FeedsPlay ball
Park closing won’t strike out youth association baseball
Each year, the Westland Youth Athletic Association (WYAA) offers hundreds of children the opportunity to play baseball—and that’s not about to change.
According to Keith DeMolay, vice president of operations for the all-volunteer organization, the closure of Central City Park in November due to contamination concerns has prompted a wave of phone calls from anxious or confused parents.
“There have been lots and lots of rumors that there’s no baseball in Westland this summer because of the park,” he said. “That’s absolutely not true. WYAA is having baseball.”
While the loss of the Little League and full size diamonds housed in Central City Park that traditionally served many of the leagues is unfortunate, DeMolay said that it would take more than that to put a halt to the WYAA sports programs.
“Just because we don’t have all the fields in this city—or enough ball fields in this city—doesn’t mean we can’t play,” he said.
For one thing, he said, the children in the tee-ball and coach pitch leagues traditionally play at Marshall Middle School where WYAA restored a field for their use.
Plus, he said that many of the leagues play against neighboring cities, which means that a field time in Westland won’t be necessary for all of the games.
For those games and practices when a home field is necessary, DeMolay said that WYAA organizers are working with city officials, including Westland Mayor Bill Wild, to find solutions.
Wild said the big question from the city perspective is finding out what the league will need—and ensuring they can get it.
“We’ve done an evaluation of our existing parks,” he said. “We know what we have; we have to find out what they need.”
Representatives for both the city and WYAA were scheduled to meet later this week to work out some of the details.
“We’re going to try to use what we have first,” said Wild. “We’ve got other diamonds in the city.”
He added that the city might need to ‘spruce up’ some other parks to help fill the gap. If the available parks don’t meet all of the scheduling needs, he said that city officials would work with the Wayne-Westland Community School District and Wayne County to secure the necessary field time.
Once the children’s leagues are accommodated, he said that city staff would begin to look into adult baseball league options. However, he added that his “first priority is to take care of the kids.”
Families interested in enrolling their child in WYAA-run tee-ball, coach pitch, baseball, or softball programs can register beginning Feb. 10. Registration will be handled at the WYAA office known as the Lang Compound, which is located at 6050 Farmington Road. It is north of Ford Road between Venoy and Merriman roads. The office, which is staffed exclusively by volunteers, will be open for registration from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturdays and from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesdays until the teams are filled. The cost varies depending on the league.
For more information, DeMolay said that individuals should contact WYAA at (734) 421-0640 and leave a message; a volunteer will return their call as soon as possible. Information is also available on the WYAA web site, www.wyaa.org.
