Jimmy Johns Field

This year, RHS’s very own falcons got the opportunity to play at Jimmy John’s Field. They
played L’anse Creuse. The boys beat them 7-6 on Saturday, April 29 and got to experience
what it is like playing on a pro field.

The Jimmy Johns field is located in Utica and is home to The United Shore Professional
Baseball League (USPBL). This league was founded by Rochester-based General Sports and
Entertainment. For the past 10 years, they have made an effort to bring professional baseball to
the Detroit area. This league launched in May of 2016 with three teams playing a full 75-game
schedule at Jimmy John’s Field in downtown Utica.

The USPBL was designed as a program for players seeking to make it to the Majors. The teams
are made up of top-level college baseball players from around the country. This program
consists of “state of the art coaching, the very best in musculoskeletal training and strength and
conditioning programs, the latest advances in sabermetrics and video analysis, as well as a
focus on personal development off the field,” their website said.

The quality of the players and the baseball is very high because players are scouted regularly
by major league teams. The 2016 season was a success because 9 players were picked up by
Major League organizations during the league’s first year of business.

Eric Magiera, varsity baseball coach, said, “Events like this are
great for team bonding, and it gives them an experience of
playing in a pro stadium for the first time.” He also said, “The
game was part of a tournament which has Macomb county
teams play Oakland county teams.”

Not only did the players get to have this experience, but they
also got to grant the Rainbow connection a check with money
that they raised.

“[We raised] $3,975 through our Fight Win program,” Magiera

said.

The purpose of this program is to raise money for charitable

organizations that deal with cancer
research, treatment, or care.

Overall, the team felt this event could be considered a great success. The players got to have
an experience that they never had before, they got to present a check with money that they
raised, and about 200-300 people came to watch them play.