The Asbury Park Little League is getting ready to begin its new season.
This Saturday, Feb. 2, a pancake breakfast party at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School will mark the last day of Little League sign-ups for the 2013 season.
Registration began the first week of January, according to Little League president Danny McKee. The league is open to children ages five to 15. This year, McKee is also trying to establish two girls’ softball teams, one for nine-and-10-year-olds and one for 11-and-12-year-olds. Baseball teams for all ages and tee-ball teams for five-and-six-year-olds are open to both boys and girls.
In recent years, the league — which has been in existence since 1955 — has drawn more than 100 children per year on nine or 10 teams, McKee said.
McKee, who first became involved with Little League as a coach when his son joined 11 years ago, believes kids’ baseball and softball could help change Asbury Park for the better.
“You can’t wave some magic wand and stop the shootings,” he said. “That magic wand doesn’t exist. There’s a combination of things that have to be done to get things to change.”
Change may take a long time, McKee said, but an important part of it is showing children that “there’s a big world out there to explore, and it’s theirs for the taking,” he said. “We try to provide a positive alternative to the streets. You’ve got to show them that there’s a different way.”
Asbury Park players duke it out against teams from Point Pleasant Beach; Spring Lake and Sea Girt; Spring Lake Heights; Neptune City and Bradley Beach; and Belmar, Avon and Lake Como.
Last year, the seven-and-eight-year-old baseball team came in first place, McKee said. And two years ago, the older Yankees team went undefeated.
Asbury Park Little League plays on a state-of-the-art field on Sixth Avenue, near the high school. McKee became Little League president in 2005 and started fundraising efforts in 2006. After raising $200,000, the league started the field’s reconstruction in 2007.
The league relies on fundraising to cover much of its operational costs. Each child’s family must pay $85 for the first child and $30 for each additional child. This covers about $8,000 of the league’s annual $40,000 budget, McKee said. The remainder is raised through donations from individuals and companies throughout the area.
The Little League sponsors trips to Williamsport, Pa., for baseball camp each year, as well as barbecues and other events.
“It’s a tremendous experience for the kids to get out of town and see something different,” McKee said of the camp.
The pancake breakfast at Thurgood Marshall Elementary School, at 600 Monroe Ave., lasts from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Feb. 2. The event will feature all kinds of breakfast food, and costs $8 per adult and $4 for children ages three to 12.
For more information on the Asbury Park Little League, visit their website at eteamz.com/aplittleleague.
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[Above photo of Asbury Park Little League player Willie Speller courtesy of Danny McKee.]
