Name: Bill Regan
Occupation: Director of Development, Coldwater of Lee’s Summit
You’ve been a “C” You In The Major Leagues supporter since 2016, largely as a volunteer and a sounding board. What made you want to get involved?
Bill Regan: It is time to get off the bench and get in the game…CYITML is for the young men and boys in our communities who are growing up in “fatherless environments”…without the guiding love and positive guidance of a caring male parent or trusting mentor, the results become the headlines of desperation and destruction. A good young man in your community is about to make a bad choice…where are they going to learn respect, trust, generosity, and common sense? How are they going to become responsible adults, a loving father, a caring husband and a man of his word? Who are they going to be accountable to?
CYITML reaches “inside out” with intentional love and provides a sense of belonging through firm instruction, honest encouragement, and optimistic self-worth…is it not about winning or the points on the scoreboard, it is about transforming lives by building boys and mending young men on the basics of positive teamwork through the “love of the game.”
What is your favorite aspect of what “C” You In The Major Leagues does?
BR: I would like to add another “C” for Compassion – CYITML is devoted not only to teaching the X’s and O’s, but more importantly, the Y’s of pursuing a healthy journey to manhood. Many young men measure their masculinity against their own father, and this win-at-all-cost only leads to isolation and disappointment. CYITML offers the compassionate environment where you can hear the kids say, “You know…they really care about me.”
Why is the work that CYITML does important in this community?
BR: CYITML demonstrates how the power of developing meaningful relationships changes the word “WIN” to mean “what’s important now,” about having a cause bigger than yourself. It is so easy, all we need to do is share just a little bit of our time. The ballfields at CYITML are more than just a safe place to play a little baseball, young men need someone who will “just be there” for them…it’s slamming high fives as they run through the dugout, or rounding third getting ready to slide across home plate, or as simple as listening to their coach talk about the importance of respecting your teammates.
Of course, since you’re a Royals fan, what’s your favorite Royals memory?
BR: As a Royals Lancer, I have the opportunity to be a community ambassador for the Royals organization. I was working at the K during the 2015 World Series, handing out T-shirts and rally towels at Gate B. There was a unique and exciting atmosphere as the fans partied together in the parking lots and finally made their way through the turnstiles, each and every fan, from every walk of life was in a joyful mood, shouting “we have finally made it!” I will never forget how a simple game of baseball can unite an entire region…as the theme goes in 2015, it is “Our Time.”
Who was your hero growing up?
BR: Without any doubt, it was my father, he was the dad who really loved baseball and pursued his bucket list to attend games at baseball stadiums all over the country. I remember attending baseball games at numerous ballparks, mostly up and down the east coast. We would load up the car on Friday morning and drive to see the Yankees, Twins, Indians, Tigers, Blue Jays, Pirates, Cubs, you name it. We visited probably 20 different stadiums. It was not only the thrill of traveling to different cities, it was the life-changing memories of “being there” with my dad, watching him with a cold beer in one hand and yelling something at the ump with the other hand…priceless.
What’s one thing you’d like people to know about “C” You In The Major Leagues?
BR: In 1999, I co-founded with my older brother, Mike Regan, a faith-based non-profit called “hopeyourselfUP,” focused on building character and integrity in the lives of men of all ages who were raised in a fatherless home…from young men who were wandering on the streets to adult men who were experiencing incarceration. Our mission was to build better sons, husbands, brothers, grandfathers, step-dads and future fathers by encouraging, guiding, and modeling their God-given strengths.
Dayton and his team at CYITML are doing exactly this…by applying the life-changing fundamentals of baseball, CYITML has hit the long ball on transforming the lives of many young men in our community; countless “on the field”, shoulder to shoulder healthy life lessons are being developed…CYITML is making a significant difference, one life at a time.
“Train up a child in the way, he should go…and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
Proverbs 22:6