By: Charles Romans
Carter County Times
Local Boy Scout Jake Sherrard (Troop 109) spoke to the Grayson Tourism Commission at their regular meeting in October about his plan for his Eagle Scout project.
“I am here with a project for a gaga ball pit,” Sherrard told the commission. “I plan on putting it between the splash pad and the playground area at the sports park.”
The pit, he said, would not be fixed but movable, as necessary.
Sherrard explained the project to the commission – one which would be totally funded, both materials and labor, through his efforts. It involves erecting a pit structure 30 inches high and 10feet long on each side in an octagon shape, with a blue powder steel frame to match the playground and a mulch base inside. Sherrard told the commission that he needed their approval for the project before he could submit his completed plan to Boy Scouts of America.
Gaga ball is a game that is played in a pit setting, with players striking the ball with an open hand and attempting to strike their opponents below the knee, thereby eliminating them. Multiple opponents can be eliminated with one strike of the ball, which adds another challenging dimension to the game. Players cannot pick up or ‘scoop’ the ball, and play continues until all players are eliminated in a ‘last man standing’ scenario. The only limit to the number of players is the dimensions of the pit itself.
“My brother built one at Carter Caves and it was a massive success,” Sherrard told the commission. “We went by on a random Tuesday and there were about eight or nine people playing.”
Sherrard told the commission that Prichard Elementary has a gaga ball pit, but it is locked up after school hours. Building a gaga ball pit at the sports park would allow young people in Grayson and the surrounding areas to be able to play without those restrictions, especially on weekends when the school is not open. After hearing Sherrard’s proposal, the commission voted to approve it on the contingency that the sports park manager would oversee it.
Sports Park Director Bert Bayes reported to the commission that the sports park was doing well with plenty of traffic.
“We did a hard count and there were 650 cars by 10:30 in the morning, not counting in overflow parking,” Bayes said. “We estimate there were somewhere between 2,200 and 2,500 people at the park for about five or six hours. We had a very large crowd, and everything went well. We were also fortunate with the weather.”
“We continue to stay really busy,” Bayes reported. “During our events we continue to see really good turnouts, and everything runs smoothly. We haven’t had any complaints. And we have had a lot of compliments from the visitors coming in.”
Bayes told the commission that the majority of people were actual visitors, and not from Grayson.
“And sometimes they are from far away,” he said. “On the soccer games we have people driving from Louisville and Elizabethtown.”
Bayes told the commission that the Sports Park was just touching the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, when it came to soccer. He said he expected it to continue to grow and to see numbers comparable to what they have seen for baseball and softball.
“We continue to be very busy,” he said. “And we have events scheduled through the second week of November.”
The numbers they have experienced are just one good reason to make a comprehensive development plan, he said, with a focus on improving parking and other future needs.
Contact the writer at charles@cartercountytimes.com
