LIVE OAK, CA (MPG) - The smell of freshly grilled hot dogs and brand new uniforms getting unveiled along with team cheers took over the Live Oak Little League fields for the next couple months as they celebrated their opening day ceremonies on a windy Saturday, March 25.

In his first year as the new league president, Anthony Watson said it was a great day to get the season started.

“I am honored to be in the position I am,” Watson said.

He added that he has been a board member for the past eight years where he began as just a parent before moving along to the board and now in the overall leadership position.

The sun was out the entire day as the 241 athletes in the LOLL program lined the outfield with their coaches in grass just to be patiently introduced before they ran in the give board members a high five.

“This is the largest we have been in a long time,” Watson said.

The 241 little leaguers are dispersed into four different age groups that include t-ball, farm baseball/softball, minor baseball/softball and major baseball/softball.

Watson gave full credit of the massive participation in the growth of the program to his fellow 18 board members. He added that last year they had 11 board members.

“It was hard to get volunteers when I first joined five years ago, but since then we have added a great amount of support over the last few years with the city of Live Oak,” Watson exclaimed.

He added the support of the continuous coaches that keep coming back yearly are a big help to the program and keep it growing.

“Without them, the outreach of the parents that we have been able to have would be nothing,” Watson expressed to the Herald.

The biggest source of income for a little league program is through fundraising and LOLL focused on three main fundraisers this year.

Watson mentioned to the Herald that they did a pre-sale of tri tip sandwiches before the opening day ceremony as a fundraiser and they sold over 800 before the event. 

He told the Herald the biggest fundraiser LOLL has per year is the rib cook-off in the first weekend of May.

The opening ceremony also had a new element this year in where they had a ceremonial first pitch where Sutter County Sheriff Brandon Barnes, who is also a Live Oak resident, threw out the first pitch.

Following the conclusion of the opening ceremony, there were three games that were played throughout the day with two softball and a baseball game. The full day of excitement continued with teams going through lines as coaches had to set their athletes up for pictures on one field and a hit-a-thon on the other field to raise more money in the program.

Watson exclaimed to the Herald that teams will generally play once to twice a week depending on their age group.

When it all comes down to it, Watson said the program is all about the kids. He explained to the Herald that the program has attempted to involve the kids in as many aspects as possible throughout the league.

An example of these involvement include snack bar attendants and helping with umpiring on the field.