Toddlers delight in league of their own

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, May 2, 2006 | by Column by Rick Chandler

IT ALL BEGAN during their regular commute to work at eBay. Joe Meyer, who is in charge of the Web site's sports division, and Brian Haverty were brainstorming on activities for their youngsters when the kids got old enough to play sports.

It was 2004, and the problem was there were no organized activities for 3- and 4-year olds in San Mateo. So Meyer and Haverty decided to start something of their own. What they came up with is a T-ball league that uses Wiffle Ball equipment, where every swing is a home run and no one keeps score.

"We had a meeting at Central Park, and about 10 people showed up," Haverty recalled. "So we decided to build it through word of mouth, and eventually we got a league together with 50 players. We had a lot of fun, be we weren't an official league; we didn't even have insurance."

That's when San Mateo American Little League heard about the program and offered Haverty a deal. Their numbers had been down in recent years, and they told Haverty that if he agreed to run a T- ball program for them, that he could bring the Wiffle Ball League into San Mateo American along with it.

"So we went with that," Haverty said. "We were then official, with insurance and everything. And when we had our sign-ups this season, 154 kids signed up for Wiffle Ball. We have 19 teams."

The league has been a huge hit. Former San Francisco Giants outfielder Terry Whitfield even came out and threw out the first pitch on opening day (chances are it resembled a knuckle ball). More significantly, San Mateo American has grown from 370 kids last year to 524 this year, an infusion the league sorely needed.

Is 3 too young for kids to be involved in organized sports? No one who has seen a Wiffle Ball League game is of that opinion. First, no score is kept. The ball is placed on a batting tee, and each player gets his hacks at it -- with any contact counting as a home run. All players in the lineup hit, and then it's the other team's turn at the plate.

It's a five-game season (played on Sundays and Mondays -- the next round is this Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. at Trinta Park). All players receive trophies following the final game of the season.

"Every kid gets a T-shirt and a hat, and games are a half-hour long," Haverty said. "Most of the kids have to be taught at first how to run the bases. But they get the hang of it."

The game is played on a 20-foot diamond (three of which can be marked out within a regulation Little League field).

"The kids are just out there having a lot of fun," Haverty said. "They really love it. No pressure, no standings or anything like that. Just fun."

And the Wiffle Ball League could, in an indirect way, be saving San Mateo American Little League's field. There have been rumors over the past few years that the city of San Mateo is considering selling the land on which the Trinta Park complex sits for a housing development. San Mateo American has been at Trinta for 47 years.

"Although the city has since said that they currently don't have plans to do that, one never knows what could happen in the future," Haverty said. "There is strength in numbers, and a league with 650 angry parents can bring more pressure than one with only 370."

The Serra High crew program took home a gold medal at the Long Beach Invitational last weekend, as the freshman 4 boat of Chris Delzompo, Cameron Woods, Ongley Ocon, Aaron Gonzales and Zach Felise took firsts. Serra senior Kirk Halterman took silver in the men's single, and the junior varsity boat (Mario Morales, James Leighlitner, Matt Levin, Nick Willard and Joey Frank) won bronze in the junior varsity 4 event.

Contact Rick Chandler at (650) 348-4348 or by e-mail at RChandler@Sanmateocountytimes.com.