Before the school year is out, we want to hear from you.
Dune Coast Baseball is officially launching Built by the Coast, our community naming initiative, and we’re starting in the place that matters most: the schools. Superintendents up and down the Dune Coast have received information about the initiative this week, along with student packets being distributed through their districts. The packets are designed to give every K-12 student in the footprint a chance to put their idea on the record before summer break begins.
Because this team belongs to the next generation as much as it belongs to anyone, we wanted to give the youth and community of the Dune Coast one more opportunity to engage with us before the final school bell rings.
How students can submit
It’s simple. Students will receive a Built by the Coast packet through their school. Inside, there’s room to:
- Write down a team name idea
- Explain in a sentence or two why that name fits the Coast
- Draw a logo or sketch a mascot
When the packet is finished, students drop it off at the principal’s office at their school. We will come collect them.
The deadline for students to submit their packets at their school office is Thursday, June 4.
After June 4, the community phase of Built by the Coast opens up to the rest of the Coast: fans, families, alumni, business owners and anyone with an idea worth hearing – through our online submission form. However, the window for school submissions closes with the school year, and we want the kids to go first.
What happens after June 4
Once submissions are in, our branding committee – ownership, school and community representatives will gather to read everything that came in from the schools. We’ll be looking for the themes the kids are sending us: the names that keep coming up, the imagery that captures the Coast, the spirit of what this team should stand for.
From there, the community phase opens. Adults across the region will get their turn to submit ideas online and a slate of finalists will go to a region-wide vote so the whole Coast contribute to which name takes the field.
The moment we’re already counting down to: a beachfront reveal event where the name is unveiled, the kids whose ideas shaped it are recognized by name, and the team this community helped build officially becomes real.
Students: this is your at-bat
If you’re a student reading this, here’s what to do:
- Ask your teacher or your principal’s office for a Built by the Coast packet.
- Fill it out. Name the team. Draw the cap. Design the mascot.
- Drop it in the box at the principal’s office before Thursday, June 4.
That’s the whole process. Your idea goes from your desk straight to the people picking the name.
We can’t wait to read what the kids of the Dune Coast send us.
Dune Coast Baseball is the newest member of the Northwoods League, the premier collegiate summer wood-bat baseball league in the country. Follow us at @dunecoastbaseball or visit dunecoastbaseball.com for updates on our inaugural season.
