New OLL President was former player at Hyde Park

“I was a kid who came up through Owego Little League (OLL) and was a member of the 1983 team that was the first Owego team to win the District 7 title with Tom Ash and Kenny Winters,” says Scott Rollison, new president of Owego Little League and succeeding 12-year President Kenny Winters. 

Rollison added, “That team went on to produce guys that played together through high school and many are still friends to this day including Chris Reig and Greg Ash who are also involved with OLL to this day.

“I wanted to become president to provide this generation of Owego kids the same memories I have from those days at Hyde Park. 

“It is a magical place that they can always come back to, just like I have. I would like to instill a love of the game of baseball. And I would like for all of them to build long lasting friendships and memories that team sports and athletics provide. 

“My dream is for each player to set a goal for the season and to have each volunteer and coach help that child reach that goal by season end. And yes, ultimately for Owego to win another District 7 banner in both baseball and softball.” 

Rollison continued, “Sportsmanship and teamwork should be stressed above winning. While we play with a scoreboard the true measure of winning at this point is each player enjoys the game and achieves their own level of success within the team concept.”

Here’s the volunteer team that will help President Rollison fulfill his dream. Members include VP Baseball, Steve Terry; VP Softball, Emily Crawford; VP Teener, Jim Lavo; and Treasurer and Board, Steve Lounsberry. 

Also serving is Secretary, Sponsorships and Website, Tom Bronk; Player Agent, Scheduler and Website, Eric Hawkins; Concession Manager, Kathie Rollison; Board, Richard Franz; Public Relations and Board, Jim Raftis; Information Officer and Board, Richard Ives; and Building and Grounds and Board, Kenneth Winters.

Serving as Commissioner of Coaches for 12U is Rick Hoyt, Commissioner of Coaches for 10U is Mike Sipe, Safety Officer is Mike Hopkins, Uniforms is Brandy Beach, Equipment is Jeff VanWagenen and Christina VanWagenen, Liaison is Dan Tavelli, Parade Marshall is John Loftus, and Picture Day Chairman is Amanda Schumacher. 

President Rollison reviewed significant accomplishments since Opening Day 2016, to include the implementation of a very successful fall ball program that had 100 kids registered to play baseball through October 1 of last year. They also started a winter training session beginning in late January that served as a spring training of sorts that was free to OLL players. They introduced a coaches training lecture to kick off the season. 

Objectives for 2017 are to continue to build the fall baseball program to include a possible fall league involving teams from Johnson City, Vestal and other surrounding communities, extend the fall ball program to the softball teams, provide more All Star opportunities by expanding the number of teams for all players who show the commitment to continue playing baseball throughout the summer.