Rec Leagues Provide Forum for Community Bonding

Editor's note: This is the first of two articles about the Cleveland Heights recreation leagues. Look for the second article Saturday. 

Sports build character and teach fundamental values to kids. They also have the power to bring people together. That’s why the Cleveland Heights rec leagues have existed for almost 60 years.

“People get to know people from other walks of life,” said Larry Shaw, commissioner of parks and recreation for Cleveland Heights. “They meet families from other schools and other parts of the city. It’s where we become a community rather than isolated parts of a city.”

Rec baseball started in the 1940s with the Tris Speaker League. Nearly 40 years later, Cleveland Heights got involved and took control of it and a competing league, Heights Hardball.

“The city didn’t think having two different leagues was a good idea,” Shaw said. “So we met with both for about a year and a half and adopted a set of rules that both sides could agree on.”

When Cleveland Heights took over 20 years ago, they created a number of different divisions based on age. Shaw also expanded to include a youth softball league.

Today, Heights has seven baseball divisions and four in softball, six of them are local travel leagues with cities such as Shaker Heights, Willoughby, South Euclid and others.

There are also 33 adult slow-pitch softball teams, 10 men and 23 co-ed. Shaw has overseen the adult leagues for the past 30 years.

To prevent teams from gaining a competitive edge for league balance, the league limits the number of players a returning coach can keep from year to year.

Coaches are supposed to turn in evaluations of players at the end of the year; players without an evaluation must attend the assessment to get a rating on the player. If the league doesn’t have a rating from the previous year and someone doesn’t show for the assessment, the coach cannot keep him or her as a core player.

“We have a lot of rules that keep teams from getting an edge,” Shaw said. “At the younger levels, there is more of a need for kids to stay together with kids they know. But as they get to the older age levels and the abilities start to show, it’s more important to get a balanced league.”

Ultimately, coaches understand that the underlying importance of summer ball is an outlet for kids to enjoy themselves.

“It is the one time that everybody really comes together,” said Ron Jones, a softball coach for girls ages 7-9. “In some cases, even though we live in the same community, they don’t go to the same schools. Parents get an opportunity to talk with other parents while they’re watching their daughters play.”

Softball coach Keli Zehnder also spoke about the social aspect of the rec leagues. 

“It is an extraordinary community-building event,” Zehnder said. “You see the same people every week and get to know people in the community.”

The Cleveland Heights rec leagues continue throughout the summer in . Most culminate in a tournament that ends on July 16.