GHLL growing with area

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

The Gig Harbor Little League baseball volunteer community metaphorically has to step up to the plate.

In a matter of a couple weeks, they’re going to be tasked with coordinating more than twice the number of games compared to previous years for the District 2 tournament.

It will certainly be the most difficult synchronized scheduling they’ve ever faced. We’re talking about extremely packed parking lots — GHLL could possibly ask volunteers to handle that potential issue, squeezing families from around the peninsulas to fit onto the bleachers for three games happening at the same time — for at least the first week of tournament play.

GHLL might consider an overflow parking lot somewhere. I here it’s dicey already, and in couple weeks, there will be teams from 12 different Little League programs coming to visit.

A group of volunteers have been working 15-20 games for the junior and senior tournament games in four of the past five years.

With a double-elimination format, volunteers could be helping with about 70 games in a two-week period.

If there’s ever been a calling for peninsula residents to help with an event that supports local youth, now is the time.

If I weren’t covering the games for the Gateway, I’d lend a hand. The first year the GHLL is hosting a pretty big tournament is a good enough reason for me.

Without the help of the community, this District 2 tournament could be a mess. Thankfully, GHLL board members said people are already stepping up.

In years past, GHLL has simultaneously coordinated two teams on one field with three parents counting pitches, keeping the score and marking scorebooks.

It hasn’t been a heavy load. In fact, the reason GHLL was selected to host the District 2 Minor League AAA tournament — that’s youth 9 to 12 years old, except for the majors division, which is its own league — is because they’ve been running a smooth ship.

The test is truly coming later, starting July 3.

Instead of three volunteers, GHLL will need about 12 — four times the number required in years past, according to GHLL board member Roy Brentin.

You have to crawl before you can walk.

The first step was getting the current fields in 1995 — with the help of the Peninsula Light Company essentially donating the land, and then hosting the juniors and seniors. As a result, the organization has grown large enough to host two more age groups for the District 2 tournament.

What’s next?

Board members are shooting for District 2 majors competition, and perhaps the state tourney to be held in Gig Harbor. How cool would that be?

First impressions last forever, so if the inaugural District 2 tournament in Gig Harbor doesn’t go well, the chances of conducting bigger tourneys may be far-fetched.

The Gig Harbor Little League is split up into American and National leagues, producing more teams for players.

North Kitsap Little League is the only other program in District 2 that is split up into two leagues because of large youth turnouts.

We aren’t just seeing growth on the peninsulas in terms of business life and traffic numbers across the Narrows bridge. We’re also noticing significant changes to youth sports programs, like the integration of new leagues, such as GHLL’s girls soft pitch program.

The registration count for GHLL is projected to be at its highest ever next year, and the Key Peninsula Little League has continued to bring solid numbers in, too.

Reach Sports Editor Marques Hunter at 253-853-9246 or by e-mail at marques.hunter@gateline.com.