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We are attempting to do something special that we hope comes together for this Saturday at 8AM at Barnett Park. My assistant coach for the past 5 years and good friend is dying of stomach cancer. His name is Mike Kolesar and he’s 42 years old. Mike has a wife (Kim) and 3 young boys ages 4, 10 and 11. I have coached his two kids in baseball, basketball and football over the past 5 years and they are great boys. The 10 year old (Ryan) is in my son’s class and plays on the 10U East Cobb Yankees and the 11 year old (Preston) has played for me on the 11U East Cobb Braves since 8U. Mike has been a great coach for the past 5 years, as he has been an assistant with the Yankees and Braves. He has been a tremendous asset for both teams and has been a great role model and mentor for these young boys.
Mike found out that he had stage 4 stomach cancer on Christmas day and has battled as hard as he can for the past 4 months. It has been a very emotional and trying time for his family, extended family, his kid’s teams and friends. The outreach and support in the community has overwhelmed both Mike and Kim. The doctors have said there isn’t anything more that they can do so hospice is coming on Friday to be with Mike and the family. Kim has been a pillar of strength through of all this, as you can only imagine the things she has been through and continues to deal with. Preston has done a tremendous job this year of blocking out his dads illness and been able to have fun with his friends for a few hours on the weekends. Preston has been our best pitcher and defensive player through the first part of the season and he was greatly missed this past weekend in FL as he stayed home to spend the last Easter with his dad. This stuff is incredibly difficult for me to even type but I thought many of you should know.
Mike loves the game of baseball and there is nothing more that he would rather do than be at the park! With that said, the Braves and Yankees are donating a cement bench to ECB so Mike can watch his boys as they grow up. From time to time, the Yankees and Braves may be wearing Ole Miss caps, as this was where he and Kim met and went to school.
This weekend…..We changed around our schedule in order to play in an event close to Mike’s home so he could see his two boys play one last game. There was no way Mike could get to two games this weekend and he certainly didn’t want to pick which kid to go watch play. With that said, we are playing in a 12U tournament at Barnett Park and will pick up Ryan for one game at 8AM on Saturday. Preston will pitch as long as he can and Ryan will catch him, which I hope is very special memory for the boys and the family. Let’s all hope for a perfect game! Hopefully we can get some pictures and video of the game that the boys can cherish forever. I really want this to be a special event that Mike can take with him to heaven as he watches his young boys grow up. If you are around, try to stop by and approach Mike and say hello. He and Kim are both very touched by how much people care. Sometimes, you aren’t sure how many people like you or think positively of you, until you are gone.
I very much appreciate all of the calls and emails over the past couple of months as this has been the most difficult thing I’ve ever dealt with. Mike would give one piece of advice to the baseball community…..Keep it about the kids, don’t put pressure on your son and make sure they are learning the game while having fun doing so. He is a man of few words but the ones he selects, he uses wisely.

Mike Kirksey

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Kirksey,

Thank you very much for posting this. Needless to say, this has been a very emotional and difficult experience for everyone that knows the Kolesar family.

10u Baseball Community,

We have kept Mike Kolesar's story rather silent this season at Mike's request. Baseball is Mike's passion, his boys passion and he wants baseball to be the boys outlet away from the tragic situation they are dealing with as a family. As much as we wanted to honor Mike by dedicating a a game, a tournament, a season, etc. in his honor.....we have respected his wishes to say silent and let the boys be boys and play baseball with their friends until now.

For those of you that know Mike, I know you will agree with me. Mike is the picture perfect figure you have in mind when day dreaming about what the perfect mentor would be for your son. Mike is a true southern gentleman. He is an amazing Husband, Father, Son, and Coach. He is highly educated, successful in business and his priority is giving to others before self.

Mike has been a key part of the Yankees coaching staff from our inception at 8u. His values, demeanor, and life priorities have had a meaningful impact on all of our boys. Words are very hard to describe the emotions and feelings we all have. Simply put, we are all blessed to have Mike and the Kolesar family in the lives of our sons and families.

I have been personally blessed to have Mike, Kim and the Kolesar family in my life. Mike is a neighbor, a friend and we have coached our boys in baseball and basketball together.

Just like Mike Kirkey of the 11u ECB Braves mentioned, I have received many emails from friends of the Kolsar family. All wanting to know the same basic thing....what can we do for the Kolesar's. I think we all want to help, but just don't know what to do. Dena Mogelnicki, who is a friend and neighbor of the Kolesars, and I have set up a way for all of us to band together and individually help in a small way but to collectively provide for the Kolesar's in a big way. We have set up an account and service providers to provide the Kolesar's with prepared meals, essentials and home services during their time of need. Many have offered to bring cooked meals to the Kolesars but the problem is that with Mike's condition being uncertain day to day and the boys busy schedules it is all but impossible to predict when it may be a good time or not to stop by. This service will allow Kim to make a phone call and have prepared food delivered to them when needed or desired.

You can make a donation by going to the following link:

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=7LEKZ2343YG7L&lc=US&item_name=Mike%20Kolesar¤cy_code=USD&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF%3abtn_donateCC_LG%2egif%3aNonHosted

If you have any questions on this, pleae feel free to email me trippboyer@gmail.com or call me 404-405-7313.

We hope many of you can make it to the Cherokee Reds facility at 8am tomorrow to watch Ryan catch and Preston pitch alongside Mike, Kim and grandparents.

Go Kolesars!!!!

Tripp Boyer
10u ECB Yankees
Asst Coach

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