Young Athletes Prep For Summer Season in LITH

Many youth baseball and softball players are heading for the batting cages, getting ready for the season.

Around 800 young ballplayers per week have been showing up at , said Gregg Sibigtroth, one of the owners of the indoor training facility at 9210 Trinity Drive.

“We’re open all year,” Sibigtroth said. “Kids on high school teams practice year-round. But many younger kids playing in the in-house leagues don’t pick up a glove until the first practice in April. We’re starting to see them come in to purchase tokens for the batting cages.” 

More are expected soon with the end of basketball and wrestling seasons, Sibigtroth added. Many will tell you that PCA in springtime always seems to be jammed. It’s hard to find a place to park.

Fifteen part-time instructors at PCA are busy with one-on-one tutoring sessions, teaching the basic skills of the diamond – hitting, throwing and fielding. Practice for pitchers and catchers -- who play in travelling leagues -- are getting more intense.  

LITH Readies for Summer Baseball, Softball

Sign-up for the in-house leagues run by the Lake in the Hills Youth Athletic Association was last month. A parent meeting is scheduled for March 21 at Marlowe Middle School. Team practices for in-house players start April 2 and the season starts April 30, said Mark Lonigro, league president.

There are about 725 baseball and softball players ranging in age from 5 to 17 playing in the in-house and travelling leagues, said Julie Damasky, a LITH YAA league official.

Trudy Wakeman, the LITH director of parks & recreation, said getting the ball diamonds ready for spring play is done through a partnership between the YAA and the village.  She said about 100 parents of baseball and softball players help rake dirt, getting playing surfaces ready.

“April is the big push,” Wakeman said. “We’ve got to add another layer of turf mix to the infields. Turf mix is reddish and allows for better drainage.”

Wakeman said the areas on a baseball diamond around the shortstop and in the batter’s box need extra attention because of the wear and tear. 

Where they will play this season in LITH:

5200 Miller Road

Sunset Park is the main location with four grass and four dirt infield diamonds that allow for more than 30 baseball and softball games to be played each week during the spring and fall seasons. Sunset has become the home to the annual Brian Krueger Memorial Tournament, which hosts more than 40 teams, in addition to the Thunderstruck Classic travel baseball tournament, which both occur every July. Thousands of dollars and volunteer hours have been spent making this facility one of the best in the McHenry County area. A concession stand is staffed for all games.

201 Lakewood

Home to the softball program, the park has three well manicured dirt infields with beautiful thick, green outfields and concession stands .

Ryder Park, 1216 Crystal Lake Road

This is the original ball park used in the mid-1950's.  Ryder Park is used as an auxiliary field for younger players. Bendis Field, located in Ryder Park, is named in honor of one of the original founders of the LITH youth baseball  program.

500 Grace Drive

Donated by developer Ray Plote, this field is a site to see.  It has major-league regulation 90-foot base paths and 350-foot outfield fences. It also has lights for night games, cement dugouts and an electronic scoreboard.

Source: Lake in the Hills Youth Athletic Association website.

Lake in the Hills Patch is looking for your stories on outstanding youth athletes, coaches or teams. Do you have something interesting that you would like to share with your community? Let Editor Amie Schaenzer know at amie.schaenzer@patch.com.