Even though there is snow on the ground, the Ironton Little League wants to let you know that baseball and softball season is just around the corner. There are a few changes taking place this season and I wanted to take the time to let everyone know about them.

For the first time, the Ironton Little League can allow four year olds to play T-ball. These young boys and girls must turn four before April 30 to be eligible to play.

The league will set up teams consisting only of four year olds so they don’t have to compete against the five and six year olds in T-ball.

The Ironton Little League has joined together with several Little Leagues in Scioto County to provide children with disabilities somewhere to play.

District 11 will sponsor a Challenger Division of Little League Baseball to be held at the Wheelersburg Little League complex. Children in Ironton are encouraged to play in this league and may sign up through the Ironton Little League registrations.

Kids in this league are often provided with transportation as well as all equipment necessary to play. If you have a child with a disability who’d like to play baseball, please contact someone within the Ironton Little League so we can get you the details or register your child through the Ironton Little League and we’ll take care of the rest.

One of the biggest complaints with Little League baseball is the quality of umpiring or the difficulty in finding umpires.

The Ironton Little League is taking steps to correct this problem. Our league is working to create a partnership with the District 11 Umpires Association as well as the Ironton Association of Baseball and Softball Officials. The league is hoping these organizations will help to provide qualified officials in order to improve the overall umpiring within our league.

The Ironton Little League has slightly increased the registration fees so the league can make a “donation” to these organizations for their help in providing quality umpires.

The Ironton Little League is working hard to make changes that will allow all of our league’s participants to have a positive experience.

Of course, we can’t think of everything so your opinion is important to us. If there are ideas you’d like to see implemented or changes you’d like to see made, contact me or any other Ironton Little League board member. We welcome public input.