Dover to host Williamsport Little League Tournament
By Dave Mast
July 18, 2016
653
Hillary Clinton made famous the quote that it takes a village to raise a child. Paraphrasing that statement, sometimes it takes a village to put on a baseball tournament.
The city of Dover is hosting this years Williamsport Little League 10U State Tournament July 23-30 at Dover City Park, and while the responsibility of preparing the park and getting all of the ducks in a row falls on the shoulders of Dover Parks and Rec, it truly has been a complete community effort that should make the experience a most memorable one for all of the young players, their coaches and fans.
Because of the massive success Dover has had with its youth baseball programs over the past number of years, it seems quite appropriate that the City of Dover and Dover Park will settle in to host the Williamsport Minor 10U State Baseball Tournament.
As the tournament approaches, city director of parks and rec Scott Jerles and many others have dug in to prepare the fields and the community for what should be an inundation of teams and fans who will visit the area.
Jason Hall, commissioner of Dover youth baseball, approached me awhile ago about the possibility of hosting such a huge event, and we felt it would be a wonderful opportunity for us to promote both our park and our city, Jerles said. We have had to do a great deal of work to the facilities at the park to make it ready for action according to official Little League standards, but the changes we made have really added to the appeal of the park.
Those changes included having sprinklers installed and a new press box erected on Field No. 1, where most of the action will take place throughout the week including the championship game. Field No. 6 also will be utilized, meaning that there will be plenty of baseball action going on throughout the weeklong event.
We have spent the last eight or nine months getting ready, and the changes we have made have really gone well and made some amazing improvements, Jerles said.
While baseball will be on tap all day long throughout the tournament run, that wont be the only thing Jerles and his crew will be focusing on. With the influx of players come parents, family and friends, meaning that those visitors and teams will be seeking lodging, dining and places to visit during downtime.
Putting together packages to benefit those teams and families coming into the area was something the city of Dover wanted to do to make the experience a special one.
With 11 different district champions coming in from all over Ohio, we know that means a lot of people coming to our community here in Dover, Jerles said. We have worked with a number of different area businesses and made sure that we have put together a nice welcome bag for the teams and have plenty of blocks of rooms available.
With so many people coming in from out of town to experience the tournament, that means the entire community will be in position to not only prosper, but also to make the experience a grand one for those visiting Tuscarawas County. Painting a picture of a welcoming, accommodating community that has plenty to offer is a big part of what hosting a state baseball tournament entails.
While baseball will be the center of attention, and it should be some fantastic ball from these young athletes, the extra touch and care in creating a memorable experience will go a long way in encouraging visitors to come back and visit again.
Things like a special opening ceremony for the teams, the gift packs and plenty of small touches add up to big memories. Jerles said they would also rent an enormous inflatable screen July 25 to show the movie Zootopia. Anyone from competing teams and their families to people in the community are welcome to come out to Field No. 9, where the big screen will be set up at around 8:45 p.m.
Our entire community has been doing a lot to make this experience something special for these youngsters and their families, Jerles said. We take a lot of pride in our park and in our city, and we dont want this to be a one-time thing. We would love to have this tournament many more times, and we understand that making the experience memorable is so important. It has taken a lot of work from a lot of people, but I think we are ready to put on a great time for these teams.
Tournament brackets will be posted at www.holmescountyticket.com, allowing fans to go watch the action and even root for the local District 4 representative team to go all the way.
