I just don't get the seeming lack of interest in making the Uncle Sam baseball tournament an annual thing.
The 2026 edition, played May 15 & 17 at Lansingburgh High, and won by LaSalle, should signal the start of an annual tradition. This year, Tamarac, based in the Cropseyville suburb, replaced Catholic Central as the 4th team representing the city, along with Troy High.
By this time next year, Catholic Central will be just an elementary school in Latham, with the high schoolers moving to Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons in Schenectady, having already ended decades old sports rivalries with the other city schools, so Tamarac would make a perfect substitute.
But, then, there is a question of whether or not Lansingburgh would host the tournament every year. 'Burgh has hosted the last two, the 2017 edition being played next door at Knickerbacker Park. LaSalle plays most of their home games at Geer Field, home of South Troy Little League, and as such, wouldn't be suitable for the tournament. They try to play at least one home game a year at Bruno Stadium, weather permitting, but the tournament would have to be scheduled prior to the start of the Tri-City ValleyCats season, since they host the Section II baseball semi-finals & finals, as was the case two weeks ago. Troy, like 'Burgh, has a turf field in their sports complex on Burdett Avenue, and added a couple of electronic scoreboards in the last decade. The only thing missing would be a secondary PA system on that side of the complex.
The easy solution would be to work out a deal with the 'Cats and Hudson Valley Community College to schedule the tournament the weekend before the 'Cats begin their home schedule.
But, in this era of equality, what about a Uncle Sam softball tournament? Troy, 'Burgh, LaSalle, & Emma Willard would be the four teams. Lansingburgh hosted the Section II softball championships for the first time this year, with Troy hosting the Class A semi-finals. Emma Willard, like Tamarac, would represent the Wasaren League, while the others are in the Colonial Council.
In this case, the four schools could rotate hosting the tournament, given Emma Willard's close proximity to Troy High. Weather, of course, would be a factor, though this year's tournaments were not affected by weather all that much, surprisingly.
Something to think about.
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