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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Sean Foley sees the Keystone State Games as more than just an athletic competition.</p><p>Foley, the baseball coordinator and a coach for the Pocono region, says the Games do offer a chance to evaluate skills, but they also serve as a way for the players to build lasting friendships.</p><p>&#8220;The beauty of the Games are that they are a way for kids to develop warm friendships across team lines in the Pocono region,&#8221; Foley said.</p><p>The Keystone State Games, an statewide athletic competition patterned after the Olympics, will be held in Luzerne County this week. The baseball competition starts Thursday at several locations.</p><p>Foley originally started as the Pocono Region&#8217;s Junior Division coach, before eventually being moved up to handle the Scholastic Division as well. Foley coaches the Senior Division himself, while overseeing assistant coaches who coach the Junior Division.</p><p>Foley&#8217;s love for baseball comes from his time as a baseball player for Penn State. Prior to the Games, Foley had done extensive coaching at both King&#8217;s College and Penn State Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>The Keystone Games&#8217; Pocono region covers Luzerne County as well as Columbia, Lackawanna, Wyoming, Sullivan, Bradford, Susquehanna, Wayne and Pike.</p><p>&#8220;(The Games) are a way for us to have these young men get on a team, and not be with their buddies, but other kids from around the area,&#8221; said Foley. &#8220;This makes a unique experience and also gives them a chance to find long-lasting friendships that expand their horizons.&#8221;</p><p>Participants of the Junior Division encompasses freshman and sophomores in high school, while the Scholastic Division encompasses juniors and seniors.</p><p>&#8220;As coaches, our biggest goal is to evaluate the young players,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We practice for a short time to develop their fundamentals, and try to see where we can be assistance in their overall continuum of them as a player.&#8221;</p><p>The players will participate in a showcase on July 25, before participating in games throughout Luzerne County from July 26 to July 28.</p><p>&#8220;We try to do our piece here to try to get them to the next level if they wish,&#8221; he said. &#8220;But our main focus is to make sure they have fun.&#8221;</p><p>The Keystone Games, which began in 1981, includes players from all areas of Pennsylvania.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s nice to see kids from Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, State College, Philadelphia, etc,&#8221; said Foley. &#8220;You come across some really nice players, which is nice for the kids because they get to see how they stack up compared to other kids their age.&#8221;</p><p>Foley is originally from the Wilkes-Barre area, where he went to Meyers High School. Outside of coaching, Foley is a physical therapist who owns his own private practice called &#8220;Foley Sports Therapy.&#8221; He currently resides in Mountain Top with his wife and two children.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>Cabrini Rudnicki</p><p>For the Times Leader</p></bylineMeta></div>

Keystone State Games: Coach: More than competition going on