Home schooled kids take the field at Jeff Page Memorial Baseball Tournament

BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - It’s all about peanuts, popcorn, Cracker Jack and home schooled kids playing baseball. The first ever Jeff Page Memorial Tournament is happening at MGM Park in Biloxi.

Jim Davidson is coach of the Wildcats, and a parent who’s home schooled his six children for the last 26 years.

“I’ve heard that there’s been some other home school programs to start on the Coast, but none were successful. We’re just committed to making it a success,” Davidson said.

Four teams from Hattiesburg, Laurel, Jackson and the Coast are taking part in the tournament. Each have JV and varsity squads on the field.

The tournament is named for Jeff Page, who passed away in 2021. Before then, he and others were working on putting together an organization for home schooled kids who want to play baseball. His kids were starting to age out of recreation league.

“He wanted them to continue home schooling and not give up baseball,” Davidson said.

One of those kids, Fisher Page, is now playing for the Wildcats. And he appreciates that the event carries his father’s name, and his mission for homeschooled kids.

“It’s an honor. It’s pretty cool. It’s nice,” said Fisher Page.

They’re hoping this tournament can bring awareness so these home schooled children can play sports and also have facilities where they can lace up their cleats.

“It’s just amazing we’re able to play for a team, because down here in Mississippi you can’t play for a high school. So it’s a really cool opportunity for us to play competitive baseball,” said Alex Vera.

There are roughly 2,500 home school students in the three coastal counties. Currently, 164 of them play five different sports.

“We just want them to have the opportunity to play competitive sports,” Davidson added.

If you’d like to learn more about the Coastal Mississippi Homeschool Sports Association, visit their website at CoastalMississippiWildcats.com

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