Bret Hayworth

Sioux City Journal 

May 17, 2009

  On opening night of the Westside Little League T-ball season Wednesday, the four Kirk Hansen Park fields in Sioux City were full of young athletes.

The Sara Lee team of 12 girls and boys ran onto one of the fields. A boy dug in dirt behind third base, a teammate stood on first base with his cap on backward.

In the dugout, one of the Cardinals' male coaches asked, "Does everyone know where you go when you hit the ball?" Yes, a boy answered, first base.

Sam, wearing No. 3, approached the plate and, on his first swing at the ball on the tee, delivered a grounder to a girl standing between the pitching mound and shortstop. Sam beat out her throw, which was on target but merely trickled to first base.

As the kids softball and baseball seasons begin, some children are taking part in youth sports for the first time. They're getting started in an era in which kindergarten boys compete in wrestling tournaments with the chance to win ribbons or medals, a time when youth basketball leagues run from November to March, consuming months of kids' and parents' lives.

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