By Staff
I know summer is right around the corner when Opening Day kicks off for all of the youth baseball and softball leagues.
Niles FOP, Brandywine Cal Ripken and Howard Township are just a few of the leagues in the area that will be holding parades and ceremonies on Saturday.
While I try to attend every one I can, please remember that I am only one person, and all of these parades and ceremonies are beginning at the same time. So it's going to be impossible for me to make it to all of them.
Two years ago, I covered Niles FOP and enjoyed all the little chants and songs the teams were singing while walking down the street. Last year, I enjoyed getting bombed by candy at the Howard Township parade. This year, I will be making my way to Brandywine Cal Ripken's parade and opening day events, and I'm proud to say, I will be part of them.
It was a pleasant surprise to find an e-mail from Angie Searles of Brandywine's league on Monday morning. We all know how Monday's are – still tired from the weekend, it's the beginning of a long work week, you're dreading the 50 plus e-mails you have to go through, most of them being spam anyway. So it really made my week when Angie asked me to throw the opening pitch during the leagues opening day ceremonies. I have never been asked to do anything like this before and it is such an honor.
Of course, I immediately told my parents, who were just as happy as I was. I told my friend Erin about it and she was very happy for me too and said she wanted to come watch, but after I told her what time it was she kind of laughed. You have to remember, 9 a.m. is still very early for some of us!
So this should be a pretty fun day and I wanted to thank Angie and everyone at Brandywine Cal Ripken for this honor!
We are very lucky to have the youth leagues in Niles that we do. All of them are wonderful leagues to play for and I truly enjoy everyone involved.
If you get a chance Saturday, check out one of the parades and/or ceremonies at any of the parks. It's a great chance for the kids and coaches to let loose and prepare for a very busy summer season.
Have a great weekend!