The Lakewood Gladiators 12U baseball team will be one of 80 playing at the Cooperstown Dreams Park this summer. Pictured from left to right, kneeling, are: Reed Fitzgerald, Kolton Bouckhuyt, Carter Ray, Mason Winchester and Jonah Johnson. Standing are: Brayden Beckstrom, Garrett Darr, Noah Lindell, Jack Churchill, Keegan Weissinger and AJ Stewart. Lauson Hoisington is not pictured. Submitted photo

This summer, the Lakewood Gladiators 12U travel baseball team will get to live out a dream experience. During the week of July 30 to Aug. 5, the Gladiators, composed of kids from Chautauqua and Warren (Pa.) counties, will be one of 80 teams that get to play at the Cooperstown Dreams Park this year.

“I’ve been coaching (youth baseball) in this area for the last 20 years,” Lakewood head coach Troy Bouckhuyt said about his team. “I’ve gotten the opportunity to coach a lot of good baseball players, but from top to bottom at this age this is probably one of the better teams that I’ve seen. We decided that it would be a good opportunity for this group to play in a bigger national tournament like this.”

Not only will the players get to play at an awesome venue where America’s Pastime has staked its Hall of Fame, but they will play against many high-level teams from across the United States.

“It’s the opportunity to get the kids a great experience,” Bouckhuyt said about going to Cooperstown Dreams Park. “They get to go to Cooperstown with the Baseball Hall of Fame and the experience with that. But they can kind of see the level of play with where they stand compared to teams from California and Florida that get to play all year-round.”

On the event’s website, it shows just what kind of talent does make the trip as 14 players that competed with the Yankees and Dodgers in the 2024 World Series played in the event. That list includes, from the Yankees: Anthony Rizzo, Anthony Volpe, Austin Wells, Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, Marcus Stroman, Tim Mayza and Tommy Kahnle and, from the Dodgers: Chris Taylor, Daniel Hudson, Gavin Lux, Jack Flaherty, Max Muncy and Mookie Betts.

At the age of 12, the young athletes may not realize the magnitude of the event they will get the chance to play in, but the coaches know how special of an opportunity it is.

“Knowing that people from all over the country try to get there,” Bouckhuyt said about the Hall of Fame. “Just so they have the experience of going to the Hall of Fame and playing. The facilities are amazing, they’re all turf fields, they’re beautiful. They do a great job there, so it’s an awesome experience for the kids.”

While there have been local youngsters from different travel teams to receive the opportunity to play at the event, this Gladiators team will be the first local group composed of only area youngsters to go in 20 years.

“I’ve known a couple players in the past from around here that have played for some Buffalo teams at Cooperstown,” Bouckhuyt stated. “But we found that no complete team from our area has gone in 20 years. It’s kind of unique that a team with just kids from our area get to go. It’s pretty special.”

The seven-game tournament is not like a typical travel baseball weekend. It’s a full experience, with the athletes staying on-site in dorms for a whole week of baseball memories that will last a lifetime.

However, with everything that comes in the experience, there also comes a hefty price that the team has had to pay individually and through fundraising.

“It’s a huge financial commitment to go to this tournament,” Bouckhuyt said about the tournament. “We’ve done a couple little fundraisers so far and right now we’re doing a T-shirt fundraiser. Businesses or individuals can donate money and we’ll put their names or logos on a practice shirt that the kids will wear around the Cooperstown facility all week. People from all over the country will see the names of the businesses of everybody that helps sponsor us. Also, we’re doing a basket bingo on Feb. 27 at the Morton Club in Jamestown and that’s open to anyone that wants to come. We’ve got some awesome prizes.”

For now, the Lakewood Gladiators 12U team will work hard off the field and soon on the field to make sure not only can they make their experience happen, but also achieve the very best Cooperstown Dreams.