Glen Cove Baseball, Softball Season Begins With A Parade JENNIFER CORR

After rescheduling the Glen Cove Baseball and Softball Association’s opening day due to weather, the rain held out on April 15, making for a warm and sunny morning.

You could feel the excitement as all the baseball and softball teams lined up in front of the Staples store on School Street, as it was the beginning of not only a great day for the young baseball and softball players but also for their families who were going to march with them.

All the teams, led by the City of Glen Cove Mayor Pam Panzenbeck, Glen Cove City Council and the Director of Glen Cove Youth Services and Recreation Spiro Tsirkas, along with other local officials, made their way to Maccarone Memorial Stadium. There, they all got to see the renovations done on the baseball fields during the off-season.

“We’ve done so much work to our fields and continue to fix them,” said Tsirkas. “We’re bringing life back down here. With the mayor and the council’s help, we were able to get new bleachers, and do a lot of work on the bottom fields, that’s why they’re closed, and we still have a lot more work to do over the summer.”

Adding to the excitement of the day, it truly felt that the threats of COVID-19 were not there to rain on anyone’s parade, and perhaps this summer could introduce a new normal for children whose early years have been defined by an international pandemic.

On the field, all the teams took pictures with the Glen Cove Baseball and Softball Association’s mascot as a DJ played upbeat songs. Throughout the day, the teams would begin their season with a game.

“Registration in general has gone up in all our sports, and we’re happy to see baseball rise the way it has,” Tsirkas said. “We went from starting at 95 to now almost 400 kids this season.”

And what makes Glen Cove sports stand out is the community and that small-town feeling, Tskirkas said.

“A lot of our kids play more than just one sport, so the families are always down here,” Tskirkas said.

He added that Maccarone Memorial Stadium becomes like a second home to a lot of families.

“We’re so excited to see so many kids involved in our community events and so many wonderful people that sponsor the team and support our community and children,” Panzenbeck said. “We’re so happy that the weather held out.”