GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — Your average neighbor might be upset to see your kids playing in their backyard. If only you lived next door to the Augustyns, whose whole mission is playing ball.
For Mark Augustyn of Grand Rapids, summer means more than freshly cut grass and the sun peeking through the trees.
“To see a porta potty in front of the house and 75 bikes, you know it’s summer and it’s a tournament at Mission Field," he laughed.
Ten years ago, he saw a wiffle ball tournament at a neighbor’s house, and threw a curveball. He and his wife, Julie, decided to make their own.
“It started with around 16 teams and now it has grown to, we cap it at 40 teams and 200 kids," he explained.
They created the yard to go with it — complete with a scoreboard, enforced baseball fencing and their sponsorships lining the field.
But its not without its quirks.
“The uniqueness of having a ball field in your yard, we have two trees that are in play," Mark laughed. “I've had parents tell me ‘you should take the trees out,’ I'm like, ‘it's our backyard.’”
“Julie’s garden is a big part of the tournament. There’ll be probably 40 home runs hit into that garden," he said. “Then there’s the goat area. There’s a Baby Ruth candy bar to anybody who can hit it into that."
It's a field that’s taken over their hearts. And a mission that’s close to it, too.
“It started with one dream of just we wanted to play some wiffleball in the back yard," said their son, high school senior Grady Augustyn.
He was adopted from Haiti 13 years ago.
“He's been a huge blessing in our life," said Mark. “We’re gonna get a couple hundred kids, a couple hundred parents in our yard, how can we put a purpose to it?”
This year, they sent 200 backpacks to children in a place that's given so much to them.
"It’s a real blessing," agreed Grady.
That blessing is no small task.
There can be four to five hundred people in the Augustyn yard at once during the tournament. This year, they went through 752 hot dogs and 600 pounds of ice for snow cones.
It helps that they have a village by their side. Neighbors, friends and Augustyn family all work together to run the tournament smoothly.
“I don’t feel like I deserve any of the credit whatsoever, it’s a group effort and all the credit goes to everybody else," said Julie.
“It's something that everyone’s doing that just happens to be at our house," agreed Mark.
Most neighbors wouldn't be too happy to see your kids playing in their yard. But the Augustyns? They welcome it.
“It feels like what a neighborhood should be like," said Mark. "I think it just shows what West Michigan is."
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