Young Miami Lakes travel baseball team off to second tournament success

A new Miami Lakes Optimist Club travel baseball team has already made its presence felt. The Avengers, consisting of 7 and 8-year-old kids, recently won the Grapeland championship and three other tournaments in only their second season as a team. The team has won tournaments in Miami, Pembroke Pines and Miramar and is seeking a bigger championship when the Avengers play at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Disney Youth Baseball Championship this summer in Orlando..
The team’s assistant coach, Rey Hernandez, said the kids are pumped up while preparing for the Disney tournament. “They are getting ready for the tournament,” he said. “The kids are very energetic, love to play baseball and love to travel to play the competition.”
After winning the Grapeland championship, the kids received a trophy and championship rings. “They were really excited,” Hernandez said. “The coaches and their parents all were happy for them.”
Hernandez said 13 players constitute the team along with four coaches. He said they started the travel team program so the kids can demonstrate their baseball skills against the top teams in South Florida.
Hernandez said the young kids practice hard at Miami Lakes Optimist Park and play harder during the travel league games.