The stands were packed with plenty of jovial fans dressed in orange and black, and the team was led by head coach Chad Barry, who led Aledo to its first crown in 2014 — 11 years prior to the day.
The dream began as just that — a shared belief between a quartet of adolescent children and something to work towards. A nostalgic dream worthy of a Sandlot sequel, graduated seniors Brennon Evans, Ethan Hodo, Rhett Spiers, and Luke Trager provided a strong core of talent and leadership for this year’s championship squad, but it all started when they graduated from the tee’s and onto the diamond as members of the Athletics youth baseball team.
“We’ve been together for so long. Brennon (Evans) and Luke (Trager) have been on the same team since they were 6 years old, and Ethan and I have played together since we were little kids as well,” Rhett Spiers said. “When we all joined the same team together, we just continued to build up that chemistry and growed and progressed more than we ever could. The same happened as we moved up to travel ball and eventually to varsity as well.”
While Evans’ position behind home plate has not changed since he was 10, Spiers shifted from outfield to pitcher, Hodo was converted from infield to the mound, and Trager saw some time at shortstop transformed into a full-time position in the outfield.
The boys, affectionately referred to as a “band of brothers” by their mothers, traveled across the country during their youth and travel ball playing days, winning many games in numerous area codes, and their chauffeurs logged their miles as well.
“My brother-in-law, who also lives in Aledo and has a younger player, asked me where we all have traveled together,” said Krista Spiers, Rhett’s mother. “I told him that we’ve been to Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Oklahoma — we’ve had moms take kids for each other. Sometimes, we’ve traveled together more in a year than I have with my own family. We’ve spent so many holidays on a baseball field — even Mother’s Day or Father’s Day.”
The experience on the field sharpened their skill and craft, but off-the-field memories were beneficial to the boys and their mischief.
“One time, we were playing in a world series in Alabama on that A’s team when we were younger,” Evans said. “We drove down there as a team, and our coach surprised us with a deep sea fishing trip on one of our days off. We went out there and fished, which was a cool, new experience for most of us. Other than that, it was fun getting to play hide-and-seek in the hotels together.”
“On that same trip to Alabama, my family and I were staying in a house, and I had the guest house to myself,” Ethan Hodo said. “A lot of the guys would come over every day and absolutely destroy the guest house. Whenever we weren’t playing, we were all hanging out, and it was just a really good time.”
The destruction included plenty of activities that may have affected parental blood-pressure levels.
“I remember that the guest house had a ledge on it, and that we used to jump off onto the couch,” Rhett Spiers said. “Totally not safe for a 10-year-old, but we would jump off that ledge onto the couch every single time we went over there — we repeated that for hours.”
While the inseparable teammates continued to bond and grow over the years, so did their mothers, who continuously poured into their sons and their efforts to progress in baseball.
“I’ll never forget meeting her (Ashley Hodo). She was standing over by the fence when our teams were playing each other — Ethan (Hodo) was on the Rangers and Luke was on the Athletics. She had her little baby, Ellis, on her hip, and I just remember thinking, ‘Who is that little cutie?’ I was irritated with her because she was so beautiful, but just loved her once we started talking. Our sons became such fast friends.”
While the sons became fast friends, the mothers did the same as they spent so much time together traveling with their baseball-playing sons and all shared similar, positively oriented goals in both the long and short term.
“Some of these boys have been dreaming about winning the state championship, and I think it plays a big part into the belief,” said Linda Evans, Brennon’s mother. “We’ve been telling Brennon that he’s capable, one of the best and that they could win since they were little. I think it all plays into what you feed them — if you tell someone they’re a loser, then they start to think that. We fed Brennon and all the other boys that positive information since they were young, and I think it’s all played into where they ended up. As little guys, they dreamt it, they believed it and they were told it.”
As the boys and moms continued to populate airways and interstates alike in the name of baseball, the sons’ journey eventually progressed to the high school level, where they entered Aledo High School together.
“As a team, we’ve all said it since freshman year that we would win state as seniors,” Brennon Evans said. “No one would believe us because we would kind of be obnoxious about it in a joking way but deep down knowing that we meant it. No one took us seriously or thought we could actually do it until we put in the work and did it our last year.”
Even as new faces entered the fray, the group’s strength in numbers and fortitude continued to grow seamlessly.
“The group obviously grew up playing together and we moved out here when Devin (Miller) was in the sixth grade,” said Karleen Miller, mother of Devin. “We played for ABC which was with the Burdines and Deacon Schneider and guys like that. I didn’t actually meet most of the moms until the Sticks team. I met Amy a little bit before since Luke and Devin played together on the Texans, and she told me I had to meet her friends.
