Congratulations to Little League

To the editor

By:
   I’d just like to congratulate Hillsborough Little League for 50 years of baseball fun for Hillsborough boys and girls.
   I spent the entire decade of the 1990s managing or coaching my two sons in the Hillsborough Little League.
   I am so thankful I had this opportunity as it not only contributed to my boys’ growth and development but also to my own as a father and a man.
   I started out as an unsure, socially-awkward assistant coach in the early 1990s and gradually became more confident of my skills and ability to work with the kids and teach them things. I eventually managed teams of my own and was honored to manage a couple of All Star teams.
   I worked with some great men and women who taught me things about baseball, coaching, working with parents and others within community organizations and a host of other valuable skills.
   For every out-of-control, "parent from hell" there were 10 who were wonderful, dedicated, hard-working folks who only cared about the kids and just wanted them to have fun.
   I met some great parents whose children played on my teams. We spent many happy sunburned (and rain-delayed) hours with them at practice, games, All-Star tournaments, car washes etc.
   My wife and I will always cherish these friendships forged on the baseball diamonds of Hillsborough.
   I am thankful that my boys had the opportunity to play Little League baseball and experience the sheer exhilaration that comes with a solid hit, a leaping catch, and safely sliding into a stolen base. I am also glad that they had the chance to be part of a team and to feel the camaraderie that is part of organized athletics.
   More than anything I am glad that they got to experience the shear joy of running around a baseball field on a beautiful spring evening, as the sun sets over the outfield and the warming breezes combine to cap off the perfect day.
   Thanks, Hillsborough Little League. Keep up the great work.
   I am so sorry I was out of town and missed the celebration. Where can I get a T-shirt?

Rich Blonna
Wallace Boulevard