Recreation baseball begins

April 07, 2007 09:54 pm

— By CINDY BISHOP
cindy.bishop@gaflnews.com

CORDELE — Next Saturday, area youngsters involved with the youth ball league here will be part of history as they play the very first games on Crisp County’s new baseball fields.
Paid for with money generated from a special one cent sales tax (SPLOST) and private donations, the Crisp County Youth Ball Complex is almost complete and will be used for the first time on opening day for the Crisp County Leisure Services Youth Ball League.
“The festivities will start at 10 a.m. and we’ll have a special dedication ceremony for the new complex,” said Leisure Services Director Brockey Brock. “We’ve invited officials from both the city and county government to participate, and there will be several other special recognitions.”
Members of the 10 and under youth league team from last year which won the state championship for the age group and the 1956 state championship team from Crisp County that almost won the national title that same year will be specially recognized.
“We believe in promoting the past and the future,” Brock said. “We’re encouraging anyone that played on that 1956 team to attend the ceremony.”
Brock said some 29 teams, both baseball and softball, involving children ages 5-12 years are playing this year, and most everyone will play a game on opening day. If not, they’ll play their first games on the following Monday and Tuesday, he said.
“We’re trying to play only on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday this year,” he said. “That way, the children can attend church on Wednesdays if they want to and can spend time with their families on the weekends. This is an initiative our recreation advisory board implemented and we think it’s a good thing.”
He said teams will play on five of the nine fields, as the complex is still a “work in progress,” and he hopes the community will be patient until the facility is complete. There will be concessions available Saturday and a huge trailer with nice, clean restrooms, Brock added.
“We’re not going to have port-a-potties all over the place out there,” he said laughing. “The facilities will be clean and presentable because we don’t want a bad first impression of our new complex.”
Another history-making part of this year’s ball season is the fact that for the first time, all coaches will be certified through the National Youth Sports Coaches Association.
They have received training and can teach several important facets of team sports. Also, all the coaches volunteering this year underwent a background check, and all came back in the clear.
“We’re not trying to pick on anyone or anything like that, we’re just trying to protect our children,” Brock said. “I mean, we looked at things like anger management issues, drinking problems and anything involving molestation or something like that. We just cannot have that around our children.”
Brock said once the season is underway, several tournaments will be played on the days when youth ball isn’t going on.
“We’ve got tournaments lined up through the summer,” he said. “This will not only benefit the county, but our entire community as those people who come here to play will eat at our restaurants, stay in our hotels and shop in our stores.”
He added that the complex also can be rented out by calling the recreation department at 276-2797.
“We hope the community will be proud of what they see out there and will try to be patient until it’s finished,” he said. “It’ll all come together.”