JFK juniors will benefit from Legion experience
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

ISELIN - The JFK Junior Legion team wrapped up its summer season, tallying six wins.

A tough second-half schedule against the league's stiffest competition took its toll on the young JFK ball club.

"We definitely finished with a tough second half," JFK head coach Jerry Smith said. "Still, the kids on our team are very young and they played well throughout the summer. They are a big part of our program, and there are a handful of sophomores from this team that have a good chance to get a serious look for the varsity squad next spring."

Sophomore catcher Jay Stolz had an outstanding summer playing for both the JFK Junior and Senior Legion teams. With Stolz splitting time between the two teams, his summer schedule allowed him to play close to 30 games.

"The experience he gained this summer was invaluable to his growth," Smith said. "He worked out really hard, and he came to some of the camps as well to put in the time to get himself where he needs to be come next spring."

Right-handed pitcher Alex Weinstein is another promising sophomore. His stuff on the mound this summer was competent enough to land him some innings on the senior team, but Smith opted to keep him among the junior ranks.

"Alex had the ability to pitch on the senior team, but we kept him on the junior team so he could throw a lot of innings," Smith said. "He pitched a ton of innings and matured quite a bit."

In the past, Smith's stuff was so electric he could coast on talent alone. The work he put in over the summer marked a significant change in the sophomore.

"He became willing to work and is very coachable now," Smith said. "He's recognizing what he needs to do to get to the next level and he's progressing nicely."

Like Stolz, left fielder Kyle Grimes was another sophomore to play for Smith's Junior and Senior Legion teams.

"He played a lot of baseball this summer, and I think he was big for the team," Smith said. "Kyle always brought focus and played hard every day. His approach rubbed off on the other kids that played with him."

Junior shortstop Jack Frost was one of the veteran players on the junior ranks and performed at an eye-opening level.

"Jack plays extremely hard and he plays the game the way I wish all of my players played it," Smith said. "He had previously always been at second base, but he moved to short to fill a vacancy and he did a great job."

Despite dropping its last five games to end the season 6-14, the JFK Junior Legion team impressed Smith throughout the season.

"The guys on the team often played against older players, and they held their own," Smith said. "The big thing was that they gained experience playing against tough competition, and that's what makes them better players."