Pro Swing 'Pride' Looking To Make A Name in Cooperstown

Baseball players usually have to play a lot of games – and wait a long, long time –before making it to Cooperstown, home of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

The Pro Swing Pride, however, a 12 & under team based in Mount Kisco, are skipping all of that, and going at the end of the month.

The Pride have been invited to take part in the "Cooperstown Classic," one of many American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame Invitational Tournaments to be played this summer at Cooperstown's Dreams Park.

The team, which fields players from all different areas – including Bedford, Bedford Hills, Katonah, Pound Ridge, Armonk, Chappaqua, and Croton – will travel up to Cooperstown on Aug. 27 for the week-long tournament, looking to measure up to some of the best players in their age group across the country.

Last year, 34 teams took part in the Cooperstown Classic, including a number from Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida, and California, meaning Pride players will have more eyes on them than ever before.

"It's a tremendous amount of fun," said Pride Head Coach Greg Delmonico, who will be making his 8th trip to Cooperstown with a 12 & under Pro Swing team. "You get to see the Hall of Fame, and it's a big tournament so these kids will have a lot of people watching them, something a lot of them probably have never been through before. Usually it's just Mom or Dad watching; now they're going to see people from all over the country watching them play and that's really what it's all about."

The Pride is guaranteed to play seven games in the tournament, with a possibility for more if the team makes the playoff round. Last year's Pro Swing team won six games at the Cooperstown Classic, including a couple of playoff games. After a slow start to their summer season, this year's team will head to Cooperstown with a record of 17 wins and 16 losses, and according to Delmonico, playing their best ball since they first got together in the middle of March.

"They're very comfortable with each other," Delmonico said. "We started out slow, but they've been playing really well lately. Our whole goal with this program, with this age group and this team, is to make sure the kids get better from start to finish. The fact that they're playing well lately kind of tells me that we've accomplished our goal, and hopefully that continues through Cooperstown."

Of course, Delmonico, who admitted "there are always good stories" that come out of the tournament, knows all too well that having a close knit group means a lot more than just cohesion on the baseball diamond. One recent Cooperstown tradition for instance, involves playing a prank on a member of the coaching staff.

Last year's prank? A video of one of the coaches sleeping, including what one player described as "snoring effect," sent to all team members and even a few parents.

"All I know is that I don't have kids yet myself, but when I do, I'm prepared for anything," Delmonico said. "Let's just put it that way."

Pranks aside, and regardless of whether the Pride win or lose all of their games at the Cooperstown Classic, each team member is sure to come home having experienced a week they will never forget, competing against some of the best players in the nation and on one of its biggest stages – the home of the greatest players to ever play the game.

"My brother went there so I had the experience of watching him play in the tournament," said Pro Swing Pride team member Will Cohen. "He said it was the greatest time of his life. I'm just looking forward to the experience and playing with this team for the last time. I just want to go out there and play my hardest."