Tim Brecht loves baseball and fast-pitch softball, he greatly enjoys  working with kids and he likes being involved with the community.

He's found a perfect job that combines his passions at Prospect Meadows.

Brecht, 57, has been hired to help with community relations and  marketing at Prospect Meadows, which opens this spring.

He'll be involved with camps, leagues, tournaments, classes and  bringing as many kids and teams to Prospect Meadows as possible.  He'll also be working to help expand the League of Dreams program,  along with the Miracle League for people with disabilities.

Brecht, who began working at Prospect Meadows about a month ago, did  not realize the complex was so close to being ready with eight  regulation diamonds and the Miracle Field.

He'll be working with General Manager Jack Roeder, assistant GM  Steve James and the Board of Directors to help make Prospect Meadows  a big success.

"I drove by here and I did a double-look," Brecht remarked. "I told  Jack, I saw the complex and it makes me want to grab my glove and go  take some ground balls."

Brecht graduated from Norway High School in 1980 and won a state  championship there with Hall of Fame Coach Jim Van Scoyoc. He played  baseball at Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference for  two years and helped coach the Commodores after getting his  undergraduate and graduate degrees in education.

He's also been involved with coaching in Eastern Iowa, most recently  at Center Point-Urbana High School where all five of his children  went to school. His daughter, Olivia, the youngest of the Brechts'  five children, is currently a freshman infielder on the Wartburg  College softball team and Tim spent about 10 years as a coach with  her travel teams.

Brecht retired from full-time work after 20 years in pharmaceutical  sales. His job at Prospect Meadows is technically part-time, but he  plans to pour his energy into the assignment in a major way.

Brecht sees sports as a metaphor for life, offering important  lessons for kids as they grow and mature.

"I really believe in that," he said. "I grew up that way and I  believe in it. This is an opportunity to get these kids out here to  play ball.

"Once these kids come out there and see this place, they're just  going to be 'Wow!' And it's going to motivate them."

Brecht has six grand-children, ages 9 to 1, and some of them may  find themselves playing ball at Prospect Meadows as time goes by.

Brecht knows there are many facilities for baseball and softball in  Eastern Iowa, but he's confident Prospect Meadows will quickly  develop into a hub for top-flight competition in youth baseball and  softball.

"You had to go to Kansas City and Des Moines and Omaha and St. Louis  and the Quad Cities for good competitive play," he said. "This kind  of thing wasn't around.

"For this to be out here is just a blessing."