For more than 50 years, the city of Everett was represented by two highly competitive, highly distinct Little Leagues. Divided geographically, North Everett Little League and South Everett Little League had survived and thrived since sometime back in the early 1950s.
But due to a declining number of baseball players, the two leagues combined this year into one — Everett Little League. And even though “it’s going to take some getting used to,” said league president Bob Harns, “I think it’ll be a good thing in the long run.”
The reason for the merger, Harns explained, is a drop in the number of players, particularly in north Everett. Last season South Everett LL had five majors baseball teams, but there were just two in North Everett LL. Because the city’s north end has an older population with fewer kids, he went on, “North Everett has been kind of struggling for a while.”
Other reasons for the decline in player participation, Harns said, are select baseball and softball leagues, and the growth of other sports such as soccer and lacrosse.
“There are a lot of things that have been pulling kids away,” he said.
By merging this season Everett LL has six majors teams, and the total number of players is about the average for all the leagues in District 1, which is essentially Snohomish County, Harns said.
But even if the math makes sense, old loyalties remain strong. Reaction to the merger “has been very mixed,” said Harns, who spent almost two decades working with North Everett LL. “I talk to a lot of people and some of them are like, ‘Oh, it’s great.’ Or, ‘It’s about time.’ But then you talk to some of the old-school Everett people and they don’t agree with it. So (the feedback) is a real mixed bag.”
But according to Michelle Brown, who coached in South Everett LL for more than 10 years and now is doing the same in Everett LL, any negative comments are not coming from players.
“I have not heard one thing about it from the kids,” she said. “No one’s saying, ‘Oh, did you play in North Everett?’ Or, ‘Did you play in South Everett?’ That question has not come up at all. We’re calling ourselves Everett Little League … and the kids are all just excited to be out there and meeting new friends.”
Because of declining numbers, the two leagues had overlapped in recent seasons, playing games against each other in the regular season and then forming a combined All-Star team for the postseason. And by formally merging this season, “I think it’s a great opportunity to bring the youth baseball community together,” said District 1 administrator Ed Lundberg.
“Yeah, there’ve been some growing pains, but for the most part it’s been pretty positive,” Lundberg said.
As Harns explained, last season’s majors players were allowed to return to their teams for this season, but new majors players could be drafted to teams anywhere in the city. But for younger players in t-ball and the minors, the league has tried to keep them on teams closer to their homes.
It was, Harns admitted, “quite an ordeal to get (the merger) done. You walk a fine line between trying to be competitive as well as being a recreational league (for average players), and you have to try to keep everybody happy.
“But I think it’s going to be a good thing for the kids and it gives us a stronger foundation for the league as a whole. And even though I’d expect there will be some growing pains this year, I think it’ll be better in general for the entire league.”
Brown agrees. With two onetime rival leagues, she said, “there’s a lot of history there and an identity issue there, and people didn’t want to lose that. But as we’ve come together … we’ve all really wanted to make it work.
“Our numbers had been falling,” she said, “but now we’re seeing the younger ages starting to build again and we’re all excited about that.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
