The Healing Power of Baseball

Hey all — “Coach Jeff” here again.

Last Monday night, my son had a baseball game. As I watched and coached the boys from first base, I couldn’t stop thinking about how grateful I was. And how lucky we all were to be in the park and on the field that night. Kids playing. Parents watching. Kids smiling. Parents cheering. Kids being kids. It was the way it should be. It was perfect.

I also couldn’t stop thinking about Jackson Sparks, the 8-year-old baseball player who lost his life at the Waukesha Christmas Parade.

I think about Jackson a lot. But I quickly replace the thoughts of what happened to him, with thoughts about what we can do for him.

A few weeks ago, in what seems like fate, our friends Matt Drvaric at Riverwater Partners and Sean Cullen of JP Cullen, asked SRH to join in the effort to build a commemorative baseball field in Jackson’s honor.

We are proud to announce that W.R. Oliver Park in Waukesha will forever be known as Sparks Complex — complete with an all-turf, state-of-the-art, championship-level baseball diamond in Jackson’s memory.

SRH is proud to give our time and talents to ensure this field gets funded and built. Sparks Complex will be a special place where thousands of boys and girls will come together to enjoy and celebrate the game Jackson loved to play.

For more information about Sparks Complex and what we’re up to, please visit sparkscomplex.com or check out this recent Waukesha Freeman article.