Journey through M-Pact
M-Pact has turned into a place to call home for many of us. We never intended to have multiple teams or even softball. When a group of like minded people come together, pray for God to guide the path, you never know where you will end up!
Now that we are going on year eight, we thought we would show where this place came from.
2017 - The First M-Pact Team
We didn't have a place to practice, we borrowed fields in Meeker, but the idea was planted on this first team. Provide a team for kids where they feel free to play without fear of failure. We had a good fall together finishing 3rd in three different events
Image Caption: The first team to take the field as M-Pact!
2018 - The Blue and Yellow M-Pact Team
Yes, we used to wear blue and yellow. Boys that wore this combo still talk about it to this day like it was a badge of honor!
Image Caption: The Blue and Yellow! A few of these boys still represent M-pact today as Juniors and Seniors
2018 - Mission Field was Born
That same year we were blessed to build the first field at Mission Road Church. Since our coaching and team culture were centered around scripture, Coach Jason Conley is also on the leadership team there, we had a place we could call home. Within a few months we had not one but two fields and backstops. The men of Mission Road showed up in droves to help and donate the steel pipe, welders, and tractors.
Image Caption: Just a patch of dirt! Two fields were built all by volunteers
2018 Fall - The New Era
In the fall of 2018 we retired the blue and yellow and took the field for the first in the standard Red, White, and Blue you know today. Our main blue jersey is still based on this look that team debuted.
Image Caption: Just a group of kids looking to play. Sad that this Shawnee Complex is no longer here
2019 - Word has gotten out!
We had a good fall with the boys and some people approached us as asked how they could get the same environment for their kids. Since we never intended on turning into a "club", we were flattered but reluctant. In the end we added a coach pitch team and a first year kid pitch team to our group.
Image Caption: Band of Brothers was born unintentionally, fields saw a big upgrade
This is also when our MISSION started to take shape. We seen things that worked in how we coach and parent kids, how a good culture in the dugout can bring the best out in a player, and how our boys kept coming back for more. 2019 will always be remembered to me as the year we knew we were on the right track and we had something special.
We launched the "Band of Brothers" jerseys that fall on the same weekend. Many of those kids are still here five years later laying the groundwork for what the "PACT" in M-Pact stands for.
The field got a big boost for our player development with the bullpens, a batting cage, and fences. We also raised enough money to purchase a mower! Seems small now but it made a huge difference in the quality of our fields.
2020 - What to do now?
We started the year on a great foot. We were introducing our kids to speed and agility training. We found us a place to hit indoors in the winter and all three of our teams were ready to take on the seasons. We all painfully know what happened next.
We didn't want to lose our culture and our community that we had built. We had Zoom calls, weekly devotionals shared, and even had at home workouts kids could do to stay active.
Once we got the green light, we hit the ground running. Our 12U team through this process helped establish the training plans and ideology that you still see today at the fields. The met up once or twice a week for team workouts. Pushing each other in events and competitions. Ending with a huge almost all day team scrimmage that created the phrase you hear sometimes around M-Pact, the "DIRTDOGBOYS". That team went on to finish #2 in the State for USSSA AA class. All local kids, no recruiting, just old fashioned hard work and defining what it meant to be a "DirtDogBoy".
Image Caption: Our now 2026 grads playing the first real scrimmage at the Mission Field. Also the now infamous Dirt Dog Chain that was passed out each week to the most deserving player, chosen by the players.
This season challenged us all. One thing we learned through it, was by being a community, we grew stronger from our trials. There were no right or wrong answers in this. We leaned on one another and we got through it. Our players grew closer together and M-Pact made a name for itself but showing Love first in all we do.
2021 - The Next Generation is born
The M-Pact you are all a part of today and how we operate was born in 2021. We wrote the Parent Handbook, the Coaches Handbooks, and were able to show in writing how our unique culture had been established.
Throughout 2021, we put together some of the training packages, camps, and foundational building blocks that has helped up be something unique in Shawnee. Many people have tried to start "clubs", but there is something special in helping develop the entire player. Our camps were hosted by former college players.
We also began intermingling our team practices with different age groups. This helped our players realize that they are part of something bigger.
We also added a new team which is now entering their 13U season!
Image Caption: Dylan Lang's Catchers Camp, 1st Band of Brothers Day, and much more!
Our fields got an added boost with the widened bullpen mound to hold 5 pitchers at once. We host our 1st all team wide Corn Hole Fundraiser Tournament that was a HUGE success. 2021 was one of the busiest but most productive years at M-Pact.
2022 - The year of Learning
With all the great things we were able to accomplish early, 2022 brought us attention from others wanting to get in on it! We brought in several new teams, we attempted having multiple teams at multiple age groups, we tried our first run at softball, and many other ideas that seemed great at the time.
Not all ideas are great ones! But when we practice Gratitude, we learn that those trials from our bad ideas have helped us refine who we are and get better because of it.
Some of the teams we added are still here. Some we learned did not agree with the MISSION so they aren't here. Our MISSION will always be at our forefront. Trophies, extravagant fundraisers, and team overload are not part of our mission.
Image Caption: No matter what 2022 was a great year for us. Several first in events and trophies! New teams, new ideas, and staples.
On a positive note, 2022 brought us some of the first for M-Pact that have become staples here. The Annual Shawnee Christmas Parade, our annual high school player showcase day where players get to show off their skills, get all their measurables and share with schools, and a fan favorite that we need to bring back is the Media Day!
2023-Present - Only getting Better!
Everything we learned along the way has shaped what you see today. Great facility, great players, and even better community. We now have M-Pact Fastpitch going strong, our original players are doing GREAT in High School helping shape their school dugouts. Several of our guys provided the spark that turned a local HS from a 5 win team to one run short of going to STATE! Our fields are in the best shape they have ever been in thanks to people who care about the mission, not just their own benefit. We have some of the best trainers in the state right here in our back yard to help our teams.
Hopefully you have enjoyed seeing where we started to where we are today. It's been an amazing journey! We know things are wrong sometimes and that is a good thing. We learn and get better from it. What the Mission is trying to accomplish is not something you see overnight or sometimes, it's not something anyone has tried before. You learn, you grow, there are no losses.
That's the message we should give our players. Every day is an opportunity to learn. The trophy isn't a ring or plastic, its productive growth!
We have several things we want to accomplish here at M-Pact. Hopefully, this newsletter shows that if you want to participate, we are always open for ideas at the benefit of helping the Mission.
Player Development Time
Repeatable motions with intent
In our Fall Training, at all ages, we have been teaching the idea of making things repeatable. We can teach good clean motions, make it where the player can do it over and over, it will stick. When the game speeds up, the mind slows down. Our bodies have already felt the movement so many times, it doesn't have to think anymore.
Since we are rolling down memory lane this month, here is a video All-State Catcher and 4 year college player from Dale Dylan Lang made to help hitters understand the repeatability of using a tee to focus on the swing. ENJOY!
Pitching with NAIA Pitcher of the Year Eli Davis
Our goal at M-Pact beyond our culture is to develop the full player. Not just force feed players on winning trophies. We want our kids to understand that getting better is a process and not an overnight result. We have wanted to provide lessons from people we feel is going to teach our players the right way. We could not be happier to bring Eli Davis on staff to help us with pitching. Beyond being a great pitcher, Eli was also a great all around high school player winning OK HS player of the year and 3 state championships. He knows what it takes to be a great all around player. Below is the link to book Eli for lessons and for fun, take a look at Eli leading Shawnee HS to multiple state titles!
Final Thoughts
"When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running."
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