For Matthew DeRidder, baseball was an obsession. It was a way to connect with the community, make friends, and bring out his competitive side. Somewhere along the way, adulthood, responsibility, and distance from the game made it feel impossible to play again. That was until he found a way to reconnect his inner child with his favorite sport.
New to Plant City, DeRidder quickly realized it is difficult to make friends as an adult in a new state. While settling into the area, he discovered an amateur baseball league that reignited his passion for the game. Through countless hours of hard work, along with a significant investment of time and money, DeRidder founded the Plant City Skyhawks baseball team.
“As you get older, you have more responsibilities, which is less fun,” DeRidder said. “This team and league are a way to escape. When you step out on the field, nothing else matters. You get to feel like a kid again.”
In 2022, DeRidder began recruiting players for the Skyhawks’ first season.
With a lot of adjustments, learning to work with a new team, they won the Central Florida Amateur Baseball League (CFABL) Spring of 2023.
“It’s satisfying when you put a lot of time into this, and nobody thought we would win. It was very satisfying,” DeRidder said.
The team plays in two divisions. The CFABL and a travel league. Right now, the Skyhawks are waiting for the playoffs, as they are ranked number one in the CFABL 30-plus division.
DeRidder said it always feels great to win, but what the team offers is why he started it.
“There are no minimum or maximum requirements to be on the team. This is a mix of guys who want to play baseball and can’t stop being kids,” he said. “We are competitive, but it’s about having fun with your friends too.”
The Skyhawks went on to win the United States Adult Amateur Baseball Florida Invitational in 2024 and the CFABL, again, in Spring 2025.
DeRidder is proud of his team but remains humble about their success. He knows there is still significant work ahead and challenges the Skyhawks will face if they want to continue advancing. He said the team already pays around $20,000 each year between entry fees, travel, and housing. This amount excludes the cost of equipment, uniforms, and other essentials needed to play.
The Skyhawks want to register for the Roy Hobbs World Series in October. This is a 30-plus amateur adult baseball league, and DeRidder said it’s one of the biggest amateur tournaments. However, it’s very expensive to register as a smaller team with no sponsorship.
“It will cost us about $4,200 to $5,000 just to enter, never mind all the other fees we will pay for travel, food, and all that,” DeRidder said.
He said it’s hard to get sponsorship for an adult league. He said people might see it as a way for adults to drink and have fun, but that is not the case for the Skyhawks. DeRidder said the Skyhawks are a competitive team that has fun by playing tournaments and taking the sport seriously.
“We are a very organized team. We are lucky to have one or two weeks off. We play year-round. There is a fall and winter season and a spring and summer season,” DeRidder said.
He wants the team to venture out of Florida, as well. There are other tournaments they can compete in, but travel and registration are just as expensive. Their current goal is to go play in Las Vegas this May.
“The local leagues are not as competitive as the tournaments in and out of Florida,” DeRidder said.
The Skyhawks play in the local league every Sunday and try to play four tournaments every year.
Even with bigger goals ahead, DeRidder is most proud that he found a team to give adults with a passion for the sport the opportunity to play again.
“All I wanted was a way for us to escape stress, have fun, and not have to worry about being an adult for 3 hours,” DeRidder said. “We get to be kids again.”
Want to play on the Skyhawks? The team is currently looking for pitchers and catchers to join them. If interested, residents can send a direct message to Plant City Skyhawks on Facebook.
