Moving on to the college ranks

When Justin Dodson tried out for Culpeper’s American Legion baseball team he just wanted to play ball. After not playing his senior year at Madison County High School, catching the attention of college coaches and moving to the next level wasn’t on his mind.

But after hitting .438 in the regular season for Post 330 and striking out more than 12 batters per nine innings, Dodson played his way into college, signing with Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville where he’ll pitch, possibly catch and play left field.

“It all started when I started playing with the Culpeper Legion,” Dodson said. “They said they were going to try to get me into school if they could. They said they were pretty sure they could find some school that would want me and as we started playing I started noticing more and more coaches coming up to talk to me.”

Culpeper Post 330 manager Jeff Crane and coach Kyle Scott made it a priority to help players get recruited and have had quite a bit of success. Crane, who also manages the Central Virginia Sting in the fall, said seven players who have played for him on the Sting or the American Legion team have gone on to sign with college teams.

Dodson will get to play with some of them when he arrives at Patrick Henry. Culpeper County High School graduate Hunter Kenney was the Patriots’ second leading hitter, batting .391 in 2009. Eastern View pitcher Cody Whitlock and Orange County catcher Lazaro Torres are also heading to Patrick Henry this fall.

“A couple of other boys I had known were thinking about going there and said they liked the campus and how it was set up,” Dodson said. “When I went down there I met all the coaches and saw the campus and something just hit me that this was where I needed to go.”

Most of the colleges and universities in Virginia play on the NCAA Division I or Division III level. While Division I schools recruit some of the nation’s elite athletes, Division III schools don’t offer athletic scholarships. Crane said the lack of NCAA Division II and junior college programs in Virginia leaves a lot of local players without a viable in-state option.

Playing for the American Legion team offers players an opportunity to put their skills on display for some of the few junior college programs in the area, such as Patrick Henry.

“Guys that really want to go to the next level get an opportunity to play on a competitive team in the summer,” Crane said. “The JuCo’s offer opportunities for some kids that don’t have the grades and they can see them play here. What Legion ball has done for some of these kids is great.”

Dodson’s parents were excited that he was able to earn the scholarship by playing for Post 330.

“We really appreciate the opportunity to play,” Dodson’s father Bobby said. “Things happened his senior year of high school and he didn’t get to play. He was a good player in high school, but it worked out real well. They had a good team and a good year.”

And Dodson said he doubts he’ll be the last player to come out of Post 330 and make it to college.

“I appreciate everything they’ve done,” Dodson said. “Any other kids that want to do this and play for a coach that might actually try to help them, Culpeper Legion is the way to go.”