Let the Games Begin

On Saturday over 260 young baseball players gathered at Garver Park for the opening ceremony of the 2012 Little League Baseball season.  The little man is on the Reds team in the wildcat league for 7 & 8 year olds.

Boys waited, hanging on fences

 and talking with friends.

  

It was time to line up...

From oldest to youngest, every player heard his name announced.  Then out to the field he'd run to join the throng of players while broad smiling parents and grandparents clapped and cheered.

All the players gathered in the outfield to recite the Little League Oath and sing the Star Spangled Banner.  Lacking wide-angle capabilities, I shot the long line of players in a row and then used Photoshop Elements to create a panorama that gives some idea of the number of boys and girls.

In the afternoon the little man played his first game of the season. The way the coaches teach the boys, the rules that they follow allows each kid to hit and to learn a bit about every position.  No scores are kept in the first phase. It's all about learning the game and having fun!