KIDS

Liberty Hill Youth League

Ann Marie Kennon • annmarie@lhtxdigest.com photo credit LYHL.org, used with permission

While COVID put a wrench in many athletic endeavors last year, the Liberty Hill Youth League is looking forward to getting kids outside, moving, and enjoying the game again.

Marketing Director April Thomas says the LHYL provides year-round, recreational baseball and softball programs for boys and girls from 4U to 14U. The 2021 season is already underway and coaches are working hard to grow and diversify their young athletes’ talents. The season—games and tournaments—enable coaches to choose all-stars for summer play. “We compete in baseball as a league; the kids do their own fundraising and compete in round robin tournaments, which seeds them for the finals in June. After that, they get ready for Fall play, August to October.”

Softball follows a similar program, but has fewer players. As such, they are able to play interleague games with Georgetown and Cedar Park. April adds, “Softball is a really tight community and they work and play well across the County.”

She is also is proud to report the league is nearly at maximum field capacity, with more than 500 players. “We are happy to see the number of athletes grow every year, particularly because our focus is to provide a healthy sports avenue for all kids in the community. We are entirely non-profit and offer scholarships to help parents for whom the fees present a challenge, or have siblings who all wish to play. We have a lot of fun and, being a recreational league, our kids are able to play anywhere. We are also happy to have players from anywhere, which extends everyone’s playing time. It’s great when kids get to play with friends, even if they don’t live in Liberty Hill.”

To facilitate play for all, the league relies on the many community volunteers who do every job from coach to concessions, and they also take gently-used equipment, which they loan or donate out for kids to practice at home; “We don’t want finances to be a hurdle to anyone’s ability to play,” April says.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT

“Liberty Hill is amazing,” she continues. “People purchase equipment and uniforms for individuals or whole teams. Many do it anonymously so the kids can pick their own team name.”

April says their current need is for additional space to accommodate all the games. “All of our fields are on ISD property, or at Foundation Park but, without lights, we are booked to capacity. This year we are looking for support to find land or new sites that give us more room to play.”

She adds there is always a need for more good coaches and volunteers. “We know people have jobs and families to care for, so we appreciate when more parents, older kids doing service projects, and community members are willing to help out so we can save money, and everyone can enjoy the league without feeling like it is a second job.”

Everyone in the community is invited to support the league. Contact April or visit LHYL. org to sign up as a volunteer, driver, or food donor. For social distance safety, players are separated by fields, and games will be broadcast online for those who wish to cheer virtually.