EMERSON, Ga. – The FTB Pride are very eager to get their summer baseball season underway. They got a late start compared to some other 17u teams, this being their first tournament of the summer, but that doesn’t mean that they aren’t eyeing the 2015 17u PG/East Cobb Invitational championship trophy.

The players that comprise the FTB Pride roster didn’t even get their first practice together until a couple of days ago. Although, they haven’t spent much time together, the past has proven that practice time does not factor into tournament wins. Just ask the Georgia Legends, who two weeks ago won the 2015 WWBA Memorial Day at LakePoint championship with only one practice together.

It could be luck, it could be the adrenaline flowing through the veins of the energetic young prospects. One cannot deny that the FTB group is talented, but it will be up to them to live up their potential this weekend. Either way, this FTB Pride team is definitely going to be one to follow throughout the remainder of the tournament.

It may have been the pre-tournament jitters, or possibly some of them were knocking off a little rust from the time off between their high school season and right now, but the FTB Pride were unable to start off this weekend with a win. There were positives and negatives as an equally talented Team Elite squad beat FTB 5-2, and the Pride look to learn from their mistakes during the rest of their tournaments.

And they did just that in their second game of the day, turning around and beating 643 Jaugars Davis 17u 7-3, pounding out 13 base hits in the process.

Regardless of the loss in their first game on Friday, the FTB Pride are not the least bit worried about their ability to win ball games moving forward. Coach Phil Hurst is confident in his players’ ability to bounce back and hit the ground running in their game later on today.

“(We) didn’t have a great start to our summer right there, but I know that we will rebound,” said Coach Hurst. “We’ve got a good group of kids. Everybody on our team is committed to a big school, and we’re looking forward to a good summer.”

Although as mentioned before the FTB Pride had only one practice to prepare for the summer, that does not mean that some of these guys don’t already know each other. Some of these kids have been playing together since they were 11-years old. What is now FTB Pride was formerly known as MBA Pride, and as a younger group, the Pride experienced a lot of success in other Perfect Game events.

“This group has been together since they were 11,” added Hurst. “We won the 13u BCS Championship a few years back and we’ve just kept going ever since. This year is our first year with FTB, and we’re ready to continue our winning tradition with them.”

This FTB team is not simply comprised of those former MBA players alone; they also have a little help from their friends across the waterways. FTB pride is carrying a number of extremely talented players from the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico in hopes of adding extra depth to the team, as well as helping players to be seen by colleges and scouts that don’t travel to their home country.

It is truly a life changing opportunity for some of these players from Puerto Rico, as one noticeable performance could land them a scholarship to a university that they never could have dreamed of attending.

“FTB also has a team in Puerto Rico as well, so some of those guys have come in for the weekend to help us and also help themselves out in the midst of their recruiting process,” said Hurst. “The academies, such as the Carlos Beltran Academy, have done a great job in lending us their players in order to get some looks that they normally would not get over there.”

Coach Hurst speaks very highly of his kids, as he has known most of them for almost five years, and he believes that this is a special group. Most good teams have a relaxed attitude when it comes to these tournaments, and that attitude is not missing from this particular team. Their pure confidence in their ability to get the job done can be felt from a mile away.

Even though most of the kids are already committed to their respective schools, they plan to play with the hunger of someone scratching and clawing for a scholarship. Considering the impressive amount of talent at this weekend’s 2015 PG/East Cobb Invitational, especially in the 17u age group, that mentality will serve them well if they want to accomplish the challenging feat of winning the championship.

After the game it was clear that several of the players were disappointed in their performance in the first game, however, they were not dwelling on it. In fact, a couple of the players were joking around and poking fun at each other over the last game; displaying the looseness and brotherhood like atmosphere that comes along with being a part of this team.

Brotherhood is probably a good word to describe this team, as many of them tease and talk to each other as if they were actually brothers. Even the newcomers from Puerto Rico are starting to feel at home.

“We don’t mind giving each other a hard time because it’s all in good fun,” said lefthanded pitcher and Alabama State commit Logan Allen. “The fact that so many of us are so comfortable with each other allows us to push one another. Ya know, light a fire under someone butt if they are in a slump or something.”

FTB Pride certainly likes to have fun out of the dugout, but what about inside the dugout? The dugout atmosphere is just as loose as the postgame or pregame atmosphere. They like to get loud from time to time and keep the energy up, especially if the opposing team gives them a reason to get loud.

“We aren’t ones to talk a lot of trash, but if a team starts with us, we definitely have the noise to match,” said shortstop Jose Ciccarello, a University of Florida commit.

Among the top prospects on this team, the most highly touted is young righthander Altoon Coleman, who has already made his college commitment with Florida State. Coleman is already throwing in the low-90s with his fastball, and is one of the top five 2017 prospects in the country. He will be looking to add to his impressive resume in his start this weekend.

Will the absurd amount of talent that this team has carry them to the championship? Maybe it will, maybe it won’t, but this team certainly has the chemistry part down. Many of the FTB players feel that this weekend’s PG/East Cobb Invitational is the start to fulfilling the potential that they believe their team has. They know they are capable of playing spectacular baseball, and hope to start doing just that against their next opponent here in Emerson at the LakePoint complex.