Think Spring: Youth Leagues Are Forming

With spring fast approaching, the imaginations of most children–and their parents–are quickly turning to the ball field.

In Chesterfield Township and New Baltimore, kids have a bevy of opportunities available to them in the upcoming months.

Rich Piekarski, Chesterfield Township Parks and Recreation director, said he estimates that 875 kids participate in the baseball and softball programs each year.

“They’re very popular,” he said.

In Chesterfield Township, spring season baseball leagues, for ages 5 to 15, are open for registration through the end of February while summer season baseball leagues are open for registration throughout the month of April.

Practices and games for the spring and summer leagues are played at and/or behind the Chesterfield Township offices. In some cases, games may be played at in New Baltimore.

For T-ball, boys and girls are assigned to a team with volunteer coaches who give basic instruction. Players hit from a tee, but may opt to be pitched to by their coach during the final three games of the season.

Registration for summer flag football leagues, for first- through seventh-graders, and cheerleading for flag football leagues, for first- through fifth-graders, is open from June 13 through July 15.

Chesterfield’s Soccer Academy at Pollard Park is held from 11 a.m. to noon (ages 3-4) and noon to 1 p.m. (ages 5-6) from May 1 through June 12.

In addition to organized sports, Chesterfield Township offers spring and summer camps. The first of these camps is scheduled for spring break from April 4-8, during which campers will go to the movies one day and spend the remainder of the week at the Youth Center.

Summer camps, which begin June 13, allow campers to take a field trip once a week–including to Metropolitan Beach Metropark in Harrison Township. During the remainder of the week kids spend their time playing sports, making creative projects and participating in a series of unique games at the Youth Center.

“They’re basically a nice, safe environment for people to take their kids during the summer where the kids stay active and the parents don’t have to worry about them,” Piekarski said. “I think we have about 400 kids each summer.”

For more information on Chesterfield Township programs, visit www.chesterfieldtwp.org or call 586-949-0400, ext. 4.

In New Baltimore, the city is offering T-ball (ages 5-6), and player pitch leagues for ages 7-15. Walk-in registration is open for returning players until March 11 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Late registration is available from noon to 4 p.m. on March 12 at the . Games will begin the week of May 16.

In addition, New Baltimore is offering “Let’s Move” kids fitness classes, which are held on Saturdays from March 26 through April 9.

The classes, inspired by the Presidential Fitness Program, are designed to get kids up and moving and have a wide range of activities from basic weight lifting, jump rope, push-ups, pull-ups and “old school” games like tug-of-war and foot races. The cost of the program, which runs for three weeks, is $15 to $18.

The New Baltimore Recreation Center is located at 50976 Washington. For more information, visit www.newbaltimorerecreation.com or call 586-725-0291.

In addition to the programs offered by both parks and recreation departments, Spring Training offers a variety of minicamps and leagues that are open to individuals of all ages to practice on their indoor field.

Camps include throwing, fielding and hitting workshops. March camps are held Monday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m. or Saturday mornings from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Spring Training, which features a 20,000-square-foot indoor training facility, is located at 27088 Morelli Dr. (just north of 23 Mile).

For more information, visit www.spring-training.net or call 586-949-7144.