Hard Work Pays Off

Families and Little League  succeed in running a season of baseball despite unusual circumstances.

BY MATTHEW MERITT

I paid for a full seat but only used the edge while watching one of the Big Flats Little League Baseball championship games this year.

​As the Friday evening sun set the excitement rose, with a mere run separating the two Triple-A Division teams in the sixth and final inning. The Pirates’ pitcher deftly gathered up the needed three outs to nail down a 7-6 win for his team. His composure and good sportsmanship were matched by that of his teammates and their Yankee opponents in a game that could have gone either way.

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​It was quite a display by two groups of enthusiastic, well-coached 8- to 10-year-old players. Running catches in the outfield and neat work by infielders kept the game moving and the score low and close, with each boy playing a meaningful part.
 
But the entire season was also quite an accomplishment by the adult volunteers behind-the-scenes who worked to make it all possible. With COVID concerns, there was a lot to do in advance of the season, from working closely with the town on detailed logistics plans and guidelines to making sure groups of energetic and gregarious boys used hand sanitizer during games and practices. 
 
“Lots of challenges for sure,” said Big Flats Little League President John Mahon. “It was very important to the League that the Town had confidence we would do this the right way.”
 
But even the best plans are only as good as the folks who carry them out. “The community of Big Flats is a very supportive, family-based community,” Mahon said. “All the parents chipped in to make sure we followed our Park Logistics Plan and BFLL guidelines for games and practices. Parents were 110 percent behind the League’s and Town’s decision to move forward with the season.” 
 
As a result, instead of cowering at home atop mountains of toilet paper, the Big Flats boys of summer got the season that every American child deserves, from T-ballers to teenagers, with wins and losses, first hits for some and first catches for others and lots of the kind of fantastic sporting moments that won’t make it to television. 
 
In fact, with match-ups against teams from other town, there were more regular-season games this year than before – 16 on the schedule versus the usual 12 or 13. There was even an exciting weekend of games under portable lights, an effort revived after three years. “The kids absolutely loved it!” Mahon said. “Tremendous experience for the kids! It’s something they will tell their kids about. The weather was perfect, the park was electric!” 

When all was said and done, the League ended up with a season Mahon described as “a huge success.”
 
Our own son, Paul, learned a lot in the Triple-A Division last year, getting on base here and there with a few walks and getting hit by a couple pitches. He burst onto the scene in a game this season with a grounder to the left side of the infield, his first ever ball in play. He pounded out a mighty run down the baseline with classic little league determination, but came up short as a just-as-determined opponent fielded the ball nicely and made the throw to first in time for the out.
 
But it was a breakthrough nonetheless, one that got hearty cheers and congratulations from coaches, teammates and parents. We watched the video after the game multiple times and we are confident that first hit is on the way. I know Paul can’t wait until next season and I bet he’s not the only one.

“The community of Big Flats is a very supportive, family-based community. All the parents chipped in to make sure we followed our Park Logistics Plan and BFLL guidelines for games and practices."
                        - John Mahon