THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, May 8, 1996 TAG: 9605070145
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY GARY EDWARDS, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 186 lines
CINDY O'HARA spent the early morning of April 27 in Norfolk at the Elizabeth River Run. She finished in a very respectable 65 minutes for the 10-kilometer race.
O'Hara then ``ran'' over to the Arrowhead Elementary School baseball field to sell candy and soft drinks and watch her 6-year-old son, Garrett, play tee-ball.
``We take turns here,'' said O'Hara, as she sold some refreshments to two young spectators. While she was serving her customers, Garrett took a big swing - well, a big swing for a 6-year-old - hit the ball through the infield and the outfield and legged out a triple.
``Oh, heck, I missed it,'' Mom said.
O'Hara is one of 600 family members who belong to the Arrowhead Recreation Association. Everyone at the field on that busy Saturday was a volunteer, except the umpires.
Arrowhead is one of 16 recreation associations across the city that work with the city's Parks and Recreation Department to provide the residents of Virginia's largest city with community sports year-round. Teams use city school fields and gymnasiums and parks and recreation facilities such as Princess Anne Park for tee-ball, baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and football. Ten-year-olds and up play on city-sponsored teams. Athletes 5 to 9 are the sole responsibility of the recreation associations.
Balls, bats, uniforms and the rest of the equipment are paid for out of association funds. At Arrowhead, for example, parents pay a fee of $30 per sport, per child. However, that only covers part of the expenses of running a recreation association program.
``A goalie soccer shirt, that's $25 or $30,'' said Jo Irvine, president of the Arrowhead Association, as she passed the fields where six Arrowhead soccer teams play. The association sponsors the sport for 80 kids.
The system couldn't work without volunteers like O'Hara, said Irvine, who became president of the recreation association three years ago.
Irvine herself gets up in the wee hours on spring Saturdays. She arrives at Arrowhead school about 6 o'clock, ``yes, in the morning'' to prepare the fields of play for the young athletes.
``We - two coaches and I - get here at 6 a.m.,'' said Irvine. ``We get the fields ready, spread lime down the first and third base lines, empty trash cans and put new bags in them, set up the concession stand. We pooper scooper the field, too, many times.''
Irvine's day ends about 4 or 5 p.m., when all the games are concluded and everything is taken care of.
Mary Guthrie arrives about 7 a.m. to run the concession stand. She buys the candy, chips and sodas and resells them throughout the day. Concession receipts account for a large portion of the association funds. Guthrie's day will end about 4:30 p.m.
The vice president of the Carolanne Farm Civic League, Guthrie is a civic-minded woman who ``wanted to help the community in whatever way I can.''
This season, the concession stand is new, improved and bigger, too. A second story has been added to the white cinder-block structure behind home plate.
``We use it for storage,'' said Irvine. ``We had been paying about $1,000 a year to a storage place and now we won't have to.''
The Arrowhead association had to await a go-ahead from the Arrowhead Elementary principal and the city before beginning the improvements, which cost $12,000. Much of the work and materials were donated. Association member Tom Cunningham dug a well, which serves the concession stand and is also used to water the fields, said Irvine. Sherwin-Williams donated paint for the concession stand and association members spread it on.
Down the road a bit, Barbara Cruz, a volunteer with the Kempsville Recreation Association, describes herself as a ``full-time mother, full-time mortgage loan officer and a full-time coach.'' Her daughter, Alex, 9, pitches for the Kempsville Sluggers.
For Cruz, that means 10 hours a week devoted to practice, games, phone calls, paperwork and other assorted duties, such as soothing tender young egos and injuries.
In contrast to Irvine's longtime phalanx of volunteers, David Thrasher gets by with about five active members for his North Beach Recreation Association.
``Our area covers the north end of the Oceanfront, west to Virginia Beach General Hospital. It's a small area,'' said Thrasher, area chairman, operations chief and one of the Indians, too. He is in his first year at that post.
Recent success could bring increased interest, Thrasher hopes.
``We won the 10- to 12-year-old and 13- to 14-year-old girls basketball this season,'' he said. ``We only fielded nine teams, so we're pretty proud.''
