Winter Garden Squeeze launch Sports Month at The Learning Experience

Before the three Winter Garden Squeeze players took preschoolers at The Learning Experience in Horizon West outside for some summer sports Monday, June 29, they each sat down with the children as special guest readers. 

Ayden Elixson, Rylee Gibson and Cael Reish each took on their own room of students and sat in the tiny chairs designed for youth. Gibson read the children “My 1st Book of Sportsmanship” and the others read about community and coming together. 

Curiosity took over the children, who were ages 2 to 5, after story time and they raised their hands with questions about baseball, how old the players are — one pointing out her dad is older than Elixson — and sharing their favorite sports. 

Reish carefully handed them his baseball glove. They all sat in a line and peered down the line to their friends, patiently waiting for their turn to try it on. The glove exceeded the size of the students’ heads as they tried it on for size, curious about how it fits and should be held. 

Once their interest was hooked on baseball, the students were ready to go outside and kick off the preschool’s Sports Month. 

The Learning Experience owner Bob Messina said through Sports Month the daycare is trying to bring awareness to children at a young age about the various sports open to them. They are opening children’s minds so when they age, they can play sports such as baseball, football, soccer and basketball. 

Squeeze Assistant General Manager Brian Koss saw firsthand how the preschool runs its curriculum as his two children have gone through its classrooms and currently are enrolled in the summer camps. He’s known them since they opened four years ago and always felt like his kids were treated like family members. 

Koss knew Messina was a baseball guy — he had played in college at Ohio State University — and discussed having Squeeze players come last summer, but it came to fruition this year. 

The Learning Experience sent two groups of classes outside for around 20 minutes of playing time. 

In the first group, Reish took the children over to a T-ball stand, bat and ball. 

One by one, preschoolers stepped up to bat. But before their bat struck the ball situated on a T-ball post, they peered up at Reish who was there to teach them the technique. 

Once each child securely had the bat in hand, they took a swing and ran around the bases with a smile across their faces as the early morning rays of sun shined down.

Across the fence, Elixson and Gibson worked with the children on kickball. 

A 3-year-old in her white and colored heart designed dress, kicked the ball but looked around for the bases. Gibson quickly ran to each, pointing down at them and walked her through all three of the rock designed bases. 

With a bright smile on his face, Elixson rolled the ball to each of the children and ran ahead of them to each base as their giggles filled the air while they chased him. 

Then the daycare sent the second wave of classes. 

Gibson, who became an uncle one-and-one-half years ago, took over the T-ball lessons. He said working with and taking care of the younger kids brought out his father’s side, a trait he didn’t always know was present. 

When Gibson was younger, he didn’t always understand children but now that he’s a sophomore college player, he’s understood they react the same way any adult would based on cause and effect. 

It brought him joy being able to use his knowledge as he worked with The Learning Experience’s children. It also prepared him for continuing to be an uncle for his sister’s child.

“Those (Squeeze players) are really young too, and they’re just starting out their careers and they’re dreaming about becoming Major League Baseball players,” Messina said. “They need to have a grounding, no matter how good they are, to have a sense of community so that as they grow and go up the ladder, they will always give back to the community and they’ll always be humbled by seeing the kids that they can try to touch to follow them.” 

Reish, also a sophomore, never had experience working with the youth so when Squeeze General Manager Adam Bates and Koss asked him, he took up the offer to get out of his comfort zone and into the community. 

The children were ecstatic Reish, Gibson and Elixson decided to spend their morning with them. 

When the Squeeze players prepared to depart and said their goodbyes and waved, children were sad the eventful morning was ending. They had a blast and loved playing baseball, asking when they could see the players again. 

The Learning Experience’s staff also was grateful for the Squeeze attending and kicking off Sports Month. The preschool teaches a curriculum based on the different characters, which are the five animals they use to represent lesson they have, and Flexi Flamingo teaches to be active. By going outside and learning how to hit a baseball, the kids were able to see an action they were learning about in the classroom done right in front of them.