Sisters Little League opener set

Sisters Little League starts the 2007 season this Saturday. Opening Day ceremonies begin at 10 a.m., at the Sisters Community Church ball fields.

"We have the largest number of opening day participants in our history. There are 240 Sisters area kids signed up to play ball. That's up from last year, which was a record year for us," said league president Chris Houck.

This season features the largest number of teams in Sisters Little League history, 21.

"More teams mean we have more volunteer coaches than ever. This means more kids get to play ball," Houck said. "For the first time we have three major league teams and two major softball teams."

Opening day is the culmination of three to four weeks of practice, several field clean-up days and lots of behind-the-scene preparation by the 11-person volunteer board.

"We have lots of insurance and safety preparations, uniforms to order, registrations to process, fields and teams to schedule and several regional and national Little League meetings to attend," said board member David Banks. "It takes about 11 months to pull off our three-month season."

The ceremony features a "parade" of teams and players across home plate.

"Every player is recognized and has his or her moment in front of all the proud parents and friends," Houck explained. "All teams need to arrive in uniform by 9:45 a.m."

Players also take the Little League pledge, have their pictures taken and then start the season. There are eight games Saturday, starting at 11:15 a.m.

With the large number of teams this year, some major league games were to be contested Tuesday though Friday this week to make the season end in time for summer All-Star play.

Scheduling the many teams for both home and away ball games has become part art and science practiced by coach and past league president Brian Witt.

"Up until this year we had only three fields, so it was really a crunch," said Witt. "We've plugged away on two new fields next to the SOAR building which will be ready for games in May. This really helps scheduling and makes the season more convenient for players and families."

The new fields have been under construction for two years and are the result of contributions from Sisters-area civic groups, the school district, SOAR and Sisters Little League.

For more Opening Day information contact Chris Houck, 815-6796.

For new field information contact David Banks, 815-1975.