On any given Saturday at the Colleyville youth baseball fields, enthusiastic parents can expect to cheer on the Rangers, Cardinals, Yankees and Royals. But this past season, horned frogs were tossed into the mix — the Colleyville Horned Frogs.

Decked out in purple and gray from their TCU ball caps to their TCU-purple socks, these 7- and 8-year-old boys played with the heart of Horned Frogs and had a lot of fun in the process. After all, every Frog knows the pride of being the only team with enough moxie to be called the Horned Frogs.

Formerly the Colleyville Astros, the team made a name change to align more closely with some of the parents’ purple roots — including head coach Tim Neuman ’90 (MBA ’92), a former TCU cheerleader, and team mom Liane Bebout Neuman ’92, whose son, Connor, plays. Other Frog parents are Lisa Miller Mills ’88, mom of player Clay Mills, and Kevin (MBA ’91) and Rachel Stowe Master ’91, parents of Caden.

“The years prior to the fall season we were the Astros and we had a lot of fun, just not much success, so the management decided that we needed a fresh start,” coach Neuman noted. “It was only natural we go back to our roots. We still bleed purple.”

While most of the other teams borrow professional club names, Neuman and staff “wanted a team name that was special and the kids could have pride in wearing. And it worked — the kids and our fans became passionate Frog supporters.”

Of course, there was a bit of a transition.

“At first it took some practice to get the kids and parents used to cheering, ‘Go Frogs!’ but ‘Frog fever’ did catch on. The kids were proud to be part of something special. We truly became a closer team because of it,” Neuman said. “We even had our one Aggie assistant coach wearing purple proudly, but he married a Horned Frog, so he didn’t have much of a choice.”

Colleyville baseball doesn’t keep team standings for fall ball, but the Frogs plan to make a strong purple showing in the spring.

And for some of these young ballplayers, that Horned Frog pride might become a lifelong tradition. Go Colleyville Frogs!