Thrasher wants to parlay that success into expansion. Most of Thrasher's budget comes from players' fees. Each child pays $25 to participate. Thrasher would like to field football teams, but understands the economics involved. Helmets cost $125 each; uniforms around $300.
``I'm going to talk to PTAs to see if I can generate interest, try to turn things around,'' he said. ``You have organizations like Woodstock where Sid Pearl has been coaching for 28 years. We'd like to build that kind of organization.''
Speaking of Woodstock . . . The association is well-established and has enjoyed years of success.
George Lattimore has coached football for 18 years; been on the board of directors for 17. The association represents 1,300 families and as many as 5,000 participants in any one year, he said.
``We benefit from widespread support,'' said Lattimore. ``We even have team mothers for virtually every team, as well as the coaching staffs and the people who keep score and perform other tasks.''
Woodstock fields 36 basketball teams, 58 baseball teams (including tee-ball, coach-pitch and softball) and 16 football teams.
``I get a lot of satisfaction and have a lot of fun,'' said Lattimore. ``I've seen players go on to the pros. (Matt Darby, a current NFL player, was a Woodstock product.)
Jay Smith knows how important volunteers are. Smith serves as recreation program director for Parks and Recreation. He called volunteers indispensable.
``Without volunteers we couldn't run the department,'' Smith said. ``They provide all the coaches, all the recreation association board members and chairmen - the people who put the teams together.''
People like Jo Irvine and her fellow volunteers.
Irvine compared her role to that of running a small business.
Arrowhead spent about $35,000 last year so that the children could play. Part of that comes from fees; part from corporate sponsorship; part from concessions.
``And running this small business is a big responsibility,'' she said. How many hours a week does she spend overseeing the operation? ``Ha, lots. Let's just say 40-plus.''
Irvine followed her own daughter, Janyce, through the association program. Janyce, now 17, plays senior girls softball for Parks and Recreation. She started playing the game when she was 5.
``If we keep just one kid out of trouble or off the streets, it's all worth it,'' Irvine said. ILLUSTRATION: [Cover, Color photo]
ON THE COVER
Mike Noah, assistant coach for the boys coach pitch 7-9 Rangers,
gives instructions to team during the game at the Arrowhead
Elementary field. Noah is one of the many volunteers involved in
community sports. The player in the foreground is Brian Greene. The
photograph was taken by L. Todd Spencer.
THE ASSOCIATIONS
Here are the 16 recreation associations across the city that work
with the city's Parks and Recreation Department to provide the
residents of Virginia's largest city with community sports
year-round. Teams use city school fields and gymnasiums and parks
and recreation facilities such as Princess Anne Park for tee-ball,
baseball, softball, basketball, soccer and football for children 5
to 9 years. Here are the names and phone numbers of contacts.
Aragona/Pembroke - Rainer Blank, 499-7324.
Arrowhead - Jo Irvine, 490-4533.
Bayside - Yolette McCoy, 552-0375.
Cooke - Al Savage, 428-1957.
Courthouse - Matt Kemick, 721-0139.
Creeds - Mary Waterfield, 426-6871.
Great Neck - Diane Howard, 486-4786.
Green Run - Carol Sprangers, 427-9858.
Kempsville - Phil Sawyer, 495-9354.
Kings Grant - Dan Sikorski, 463-0821.
Larkspur/Salem - John Carasella, 473-0135.
North Beach - David Thrasher, 422-8454.
Plaza - Elaine Burke, 463-0496.
Thalia/Malibu - Jim Simpson, 486-6976.
West Kempsville - John Coffren, 474-9499.
Woodstock - Allan Bettcher, 420-7394.
Photos by L. TODD SPENCER
Jo Irvine, president of the Arrowhead Recreation Association,
watches the team play on the field she helped prepare at daybreak
Saturday. Her day doesn't end until the last game is played at 4 or
5 p.m.
Volunteer Mary Guthrie, ``the hot dog lady,'' arrives at Arrowhead
about 7 a.m. to run the concession stand.
Head Arrowhead coach John Sather celebrates a win with his coach
pitch 7/8 team.
Tony Young, the home plate ump, calls a play. The umpires are the
only paid volunteers in the recreation associations.
by CNB