Kentwood Baseball League registrations have dropped significantly this year

KENTWOOD, Mich. (WOOD) — Leaders with the Kentwood Baseball League are trying to spread the word about registration after seeing far fewer players signing up, especially for women’s softball.

Brennen See, president of the league, said there are on average between 500 and 600 players each season. So far this year, only 115 have signed up. He added that it is not just at the youth level.

“We also noticed this at the secondary level. They struggle to transition female softball players from college to high school, and it all starts at a young age.

See thinks it has a lot to do with COVID-19 rules and regulations.

“Last year it was really hard to get people through with the guidelines that the state had put out. Now we are a little more relaxed about it. We follow the same guidelines as (Michigan High School Athletic Association),” See said.

Last year, there were only three women’s teams in each division. Typically, the league has about eight teams per girls division.

This year, girls aged 7 and 8 can play for free as part of a new incentive. See hopes this will help get more girls involved in the sport, adding that there are countless ways children and parents can benefit from their involvement.

“Being part of a team from day one, studies show is good for kids. By working with other teams, you learn to solve problems, learn communication skills, and form friendships that last forever. I’ve been friends ever since I was playing in the league with kids who were on my team, and that was 20 years ago,” See said.

He added that seeing the interaction between children and coaches can also help parents communicate better with their children.

“You will see a coach communicate with your child and it will click between them. You’re gonna be like, maybe I can take this home and get it to connect too. Whether it’s with schoolwork or with chores, discipline – sports help with all of that.

KBL has been part of the community for over 45 years, helping young athletes gain the experience needed to advance to higher levels of athletics.

Registration for the spring season is currently open for boys 4 1/2 to 14 and girls 4 1/2 to 15. It will end on March 5 and team selection will take place in the following weeks. There are no residency restrictions, so you don’t have to live in Kentwood to play.

The opening ceremony is scheduled for May 14, which will include fun activities, speeches and a parade.

See says the league is too need volunteers and sponsors. Sponsorship and advertising opportunities may be found here.

` ) ); // Embed Facebook script (function (d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src=”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.12&appId=166116077300962&autoLogAppEvents=1″; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘facebook-jssdk’)); // Twitter script integration (function (d, s, id) { var js, tjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.setAttribute(‘async’, ”); js.src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”; tjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, tjs); }(document, ‘script’, ‘twitter-js’)); } // Simplify some things iframe var iframes = $(‘iframe’); iframes .filter( ‘.responsive’ ) .each( function( _, frame ) { // 16×9 ratio responsive iframes var $frame = $(frame); $( frame ).css({ position: ‘absolute’, top: 0, left: 0, right: 0, width: ‘100%’, height: ‘100%’, }).parent().addClass( ‘wood-responsive-container wood-responsive-container-16×9’ ); } ); var lazyFrames = iframes.filter(‘[data-lazy-src]’); function woodMakeLazyFrame( selector ) { var observer; var options = { root: null, rootMargin: ‘0px’, threshold: 0, }; function handler(inputs, observer) { inputs.forEach(function(input) { var ioR = entry.intersectionRatio; if(ioR > 0) { entry.target.src = entry.target.dataset.lazySrc; observer.unobserve( input .target); } }); } observer = new IntersectionObserver( handler, options ); observe. observe( selector ); } lazyFrames. each( ( _, frame ) => woodMakeLazyFrame( frame ) ); }); }(jQuery))

Comments are closed.