Miles from the crowds on 13th Street and the tense battles on the field at Rosenblatt Stadium, a languid afternoon game plays out on Boys Town’s close-cropped emerald turf.
Players in gray T-shirts and North Carolina-blue gym shorts lean on the chain-link fences, enjoying a cool breeze between sharp ground balls.
Two third basemen take turns trying to make leaping, spinning, Derek Jeter-esque throws to first base, laughing as ball after ball sails off target.
Just behind the fence, two 9-year-olds — Ethan Hall and Kian Erickson of Omaha — take it all in, clutching baseballs smudged with black ink.
“They’ve been my favorite team for a long time,” Kian said. “I watched them practice last summer, too. It’s cool to meet the players.”
As the College World Series moves more and more into the realm of big-time, big-money college athletics, the teams’ daily practice sessions at high school and college fields around Omaha are a link to the past — giving fans a relaxed setting to interact easily with players and coaches.
“I’ve never heard of a coach saying fans can’t come out to a practice, and players are always accessible. It’s just one of those long-standing Omaha traditions,” said Creighton baseball coach Ed Servais, who coordinates practice times and fields for all CWS teams.
