SLABA: Arnold is Home to Thriving Youth Baseball Team

There was a time around St. Louis when American Legion baseball was the standard for summer action on the diamond.

With the rise of traveling “select” teams over the past decade, Legion baseball has lost some of its luster.

Despite those select teams drawing more and more players, often for a hefty fee, one organization that remains as strong as ever is the St. Louis Amateur Baseball Association (SLABA).

“We have a big reputation in SLABA of putting kids into college programs,” said Brian Garner, the coach of the Jefferson County Barnstormers, an 18-and-under team located in Arnold.

“That makes me so proud I can’t see straight. There are just so many pros that go into SLABA baseball that I wouldn’t want to be involved in any other league. Because of the success we’ve had on the field, college coaches follow our program because they know they’re going to get some talented kids,” Garner said.

Jefferson County, Arnold Home to SLABA Resurgence

Garner takes pride in resurrecting a Barnstormers program from “a doormat” to a competitive team that “has to be reckoned with.” The Barnstormers (12-6) draw their players from the Hillsboro and Herculaneum school districts and have one player from Troy, MO., which is one of several “open” districts.

Garner, an 11-year SLABA coaching veteran, is in his fifth year as coach of the Barnstormers and said that 77 percent of his seniors have gone on to play in college.

“If you can get the better talent from other school districts, that makes SLABA a little stronger than some of the independent teams and some of the Legion teams,” Garner said. “In American Legion baseball, you can only pick from certain school districts. In SLABA, every SLABA program has two schools that nobody else can draw from.”

“SLABA is up and down. Each year it’s unpredictable,” Garner said. “There are so many talented players on each SLABA team.”

Players Improve with Fierce Competition

While the talent may have become diluted over the past several years the SLABA still has high-level talent, said Jefferson County Blazers coach Dustin Bain.

Bain, who works in the Rockwood School District, led the Arnold-based SLABA Jefferson County Blazers to a 20-12 record and are among the league’s best teams this season.

Bain guided his team to the semifinals of the 30-team Tournament of Champions over the Fourth of July weekend.

“There was a lull three or four years ago when some of those independent teams became more popular,” said Bain, who is in his eighth year with SLABA, including his third as the 18-and-under head coach.

 “But now, I think parents are seeing through paying all that money to support somebody during the summer.”

Bain said part of the problem with select teams is that some coaches are trying to use that money as a means to support themselves.

“There’s not one (SLABA) coach or a general manager trying to make a living off of this,” Bain said. “Parents and kids see through that. They appreciate coaches who love the game of baseball and are trying to give back and not make a dollar off of them. In this tough economy, we only charge exactly what we need to run our program.

“There are some high-level Legion and independent teams. But then you have a lot of teams where a dad is coaching a team because his son got cut and he forms his own team. They put a St. Louis in front of their team, and all of sudden they’ve got a select team.”

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