Another season at the Blytheville Youth Sportsplex is under way. For the Weld family, this marks our eighth consecutive season of playing some combination of t-ball, baseball and softball.
The season started Saturday with "evaluation day," which is followed by the picking of teams. We've actually already attended a couple of practices.
And so begins another ritual of spring. In the weeks to come, we will make countless trips from our home to the Sportsplex. We will sit in lawn chairs behind the fences or in the bleachers watching as our children hit, throw and catch. We will cheer when they excel; we will cringe when they struggle. We will applaud when their teammates make good plays; we will groan when the umpires make bad calls. We will wash jerseys, pants and socks roughly a gazillion times. Hunting down cleats, gloves and caps will be a regular occurrence. We will eat hamburgers and barbecue nachos from the concession stand. We will slap away mosquitoes. As the season starts, we will complain about the wind; by the time the season ends, we will complain about the heat.
We will do all of this on a nearly nightly basis for the next three months.
And we will love every minute of it.
I'll say the same thing I've said countless times before: The Sportsplex is one of the best things this community has going for it, and anyone who has not taken advantage of it or checked it out for themselves is really missing out.
I liked the comparison Randy Scott, a board member for the Blytheville Baseball/Softball Boosters, made a few weeks ago while speaking at a luncheon of the Greater Blytheville Area Chamber of Commerce. Referring to the old "Andy Griffith" TV show, Scott said a night at the Sportsplex is like being back in Mayberry. It's a wholesome place, a place where kids can run free, and parents don't have worry about their whereabouts every single moment.
That has certainly been my experience. Not only is the Sportsplex a great place to play baseball and softball, it's a great place to simply be. It's a place to see friends, family, co-workers and neighbors in an idyllic setting. It's a great place to grab a hamburger or a bag of popcorn, and watch the game of baseball be played in its purest, most innocent form. It's a happy place.
Another friend once commented that being at the Sportsplex is like being "in a whole other city." I like that comment as well. The Sportsplex offers a separate peace.
In recent years, I have had the opportunity to travel to several other community sports complexes in northeast and central Arkansas, southeast Missouri and west Tennessee. From this experience, I can honestly say that the complex we have here in Blytheville is the best I have seen. And it's not even close. In a community where it all too often seems like there is no shortage of things to bring us down, the Sportsplex is something we can be immensely proud of.
With the IRS issue still looming over our heads, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to get too deep into discussions about how the city of Blytheville should spend money from its new parks and recreation tax. There are no shortage of well-deserving projects and organizations seeking funding. But when it comes time to make a list of which projects and facilities are most deserving of that money, the Sportsplex should be at the top of that list.
Simply put, it makes sense to invest our money on that which has already been proven successful. The Youth Sportsplex -- which includes soccer fields and a walking trail, in addition to baseball and softball fields -- has a track record of serving hundreds of families throughout the year, and bringing thousands of visitors (and their money) into our community. It should be priority one for our city's Parks and Recreation Committee and City Council to make sure that continues.
For as fantastic as the facility is, the Sportsplex not perfect. There's improvements that need to be made, maintenance that must be done. No community asset will remain a community asset if it's not well-funded. How horrible it would be to see this wonderful facility allowed to sink into dilapidation after years of neglect. But that's what will happen if we're not vigilant about keeping it well-maintained and well-funded.
The Blytheville Youth Sportsplex is one of our community's shining stars. My family, like so many others, will enjoy countless good times there this year. My hope is that families will continue to have the experiences we have had well into the future.
aweld@blythevillecourier.com