One of my favorite parts of being involved with Hamilton Lou Gehrig is seeing players evolve from 13 year olds adjusting to the big field, to High School Varsity players.

It seems like every High School game played in Mercer County is represented by a Lou Gehrig Alum. In 2005 there were 45 varsity players who had roots in Lou Gehrig Baseball, including two former Lou Gehrig teammates who had very memorable seasons. Terry Wells (Pennington Prep) and Chris Kinnvey (Notre Dame) showed why each was a batting champion while at Lou Gehrig.

Chris led the entire CVC in home runs, belting an amazing 7 while leading Notre Dame. However, Chris did not lead the area in home runs. That distinction is owned by Terry, who hit a remarkable 8 in gaining 1st Team All-Prep honors.

While they have been on competing High School and American Legion teams, Terry and Chris will be able to look back and fondly remember their time as Lou Gehrig teammates. Teammates as 13 and 14 year olds, both players helped lead Commerce Bank to the League Championship as 14's. Chris was the league Batting Champion, hitting an amazing .667, while Terry was the Pitching Leader, accumulating 6 of the team's 12 regular season wins.

When moving up to the Colt division as 15's, they were the first two picks in the draft, ending up on different teams. Their run together was not over however, as they both competed on the 15 year old all-star team. This team was one of the most successful in Lou Gehrig history, as they ended up winning 7 total games, including 6 loser bracket games in seven days, finally finishing runner-up.

As 16 year olds, Chris and Terry once again showed their hitting prowess, as Terry won the Colt division Batting Champonship with a .545 average. This just edged Chris, who finished third at .500.

While I could go on about Chris and Terry for hours, talking about memorable games and plays (such as Chris hitting a ball to the fence of a dominating Bill Crawford as a thirteen year old), I would be remis if not mentioning how proud I am of how they turned out as individuals. Both will be going to college in September, and both will have me following their careers, however far they may go.