BELLE GLADE – Rene Leon Sr. gathered up two baseball teams shortly after a game ended yesterday (April 2).
A few minutes after the Glades Day Gators beat the Glades Central Raiders in a 19-1 road win, both programs formed a circle around the Glades Central baseball mound and went into prayer mode.
Leon Sr. emphasized the importance of this in his own way. Watch and hear this moment for yourself right below.
After the prayer concluded, an opportunity existed for five Leon family members to reflect on this game between both Belle Glade-area high school baseball teams.
“You rarely see that, especially in baseball and in the community,” said Glades Day head coach Rene Leon Jr., who beat his father and alma mater twice this season in a season sweep (15-0 win on Feb. 23; 19-1 win on April 2).
“For it to be like this, we have been going through rivalries our whole lives,” Leon Jr. continued. “So this is nothing new. But it’s fun to just be able to share the same field with my brothers and my father.”
Leon Sr. chimed in.
“It’s amazing because when we were making the lineup and I was making the names of the team we were going to play and the names of the coaches, I got emotional,” Leon Sr. said as tried to hold back tears in the process.
“When I see my sons on the side with Glades Central and Glades Day, I was like, ‘Wow’”, Leon Sr. continued. “That’s amazing, just to be a part of that. The whole game we love as players. I got time to raise them in this game…Now I get to enjoy because I got my whole family involved. I’m grateful to the Lord for giving me the opportunity to come play and have fun with my kids. I’m very grateful for that.”
Leon Sr. on playin against Leon Sr. twice this season:
“It was great,” Leon Sr. said. “It’s always a challenge. My sons (Leon Jr. and Glades Day assistant coach Eric Leon), they both grew up with me. Teach them the best I could, when there was a little league, farm league. They were playing professional when they were so little. The good thing that I see is they went to the next level and got experience. And now with the knowledge college ball and to bring it back to the Glades, it’s amazing. It’s something that’s going to grow.”
Leon Sr. did not stop there.
“This is something I never planned to do,” Leon Sr. said. “God put me in the middle, so we can enjoy and get together and love each other. Understand this is not about competing with each other. It’s about learning and loving each other as a family.”
You can watch the entire interview below for yourself. Make sure you watch until the very end of it.
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