I-84 Travel League a Home Run for Youth Baseball

Three years ago, John Dee threw a fastball that was just too enticing for local youth baseball players to pass up. But unlike the countless number of pitchers to have graced a mound while playing America's pastime, Dee didn't mind seeing his pitch sail over the fence for a home run.

Knowing that there was "no real structured" baseball program in the area for 13- to 15-year-olds during the steamy summer months, Dee, who has served as the vice president for the Bethel Baseball Association at the Babe Ruth level for the last four years, took it upon himself to change that.

To the delight of youth baseball players, parents and coaches, Dee created the I-84 Travel League, which offers youth the opportunity to play baseball competitively at cost from the middle of June through the end of July.

The league is currently in its third season and features 61 teams from the area among two different age groups, 13u and 15u. Each age group is broken down into divisions -- two divisions for 13u and three for 15u.

"The way the divisions are broken down, every game is very competitive as a norm," Dee said. "People are set against players of their ability, so there's generally no blowouts."

Dee said when he was forming the league, his initial intention was to include towns up and down the I-84 corridor, but that changed once interest in the league grew.

"The demand was so big and grew so quick that we opened it up to any town-sponsored, preferrably Babe Ruth team, that wanted to play," he said.

For instance, five teams from Newtown participate, two from Monroe, two from Brookfield, four from Southbury and four from Ridgefield.

A careful approach was taken in forming the rosters -- which feature about 12 to 15 players a team. Dee not only talked to fellow coaches, but also considered factors such as a town's size and history with youth baseball.

"I've been involved with baseball for quite a while, so you get an idea of what each town and city has to offer," said Dee, who served as a comissioner for two years prior to becoming vice president of the Bethel association, in addition to having coached youth baseball and softball for a combined 23 years.  

While the players change teams each year, the league has remained especially prevalent in Newtown, which has three teams in 13u and two in 15u competing for a third straight season.

Youth baseball has grown dramatically in town, said Warren Spencer, who has been affiliated with the sport in Newtown for the past 14 years and is a comissioner for the 15u division.

"It's grown dramatically from ages 9 through 15. It's grown dramatically over that period of time because we started having competitive travel baseball teams," said Spencer, who also coaches one of Newtown's 15u teams. "The I-84 is kind of an outgrowth of what we started at the younger ages. We just kept these kids interested in baseball."

Each team in the league plays on average 18 games during the regular season and a limited number of teams will qualify for the single-elimination playoffs, which begin the last week of this month. The playoffs will be held around Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties, with the higher seed serving as the home team.

Considering the few options that were previously given to baseball-starved youth during the summer, the I-84 League has proven to be a welcomed change-up, organizerss said.

Currently, there are also district tournaments, a Jimmy Fund tournament and AAU leagues, but the tournaments, which are double-elimination, do not guarantee a full summer of baseball. For teams that entered both tournaments and do not win, they could play as few as four games.

"You played four tournament games and maybe you would go find a few scrimmages and you might play a summer of eight to ten games if you were not successful," said Spencer. "That doesn't really hold a kid's interest."

The I-84 League offers youth the opportunity to play more baseball, which Dee said he believes is an integral part of a player's development.

"In years gone by, only the strongest players at any age level had the opportunity to play baseball," Dee said. "There really is a huge growth spurt anywhere between 12 and 15 (years old) and some of the players that could be an average to weak player as an 11-year-old, can turn around and be an extremely strong player as they're older."

But the only way that's going to happen is if they play more ball. So this opportunity gives those players a chance to play 20 more games a year that they never had an opportunity to do otherwise."

So far, the league has been a resounding success for all involved.

"They think it's great -- they really do," Dee said of the response from players and parents. "The stronger players, some of them consider leaving and playing in an AAU program, but once they realize that there isn't a structure and an opportunity to play a bunch of games at a very fair price and not crazy travel, they tend to stay and are very happy with the program."

Spencer said the response he's gotten from players and parents in Newtown has been "outstanding."

The league charges $200 per team, said Dee, and any profits made at year's end are donated to the Jimmy Fund -- a charity in Boston raises funds for the fight against cancer.

In the last two years, Dee said they've given the Jimmy Fund about $5,000.

With another successful season winding down and considering the increasing interest in baseball among the area's youth, there's still room for growth in the I-84 league.

Currently, 28 different towns have at least one team in the league, which is twice as many as last season. And according to Spencer, "eight or ten" towns have already inquired about possibly joining the league next year.