In Elite Company

Local 14U travel team having championship season

By John Burbridge

sports@charlescitypress.com

CHARLES CITY — College wrestling.

Youth softball.

All the same according to Heath Grimm.

“I go from coaching 18- to 22-year-old young men to coaching 12- to 14-year-old girls,” Grimm said. “It’s a little different but just as enjoyable.

“The guys can be a little set in their ways. With the girls, there’s a bigger learning curve you can work with.”

During his 16-year tenure as Upper Iowa’s head wrestling coach, Grimm’s Peacocks have won more than 150 dual meets and have produced 39 All Americans.

His softball team, the CC Elite, hasn’t been doing too bad, either. At the 14U 2016 Iowa Pony League Championships held last weekend in Decorah, the CC Elite went 4-0 while claiming the title.

In the championship game, CC Elite rolled over Sumner-Fredericksburg, 11-1. It avenged the team’s only loss of the season when S-F rallied in the final inning to overcome a big deficit.

During the first round of games at Decorah, CC Elite had to come from behind itself after trailing Waukon 5-0 early. A home run by Rachel Chambers, timely hitting by Marley Hagarty, Nia Litterer and Mya Hruska, and clutch catching from Emma Grimm — the coach’s daughter — who picked off a runner leading off third base and tagged out a would-be base stealer at home to end the game, enabled CC Elite to advance by a 9-5 score.

CC Elite won the second game against Decorah, 8-2, with Kiki Connell rapping three hits, and Litterer and Toni Maloy each connecting for two-out, two-RBI hits; and then defeated Cresco, 18-5, in the semifinals with every CC Elite player recording a hit before the game was called after three innings.

Hagarty and Dani Reetz, whose father Mike Reetz is one of the coaches, both went 2-0 during  the championships and are both 7-0 for the season.

Overall, CC Elite’s record stands at 14-1.

“This is by far my favorite team I played on,” Hagarty said, “and I’ve been playing since kindergarten.”

CC Elite has been together for three seasons. Most of the girls are from Charles City with the exception of defensive wiz Gabby Keith, who commutes from Rockford to play and practice with the team.

“I told my dad that I wanted to play on a good team,” Keith said. “So I gave it a try with this team.

“I’m glad I did. I’m more than willing to come out here everyday to play with this team.”

When the team first started as a 12U team, CC Elite wasn’t quite “elite”.

“We were a young 12U team and we were around .500 that first year,” Grimm said. “We played much better our second year at 12U.”

This is CC Elite’s first year at 14U. It will also be its longest. After taking a little time to enjoy the summer with no games scheduled for several weeks, CC Elite will participate in the Iowa Games, July 16-17 in Ames.

“I’m really excited about that,” Chambers said of the upcoming “Games”. “We’ve been getting better every year, and I think we have a good chance in winning it.”

CC Elite also plans to play in a fall league.

“It will be a nice extension to the season,” Grimm said. “Out here, the summer season alone is not very long.”

Knowing a little about what it takes to succeed at the high school and college levels, Grimm is less concerned about wins and trophies than preparing his players for high school.

“We could be a good feeder for the high school team,” Grimm said. “I believe we will be hearing and seeing more about these girls in the future.”

Grimm said he is grateful for the support and encouragement the team has gotten from other coaches and instructors, as well as cooperation from the players’ families.

“We have received a number of compliments from opposing coaches and parents, and even umpires,” Grimm said. “An ASA-certified ump commented how we were the best team he has seen all year.”

Hard to argue with that ump’s call.