Jeff TullyWhile most people had fun and...
Jeff Tully
While most people had fun and celebrated on the Fourth of July, a
group of girls youth softball players spent some of its Independence
Day working.
With temperatures in the high 90s, some members of the Burbank
Thunder under-12 girls’ team were laboring on the holiday trying to
raise funds by selling root beer floats to thirsty customers outside
a local grocery store.
“The girls gave up some of their holiday and they were really
working hard trying to raise some money,” Thunder Coach Mike Peraza
said. “It was a really great effort from a group of girls who are
determined to reach their goal.”
That goal is to raise enough money to afford a trip to a
prestigious tournament in a week. The Thunder -- which plays in the
Burbank Park, Recreation and Community Services Department Ponytail
League -- has been invited to take part in the National Softball
Assn. 2003 World Series July 19-27 in Beaumont, Texas.
Peraza said he estimates it will cost more than $6,000 to send 11
players, in addition to coaches and support staff, to the event.
“Most of our players don’t come from well-to-do families and they
don’t have the money to pay for the trip,” Peraza said. “With airline
tickets, hotel rooms and other things like food, it really gets
expensive to send a team to a tournament like this.
“The girls have been doing all they can to try and raise the
money, but it has been very hard. We have been pretty lucky in that
some local business have been really good at donating supplies to
us.”
Along with selling root beer floats, the Thunder players have been
working for weeks on other fund-raising endeavors, with modest
results.
On weekends, the girls have been toiling in the heat with car
washes in the parking lot of the Wienerschinitzel at 1001 N. San
Fernando Blvd. The players, coaches and others involved with the team
have spent hours cleaning cars for $5 and $7 a pop.
The girls even went door to door selling car-wash tickets in
advance.
With some items donated by the local Smart & Final, the players
also earned a modest amount of money making homemade gift baskets.
In a tuneup to the World Series, the Thunder is in Modesto this
weekend taking part in the California State Championship.
A dominating team in 2002, the Thunder has had its ups and downs
this season since moving up from the 10-and-under division. Last
season, the Burbank team finished second in the state and third in
the World Series in Las Vegas.
With his team’s success in 2002, Peraza said he expects opponents
to come gunning for the Thunder in the World Series.
“There will be some very good teams in the tournament,” he said.
“And with how well we did last year, a lot of the teams know us now.
We are just going to have to go out and play our best.”
Unlike many travel-ball teams, the Thunder is made up almost
entirely of players from Burbank.