Rick Reyes has been involved in youth baseball for many years. He was part of the Jersey City Recreation Diamond Dawgs program that was headed by the late Ed “The Faa” Ford, a team that featured his son, Ricky, a young man who has endured his fair share of medical adversity during his young life.
The younger Reyes has undergone several surgeries to remove a series of brain tumors, but then recovered enough to eventually pitch for Marist High School, quite an inspirational story in its own right.
So last year when Jackie Robinson Little League president Brian Mills asked the elder Reyes to coach the league’s 18-and-under Big League All-Star team, Reyes gladly accepted.
“I love being able to teach the basics,” Reyes said. “I love being able to develop teams and watch them become stronger in the future.”
Reyes coached the Jackie Robinson Big League team a year ago and they just missed heading to the Big League Eastern Regional, losing in the title game.
So Reyes tried to reassemble that team as much as possible to make another run.
“I got lucky to be able to put the team back together,” Reyes said. “It’s a good group of kids. It’s very tough at times to get a commitment from the kids to play, because they play for other teams in other leagues. But they love to play baseball and they love to be on the field.”
For example, some of the players on Reyes’ All-Star squad play for two different teams in the Jersey City RBI League. So it makes collecting them to play in the Big League tourney a chore.
But Jackie Robinson won the District 7 Big League title and headed this week to compete in the New Jersey Big League state championships in North Cumberland.
That alone takes a commitment, getting in a vehicle together and driving more than two hours to play.
“These kids wanted to come back and give it another try,” Reyes said.
So far, so good. Reyes has a roster of players that have graced the Hudson Reporter All-Area High School Baseball team for the last two years.
His pitching staff features former Hudson Catholic standout David Rivera, who is the team’s leading hitter as well. Rivera is a fine baseball player who is headed to Puerto Rico next month for a handful of professional tryouts.
Right-hander Azriel Andrickson is another of the Jackie Robinson ace hurlers. Andrickson emerged this past high school season as one of the best pitchers for North Bergen.
“He’s a very good pitcher,” Reyes said. “He throws hard and throws strikes.”
Jomar Figueroa (Ferris) and Eddie Reidinger (St. Anthony) round out the pitching staff. Reidinger was just a sophomore this past season and he is one of the younger members of the Jackie Robinson All-Stars.
Kevin Cepeda, also of North Bergen, is the team’s catcher. Andrickson shares first base duties with Mike Martinez, who played at Marist.
Kevin Alonso, the 2011 Hudson Reporter Player of the Year for North Bergen, is the team’s second baseman, with Rivera handling shortstop duties when he’s not on the mound. Darryl Velez, who once played at Ferris, plays shortstop when Rivera is pitching.
Jose Gonzalez, the recent Marist graduate who is headed to the University of Rhode Island on a scholarship, is the team’s third baseman.
Former St. Mary’s All-Area outfielder Miguel Aviles plays left field, with Dominic Reyes, Rick’s son, in center and Figueroa in right. Reyes also played at Ferris and now attends Drew University.
Manny De La Rosa, a versatile infielder/outfielder from Hudson Catholic, and Dore Lopez, another North Bergen product, complete the team’s roster.
“The majority of the team has been with me since the Diamond Dawgs days,” Reyes said. “So I know them well and I know what they can do. These kids are willing to practice all the time, even having late practices. It’s been wonderful. I’m enjoying every bit of it. I’ve had to take time from my job [as a carpenter] to coach this team, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
The Jackie Robinson Big League All-Stars will compete in the state tournament in North Cumberland and if they’re successful there, they will head to the Big League Regional in Dover, Delaware, from July 17 through July 24.
Chances are that Reyes will have to take off more time from work to coach the team for another week.
The EXTRA INNINGS feature focuses on the best stories that come from local baseball and softball leagues throughout the area.
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