Little League is more than a kids game, it is a community builder

May 31, 2006

Petaluma National Little League President Troy Sanderson has a firm, if not unique, theory of management. "Good things happen when people work together," he says.

It is that philosophy, practiced long before Sanderson became involved in the program, that has allowed the Petaluma National Little League to not only survive, but flourish as the community's oldest Little League. Indeed, it was the premis on which the league was founded.

It helped build the town's first Little League field where the Petaluma library now stands, and saw the league through a relocation to a vacant lot well off the beaten track on the Kenilworth Junior High School campus. That spirit of cooperation turned what became Carter Field into a showcase facility where three games could be played simultaneously and All-Star games on all levels could be hosted.

It has also seen the league through dwindling registration as new families located in American and Valley league territories. A recent restructuring of boundaries has somewhat balanced the numbers in the three leagues.

I really like Sanderson's concept of youth sports. They are a community activity that should be fun for the entire family. "We really try to make it like Disneyland for the kids," he says, "and that takes a significant contribution from our parents."

One of the things that Sanderson really dislikes seeing as he tours the Carter Field diamond are parents sitting in their car watching a game. To his way of thinking they are missing the best part of the youth sports experience -- joining the other parents in the stands to watch not only their child, but all the other kids play a game they enjoy.

Of course, the Petaluma National Little League needs all the parental involvement (and for that matter community involvement) it can muster as it moves its playing facilities from the Kenilworth location to a new home.

The city and school district have agreed to build diamonds at Petaluma Junior High School, but that is far from a done deal. An environmental study has to be done and funds for the project have to be found.

Sanderson knew when he took on the job as president of the league that it would be losing its fields to development as the school district sold the campus to raise funds to build a new junior high school on the east side of town where its students live.

"We had to decide whether to deal with it (the move) up front or fight it and possibly derail a plan to build a badly needed new junior high school," he says.

The league chose to work with the city and school district to move its facilities. The relocation hasn't been easy.

"It has been a long journey," Sanderson says, "but I am really proud of the way the community stood up and demanded that the fields be replaced, and the way the city has been working to make it happen.

"But it is a process. I have been to at least 75 meetings, and it isn't over yet."

It will happen. There are too many dedicated parents in this town for Petaluma's orginal Little League not to have a new home.

I really think people have it wrong when they say Little League, or any youth sport, is all about the kids. It is about much more than that. It is about parents, brothers, sisters and just plain interested people coming together to make something good happen for the kids. In the process, they realize that something good is happening for them as well. Little League baseball is about more than the kids, it is about community.

(Contact John Jackson at acsports@arguscourier.com)