As the Victoria Generals prepare to embark upon their fifth anniversary season in the Texas Collegiate League, the team is reaching out to the Victoria community for support. The team is still searching for a few more host families for the 2013 summer season.
The Generals have leaned on the community for help since they were established in 2009. The college players who come to town to play do not get paid, so the team tries to find families for them to stay with for the two-and-a-half month season.
Generals’vice president and general manager Blake Koch said the team’s need for host families has never been greater. The Texas Collegiate League allows teams to carry as many as 30 players on the roster at a time.
“As we head into our fifth season, we have never started the year with as many players as we plan to this season,” stated Koch. “We will start with a full roster of 30 players to ensure that we have enough guys to last us for the duration of our summer season.”
If you have an empty nest or even just a spare bedroom and wouldn’t mind a little extra activity in your house for a few months, hosting a player would be a great decision. Giving a player to a place to sleep, eat, and shower is all that is asked of a host family.
The Generals do extensive background checks on their players to ensure that they are taking high character individuals who will not cause any problems. The players come to Victoria to play baseball, a game all of them hope to play at the professional level someday. The team has strict guidelines for its players and holds them to a high standard.
Half of the Generals 60 games this summer are on the road, and with late-night arrivals after road trips and early workouts at the park, the players stay pretty busy around the clock, but do enjoy spending down time with their host families.
“The most rewarding part of my job is seeing the bonds that are forged between a player and his host family,” commented Koch. “I love hearing stories about how our former players continue to keep in touch with their host families from the past.”
If you are interested in adding a “son” to your house for the summer, call the team at 361-485-9522. As a bonus for being a host family, the Generals will give all host families season tickets to watch the team play.
Maybe the Generals player that you host will go on to be a big-time star in the Major Leagues, and you can say that you played a small part in their success. At the very least, you’ll be helping Victoria enjoy another summer of Generals baseball.
Players are set to arrive in Victoria on Tuesday, May 28. The Generals will kick off their fifth anniversary season on the road on May 30 in The Woodlands. The team then returns to historic Riverside Stadium for the home opener on Tuesday, June 4, against the Texas Marshals at 7:05pm.
Season tickets for the Victoria Generals 2013 season are on sale now. Fans can buy season tickets and team merchandise at the Generals team store located at 1307 East Airline Road, Suite H in the Town & Country Shopping Center, online at www.VictoriaGenerals.com, or by calling 361-485-9522.
