Let’s play ball! Youth all over Harrisville City are eager to participate in the various sports programs this City has to offer. Recently, basketball for all youth finished up a great 2015-2016 season. Volunteer coaches have stepped up to be part of the experience while lending their time, talent and knowledge to the sport.
Over the last couple of years, the youth sports program in Harrisville has greatly improved since implementing the Parks and Recreation Director position currently held by Bryan Fife. Such a position has allowed him to submit and oversee the Parks and Recreation budget. Fife tells us this enables him “To request sufficient funds to replace time worn recreation equipment with new.”
Youth Sports programs provide an opportunity for kids to be a part of a team where they many not have had that chance, otherwise. Fife says, “It allows entire families to turn off the TV, get out of the house, and show support to their children and siblings.”
Mike Johnson, resident of Harrisville for over 13 years, has chosen to spend time coaching his own kids in the sport of basketball. He shares why he decided to dedicate himself, weekly to the sport, “It’s fun to teach the kids to learn to work as a team and enjoy sports while developing skills.”
Two of the boys on Johnson’s team, Porter and Isaac, have their reasons why they love basketball: Porter proudly exclaims that what he likes most is, “When you make a basket and score a point!” He also adds that his favorite position in basketball is a point guard because, “You get to bring the ball down the court!” Isaac tells us his highlights have included, “Making new friends” and also “Playing defense because it’s one of my favorite things.”
The “North League,” which includes the cities of Harrisville, Pleasant View, Farr West and Plain City, also continually improves each year by addressing issues and concerns that may have risen the year before. They hold regular monthly meetings to discuss current issues. They consider how to best deal with each issue as a “North League” rather than an individual city. This collaboration allows more unity to grow with the youth sports program among the cities, especially when dealing with problems or concerns.
When asked about the challenges facing Harrisville youth sports, Fife responded with, “Allowing friends to play with friends without allowing a full team to be created using the “buddy request.” He said, “When I took over recreation in 2010, I had coaches who had coached the same players for several years in a row. When we began using Sport sites and implemented the “buddy request” and “coach request” we found that the same group of players was requesting the same coach, and each other, year after year.”
The teams created using the buddy/coach request were dominating the other teams within their own city. Fife tells us further that, “Playing with friends is extremely important in a recreation league, however, there has to be a balance between new players, average players and advanced players. Each team needs to be balanced. Therefore, beginning this year, the North League, will only allow one mutual buddy request. Both players must request to play with each other and no more than one request will be approved.”
At this time Harrisville City offers these sports: Boys Basketball 1st -9th grade, Girls basketball 1st -9th grade, T-Ball for kindergarten age kids, Coach Pitch baseball for 1st and 2nd grade, Machine Pitch baseball for 3rd grade, Girls fast pitch softball for 4th-9th grade, Boys baseball for 4th-9th grade, tennis lessons in conjunction with Marriott-Slaterville at the Harrisville courts, Disc Golf (no organized leagues) and Soccer through AYSO on Harrisville fields.
Fife sums it up best when he says that, “As a Parks and Recreation Department we strive to preserve, enhance, and protect our open spaces to enrich the quality of life for present and future generations in a safe and secure environment.”
