Renton youth baseball league: A place for kids to learn the basics in stress-free environment

As youth sports continue to get more and more competitive, there are still a few places where fun is the top priority.

The City of Renton’s summer youth baseball leagues fill the void for children between Little League in the spring and school in the fall. The league caters to children ages 5 through 10.

“It truly is about fun and participation,” said Donna Eken, recreation specialist for the City of Renton. “This is really basic, basic stuff. We’re just trying to have a place where the kids can have a stress-free time and learn the fundamentals.”

The Renton league doesn’t keep scores or records, and there aren’t any playoff brackets or championship games.

To accommodate vacations and make things a little easier on parents, the league runs Monday through Thursday, with just one practice and one game per week.

The rules are simple and designed to make the game more about involving everyone, rather than winning. Hitters get as many pitches (or swings in the case of T-ball) as it takes to get a hit, then each batter takes one base. Every player hits every inning and the games are regulated by time rather than inning.

There are 24 teams in six divisions, comprising about 250 players. All of the leagues are co-ed.

T-ball is for ages 5 and 6, coach pitch is for ages 7 and 8, machine pitch is for ages 9 and 10. However, Eken said it’s common for players to move up or down a classification based on skill and comfort level.

“We’re pretty lax about ages. It’s just a summer league,” she said.

The league offers benefits to players as well as parents. Players get the obvious benefits of being active outside.

“It’s nice to see kids out there doing something instead of sitting at home watching TV,” Eken said.

Parents get the flexibility of the weekday schedule, and the games are certainly entertaining to watch at times.

“Nine out of 10 times, when the ball is hit it’s just going to roll through a bunch of legs,” Eken said. “In T-ball a lot of times it’s just a big group of kids that all run after the ball.”

More information:

For more information about this league call the City of Renton at 425-430-6400 or go to rentonwa.gov/living and click on the Parks and Recreation link. Upcoming youth sports events include: Best Effort Basketball Camp, Renton Rookie Athletics and more.

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