Little League is making a comeback in Kona.
West Side Hawaii Little League is ramping up to begin a new season of youth baseball, nearly two years after Kona’s youngsters last hit the diamond for organized games.
“We’re super, super stoked,” said WSHLL’s president Nic Mount. “It’s time to get outside and play.”
Tee ball and coach pitch games for younger players will begin Friday, Feb. 11 under the lights at Old Kona Airport, with the first games set to start at 5 p.m.
“It’s going to be so awesome; Friday night baseball,” said Mount. “The lights are going to be on; they go until 8 at night. There’s also a Friday night baseball at Greenwell park. There’s going to be four games going on here, one at Greenwell Park.”
Already, the league – operating as a non-profit, volunteer-based organization – has seen a groundswell of players registering after the new board of directors was elected on Jan. 13.
“Here we are with 350 registrations, over $50,000 in the bank in donations, and we’re ready to play baseball,” said Mount. “We have 11 coach pitch teams and eight tee ball teams; they all have 12-15 players on them. The response was enormous.”
Games will also be played at Pualani Park. With such a large response, Mount has put out the call for volunteers, including for coaches and umpires.
“Everybody you see out with the kids has gone through a background check; that’s all required by Little League International,” Mount added, noting that volunteers can sign up on the league’s website: http://clubs.bluesombrero.com/westsidehawaiill. “We really need people to start considering to volunteer… Register in their account as a volunteer, take a background check, and be willing to coach a team.”
Prospective umpires are asked to contact WSHLL’s umpire in chief Jeff Barbas (jbarbas@wshll.com).
“He wants to build – he needs to build – an umpiring community,” said Mount. “What we would love to see is every Minors and Majors game have a two-man crew with a kupuna and a teenager, up-and-coming umpire.”
While registration for tee ball and coach pitch players has closed, it is currently open for players ages 7 through 12 for Majors and Minors divisions, as well as older players aged 13 to 16 for Intermediate, Juniors and Seniors divisions. The deadline to sign up for these divisions is Thursday, Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. An assessment day for players signed up will then be held on March 12, with players being put on teams the following day. Majors and Minors games are scheduled to begin on April 2 after opening ceremonies.
“We’d like to invite mayor Mitch Roth to throw out the first pitch on April 2 at our opening ceremonies,” added Mount.
The large response already has WSHLL hopeful new facilities in West Hawaii are on the horizon.
“We don’t have enough fields; we need more parks with baseball fields,” said Mount. “We need the county to build us more baseball fields… We want to build batting cages, we want to get Kealakehe Regional Park built, we want things to happen for these kids.”
Saturday’s gear swap – held at Old Airport Park – was just the start to what Mount hopes are big things in store for West Hawaii’s young baseball players. Dozens of families stopped by over the course of two hours to either drop off or pick up baseball gear, helping supply first-time players with the equipment they need.
“There are so many of us who have extra sitting in our car ports for who knows how many years, and there’s kids without anything; let’s recycle that gear,” said Mount on the idea that led to the gear swap.
Mount also noted the event served as a meet-and-greet for families to be introduced to WSHLL’s new board of directors. The organization hopes Saturday was the first step toward success, not just in potentially sending a future team to Williamsport, PA to compete in the Little League Baseball World Series, but to help mold upstanding members of the community in West Hawaii.
“The chances of us producing a professional athlete are very low,” said Mount. “But the chances of us producing really good citizens who are invested in their community and become kupuna softball players is super high. We’re using baseball, but we’re making citizens who will contribute to their community.”
