Warsaw Little League will receive some upgrades planned for the 2019 season. (Photo provided by Arlene Kerschner)

WARSAW – In a continued effort to improve the general state of youth ball in Warsaw, Boggs Park is preparing for some cosmetic changes.

Beginning with some work in the coming days to the ball diamonds, Warsaw Little League is anticipating upgrades that will help improve the overall experience for both players and fans going forward into 2019. Filling in potholes, adding some netting and continuing to improve the concession experience are all on the docket.

“Parts of the park need help,” said Warsaw Little League President Tony Clay. “People were tripping on broken asphalt, flyballs heading into the stands or almost hitting people at the concession stand. Things that can injure people. Things we needed to address.”

Clay and his board decided to move into action on the improvements, and via a K21 Health Foundation Safety Project Fund in the amount of $50,000, the park will get those addressed. The potholes and asphalt work, per Clay, isn’t major, but the netting is something he’s anticipating will really help the park in several aspects. The obvious is the safety to spectators, the netting is going to stretch from the corners of the four front parks to the concession stand, creating a barrier of sorts to shield from incoming flyballs.

“The construction part of our project we’re hoping to reach finality by next July, but we will be starting some of it in the next few days,” Clay said. “We want some changes rolling. Not real visible affects yet. The netting will be sometime in late spring, and that will cover the hub of the park. We hope that will help with tourneys and more regional appeal.”

The league, which Clay admits took a public hit with the legal troubles surrounding former league board member Lance Leeper in January, rebounded in a positive direction. The board reassembled to a now-10 member panel in place, and immediate changes to policy went into effect for the 2018 summer season. Clay noted league numbers were solid, and its continued partnership with Warsaw Community High School’s baseball program continues to thrive.

“We decided after January that we just needed to be transparent in what we do,” Clay said. “We’re not doing behind-the-scenes dealing. This is all for public consumption, not something we do behind closed doors. At the end of the day, it’s about the kids and the parents who work with them to teach the game of baseball.

“It’s the coaches, good coaches,” continued Clay about moving the league forward. “The coaches are teaching the game, they’re here for the kids. They are the ground troops, the sales department. They are the reason, but it starts with them. We feel like we have good coaches in place and we have good facilities. The concessions, we really were happy with some of the changes we made there with the pricing and the selection. It’s about the experience. Let the patrons know that we care about them and about the game. It’s about baseball.”

Clay noted some of the items in place on the schedule for the league, which includes the current fall-ball games and the Trash or Treat outing – where kids helped pick up litter at the park in exchange for a bag of Halloween candy. Registration will continue online, the concession menus will focus on its ‘family friendly pricing’, and the possibility of work evaluations and skills sessions with Grace College is currently in open discussions.