On Saturday afternoon, April 28, 2012, the Newville Little League gave my brother Jerry and myself the honor of being Grand Marshall's of the 2012 Newville Little League Parade.
Jerry and I started coaching in what was then New Boston Little League back in 1978. Since then a lot has happened, many great people have come and gone and the memories we have will last forever.
Wins and losses are always fun to talk about but the real stories over the years have involved the great friendships we have made with both the kids and the parents. We have had the pleasure of working with some fantastic young people ranging in ages from T-Ball (5-6 year olds) up to Senior League (13-16). Some of these people have moved away while others still live in the area and many coach either at Newville or elsewhere around the county. And yes, Jerry and I have coached some of their children as well.
There have been some great coaches come out of New Boston over the years. Unfortunately some are not with us today but we will always remember the good times we had coaching with and against them.
The New Boston community and the Sciotoville community combined little leagues about ten years ago, renaming the combined league "Newville." Jerry and I have coached, served on the board, umpired and shoveled dirt for both Newville and New Boston Little Leagues and would never ever trade a one day of it for anything.
Little League Baseball has always been a cornerstone of our community. Every current councilman and village official has either played, coached, or had children play in the New Boston/Newville Little League at one time or another. And very few children who have grown up in New Boston have not played at least one year in one division or another of the league.
For Jerry and me, its been the experience of a lifetime. We don't regret one second of it. We thank league president Brian Holbrook and the Newville Little League Board of Directors for the great honor they gave us. And we thank all the fantastic children that played baseball for us all those years. It has been a ride we will always cherish.
Mike Payton
4-29-2012
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