MANCHESTER, NH – For generations, Spring has marked the return of baseball. The Queen City is no different and on Saturday, Little Leaguers took the field off South Willow Street to officially start a new season.
Saturday marked the opening ceremonies for Manchester Little League at Precourt Park, a tradition that could not occur last year even though games continued to be held.
Although spectators were still asked to follow social distancing safety guidelines, the fact that the opening ceremonies were allowed to happen at all was a big step forward in the eyes of Manchester Little League President Nick Sullivan.
According to Sullivan, enrollment in the league is at approximately 260 players, about where it was prior to the beginning of the pandemic.
“It’s been a long time since kids have had some form of normalcy. It was nice to get the kids down here and have something resembling normalcy,” said Sullivan. “I’m just excited for games to start.”
Prior to the opening ceremony for the minors, majors and junior divisions, Quirk Auto donated a $500 check to Manchester Little League, the latest in a long series of charitable donations the company has made to local youth sports.
“I think it’s absolutely incredible to see the support so far, people are energized by seeing what’s happening,” said Rachel Victer, public relations and content marketing manager for Quirk and mother of one of the players. “We believe strongly in helping to build strong community ties, and there aren’t many better ways than helping support sports for children and the values they teach.”
The regular season continues until the end of June, more information is available at manchesternhlittleleague.com