 Little League catching on across Ukraine By Glen WILLARD |
Little League baseball teams converged on Kyiv June 18-22 for the 2004 national championships. Though a team from Kryvyi Rih took top honors with an 11-1 win, the approximately 90 players who participated seemed to have a great time.
Little League is for boys aged 9 through 12 years old. Baseball is by no means a major sport in Ukraine, particularly among younger Ukrainians. In fact, it wasn't until the sport became a potential Olympic event a few years ago that it attracted attention in the Slavic world. Baseball had been a demonstration sport intermittently since 1912, but it wasn't until the 1984 Olympics, when it returned after a 20-year hiatus, that serious consideration was given it as regular event. It remained a demonstration sport in 1988, but in the 1992 Olympics it became a full medal sport.
Baseball in Ukraine got its big break when the Soviets began to prepare for the 1984 games. Colonel Viktor Pianikh (see sidebar) pioneered the sport, after serving as head trainer for Soviet handball teams. Col. Pianikh attended the competition and festivities throughout this year's Little League championships.
The games were played at a field behind a school at Puscha-Voditsa near Kyiv. The field had been laid out to Little League standards and even had the requisite outfield fences. The grounds had recently been reworked after a winter's neglect, thanks to contributions from a couple of Americans.
Basil Tarasko (see BASIL P. TARASKO: Head Coach, March 2004, UO) organized the event. Tarasko, now on his 33rd or 34th visit to Ukraine from his home in New York, is Little League's district administrator in Ukraine, as well as the baseball and softball commissioner for the Ukrainian Sports Federation of the USA and Canada (USCAK). He's also the United States representative for Team Ukraine.
Tarasko, a former junior high school math teacher, is very involved with orphanages here, due to a lifelong interest in kids and his interest in promoting Little League baseball in Ukraine. He said that he has found orphanages, their teachers and directors, to be receptive to his sport in a way that some public middle schools are not.
During the championship week, a group of children an orphanage in Zhytomyr were present. Though they were introduced to baseball for the first time only a couple of months ago, they've picked up the game quickly and played a practice game without the use of batting tees (a tee is a stationary pedestal on which a ball is placed to be hit by a batter, rather than having the ball thrown by a pitcher). Tarasko's efforts made it possible for the kids to have new uniforms and caps. His work has also resulted in the donation of baseball uniforms, equipment and supplies to Little League in Ukraine.
Players' parents, relatives and friends attended the championship game and several other games as well. They included Maryna Krysa, president of the Help Us Help the Children, and U.S. Ambassador John Herbst and his wife, as well as representatives from McDonalds Ukraine and Jeffory FitzGerald of Global Alliance.
Ambassador Herbst and McDonald's presented awards. Ambassador Herbst has been a major supporter of the Little League program in Ukraine. His youngest son, Johnny, is a pitcher for a Kyiv team and his older sons are baseball players as well. Herbst has been instrumental in assisting with the organization and distribution of baseball equipment and supplies during his brief stay in Ukraine.
The championship team from Kryvyi Rih was well-coached and looked like miniature professionals. A great program is underway in that city. Across the nation, teams are starting that desperately need support. Companies and individuals interested in contributing to the growth of youth baseball in Ukraine can contact Basil Tarasko (bt4ukraine@aol.com) or Glen Willard (229 4551 or glen@twg.com.ua).
Coach Basil Tarasko awards a medal to Maryna Krysa, president of Help Us Help the Children.
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More in the section:
Old America
Viktor Pianikh, A Baseball Man
Read also previous issue' articles:
THE EAR: Time to Stop Traffic Terror
The USSR: What was it?
Socialist Realism From One Collector's Viewpoint
Weak Laws Make Ukraine Europe's Dumping Ground
Social Entrepreneurship Expands in Ukraine
Lenin and Ukraine
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