A fastpitch family

David Campbell was sitting at home one evening, when he got a call from a stranger.

“It was some guy named Max Hill,” Campbell said. “Never met the man in my life, he said ‘I understand you have a pitcher in the house,’ I said ‘yeah’. He said he was looking to put together a team and wanted to know if I’d be interested.”

The two met and in 2005 created the Augusta Flames travel softball team. Since their creation, the Flames have claimed over 40 tournament titles across various age groups and are only getting better.

After four seasons, the original Flames team is mostly intact. More than 10 players have stayed with the program. The team’s retention, Hill said, has contributed to the overall success and has even translated to the girls’ high school teams.

“We all get a long,” Hill said. “We are like a family. We have our spats from time to time, but I think that’s what makes us different from some of the other teams.”

The original members are split between the Flames 14-and-under and 16-and-under squads and as the players’ younger siblings have reached playing age, the 10-and-under and 12-and under teams have also received a boost.

“First thing I ever heard was there wasn’t enough interest in fast pitch around this area,” Hill said. “That isn’t further from the truth. People have called every year looking for a spot and we just didn’t have one because the kids stay with us.”

The Flames don’t play games in Augusta County or Rockingham and try to play the toughest opponents that will have them. Every season they also try to play at least one game out-of-state.

“We try to have a variety of tournament selections so we see a better variety of ball player,” Campbell said. “Sometimes if you stay local you don’t see the strengths of some of the other players.”

“I don’t like to play here because everyone knows everyone and egos just disrupt everything,” Hill said. “We played in Pennsylvania where we played Long Island, teams from Pennsylvania and teams from Alaska was there that we didn’t play. You don’t know these teams and you just go and play ball.”

Despite their success, things got off to a rocky start as the coaches and players were all adjusting to a higher caliber of player and new rules. The Flames debuted at the Commonwealth Games where Hill said the team was “toasted.”

“Wow that was like baptism by fire,” Hill said. “The funny thing is we played the next year and won the sucker.”

Most of the players are spread across Wilson Memorial, Riverheads, Fort Defiance and Stuarts Draft. Hill is the head coach for the Fort Defiance softball team and Campbell is an assistant for Stuarts Draft.

“It’s a big sacrifice for the parents,” Hill said.

Next summer several of the Flames will begin their search for a college. Hill said that it’s his goal to have everyone make a team.

“I haven’t been though it; I just don’t want to let these kids down,” he said.