Highlands Little League cancels season due to lack of players
Highlands Little League officials announced Wednesday that the 2022 spring season has been canceled because of a lack of players registered at any of the age levels.
A statement on the league’s Facebook page also informed those families who had players register that their fees would be refunded Saturday from noon to 2 p.m. at the concession stand at Dreshar Stadium in Tarentum.
“I have been a part of Highlands Little League for 19 years, and the numbers had been dropping for a number of years,” said Gene Kosakowski, Highlands Little League president.
“At one time, we would have multiple divisions up to juniors and seniors. Numbers have been dropping a lot of places, not just us. It’s all area leagues. When covid hit in 2020, that really hit hard. Last year, we were hoping to rebound a little bit, but we knew the numbers would be down. We normally average 100 to 125 kids. Last year we were just under 50. We thought in 2022 things would pick up, but that wasn’t the case.”
Kosakowski said the final registration numbers totaled just 15 from ages 4 through 12 with seven of the 15 in the T-ball division (ages 4-6). Three were in the coach-pitch division (ages 7-8), five were in the 9-10 division and just one in the 11-12 division.
“This is so disheartening to me because of what we’ve worked to do all these years to give kids an opportunity to play,” said Kosakowski, who also lamented the struggle to find enough quality volunteers.
Kosakowski said initial attempts have been made to find an alternative place to play for those who signed up, but that process is still in its early stages and nothing has yet materialized.
Little League Baseball does have a waiver option in place — an out-of-boundary request — where a player who does not meet the residency requirement for a certain league still is able to play in that league.
Despite this year being scrapped, Kosakowski said the league charter still is in place and he hopes the league numbers can bounce back for a return next spring.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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