Members of the Exuma Sharks, the softball league of George Town, Exuma, are singing the praises of longtime resident, businessman and philanthropist Bob Coughlin, developer of Sampson Cay’s eco-sensitive Turtlegrass Resort & Island Club, who recently provided the team with a donation that covered uniforms, transportation and the entry fee for the team’s trip to the World Sports League Memorial Day Softball Playoffs.
The Sharks shone, winning the first game in the recreational league at the playoffs held in Lake City, Florida, May 24-25 with teams from around the world competing.
“I can’t express the gratitude and appreciation we have for Bob’s support. In the first year, we were in a really bad slump and Adam Russell, one of our teammates who also happens to work for Bob, overheard a few of us talking about needing funds to purchase uniforms, and he assisted us right away,” said team manager Jatero Rahming. “Adam told us about his boss, who we later learned was Bob, and how much he loves to support the youth and the entire Exuma community.”
Rahming reached out and his plea for help was answered with a resounding yes.
“He responded saying they would love to assist with the uniforms,” said Rahming, adding that Coughlin’s donation meant even more to the team because it came with such short notice. Without it, he said, they would not have been able to travel or compete.
The Exuma Sharks, a men’s softball team that was formed 15 years ago and encourages the participation of high school kids, formed an all-star team four and a half years ago. Every year since its founding, it has won the local league, giving it the right to travel to the world play-offs, normally held in Atlanta.
“This year’s tournament was supposed to have taken place in Atlanta. But in the first week of May, it was cancelled and that’s how we ended up seeking help so late and winding up in Lake City the last weekend of the month,” said Rahming.
“For the past two years, we’ve placed third, but we did a lot better this year.”
Despite their local wins, Rahming confessed he was more concerned with their international performance and what that could mean for future sponsorships.
“When you approach a sponsor once, twice, three times, they don’t mind helping you. But when they start to notice that you aren’t bringing home any first or second-place trophies, they tend to stop sponsoring,” he said.
“And it didn’t help that we were forced to play all our games in one day, in the sun, and that our competitors, who were really friendly off the field, were still trash-talking us on the field letting us know that they could not allow us to come on their turf and take bragging rights all the way back to Exuma. We know it’s the spirit of the game and there are no hard feelings there, but at the same time, all we wanted to do is try our best to win.”
Nevertheless, Rahming, who fell in love with the sport after following in his father’s footsteps, and who says it is that love that drives the Sharks back to the playoffs each year, has yet to meet the man responsible for getting his team to this year’s playoffs decked in Turtlegrass Resort-branded uniforms.
But he promised Coughlin a win next year.
“The title is ours.”
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