Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department January 2010 Update

January 2010 Update

We ended 2009 with a bang as the 10 & Under football team claimed the GRPA state football championship. Now, as we enter 2010, it’s our hope that we can build upon that success and see all of our programs reach a high level of success on the local, district and state levels. Our staff has done such a good job throughout some very difficult circumstances and I must commend them. These professionals have endured long hours at times and furloughs at other times. They’ve enjoyed being able to enter a new and impressive building but at the same time have had to show great constraint in their spending. All of this wears you down and can be mentally draining but my hat is off to them for working tirelessly to make our department a success.

We already have some exciting things happening in the new year. The former Junior League baseball fields (Blue Field and Green Field) at the regional park are being transformed into softball fields. We will play our adult softball program out there this season. This should provide us with a nicer venue for this program and provide additional concession revenue. It will also reduce the cost to operate the program because a full-time staff person will already be on site, eliminating the need for a part-time supervisor. We will also use these fields for our TEE ball and Coach Pitch programs which frees up field space for the other leagues. In youth baseball, another major change is occurring to signify our growth. In previous years, our 10 & Under program has consisted of both 9 and 10 year old players. In 2010, we will have a 9 year old only league which will continue to play by the GRPA MITE League rules. The 10 year olds will move into the newly created Little League Minor Division which will be live arm pitching. The Minor Division will consist of all 10 year olds and many of the 11 year olds who are still in need of more basic fundamental instruction. Our 12 year olds will play in the Major Division of Little League, with a select few of the 11 year olds allowed to “play up” in this league. It is our hope that this set up will: (1) allow for more skill development at the local level (2) allow more kids to play at the post season level by creating four all-star teams (9’s, 10’s, 11’s & 12’s) rather than the two teams (10 & Under and 12 & Under) as we’ve had in the past (3) allow us to begin developing more and better pitchers by starting the live arm process one year earlier. All of this may be a little confusing to start with, but we believe it is a win-win situation for everyone involved! Another program that we’re hoping to “get off the ground” in 2010 is the CUB SPORTS program. This would affect the 12 & Under Division only in baseball, basketball and football and the U14 division of soccer. It is a new and innovative way of selecting the all-star team and coach in these divisions that would create a better relationship between the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department and our local public and private schools as well as helping us to become more of a true feeder program to those schools. We will host a public hearing on this program on Tuesday, February 9th at 6:00PM in the Columns at Boone Park Community Center. Our gymnastics team has been working hard to learn their routines. They attended a meet recently in Albany as spectators to witness, first hand, how a gymnastics meet is operated. On February 6th, we will host a MOCK meet, which is just like a gymnastics meet but no other teams will be here to compete against us. The girls will do their routines in meet fashion and be scored to prepare them for their first competitive meet. On February 20th, the team will travel to Dream It gymnastics in Tifton for their inaugural meet. Baseball registration is the entire month of February. Leagues will be offered for kids ages 5 – 12. The cost is $60.00. Our annual baseball coaches meeting is on Tuesday, February 9th at 6:30 inside the Columns. Anyone wishing to coach should be in attendance at this meeting. On Saturday, February 6th we will host a Doyle Baseball Coaches School from 8:00AM – 11:00AM and a Players School from 12:00N – 5:00PM. Pre-registration is $25 for coaches and $45 for players and you can register at the Columns. On-Site registration will be an additional $20.

Wow, all of that…and a great youth basketball season going on as we speak! We hope you’ll choose to be a part of the good things going on at the Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department.

Sincerely,

Tim Estes - Executive Director
Sumter County Parks and Recreation Department
210 Rucker Street
Americus, GA 31719
(229) 924-4878 (Office)
(229) 928-9464 (Fax)
tim.estes@sumtercountyga.us