On opening day of any youth sports season, big brown cardboard boxes arrive at the field or gym with stacks of shirts in every hue from bright orange to muted maroon. The shirts are bundled by team with numbers and names nicely imprinted. The excitement is palpable as the players claim their shirts, pull them on and proudly hit the field or court to play for their team.
Over the years, I have witnessed many such days with children and grandchildren. However, I never gave a thought to all the work that precedes the arrival of those big brown boxes until I recently spoke to Kari Bond. Kari and Ailene Begley assumed the position as Uniform Co-Chairs for the Capitol Little League organization last season.
Similar questions could be raised about how the Capitol Little League baseball fields are in such tip-top shape at the beginning of each season, and often, even have new bases. Kari’s husband, Gene, can take the credit for organizing that effort. Loris Gies, President of the Capitol Little League board, recently gave the Bonds a huge shout-out for their contributions to the organization.
The old cliché about “asking busy people to do more, and they probably will” certainly applies to Kari and Gene. “One reason we are able to contribute and do what we do is that we own our own business, Sound Septic, so it allows me to be a bit more flexible with my time.” She added that Gene and his crew are responsible for keeping the fields in shape because that work comes naturally to him.
Loris explained, “Gene and his team of volunteers have donated many, many hours moving dirt and working our fields. He recently installed new bases set to the Little League rulebook standards. He also did the dirt work on a recent rebuild of our infield on three of our grass infields.”
Gene responded by saying, “We have the equipment, and we live near the field, so it seems sensible that we would do the work.”
“The field crew deserves a ton of credit for mowing, fertilizing, dragging, and moving dirt,” added Loris.
Both Gene and Kari know the importance of having both the fields and the uniforms ready at the beginning of the season since they have been active parents in the Capitol Little League organization since their almost eleven-year-old son, Braiden, began playing as a five-year-old.
Gene has coached his son’s team since the first season, so he has established a wonderful relationship with the boys. Coaching comes naturally to Gene, who graduated from Tenino High School where he was on the football, baseball and wrestling teams. His coaching ability was recognized early since he combines his ability on the field with his gift for working with kids.
He returned to Tenino High School as the wrestling coach in 2012, but after two seasons, he realized he was spreading himself too thin. With four children now ages 3, 5, 8, and almost 11, he had to make some tough choices, so he decided to focus on Little League and his family.
Kari said, “For the few hours that my little ones are in day care and my older two are in school, I manage to use the time efficiently to work on the uniform orders.” Excel and online ordering have somewhat streamlined the job, but Capitol Little League has 36 teams and between 350-360 players and their coaches who need to be fitted for uniforms. Coaches usually choose a Major League Team for the logo on the team’s shirts and hats. They often keep that association as they move up with their team through the Little League levels from T-Ball to AA and AAA and then Minors and Majors. Braiden and his teammates, who will play in the Majors, will go local in spring season using the logo of the Tacoma Rainiers.
Kari has developed a wonderful relationship with All Pro Screen Printing and Embroidery in Lacey and works with them as early as January to have the uniforms ready to distribute on Opening Day. When teams are selected, players are measured for uniforms and the ordering begins.
Kari described the day she and her 8-year-old daughter drove her Suburban to All Pro in Lacey to pick up the shirts for fall season. “We had all the seats down and all you could see from front to back were stacks of brown boxes,” she said. “Even though it was a learning curve to get us there, we only had eight changes that needed to be made from the hundreds of orders we submitted.”
Online ordering through All Pro has facilitated the ability for parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to show their team loyalty by ordering Fan Ware, which is a great fundraiser for the organization, netting almost $1,000 last season.
Kari and Gene Bond are equally grateful for all the support Loris gives the families and volunteers. “Her leadership has really made all our work so worthwhile. We appreciate all she does for the organization,” the couple said.
It looks like the Bonds will be volunteering for the Capitol Little League for many years ahead. Their five-year old daughter will be joining her first team this spring.
To register for Capitol Little League, click here.
