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The benefits of hosting a Buck

REPORTER FILE PHOTO | Bucks players are looking for families to host them for the summer season.
REPORTER FILE PHOTO | Bucks players are looking for families to host them for the summer season.

For several years we talked about hosting a Shelter Island Buck for the summer baseball season, but there were always reasons why it wasn’t convenient. We are so busy, we have too much company, the house is a wreck — it’s amazingly easy to find a reason to not do something. But finally last year we decided to give it a try.

To be honest, the main reason I had refused in the past was because I didn’t want to have to cook every night all summer. My kids are grown and long gone and I’m done with that. So once I found out that preparing meals for the ballplayers was not required, we decided to give it a try.

What’s required
As a host family, we supplied our Buck (one to start, but we liked him so much we got another) with a place to sleep and shower, and because of the layout of our small home, our guest Bucks had use of two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. In addition, hosts are asked to let the Bucks use the refrigerator and have access to a washer and dryer.

Some host families cook a lot and make meals for their Bucks, others, like us, didn’t. Because of that I always had on hand a supply of our Bucks’ favorite cereals, plenty of milk and bananas so I knew they wouldn’t starve. I also bought cases of bottled water. That’s it. On the few occasions when I did cook and they happened to be around, they accepted the invitation to join us. But usually these kids aren’t around, they’re gone from the middle of the afternoon to eight or nine p.m. on game nights, five and six nights a week.

Most of the time the Hamptons Collegiate Baseball League provides meals after practices and games, but sometimes it’s not enough for these growing boys. Our Bucks filled the gaps with that cereal and those bananas.

Every host family’s experience is different and fortunately ours was great. These are college kids, most of them too young to drink. The HCBL has some very strict rules — no drinking, tobacco products and/or drugs and a rigid curfew. That made it easier for us to establish our own ground rules, which pretty much boiled down to “be nice and don’t make trouble.”

In previous seasons I had never attended a Bucks game, but that changed once we had a couple of them living under our roof. I wanted to be at the games so I could root for them. These guys play ball all the time. When they aren’t playing, they’re practicing or participating in youth baseball clinics.
It’s not necessary to provide transportation for your Buck, some of them have their own cars and will pick up those who don’t.

Host perks
An advantage to having a Buck in residence is that they are willing help out with projects that require a  younger, taller, stronger, smarter (insert the most applicable word) partner. For instance, the time I bought a potted tree I couldn’t lift into my truck. I said, “I’ll be right back,” drove home, grabbed a Buck and got the tree. Then later the Buck moved it to 10 different places in the yard, until we were both sure I was happy. He didn’t even roll his eyes.

We, too, assisted our Bucks when they needed it, from arranging to have a car inspected to accompanying them to Justice Hall because of a traffic ticket.

The Bucks arrive just in time for summer, around Memorial Day weekend, and depart around the first week of August, when their season ends.

Regrets
I guess if we have one regret about signing on as a host family, it’s that we didn’t decide to do it sooner. And we are already looking forward to being a part of the Bucks 2015 baseball season.
For more information on hosting a Buck this summer, call Dave Gurney at 433-1502, or email him at [email protected].