As the season for the Oxford Recreational Baseball Association (ORBA) drew to a close in late June, its leadership continued to plan how they can make the Little League experience better for both young players and their parents.
Last season, ORBA coached around 300 children on 36 teams across five skill levels.
ORBA coaches children ages 6 to 16, with the goal of either giving kids a summer hobby or a stepping stone for competitive baseball.
Under new leadership last season, ORBA improved communication with its members, something that has been an issue in the past.
“People were giving up on us because they weren’t hearing from us,” said Michael Sanchez, ORBA’s communication director. “I’ve been involved for a few years now and I could understand where they’re coming from.”
Sanchez has been working on updating the webpage often and keeping players and their families informed through Facebook. He is currently working on a new website under the domain ORBAbaseball.org. He hopes it will provide a more user-friendly experience.
According to Sanchez, ORBA has also experienced an outpouring of help from the parents of both players and former players in the last year, something he would love to see more of. Since ORBA is a recreational summer league, it is only as good as its volunteers.
With the help of its volunteers, Sanchez said ORBA had a DJ for its all-star game who volunteered time to play music when players went up to bat and would announce names of players as well.
Sanchez said small things like upbeat music allowed the players to have even more fun and contributed to a positive environment for everyone.
In the hopes of continuing this forward momentum, ORBA is holding monthly board meetings at the Oxford Public Library. Meetings are open to the community and the hope is they will become a forum for the discussion of new ideas and concerns.
“Anytime anyone wants to bring us an idea, they can come by the board meeting or even join the board,” Sanchez said. “A lot of the people involved with ORBA’s board have kids that are older or kids who aren’t in it anymore, so there’s a whole new group of parents that are (stepping) up to help.”
ORBA’s next board meeting will be held on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Oxford Public Library. Registration for the 2019 season is expected to open in late December or early January.