As most baseball fans know, a good changeup can be a game changer. The La Porte Park and Recreation Department hopes planned modifications to its youth baseball program create a more enjoyable and valuable experience this summer for players and parents.
Among the changes are new age divisions, incorporating two-year increments rather than the three-year increments used previously, and a national affiliation with Cal Ripken Baseball.
“We concluded some changes were necessary while also opting to preserve the elements of the program that have worked well,” Recreation Director Mark Schreiber said. “We need to focus on and enhance our ‘competitive advantages’ held over other youth sports options in our area, while meeting the evolving needs and wants of our parents and participants.”
Registration for all summer youth sports programs, including girls softball, will begin with registration nights from 6-7:30 p.m. Feb. 19 and 21 at the Civic Auditorium. On-line registration will then be available at www.cityoflaporte.com through March 8.
The levels of play offered in baseball will be T-Ball for ages 5-6, Rookie/Machine Pitch League for ages 7-8, Minor League for ages 9-10 and Major League for ages 11-12. Both the Minor and Major leagues will feature live pitching, with the Minors playing the traditional 60-foot bases and the Majors bumping up to 70-foot bases.
“The new age divisions will allow for better player development and closer competition,” Schreiber said. “We are also hopeful it will help with retention of participants.”
While the program will continue to sanction its Travel/All-Star teams under Baseball Players Association (BPA) as well, it will add an affiliation to Cal Ripken (a division of Babe Ruth League) to provide a state tournament that offers a true “tournament trail” with teams potentially advancing to state, regional and national levels. The affiliation will also allow its Travel/All-Star teams to compete against Cal Ripken programs from similar communities such as Chesterton, Crown Point, Granger, Munster and Valparaiso. Also, Babe Ruth League, Inc.’s approved accident insurance provides primary-coverage accident insurance to participants, rather than secondary.
Travel teams will be selected in March for the 11- and 12-year-olds, allowing those teams to play some weekend tournaments prior to and during the league season. All-Star teams will be selected for ages 8-10, with those teams playing a limited schedule and representing the program in the Cal Ripken state tournament.
“With an appreciation of our program’s past history, we feel these changes are essential to moving forward,” Schreiber added. “All of these efforts will be with the goals of fair play, strong fundamentals, safety, fitness, character development and fun.”
For more information on the La Porte Park and Recreation Department youth baseball program or other recreation programs, contact Recreation Director Mark Schreiber at (219) 326-9600 or by e-mail at mschreiber@cityoflaporte.com. Information can also be found on the La Porte Park and Recreation Department Facebook page.