AMERICUS – The boys of summer are back. The 12u, 10u and 8u Sumter County All-Star baseball teams are poised and ready to make runs through the Georgia Recreation and Parks Association (GRPA) District 3 Tournaments.

The Americus Times-Recorder caught up with the coaches of each team to find out what type of competition each team will be facing in their various age classifications and what it will take to advance to the GRPA state tournaments.

The 8u Sumter County All-Stars won the Hawkinsville Pulaski All-Star Tournament in Hawkinsville last weekend. It was a great tune-up for them as the District 3 Tournament draws near. Sumter County 8u head coach Mike Reeves was happy with his team’s performance in that tournament and expects his team to be prepared for some stiff competition at the District 3 Tournament in Moultrie. “We just came out of the Hawkinsville tournament last week and we won that tournament. We won three games and we lost one over there,” Reeves said. “I feel confident that we will see teams that are as good if not better in Moultrie. Our team has shown that they are just as good as the next team as long as they play their game. We have a good group of hard-working young men. I think that no matter who we play, we will persevere.”

The Sumter County 10u All-Stars are also poised and ready to make a run to a district championship. However, head coach John Mixon knows that his squad will be going up against stiff competition in Moultrie. “We’ve got some tough teams in the tournament. We start out against Thomasville, who usually has a very good team,” Mixon said. “Moultrie has two teams there that are very good. Mitchell County and our selves make up the five in the district. We have a pretty tall order against our selves, but the boys have been practicing hard. We’ve played in a few tournaments and we’ve done very well. I think that we are ready to move on and do our best at district.” According to Mixon, he coached the 8u team a year ago and that team was one out away from winning the District 3 Tournament and going to the state championship.

Johnny Raybon is the head coach of the 12u Sumter County All-Star Team. Though he realizes the teams his squad will face in the District 3 Tournament will be extremely tough, he is confident that his team is up to the challenge. “We’ve got a good squad. We just have to play hard,” Raybon said. “If we make mistakes, we just keep digging. First and foremost, we have to hit the ball. That’s been our issue so far. We’ve made a few errors, but other than that, we have a good, hard team.”

A year ago, the Sumter County 12u All-Star Team won the District 3 Tournament and finished in third place in the state tournament.

All of the action begins on Saturday morning, June 8, at Magnolia Park in Moultrie. The 8u All-Stars open the tournament by facing Thomasville at 9 a.m. on Field 3. The 10u All-Stars open their tournament when they take on Thomasville on Field 3 at noon. The 12u All-Stars begin their quest for a district championship when they face Crisp County at 11 a.m. on Field 4.