Hartford

Community Helps Weaver High School Baseball Team Start Up With Donated Equipment

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The Weaver High School baseball team in Hartford wanted to get their season started and with the help of the community, that's exactly what they did.

The school will field its first baseball program since 2016 and they needed a little boost from the baseball community to get it off and running.

Weaver only had a handful of players who had actually played before, so they needed some equipment.

A friend of the school posted on Twitter asking for gently used gloves and cleats for the players. And before they knew it, they had donations from across the United States.

"I had some kids the first few days throw with no glove, just throwing and catching with their hands. It's all we could do, it was just greatly appreciated. I mean, all these kids are excited to have new gear and stuff to play on the diamond with," said baseball coach Jamie Verab.

People in Florida and California donated, and so did the Hartford Yard Goats.

"When I heard that we had donations from like California and the team that's here in Hartford supporting us, it means a lot," said junior Jaiden Degros.

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The prospect of a new baseball program brought out many kids wanting to try something new.

"This is actually my first year every playing baseball. I've never played a day in my life," said sophomore Jose Laboy.

"It's a blessing, honestly. I'm very grateful for it," he continued.

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