"Play ball!"
It's that time of year again. Summer baseball and softball teams are playing.
Saturday was windy, rainy and a little cool for the girls of the Atlanta Girls Softball Association. But they were out, nevertheless, and happy to play in a tournament to showcase players in Cass County.
The girls teams have colorful names and uniforms. On this day, the Savages in black and lime green were playing the Assassins in blue, gray and with stars. Over on the 8-and-up field, the team called Bad Company in their red, blue and white were awaiting their opponents. Coach Gary Albertson was giving a pep talk, as if any were needed.
The tourney was a two-day opening for league play, which starts Monday. In all, 17 teams with players up to 12 years of age make up the Girls Softball Association.
Meanwhile, the boys play baseball in youth leagues for players from 4 to 14.
One of the most popular with fans is the Four-Year-Old Instructional League, which will play on Thursdays at the Atlanta Sports Complex starting at 6 p.m.
The league for 4-year-olds works well. No one keeps score, everyone gets to bat a round each inning and no one keeps up with errors. And the league is also fun for the parents and fans to watch. Coaching at this level is all about encouragement-and that's easy for parents to do.
Each spring, some 600 youth on teams will come to play at the Atlanta Sports Complex. Atlanta has a big city park with recent paving, which created parking for 300 cars.
The $600,000 paving project was accomplished by the Atlanta City Development Corporation and the Atlanta Tourism Committee. The Atlanta Baseball Association and the Atlanta Independent School District also assisted in the project.
Atlanta's sport park has a 17-year history of of maintaining 88 acres with its pond and an area where the town's Mattie Lanier Community Center is located.