Little League comes to Montclair

By Ryan Milano
News for the children of Montclair

This content is collected, edited and provided by Montclair Kids News, a voluntary collaboration working with students from multiple Montclair schools. Want to participate in Montclair Kids News? Email monclairkidsnews@gmail.com.

This spring, Little League Baseball will move to Montclair. For those of you who don’t know what Little League is, it’s the largest organized youth sports league in the world. It started in Williamsport, Pennsylvania in 1939 and is now a worldwide organization. Montclair will join the organization and have its own little league, with teams competing here in town.

The new league will replace the former Montclair Recreational League for baseball. Morris Rockmaker, a Montclair baseball coach and father who serves as president of the city’s Little League chapter, said it would provide Montclair with a chance to be associated with America’s premier youth league baseball.

“It’s all good about the hobby, but with the familiar organization of Little League,” he said.

The season will run from mid-April to mid-June, with training beginning in late March (weather permitting). There will be two age groups. The AAA level will be for third and fourth years. The Majors level will be for fifth and sixth years. There will be a regular season in which all teams at each level will play games against each other, Montclair against Montclair.

At the end of the season, there will be an All Star team made up of the best players from each team. They will face All Star teams from other nearby cities in a tournament. If they progress through all rounds of the tournament, the fifth- and sixth-grade All Star team will also be eligible for the Little League World Series in Williamsport, which airs on ESPN.

Montclair will try to reach more children with the goal of getting them to try baseball, including those who already play sports other than baseball. Everyone is welcome to play! There will also be lots of fundraising and also drinks and snack sales during the games. The coaches of the Little League teams will all be volunteers.

For parents, there are a few things you will need to know if you want to enroll your child. If you don’t have baseball equipment, the league will help your children find gloves, bats or any other equipment you need. Scholarships are also available. Registration began Feb. 1 and can be done through the township’s Community Pass system at register.communitypass.net.

If you want more information, you can consult the “youth programs” section of the Leisure and cultural affairs section of the canton’s website (montclairnjusa.org), call the Recreation Department at 973-509-4915, or email the League directly at MontclairLLbaseball@gmail.com.

Ryan Milano is a fifth year student at Hillside School.