LOW NUMBERS THREATEN LA MARQUE’S LITTLE LEAGUE SEASON

TIME IS BECOMING an enemy for La Marque’s Little League Baseball season, which is looking at the reality of not having a 2019 campaign as participation has been tepid at best.
Entering the week, the league has only 23 players signed up to play, a number that is less than a third of the minimum 75 LMLLB needs to get its season underway. While the league continues to push forward, the lack of players is another barrier it faces after it had more than $4,000 of equipment and tools stolen during a break-in this past December.
“We’re just going to keep trying to see what we can get,” said League representative Mike Wev. “We may have to go door-to-door and hand out fliers at churches, but we’re not going to give up yet.”
An afternoon of sign-ups at La Marque Public Library on Saturday resulted in eight new players for the league, which has waived late registration fees on top of the discounted registration fees it announced last month.
There have been a variety of reasons behind the league’s decline in participation. Not only has LMLLB had to contend with years of players whose families are below the poverty line in income, it has also had to confront a lack of adults willing to dedicate 3-5 days a week of practices and games between March and June.
Boundary lines have also closed the walls on La Marque’s storied Little League, which has stood independently for 71 years. Whereas the leagues in Bayshore and Hitchcock are currently thriving from the rise of new homes in the area, La Marque has been left behind without a new well to dip talent from.
The numbers game is nothing new for the city’s youth athletic programs. Once a staple of the community, the La Marque Tigers youth football team disbanded several years ago, extending to La Marque High School, whose athletic numbers are light years from the robust wealth of talent it during its glory years in the 1990s and early 2000s.
“Right now, we’re looking at Spring Break (March 11-15) before we make a decision on whether to go ahead with the season,” said Wev. “We may have to look at joining another league, yet that is something that will hurt our kids because of the late start.
Although Wev winces at the thought of not having a 2019 season, he is also aware that a step back may be necessary to take several steps forward.
“It hurts, but it’s an option,” he said. “We may have to shut it down in order to start looking ahead and improving our numbers.
“It’s frustrating to think about,” added Wev, who grew up playing baseball at Bobby Beach and has been a part of the league for several decades. “It’s frustrating because I know there are kids who could use the positive influence playing baseball offers. I know those kids are out there, but we just need the parents to step up and help us.”