Mars pitcher
Charlie Bickel
delivers a
strike at the
Independence
Day Classic
Tournament in
Aberdeen, Md.
Hayden Reisinger
is the third
baseman.
Front Row (L to R): Luke Goodworth, Zach Rozman,
Hayden Reisinger, Charlie Bickel, Will Campbell, Bo Costanza
Middle Row (L to R): Aiden Kuremsky, Dylan Hall,
Vincent Gottschalk, Austin Kuremsky, Wyatt Vingle
Back Row (L to R): Dave Kuremsky, John Rozman,
Gary Gottschalk, Dave Hall, Jeff Reisinger
COMMUNITY PRIDE
The Mars community
travel baseball team ends
a great season.
n its 11U season, the Mars community travel baseball
team had an exceptional year—winning seven of the 11
tournaments they played and finishing with a record of
53 wins and only six losses.
For the past two seasons, the team has been co-
coached by Dave Kuremsky, 49, and Jeff Reisinger, 53—both
residents of Mars Area and seasoned teachers. “Jeff has been a
4th grade teacher in the Pine-Richland School District for 29
years, and I have been math teacher with Mars Area for 28,”
says Kuremsky. “We both love teaching kids how little details
can make a big difference in the long run. Teaching is just
something we love to do, both on and off the field.”
Both of them have sons on the team: Kuremsky’s twins
Austin and Aiden, and Reisinger’s son Hayden. “I have so
many amazing baseball memories,” says Kuremsky. “So far,
though, I think winning the McKeesport Tournament this year
while watching my kids play on the same field that I did 40
years prior takes the cake.”
Most members of the team have been playing together
since they were 7 years old. Youth baseball tournaments are
categorized by difficulty level. “Open” are the most difficult
because Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) programs can enter.
The “A” category follows and is many times just as difficult,
as it is made up of the top community programs. Subsequent
groups of smaller community teams play in the “B” category
tournaments.
“A few years ago, the team was successful at the B level but
struggled to win at the A level and didn’t really enter Open
tournaments,” explains Kuremsky. “Last season, we decided to
enter only A and Open tournaments. Of the nine tournaments
we entered, we won three and finished as runner-up four times.”
This year, the team improved tremendously, exceeding all
expectations. “We entered 11 tournaments (10 Open and one
A) and we were able to win six Open tournaments and one
A tournament,” recounts Kuremsky. Those included Harvest
Hitters Tournament at NoOffseason, Pink Ribbon Rundown
Tournament at NoOffseason, McKeesport Memorial Day
Tournament, Pine-Richland 4th of July Tournament, Early
Bird Knockout Tournament at All American Park, Battle in the
412 at All American Park and Northeast Baseball Tournament
in Beaver Falls. “We finished third out of 19 teams at the
Ripken Experience in Aberdeen, Maryland,” he adds.
The team is made up of 11 boys who all live within the
Mars Area School District. “We do not go out of our way to
seek talented players from the surrounding area to play for
us,” continues Kuremsky. “Because community teams are only
Mars Area Community Travel
Baseball Players:
Zach Rozman
Bo Costanza
Austin Kuremsky
Luke Goodworth
Will Campbell
Dylan Hall
Charlie Bickel
Aiden Kuremsky
Vincent Gottschalk
Hayden Reisinger
Wyatt Vingle
Head Coaches:
Dave Kuremsky and Jeff Reisinger
Assistant Coaches:
John Rozman, Gary Gottschalk, and Dave Hall
permitted to use players from their community, they many
times can’t compete with the AAU programs, which have the
advantage of being able to build their roster from any number
of communities. Most AAU teams have players from at least
five different community organizations. Because of this, they
are able to pick the best players from these communities.”
Kuremsky and Reisinger plan on participating in another 11
tournaments with the same group of boys—who all made the
team again for the upcoming season when they will be 12-year-
olds. The team would like to make an effort to play even better
teams. Both coaches feel that the improvements the boys make
as players are more important than the championships they
win or the record they have, and hope that playing better teams
will help them learn how to deal with adversity.
“As the old Chevy commercial says, youth baseball is as
American as hot dogs and apple pie,” laughs Kuremsky. “Mars
has a very rich tradition in baseball and it continues to be a big
part of our community.” ■
BY NICOLE TAFE
12
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WINTER 2018
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