The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

An organizational meeting was held to promote T-Ball again this summer which will start at the beginning of May. There will be two practices each week Tuesday and Thursday.

Rachel Baumgarn is president, Morgan Simpson is vice president, Stephanie Overbay is secretary, Petra Yirsa is treasure and scheduler, and Vanessa Jansen is the safety officer. The coaches are Ronnie Simpson, Sean Jansen, and Colby Baumgarn which are required to receive safety training. They are looking for other volunteers as well.

Quintin Pegar is responsible for finding sponsors. The Grocery Store and The Motel are sponsoring the shirts for the Big Sandy Pioneer Little League, but more sponsors would be welcomed. The Little League is required to buy insurance and all current funds will be used for that prerequisite.

Some of the equipment is too old or damaged and needs to be replaced. They do plan on having some fundraisers, with the first one being a bake sale.

There will be a registration table set up at the grade school April 18th right after school. The registration fee will be $25. Registration forms will also be sent home with the students early and they need to be returned to Rachel Baumgarn by April 19th.

T-ball allows young children to play a game of baseball. Children play different positions on the field along with adults, usually a parent is on the field helping so the players to know what to do. The positions that get the most action in t-ball are the first base man, followed by the rest of the infield positions. Players often time find themselves more interested in the rocks or the bugs below their feet and sit down to play in the dirt. The pitcher position is only there to catch or run after balls as the ball is placed on an adjustable

tee atop the home plate at a suitable height for the batter to strike and even then the ball is often missed when struck at. Sometimes with better players an adult will pitch to them. Additionally, runs and outs are often not recorded, and every player gets to bat each inning. For this reason, t-ball is a fun game to watch.

Many parents are needed to assist during the game to help in the dugout, in the field, on the bases and with the task of umpiring. However, the ump has no real power other than encouraging a player to run home from third at the appropriate time.

Currently the only interest is for T-Ball, but If there is enough interest they will have an either child/parent pitching team as well.