Bag's Buddies in Action
Growing John "Bag" Hefti's Legacy
John was an exemplary coach, able to bring out the best in his players, both on and off the field. It sounds cliché, but John wanted every child to have the opportunity to play organized team sports, learn the skills and fundamentals of the sport, and more importantly, learn to be an effective part of a team and develop leadership skills.
Navy MWR Youth Sports Partnership
In 2024 Bag’s Buddies partnered with the Naval Air Station Oceana’s Youth Sports and Fitness program, funding the registration fees for all 100 youth players participating in the 2024 baseball season. The league is the largest youth sports league in the mid-Atlantic region, and for many families the financial support enabled their child to play baseball that year.
The Bag’s Buddies community continues to donate as a way to further John “Bag” Hefti’s legacy, and with the growing generous support, we are on our way to expanding beyond registrations, to include equipment such as cleats on feet, gloves on hands, hats and helmets on heads and more!
J&A Racing Starting Strides
Since 2023 Bag’s Buddies has partnered with the J&A Racing Starting Strides program as part of our goal of enabling access to youth sports. Bag was a talented multi-sport athlete and huge believer in the power of athletics to shape kids and teens into future leaders. The program includes scholarships in schools in economically disadvantaged communities to help eliminate barriers that prevent students from running in the Operation Smile Shamrock Final Mile. To date, we have provided over 300 pairs of shoes and race entry fees to economically disadvantaged children in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Great NEck Baseball League
In 2022 and 2023 Bag’s Buddies partnered with the Great Neck Baseball league to donate and install a much-needed scoreboard on the Pinto League field.
Great Neck Baseball League continues to provide kids an incredible baseball experience. We were very proud of John's son Shane who threw out the first pitch on opening day 2023!