{"id":31110,"date":"2026-06-12T08:35:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-larks\/?p=31110"},"modified":"2026-06-12T08:35:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T13:35:56","slug":"where-everyone-belongs-the-heart-behind-hosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-larks\/where-everyone-belongs-the-heart-behind-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Everyone Belongs: The Heart Behind Hosting"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/div>

Where Everyone Belongs: The Heart Behind Hosting<\/h2><\/div>

For many families, summer means baseball. For those who open their homes to players for the Bismarck Larks, it means something even more meaningful: creating lifelong relationships built around kindness, connection, and community.<\/span><\/p>\n

For the Hegels, welcoming others into their home has always been a way of life. \u201cWhen our biological sons were in high school, we started hosting foreign exchange students,\u201d they shared. \u201cThen I met a young lady who had finished residential treatment and had nowhere to go. We felt called to become foster parents.\u201d That calling led to more than twenty years of fostering youth, many of whom they still keep in touch with today. In fact, one of the first children they fostered still lives nearby and regularly visits on weekends. \u201cWe like having young people in our home,\u201d they said. \u201cThat\u2019s really how hosting players started, too.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Their journey with the Larks became even more personal when their son, Myles, became a “Bat Bird” for the team. Spending evenings at the ballpark quickly became a staple of family life, and hosting players felt like the natural next step. \u201cWe\u2019d be at the games anyway,\u201d they said. \u201cAnd Myles would always have someone close to the field he knew.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

What makes the Host Family experience truly special is the welcoming environment families create for players during their summer in Bismarck. Many players arrive in town not knowing a soul, and Host Families work hard to make them feel comfortable from day one. \u201cWe always tell anyone new coming into our home, \u2018This is your home too,\u2019\u201d the Hegels said. \u201cWe want you to feel like you belong.\u201d Their house quickly became a vibrant gathering place, filled with activities and opportunities for players to relax after long days at the ballpark. \u201cWe made our home the place our sons would bring their friends,\u201d they explained. \u201cWe hope to continue that with others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For Host Families, the experience is about far more than baseball; it is about learning from players from different backgrounds while supporting them during a demanding season. \u201cBeing a host family brings new youth from different areas of the country,\u201d they shared. \u201cYou learn about them, and they become part of your family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Hosting also gives families a unique perspective on the grueling, behind-the-scenes work of a Larks season. Families witness firsthand the early mornings, the endless practices, and the sheer exhaustion that comes with balancing a packed summer schedule. \u201cHosting gives you a more intense knowledge of the behind-the-scenes of the Larks,\u201d they said. \u201cThe practices, the volunteering, the road trips, and those late-night returns from away games.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after the season ends, many of these relationships continue to thrive through social media, birthday messages, and visits whenever possible. \u201cLast summer, we actually got to meet the parents of one of our players,\u201d they shared. \u201cThat was really nice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For this family, saying yes to the program simply feels right every single summer. \u201cCome every spring,\u201d they said, \u201csaying yes to hosting feels natural.\u201d At its heart, the Larks Host Family program is about more than just providing a bed to sleep in\u2014it is about creating lasting connections, offering unwavering support, and making sure every player knows they truly have a home in Bismarck.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":31111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWhere Everyone Belongs: The Heart Behind Hosting - Bismarck Larks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/northwoodsleague.com\/bismarck-larks\/where-everyone-belongs-the-heart-behind-hosting\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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