“I saw how close this group had been for a long time, saw all the pictures the kids took together like we had with our teams when we first moved here, so it was hard to leave the original teams we were playing with. Just watching them bring me and Devin into the group, it was a hard transition, but I thought, ‘I found my people!’ You have to come find your group and they have really helped us survive the high school years.”
The high school years can provide varying blends of fun memories, traumatic experiences, extra servings of insecurity, and unforgettable experiences alike. Sharing these chapters with familiar faces made the change much easier for the boys both as high school students and as Aledo baseball players.
“I think it was pretty easy for us to transition into high school because we had played together with these guys for so long,” Luke Trager said. “It just felt like another day even though high school is nerve wracking, but when you’re with people you enjoy being around, it makes it easier since you’re comfortable around them. It’s easier to remind yourself during those times that we are just playing baseball.”
Through the ups and downs on the field over the years, the moms shared their own experiences with one another.
“We’ve been through big life stuff together,” said Ashley Hodo, Ethan’s mother and the president of the program’s booster club this past year. “We had a friend survive breast cancer, we’ve had friends lose their parents, and these moms just continue to pour into each other, which started when the kids were little.”
As the longtime friends gained excellent tutelage from Barry and his staff, limitless support from their families and pivotal guidance from previous players, they continued to work hard towards their dream. Their belief sharply increased after the first day of practice after noticing some key symbolism on the finger of their head coach.
“I would say I first started noticing on our first day of practice,” Rhett Spiers said. “I remember talking to my teammates afterwards and how everyone thought we looked really good. That practice was really nice, we were off to a great start and I felt like it would be a great season from there. Coach (Chad) Barry wore his 2014 state ring that kind of showed his belief in us this year.”
The moms’ belief had been brewing even before their sons’ inaugural practice ahead of their senior year, and they also took notice of Barry’s 2014 ring.
“There’s always superstitions where we don’t want to talk about too much or predict that you’re going to win, but we were whispering, ‘We think this is the team,’ since December and January,” Krista Spiers said.
Fast forward through 40 games, Aledo emerged with an overall record of 34-8, matching the 2014 team for most wins in program history, including an unblemished 10-0 mark against District 5-5A foes. The final outing was the grandest of all the games they had played in to this point.
“It was pretty awesome since we had talked about it for so long,” Ethan Hodo said. “I remember jokingly telling some of the football kids that we were going to win it all after they had lost. It was amazing to get to go out with a win in our last game we played together going back to playing when we were 10 years old.”
While creating these lifelong memories, the sons and their parents helped further grow the already strong sense of community in Aledo.
“The dads are very involved and have such a great connection, too,” Ashley Hodo said. “The fun thing I see in our boys too is that they genuinely love each other but aren’t afraid to say, ‘Hey, let’s do this a little bit better.’ The accountability we’ve seen comes a lot from the coaches, parents and Brodie (Sharpe) and so many families have been so instrumental in making this happen. I don’t know how you put that much charisma into a dugout — they just have a lot of personality.”
The mothers’ investment in this community aspect dates back even further, and it has provided a stalwart foundation to further the success of the program along with youth participation through each trial, tribulation, and celebration.
“A big thing for me is that we all started out at AAI, which is a local community baseball league, where our boys played a lot,” Hodo said. “That community at AAI, especially after Cole Thompson’s passing and his family’s healing, that’s what starts a family. I think our community just breeds that. I remember sitting in the bleachers with Krista (Spiers) telling me about how Rhett won the spelling bee, which comes from that little bit of baseball. The way our community has bled into the Thompsons and has kept up with each other has shown what Aledo is all about. Through all the sponsors, support, and parents jumping in, we had an amazing state sendoff. I just hope people can know that when you’re pouring into these things when your kids are four and five years old, and then they win a state championship, it’s so exciting. It all starts with that piece of building a community.”
Some people won’t realize how important something is until they are a part of it for ample time. Others may realize the significance right off the bat.
“Sometimes, you just connect with people, and I think our sons did as well,” Amy Trager said. “I don’t know if it’s just in our DNA or what, but they all love each other just like the moms do.”
It started as a belief, it turned into a dream, then a rallying cry, and finally a reality. Through it all, the support from the mothers and fathers provided the extra launch fuel that allowed this year’s team to shoot for the moon and land amongst the stars. A piece of history that can never be removed or altered, the Bearcat baseball program has shown the world how far a strong foundation can take you.
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