"I'll give you a golden lion cheer for the pain of the forest fire"
"I'll give you a golden lion cheer for the pain of the forest fire"
Blog Article
Uiseong High School baseball team members vividly remember March 22 when the worst wildfire started. After visiting Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, for a game against Pohang Steel High School, they had to face an accommodation covered in ashes. The school gymnasium, where people engaged in indoor training such as weight training, has turned into an evacuation zone for about 90 forest fire victims. The athletes had to move all kinds of training equipment. Night training that they had been doing every single day was also suspended for more than a week. As such, the baseball team endured the pain of the forest fire with residents of Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang Province.토토사이트
About a month later, on April 26, Uiseong County received good news for the first time in a long time. On the same day, Uiseong High School won an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Kyungpook High School, confirming its victory in the C-area of the Gyeongsang region in the first half of the weekend league. The achievement was made in 11 months since the foundation of the baseball team in May last year.
On the day, baseball team members of Uiseong High School held up a banner reading, "Wishing the people of Uiseong County to recover their health and daily lives." The parents of the baseball team members also attended the event. On Thursday, the team plans to donate 10 million won (8,400 U.S. dollars) to Uiseong County in the name of the baseball team.
Uiseong High School, which has become a hopeful missionary of Uiseong County, will continue its new challenge at the 79th Golden Lion National High School Baseball Competition and the weekend league King of Kings. Uiseong High School, which will kick off on Thursday, will play its first round match against Masan High School (ranked fourth in the Gyeongsang region A) at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul. Uiseong High School, which will play in the Golden Lion for the first time since its foundation, aims to advance to the round of 16 teams by overcoming its first win at the four major high school baseball championships (the Golden Lion, the Blue Dragon, the Presidential Cup, and the Phoenix Flag).
Uiseong County, an ultra-aged city where residents account for 48 percent of the population aged 65 or older, opened a baseball team in May last year. The team created a curling team in 2019 to attract students. It was the first time that a high school baseball team was established in a county level in North Gyeongsang Province. The team also offered a helping hand. Uiseong County provided huge support not only for the cost of participating in the competition, but also for the ballpark rental, bus rental, and leader's labor costs. Uiseong High School is currently training at Daegu Samguk Yusa Gunwi Baseball Stadium, which is 20 minutes away by bus. Uiseong County plans to build a stadium dedicated to the baseball team.
Residents' support is also continuing. More than 60 Uiseong residents are providing their players with uniforms for free through a campaign to collect one-person sponsorship. Besides, support from local marts, kimbap shops, and tourist bus companies continued, and the team engraved the company's logo on their training uniforms. "The fact that Uiseong, the name of the region, is not Uiseong High School, on the uniform means that it is a baseball team of all Uiseong County," said Yoon Young-joon, head of the baseball team at Uiseong High School.
Manager Kim Hyung-geun (42), who was the first team to be nominated by Samsung in the 2003 professional baseball rookie draft, is in charge of the team. When he was a coach of the Korean pro baseball team, Kim received attention as a pitching trainer. He has also promoted a number of first-round nominees including Bae Chan-seung (19) of the Samsung Lions, Jeon Mir (20) and Lee Woon (21) of the SSG, who are considered nominees for this year's Rookie of the Year. In addition, he also joined the team including senior coach Udong-gyun (36) and pitcher instructor Kwon Oh-won (46). With outstanding leaders gathered, a large number of players who were thirsty for a chance to play in the Daegu and North Gyeongsang baseball teams changed into Uiseong High School uniforms.
Among the players, Kim Si-woo and Park Sung-hyuk (18 years old) are notable. Kim Si-woo is the son of Kim Sang-yeop, manager of the Kyungil University baseball team who played as a pitcher for Samsung. Among the freshmen, twin brothers Yoo Hyun-joon (pitcher) and Yoo Hyun-bin (catcher, 17) are considered promising players. "I want to tell the players that anyone can become a good player if they have more chances to play in real games. I will display bold and aggressive baseball in the Golden Lion," Kim said.