West St. Paul Junior League

            The 2009 Junior League was, again, successful with thirty boys and girls, aged 7-17, joining.  The league met on Wed afternoon at 1 p.m. for 8 weeks in the summer months from mid-June to mid- August.  The main scope of the league is to teach the players the proper pitching technique, scoring, etiquette, and safety.  They pitch from a distance of 30 or 20 feet.  Some of the smaller and younger children are even allowed to pitch as close as 10 feet. 

            The West St. Commercial Club and the Robert St Business Association were, again, very generous sponsors that allowed us to purchase T-shirts and other horseshoe related supplies for the league.  Included, in the expenses were a can of soda and a snack package for each player at the end of each day, after they cleaned their horseshoes and replaced them in the shed.

            On the last day of the season, an intra-club tournament was held between the juniors.  Pitching classes were composed of four players each, with each player pitching three games of 40 horseshoes.  Regulation score sheets were displayed on the shed’s bulletin board to record the progress of the tournament after each game.  After the day’s competition, all players received prices and a local fast food restaurant provided ice cream shakes and hamburgers for the players.  Next year, a special effort will be made to have our WSP Juniors compete in other club tournaments throughout the state.

            All of us adults are impressed with the progress of the young players after each week’s competition.  And, the return of some players, each year, is evidence of the enjoyment the kids are having and their desire to compete against one another, in a manner that is not available to them in other team sports.

Tim Ahles,

WSP Junior League Director