• Group affiliated with Little League International
Rich Huntsman grew up playing baseball during the summer months in the Bridger Valley. So when he moved to Star Valley he wanted the same types of baseball experiences for his kids. So he is working with other parents and helping make a path forward for area youth baseball.
“It started a couple years ago with me and another dad who were coaching their sons and we didn’t see a path forward for them for baseball so we decided to get something going,” he said. “We chartered with Little League International so we have their support and we can go to the region tournament and play these other teams and qualify for state. It’s pretty cool to get things going here in the valley.”
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There have always been challenges to the growth of baseball in Star Valley, chiefly the snow and cold.
“By partnering with Little League International, it makes things more official but the hardest part is obviously the weather,” Huntsman said. “It will take dedication from us and our community but there are towns that are a lot smaller who have great programs so it definitely can be built.”
Some of the goals for Huntsman and the baseball community are facilities and equipment.
“Our fields are in rough shape,” Huntsman added. “I’ve spoken with the town and they are supportive but budgets make it tough. So we’ve talked to other companies and they are wiling to help. But if people who are any excavation experience or can build fences, those are the types of things that we need. The dirt is basically road base at Canon View so we need new dirt.”
In this first year, the league is trying to get kids ages 9-12 involved and will have a 12-game schedule with roughly two games a week starting in mid-May.
“We do have a Facebook page for Star Valley Little League,” Huntsman said. People can reach out to us there. Our registration will open in a couple weeks. If they want to help my number is 307-679-3451. We need help, we need sponsors, we need new equipment.”
According to Huntsman, most of the games will be played at home.
“The goal is to get four to six teams in the valley that are playing each other,” he said. “I’ve had conversations with other communities about having round-robin on a Saturday.”
Huntsman sees baseball eventually becoming a high school sport in Wyoming.
“I’d like to see us have a great program if that happens,” he said. “But [American Legion] ball is a big deal across the state but I’d love to see this area playing baseball through the age of 18.”
