Town Hall coed youth baseball sign-ups have been extended through April 25, according to Bill Brown, Riverside County’s County Service Area administrator.
The Town Hall advertisement in the April 10 issue of the Town Crier read, “Unfortunately, this season has been canceled due to lack of enough players …“
That decision has been reversed and youth baseball is $45 for CSA 36 residents and $55 for nonresidents. Softball for ages 12 to 16 years is $20.
Already the number of players signing up for the 2014 baseball season is nearly 75, twice the number of a week ago, said Richard Mozeleski, Town Hall sports coordinator. “I’m absolutely optimistic it will grow,” he said.
He expects the season to begin immediately after the youth volleyball season concludes in the middle of May.
Besides the organized leagues for school students, he is planning an evening or a Saturday for teens to play softball. While this group won’t have a formal league, permanent teams or uniforms, the games will have umpires and equipment.
“This is similar to our Friday-night pick-up basketball games,” Mozeleski said.
Idyllwild’s small population contributes to the difficulty of organizing the youth leagues. For example, about 30 players had signed up for baseball before it was canceled. While that is sufficient for three to four teams, the age range was too great for even that number of teams.
Youth volleyball experienced similar difficulties this year, according to Ginger Dagnall, volleyball coordinator. She definitely had to encourage parents to enroll their children in the league. Now she has enough players for two divisions of three teams each.
She stressed that parents should not be discouraged by the fees. Any child enrolled in the reduced-lunch program at Idyllwild School is eligible for a scholarship for participating in a Town Hall sport.
“That’s what they used to do and I think it’s continuing,” said Amber Jacobson, the new head of recreation for the Economic Development Agency. “I’m glad we’re making progress. People wanted this.”
The Town Hall number is 659-2638.
