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Catching up with Pinal Mountain Little League

By David Sowders
Posted 10/23/24

In a recent interview with the Silver Belt, Pinal Mountain Little League President Destinee Hamlet and Safety Officer Brooke Hamlet discussed some of the league’s progress, including an …

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Catching up with Pinal Mountain Little League

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In a recent interview with the Silver Belt, Pinal Mountain Little League President Destinee Hamlet and Safety Officer Brooke Hamlet discussed some of the league’s progress, including an improved relationship with Gila County and increased team sponsorship, as well as its needs.

“We got a lot of help from the County this year,” said Destinee Hamlet. “They purchased all the red dirt for the fields and bought new bases. They’re going to take over all the grounds work so we don’t have to be out there on tractors cutting grass and weeds. We pick up a little trash here and there and we’re responsible for lining the fields, but other than that the County has taken on full responsibility of helping with the grounds. That’s been really helpful because it’s allowed the board to focus on what the board needs to focus on.”

“I’ve been involved with the Little League for more than five years and this is the first time this relationship has really blossomed as much as it has,” said Brooke Hamlet.

This year the league secured grants of $2,500 each from Resolution Copper and Freeport McMoRan, which they will use to add batting/warmup pens – giving players a safe place to practice hitting and pitching.

The league has also gone all-electronic, so no cash was handled last year. “That’s actually a requirement from International Little League and we did it a year ahead of time,” said Brooke Hamlet.

She added that there has also been more community support, with every team – this year the league had 37 teams - sponsored by a local business or organization. “That was really huge because that hasn’t happened in the past,” she said. “We had quite a few teams that weren’t sponsored.”

“When we came in there was a gap with the community. We really worked hard getting back the trust of the community,” said Destinee Hamlet.

Under President Hamlet’s leadership, Pinal Mountain Little League started an annual softball camp, “where the kids learn basic skills prior to tryouts,” in 2021. Along with parents who help out, the camp has benefited from working with community college teams. “The softball kids of the community are getting to play with collegiate athletes and get to learn and aspire to play college ball in the future,” she said.

The past two years, the South Mountain Community College softball team has come in to run the camp; this year it will be Arizona Indian College.

The league would also like to start a baseball camp, but more volunteers are needed to make that happen.

“We need people to volunteer not only as board members, but for coaching positions or sometimes just being a dugout helper, announcing, volunteers for the camp and for the concession stand,” said Brooke Hamlet. Destinee Hamlet added that umpires were also a great need.

“Going into next season we’re hoping to offer even lower tuition and registration rates, because our costs are not as high. That means more kids get to play and there’s more opportunity for community involvement,” said Destinee Hamlet.

Among the league’s costs, they said, are approximately $3,000 a year to cover the charter and insurance and $2,000-$3,000 to print players’ names and numbers on their shirts (the shirts themselves are provided at no cost by the Arizona Diamondbacks).

“The community has really stepped up to put their efforts into making sure this is a successful program. We've had a really good functioning board the last year and it really makes a huge difference to have volunteers who dedicate their time and effort to make sure things work like they're supposed to,” said Brooke Hamlet.

“In 2023 we had a good foundation of people who stayed on,” said Destinee Hamlet. “This year we also had a lot of people get re-voted back in. We’ve been really lucky that two or three people have stayed on each year.”

The 2024 board consists of President Destinee Hamlet, Baseball Vice President Annie Villalobos, Softball Vice President Desiree Aragon, Coach Pitch/T-ball vice President Braxton Bittner, Secretary Jordyn Chidester, Treasurer Bianca Villalobos, Safety Officer Brooke Hamlet, Player Agent Javier Sanchez, Coach Coordinator Ana Angel, and Debbie Thompson, Concessions.

In an email to the Silver Belt, the league also recognized people who have volunteered for 10 years or more: Billy Sanchez (17 years), John Porto (15 years), Yvette Badilla (10 years), and Rick Corso (10 years).

Anyone who wishes to volunteer with Pinal Mountain Little League can sign up at https://leagues.bluesombrero.com/pinalmtll?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0elVWEj4DZNScQy_B_QlaJVrrUDpZ4MHipezyt6jYk0g-izc2Z7_jXoAk_aem_xWcoc6A3tz8Rj_AqrGisxg, message them on Facebook or email pinalmountainlittleleague@outlook.com.