.
When it came time to decide what I wanted to do for my Eagle Scout project, I thought it would be great if I could
come up with something that combined the two activities. I used to go to the batting cages all the time with my dad in NJ.
That continued for a little while after we moved to NC, until the batting cages at our local ballpark got to the point
where we could no longer use them. It was at that time when I got the idea to replace the batting cages. I only have a couple
seasons left to play, but my hope is that the new batting cages will provide other kids with as much fun as I've enjoyed over the years.
I chose this project because baseball has been such a big part of my life and I don't like seeing that our local batting cages are unusable. I would like to provide a nice place where kids of all ages can go to have fun, sharpen their skills, and create some great memories like I have.
This depends on how quickly I can raise the funds needed to purchase the new batting cages. Ideally, I would like to be able to order the new cages by the end of the summer so they can be installed in time for the fall baseball season.
Stumpy Creek Park is open to the public, so anyone who comes to play baseball will have a nice batting cage available to them. Whether it's a parent and their son/daughter looking to spend some time getting some swings in, a team of 7 year olds learning how to hit off of a pitcher for the first time, or a team warming up before their big playoff game. There are hundreds of kids (probably closer to one thousand when you consider all leagues) who will play at the park this spring alone.
To do everything I'm hoping to accomplish will cost about $15,000. This includes the cost to remove and dispose of the existing cages and the purchase/installation of 2 commercial grade, steel-framed cages and nets (70' and 50'). This is an expensive project, but I want to build something that will last a long time and require very little maintenance.
While it is a lot of money, I only need small donations. They can add up quickly! For example, with about 400 kids in the two local leagues that use the park the most, if each one of them donated just $30 (about the cost for a single session at an indoor batting cage) the project would be almost completely paid for.
Just spread the word! Let people know about my project and share my website http://eagle.tremper.us (using the buttons at the bottom of this page)
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