A year ago, Barry Bacha and Jim Newhouse were preparing for a state Little League tournament.

This year, the two and their boards of directors have been influential in adding a new division in the Bradford Regional Little League.

The division — a 7-8-year-old boys machine pitch division — will allow kids to get more comfortable hitting a baseball.  

“The goal is to develop more hitting and better fielding,” said Newhouse, vice president of baseball for BRLL. “The ball will be put in play more and we hope the kids stay interested in going into the higher divisions of Little League. The fundamentals of the game will be more coachable. The kids will not be bored by pitchers walking batters.”

“There will be no live pitching, ” said Bacha, president of BRLL. “The kids will hit solely off a pitching machine.

“We had a group of area kids play tournament ball in Curwensville, Clearfield and Clarion using this format. The travel group was spearheaded by Dan Brinsky, Matt Splain, Matt Franz and Jamie Gray. In addition, we ran a four-week fall program at Callahan Park last fall.

“The travel team was successful with the format. They brought it back to our board and we adopted it for divisional play this year.”

Bacha noted there will be 10 players on the field. Additionally, a rules committee will be set up and a coaches’ clinic is planned.

Because of this new division, Bacha and Newhouse discussed several other items.

Nine- and 10-year-olds will no longer be playing on the same team with 11-12-year-olds. The Minor League (9-10-year-olds) will play under Minor League rules, while the 11-12-year-olds will play by Little League rules.

Bacha emphasized BRLL is exploring the possibility of playing interleague games with Kane and Johnsonburg in the Minor League and Little League divisions.

Major changes are also planned for fundraising.

“We are combining all of our fundraising and concession efforts under the Bradford Regional Little League umbrella,” Bacha noted. “We are eliminating the different areas such as Custer City, West Branch, Lincoln and Lewis Run. However, Otto and Eldred will remain their individual areas.

“Our volunteers are down. Combining our fundraising and concessions will allow us to pool our volunteers and resources.”

BRLL will utilize six game fields going forward (Callahan Park, Derrick City). Fields at West Branch, Custer City and Lewis Run will become practice fields, Newhouse pointed out.

“As a league, we want to invest a lot of money into our fields,” Bacha commented. “As soon as this season is over, we want to start work on the Derrick City fields, including considering the possibility of adding lights. Our ultimate goal, in five to 10 years, is to have six top-notch fields.”

Local businesses or individuals interested in helping the league can contact Bacha or Newhouse.

“Local businesses will receive one letter on behalf of Bradford Regional Little League,” Bacha added. “The business will get a sponsor sign at both Derrick City and Callahan Park.”

“Little League baseball took a big step forward in the Bradford area because of the state tournament,” Newhouse declared. “We want to continue to capitalize. We want to feed off that and grow off that.”

Bacha said the league is weighing the possibility of returning to team sponsorships — where a local business can sponsor a team.

Additionally, BRLL is considering forming an umpire association.

“This will help coaches, who won’t have to find last-minute umpires,” Bacha noted.

Registration for the upcoming season is now under way. Individuals can sign-up online at www.eteamz.com/bradfordregionalLL.

From now until March 20 the cost is $45 per child and $30 for each additional child within the same household. Registration from March 21 to March 31 will be an additional $10 per child. Registration closes March 31.  

“Because of the new divisions of play, we encourage parents to register their players as soon as possible to help us determine how many teams will be in each division,” Bacha noted.

Lastly, BRLL communicated its appreciation to former McKean Little League president Rich LaBrozzi, who passed away recently.

“Jim and I want to express our gratitude for the help Rich gave us with the merger of Bradford Little League and McKean Little League,” Bacha concluded. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.”