SEATTLE -- Crisp fastballs, sweet swings and swift feet were on display under a bright Seattle summer sun Thursday afternoon for a group of area kids chasing a Major League dream.

The event was a regional qualifier for MLB's Pitch, Hit & Run (PHR) competition and Junior Home Run Derby, and the setting was the charming wooden ballpark built in 1940 called Mel Olson Stadium in the White Center neighborhood of the Emerald City.

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With next week's MLB All-Star Game festivities taking place only a few miles away at T-Mobile Park, baseball was the main topic of discussion for the 50 kids from around the Seattle area lacing up their spikes and getting after it on the home field of the DubSea Fish Sticks, a summer collegiate team playing in the Pacific International League.

"I wanted to see how many bombs I can hit," said 14-year-old Ryan Leon, who plays for the Field of Champions Bears club in nearby Issaquah. "I just love baseball and the more chances I can get to play baseball, I'm gonna do it."

The PHR program was developed by MLB to create a safe and fun environment for boys and girls aged 7 to 14 to stay active and learn or continue to play baseball and softball in their local communities. Thursday's competitions gave the participants the opportunity to earn berths in Home Run Derby National Finals; the PHR Team Championship, which will be contested at T-Mobile Park on Sept. 17; and potentially the PHR Finals at the 2023 World Series.

Prior to the home run-hitting contest, the PHR competition consisted of four age divisions for boys and girls: 7- and 8-year-olds, 9- and 10-year-olds, 11- and 12-year-olds, and 13- and 14-year-olds. Each participant threw baseballs and softballs in the bullpen in the pitching contest, hit for distance and accuracy off a tee from home plate in the hitting portion of the program, and were timed sprinting in the outfield to complete the running component of the competition.

"Ever since our son could walk, all he wanted to do was play baseball," said Jamie Coates, whose 7-year-old son, Deux, wore the uniform of his 8U baseball team, New Level, to the event. "We want to give him every possible opportunity to do anything baseball-wise -- play with different kids, check out different settings, go to different competitions.

"It's all a win-win to help him became a more well-rounded player."

Coates also mentioned that the family would be attending the following day's HBCU Swingman Classic, honoring historic black colleges and universities and hosted by Mariners legend and MLB Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

"We're hoping to meet Junior," Jamie said. "But just being there will be great."

Deux said he loves playing in the field more than anything in baseball.

"I'm excited when the ball's hit to me," he said. "That's when I know I can make a great play."

All over Mel Olson Stadium, similar confidence and joy was evident on the sunscreen-covered faces of the kids.

Graham Bugbee, a 12U corner infielder and pitcher for the Elevate select club that operates out of nearby Duvall, has been playing baseball as long as he can remember. It helped that his dad took him out into the yard for games of catch, and it definitely helped that his older brother has always played.

In fact, Graham learned about the PHR event when he saw an advertisement for the competition in late May while watching his brother play for O'Dea High School in the Washington state prep baseball tournament at Funko Field in Everett, the home of the High-A AquaSox. He immediately knew he had to give it a try.

"I just figured I'd show up and see how well I'd do," he said.

That seemed to be the spirit for all the aspiring sluggers, speedsters and staff aces.

"My son is obsessed with baseball and always has been," said Bree Leon, Ryan's mom. "He claims he's going to be a Mariner and doesn't need to go to college.

"We're thrilled that he loves baseball as much as he does, but we're still talking about the college thing."