You can always empty a swimming pool, but all gene pools do is spill over.

The first time I watched Travis Ice play baseball for Free State High, I was convinced he was the son of Lee Ice, a former Lawrence Legion and Kansas University player.

Travis Ice has the same slight build, the same left-handed swing and pretty much the same gait as Lee Ice did back in the late 1970s. The only difference, as far as I could tell, was that Travis Ice plays second base, and Lee Ice played third base.

And, of course, I was wrong. Mark Ice, Lee’s brother, is Travis Ice’s dad. Oh well, at least I’m not the Lone Ranger.

“There have been some others,” Lee Ice confirmed, “who think he’s my son.”

Fact is, Ice, longtime youth sports supervisor for the city’s parks and recreation department, has no sons. He and his wife have three daughters.

Facially, Travis Ice looks more like his dad, but Mark Ice was not a slightly built infielder when he played baseball for the old Legion Hawks. Mark Ice wasn’t tall, but he was strong, so they converted him from an infielder to a catcher. He was a good one, too.

Still, Travis Ice appears to be on a baseball career path taken by his uncle Lee, who led the Jayhawks in hitting as a junior (.351) and spent a couple of years in the Royals’ minor-league system.

Free State High coach Mike Hill can’t find enough good things to say about the slow rise of Travis Ice, now a senior, through the ranks.

“He was our JV player of the year as a junior, and he had only a couple of varsity at-bats last year,” Hill said. “This year he made second-team all-state. What better way to teach kids about working hard than to point to Travis.”

Young Ice is hitting about .380 for the Firebirds. He has no triples or home runs, but he leads the Firebirds in sacrifice bunts and sacrifice flies. Notably, too, he almost always puts the ball in play.

“He bats in the second hole, like I did,” Lee Ice said, “and he’s struck out only once all year. I think I struck out only three times when I was a senior.”

For his part, Travis credits both his uncle and his dad for whatever baseball knowledge he has.

“I work out with (Lee) on a lot of different things,” Travis said, “and I talk baseball a lot with my dad.”

Travis Ice is the third generation of probably Lawrence’s most honored baseball family. Ice Field in Holcom Complex – the home of Lawrence High’s baseball team – is named after Al Ice, the late father of Lee and Mark, and Al’s brother Tony, also a longtime youth baseball coach.

“It’s pretty special,” Travis Ice says about his heritage. “I’ve heard a lot about it.”

Perhaps we’ll hear more about Travis in the future. Clearly a late bloomer, he’ll be going to Allen County CC to play baseball next year. Lee Ice, in case you’re wondering, played a year of juco ball before transferring to KU.

Meanwhile, Travis will be doing his best to help Free State win an elusive state baseball title this weekend.

“I’ll tell you,” Hill said, “we wouldn’t be where we are today without Travis Ice.”