Youth athletes in Reeltown may finally have a place to compete, a project over a dozen years in the works.
Three local Reeltown coaches and dads — Bryan Lynn, Trey Lewis and Jamie Kelley — got together around 12 years ago and decided the youth in their community needed a place to play baseball.
For too long, Reeltown’s younger members had to find time to squeeze in practices and games at Reeltown High School’s fields — or travel to neighboring cities like Tallassee or Notasulga.
The trio tried to remedy this problem by acquiring about 20 acres of land down the street from the elementary and high schools with a vision for a centralized area for youth sports.
There, they would build the Reeltown Youth Sports Plex.
But it is never that simple.
For five or so years, the small team of men cleared the land of trees and moved countless piles of dirt on their own time.
Clint Lynn, the older brother of Bryan, said the group was basically forced to do the excavating themselves, as Reeltown lacked proper companies to assist them. Hiring outside companies obviously posed a financial burden, so the men stuck to it.
After those five years, the sons of the group grew old enough to play for middle school teams, thus earning clear and consistent playtime through school.
The team still worked on the fields, handing the deed over to Reeltown’s baseball league, but it became more of a passion project than something they needed a definite time to complete.
“They kept trying to make it happen, but after their boys moved to school ball, they just could not be as involved,” Clint said.
Shortly after the trio stopped working heavily on the fields, Bryan died from a heart attack. Nine months later, Kelley also died from a heart attack.
Within the span of less than a year, two of the three visionaries for youth sports in Reeltown had died. All the while, the project they had started still needed years of work.
Reviving the Sports Plex project
As a result, the empty field sat dormant. The lot was a sign of hope that one day the project could become complete, but it was also a constant reminder of all that still needed to be done.
Last year, after years of pestering for the project to be jump started again, Clint saw the project get revived and he was asked to help form the board that now oversees the Sports Plex and its development.
“Our long-term goal is to have baseball and softball and to at least give the football players a place to practice,” Clint Lynn said.
Since the formation of the board, the Sports Plex is now on track to host its first games in the spring and has given new life to a long time dream.
The complex would have never been able to set a tentative completion date without the help of those around the community and neighboring cities.
In the last six or so weeks alone, local contractors have donated equipment and time to move dirt and spread topsoil. The topsoil planted for the fields was donated by the Reeltown Dollar General.
The City of Opelika recently announced upgrades to its youth facilities and was going to tear down and discard its old fencing for its fields. Instead, the city donated fences along with posts and infield dirt to the complex.
“I am sure some of (the fencing) will have to be replaced, but still, we are hopeful to play now,” Lynn said.
The county also pitched in through the years, as work teams moved dirt on the property to keep busy during the winter. Much of what gets done on the Sports Plex property has to be donated because the board cannot receive grant funding.
Because Reeltown is not an incorporated city, the board can receive only a 50-50 matching grant. With finding large sums of money being a constant issue, taking on a 50-50 grant is out of the question.
“If all you have is a mayor and a post office, it is easier to get a grant because there is some kind of government over it,” Lynn said. “We just do not have those funds to match.”
Even without funding, the board worked to get things ready for spring.
Before the group ever got the fencing, they began with planting the fields. On July 2, the topsoil was planted on what is going to become Field 1.
“We are babying it, watering it as best we can and praying all goes well,” Lynn said.
The adjoining field, Field 2, is about 75% complete, according to Lynn. However, just having fields doesn’t even solve half the problems.
The challenges that remain
For the Sports Plex to be recognized as a proper sporting location, it needs proper facilities. Mainly, the land needs bathrooms.
“Our big ticket item right now is a septic tank and a bathroom,” Lynn said. “If we can get that, we can at least play softball during the day.”
The fields do not yet have light posts to host baseball or football, a project for way down the line according to Lynn. But since youth softball is strictly played during the day, a bathroom facility will clear them to host morning and afternoon softball games.
“We just don’t have $100,000 for lights right now,” Lynn said.
Travel is obviously an issue for youth baseball players because of having to go to Notasulga to practice and play; Clint said it is a problem he thinks the players can stomach for now.
Notasulga has not had a running youth baseball league in about four years, so the youth from Reeltown have taken over the neighboring town’s facilities.
“Probably, in our first year, we will only play softball because they have nowhere else to play,” Lynn said. “The boys will be OK eventually. Right now, the focus is on the girls. Softball has really struggled the last few years, so we are pushing right now to save softball.”
Eventually, the football teams will be able to practice at the facility during the day, instead of having to practice on RHS’s baseball field.
“They need a place to practice,” Lynn said.
Admittedly, Lynn is not doing this only for himself. He coached youth baseball in Tallassee for 12 years. Getting the Sports Plex completed is something he wants to do for his brother.
Although his younger brother will never be able to see it, the elder Lynn hopes when the complex is complete, it can stand as a testament for three dreams that have come true.
“It takes time and lots of money, but myself and the board are doing all we can to see Bryan, Jamie and Trey’s dream come to pass,” he said. “My whole purpose is to do this to fulfill the dream.”
For donations, contributions or information on how to help the Sports Plex, contact the board’s treasurer, Jennifer Kelley at jenniferkelley0@icloud.com.