Fishtown Hoagies help bring baseball back to their Philadelphia neighborhood

Fishtown Hoagies - Philadelphia Baseball Review

PHILADELPHIA -- Fishtown blends historic charm with a rapidly evolving landscape, all while remaining one of Philadelphia’s most walkable neighborhoods. From its eateries to its small businesses, the area has long thrived on a strong sense of community.

Over the last few years, that community has helped bring America’s pastime back to the forefront of the neighborhood.

After a significant decline in youth baseball participation — caused in part by the disruption of COVID, the loss of crucial developmental years, and the growing pull of screen time and video games — the Fishtown Hoagies have become one of the pillars of Fishtown A.C. Baseball’s resurgence.

Following a strong spring season in which 12 baseball and softball teams took the field, the Hoagies extended their year into the summer by joining the Philadelphia Select League.

The team is led by coaches Sean Callahan, John Hogan Jr., and Alec O’Neill, each of whom has a son on the roster. Together, they have taken on the responsibility of giving neighborhood kids a chance to play organized baseball in a place where those opportunities had become harder to find.

“It’s just about providing an opportunity for more kids to play,” O’Neill said.

“I love the sport. I love baseball. And it just wasn’t there in our neighborhood,” he said. “There weren’t enough opportunities or enough people putting the effort in to let the kids play.”

Volunteering to coach is more than showing up at a ball field, penciling in a starting lineup and making sure improvements are being made. There is coordination involved. There is preparation. And in the case of the Hoagies, there has also been a fair amount of creativity.

“It feels like reinventing the wheel,” O’Neill said. “Finding fields and getting field time. Most of our fields are shared fields. There are other sports being played on them. There are other activities happening.”

Then came the part that spoke to the reality of building a youth baseball program in a dense city neighborhood.

“We’ve even had some fields that were dog parks, essentially,” O’Neill said with a laugh. “We had to convince people not to have their dogs on the field so we could practice.”

The determination to continue building a foundation for the 13U team has not gone unnoticed.

“It’s been amazing for all the boys,” said Chris Morrissey-Grubb, whose son Jasper plays outfield for the Hoagies. “They are bonding together, have great role models and are forming a community.”

Parents have stepped up as well, organizing carpools, planning off-field activities and helping keep the environment positive and fun.

“They are a big part of helping the kids get to practice and games and staying positive,” O’Neill said. “It’s been great being part of this community and part of our friend circles.”

The Hoagies may trail some teams in the Philadelphia Select League in experience. Many of their players did not begin playing organized baseball until they were seven, eight or nine years old. A few picked up a bat for the first time within the last year.

But the growth has been obvious. That includes O’Neill’s son, Arden, who has come to understand that development comes from repetition, adjustment and learning how to handle what the game gives you.

“You get experience by playing regularly,” Arden said. “You play on fields you know and fields you don’t. You deal with unexpected things. It’s good to have that in sports and in life. Sometimes you get a curveball, and you have to adapt and move on.”

That is what the Hoagies have been doing all summer.

They are adapting. They are improving. And in Fishtown, they are helping build something that is meant to last beyond one season.

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Fishtown Hoagies help bring baseball back to their Philadelphia neighborhood

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