T-Ball gives kids a chance to learn

Sunday, June 14, 2009
By Jasen Richardson

It's summertime and that means no school, warm evenings, and a chance for kids to get rid of some energy out at the ball field.

First Christian Church of Shelbyville has sponsored a T-ball league, for children ages 4 to 6, for over 20 years.. The program commits to positive sportsmanship, a communal environment, and a chance to get youngsters involved in baseball at an early age, a league official says.

"T-ball (is where) kids can learn the fundamentals of ball," Rachel Simmons, director of the league, said. "It's very non-competitive. It's teaching the children to work together, teamwork. A nice sports environment."

Ten teams will involve 113 players this season, Simmons said. Teams are coed and most involve parents of the community. Every team has four coaches who are parents of players and/or members of the church. The teams are divided evenly by age and gender.

"We try very, very hard to make sure that every team has the same amount of boys and girls," Simmons said. "(We do so) as well with ages. We try hard to make everything fair."

The league is fully funded by registration fees, concession sales, and volunteer work. The only paid people involved are umpires and concession vendors. All the kids have to do is show up. Bats, bases, gloves, and uniforms are provided.

Unlike some leagues, the teams are not sponsored by local businesses. First Christian uses major league names for each team.

The league practices for the entire month of June, and then plays the entire month of July. The games take place Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings at 5:30.

There are no end-of-season tournaments, but the teams do have wins and losses. It is important to the league that kids understand winning and losing, Simmons said.

"We promote good sportsmanship," Simmons said. "We teach the kids it's part of it, you win some and you lose some. Try harder the next time."

HOW TO HELP

Registration for First Christian T-Ball League's season is closed. Volunteer work is appreciated by the league. For more information, contact First Christian Church, 309 Madison Street, 684-7467, www.firstchristianshelbyville.com.

Comments

Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please Login or Create an account first, and then you will be able to flag a comment as objectionable. Please also note that those who post comments on t-g.com may do so using a screen name, which may or may not reflect a website user's actual name. Readers should be careful not to assign comments to real people who may have names similar to screen names. Refrain from obscenity in your comments, and to keep discussions civil, don't say anything in a way your grandmother would be ashamed to read.

T-Ball is a great start to a ball career. I played T-Ball when I was 4 and 5 for the Pirates then I continued playing softball then fastpitch softball for a total of 13 years. If T-Ball wouldn't have gave me that taste of ball, I may have never played any sport.

-- Posted by AmRuss on Sun, Jun 14, 2009, at 10:27 AM