TENNERTON – The Buckhannon Post 7 Junior Legion and Legion teams are set to begin their 2022 campaigns this week.

The Junior Legion team will start things off Thursday by hosting Grafton at 6 p.m., while the Legion team will get their campaign underway Saturday hosting Wellsburg in a doubleheader with the first game starting at 1 p.m.

Buckhannon Post 7 general manager Kevin Boring will have 18 players on the roster this year and says the versatility of the team will be one of their main strengths.

“Our strength will be our versatility,” stated Boring. “We have numerous players that can play several different positions. This should give us increased flexibility when deciding on our line for that given game. I also hope it creates a little competition within the boys in that they need to compete to the best of their ability on a day-in, day-out basis.”

While the roster shows a mixture of experience and youth on it, Boring said he expects different players to step up each game.

“Each and every player has the opportunity to be team leader, whether they are in the starting line-up that game or not,” explained Boring. “We don’t have a bunch of ‘rah-rah’ type guys. Most of our players will lead by example. It will be interesting to see who takes a step forward to become our more visible, team leader or leaders. Honestly, I am not sure who that will be at this given moment, but I do hope there are several guys that want to fulfill that role.”

This will be the first season post-COVID that Post 7 will have a full schedule and will start their season on time.

“It is nice to get back to a more consistent schedule and allow the boys to gain some valuable experience,” stated Boring. “That being said, we will follow any guidelines established by American Legion Baseball and/or our local health authorities.”

Boring put together a competitive schedule for his Post 7 team.

“Our schedule is going to be full — around 20 junior games and 40 senior games,” said Boring. “A highlight will be a trip to the Palmetto Invitational in Florence, S.C. We have added new teams to our schedule, such as Wellsburg, Moorefield and Wheeling to name a few.”

Boring said that fielding a Junior Legion team with a full schedule will be beneficial to his overall program.

“Having a junior legion is a great advantage for the development of our younger players,” remarked Boring. “Actually, we have only two players that are strictly senior players and the rest of our guys will be playing both. I think this bodes very well for our high school program next year because many of the guys B-U head coach Adam Squires will be counting on next spring are going get a lot of action this summer.”

While winning is high on the list of any coach, for Boring, the expectations of the team go beyond just picking up victories.

“Our expectations for this season for Post 7 is to get a solid commitment from the players and have them demonstrate an understanding of what we are teaching them as far as what we expect to play the game: compete on every pitch, execute the game plan, maintain a high level of positive energy, have a never-give-up attitude and if they do this, to hold their head up high, win or lose.”

During Boring’s time as general manager of the baseball team, he has made it his mission to integrate the local veterans who make up Buckhannon Post 7 with the team, something that will happen once again this year.

“We want to take a moment to thank the Buckhannon American Legion Post 7 for sponsoring our teams and also to thank not only those veterans but all of those who serve and protect us on a daily basis,” concluded Boring.