Zionsville Little League Program Celebrates 65 Years of Connecting Youth To Baseball & Softball
Writer: Jon Shoulders
Photography Provided by Zionsville Little League
After more than six decades, Zionsville Little League (ZLL) continues to operate as one of the premier youth baseball and softball programs in the state.
Bernie Paul, league information officer, says while many little league programs around the U.S. have seen declining player and volunteer numbers in recent years due to travel leagues and the variety of indoor and outdoor extracurricular pursuits available to youngsters, ZLL’s numbers are holding steady.
“Our registration numbers have been within five or 10 percent of where they’ve been for the last five or six years,” says Paul, who has been involved with the league for 10 years, first as a coach and eventually as a board member since 2011. “We have great participation from volunteers, but we’re always looking to hear from more people who are interested in participating.”
One of the oldest little leagues in Indiana, ZLL typically seeks about 200 volunteers to help run its programs at Lions Park on South Elm Street, and registration for the league’s spring program typically tops off at approximately 750 to 800 kids.
The league’s spring baseball and softball programs run from mid-April through mid-June, and boys and girls aged six through 18 living within the Zionsville Community School system borders are eligible. All-star games run through July, and ZLL also runs a fall program from August through October.
Paul says ZLL’s various volunteer opportunities, from team management to assistant coaching to board member service, are well worth the effort.
“Volunteering is very rewarding in the opportunity to work with the kids and working with parents and making friends that way,” he says. “It’s great as a parent too – the families sit together on the bleachers and are talking to each other and making friends while watching the kids on the field. The setting we have at Lions Park creates a synergy around the community aspect of kids playing sports.”
Each year ZLL also employs approximately 80 to 90 young umpires aged 12 through 18, and Paul says the experience provides a way for local youngsters to learn responsibility and remain connected to a sport they love.
“We’ve been employing youth umpires for a long time,” Paul says. “With a lot of them it’s the first job they ever have, and it’s a way for them to stay around the league and keep forming good relationships if they like baseball and softball.”
For the past five years, ZLL has offered $500 scholarships to one girl and one boy who have reached their senior year in high school and have demonstrated heavy involvement in ZLL. Visit the official website for details on the scholarship application process.
“Little League is a character-driven organization,” Paul adds. “It promotes ideals like character and loyalty – it’s a good environment for kids to be participating in sports. They learn how to win and lose and be a good teammate.”
Last fall Zionsville was chosen by Little League International to be the new location for the Little League Central Region Headquarters and will host regional baseball and softball tournaments prior to each annual Little League World Series. Previously located on the east side of Indy, Paul says the new Central Region Headquarters facility is scheduled for groundbreaking this year off of Whitestown Road, south of the Zionsville High School baseball and softball complex.
The new facility is scheduled for a 2019 opening, and, according to Paul, ZLL will likely be allowed to use the complex for special events and occasions.
As Zionsville’s commercial and residential growth continues, Paul says ZLL will have to find creative ways to accommodate likely future increases in participation.
“I think we will see an uptick in enrollment as Zionsville grows,” he says. “We’ll be working through that, dealing with the ins and outs of potentially adding 400 or so kids to our program as the population here goes up. That will be a challenge for us in the future because we are near capacity in our field usage already, but I think we’ll be able to work through it.”
For additional information on Zionsville Little League programs, visit zionsvillelittleleague.org. Email Bernie Paul, league information officer, with questions about enrollment and volunteer opportunities at: news@zionsvillelittleleague.org.
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