A Parade of Cheers and Remembrance

Lower Loudoun Little League Celebrates Opening Day

By Matt Tobin

Monday, April 21, 2008

Perhaps the next Derek Jeter or Ryan Zimmerman was among the pickup trucks filled with little-leaguers participating in the Lower Loudoun Little League's 45th annual opening day parade this past weekend in Sterling.

The parade, which began Saturday morning at Park View High School, made its way along Sterling Boulevard and ended with an opening day ceremony at Bill Washington Park Field at Sterling Middle School.

Along nearly every stretch were parents and fans cheering on the highly adorned and slowly moving pickup trucks of boisterous little-leaguers -- all dressed like their big league counterparts.

Photo Gallery

Lower Loudoun Little League Parade

Photo: 0/1

« Previous | Next »

Larger Version

Teams line the infield of the newly named Jeff Cobb Field at Bill Washington Park for the opening day ceremony. (Matt Tobin)

Larger Version

The 45th Lower Loudoun Little League parade is led by police escort as it makes its way to Sterling Middle School. (Matt Tobin)

Larger Version

Parents and fans look on as trucks of waving and cheering little-leaguers pass by. (Matt Tobin)

Larger Version

Children and trucks are adorned with team colors and decorations. (Matt Tobin)

Larger Version

Volunteer umpires are honored by the crowd. (Matt Tobin)

Larger Version

The "Jeff Cobb Field at Washington Park" sign is unveiled to honor the late Jeff Cobb, who was an integral part of the league for many years. (Matt Tobin)

View all thumbnails

The LLLL, which began in 1963 and serves the Sterling area, boasts 65 teams with about 850 kids from ages 5 to 16.

Thomas Suchoski, of the Cascades area, attended with his son, Spencer, an 8-year-old parade participant and member of the rookie Nationals team. Suchoski said he has been impressed with the league since his son joined two years ago.

"This is incredible compared to what it was (for me) growing up," he said. "We didn't have fields like this and this amount of teams, players and drafts. I think this is very exciting."

As the parade ended in the parking lot of Sterling Middle, the little-leaguers and their coaches moved onto Bill Washington Park Field to prepare for the opening day ceremony.

Led by league President Mary Beth Pittinger, players and parents took vows of sportsmanship -- and parents were made aware of a possible volunteer opportunity.

"It always seems in every game that we have 50 umpires up in the stands," Pittinger said to the crowd, smiling. "So, I just challenge everybody that if you can make that good of a call up in the stands, call Dave Wellington, our chief umpire -- he's always looking for more umpires and he'll be glad to suit you up and put you out there."

The ceremony took on a more somber tone as league officials took time to remember Jeff Cobb, a former league parent, coach and umpire. Cobb died from cancer last year.

Lynn Davis, a former league president and current vice president of the LLLL's American League, fought back tears as she spoke of Cobb and the legacy he left behind.

"We honor Jeff's memory and honor the league he left -- the legacy of quiet leadership through hard work and volunteerism," she said. "Today, we are renaming Bill Washington Field. From this day forward, you all are standing on the best field in the district. And it will now be known as Jeff Cobb Field at Bill Washington Park."

As Davis finished her remarks, all eyes looked to right field, where a banner reading "Jeff Cobb Field" was unveiled.

The game of baseball, Pittinger said, was one of the things that kept Cobb going.

"When he was battling cancer and the chemo, most people, the doctors said, want to just get better to go home and to go out and travel," she said. "And his goal, throughout the whole thing, was to get back onto a baseball field and umpire another game."

Tagged: baseball, Little League, Sterling

Your Thoughts...

What do you think about Barack Obama’s decision against choosing Tim Kaine as his running mate?