RSS Feed
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Dixie Leagues a true gem for town
One of, if not the best things, to ever happen to Grove Hill is the starting and continuation of the Dixie Youth Leagues. I am referring to anything and everything. The best....numero uno. More money is spent in Grove Hill on the Saturday of Opening Day than any other day of the year. Gas at the convenience stores, as well as drinks, chips and other snacks. Plus just about everyone is gonna grab a burger at one of the eating joints in town. Plus no other event brings as many people to town. I shudder to think just how many people packed their way into S.P Hudson Park to see the ceremonies and first games. The best part is the fact that so many are there to support these kids. There are not that many mamas and daddys. There was a slew on grannies, grandaddies, aunts, uncles, outlaws and inlaws. It is an eclectic mix. Is there any better sight than that of one of the players when they get that hit amid the chorus of cheers from their family? I seriously doubt it. That alone may make everything else worthwhile. I am not sure how long the league has been having opening day ceremonies, but it was a great addition. It gives the entire leagues and all of the teams a day when the spotlight is solely on the park. In the old days there was nothing like that. You were drafted by a team, got a call from the coach, showed up for practice and then played. Talking with some of the other "old heads" of the league I thought back at how much fun it was back then. I am talking the 30-plus years. The days of five teams (Tigers, Yankees, Red Sox, White Sox and Fulton), once you were drafted you were on that team until you got too old or you quit. And you started at 8-years-old and played on the same field with the 12-yearolds. It was the salad days of ball. Maybe some of it was better than today, but probably some of the stuff today beats yesteryear. In fact all of it is good, except those great button-up cotton uniforms. They beat anything. One irony from Saturday was the fact I umpired a game with Jerry Newton. He was one of the coaches who drafted me to play for the Tigers. He and Freddie Simpson did a great job teaching the game of baseball to a crew of youngsters. I have been reminded of Freddie several times this spring. In the past few years he had started umpiring high school softball games and I got to see him a lot of afternoons. The league today would be lucky to have coaches like him or Jerry Newton. But the thing to remember about the coaches we have today....they are volunteering their time and that is something that deserves thanks. Good luck to all of the teams, players and coaches. Good luck to the fans in hoping they remember that the players are all between the ages of four and 12- and none have been signed by the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox. High School season closes It has been almost nine months since the hot August sun beat down on the football players and now the bitter cold winds of April chill the baseball players. Maybe there is something wrong with the environment after all. Anyway, the high school baseball season ended this week and the playoffs start Friday. The softball playoffs are a week later. Good luck to all as the second season gets started. Hopefully someone will make it to Montgomery and the finals.
That's all folks.......
|
for larger version       |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
