Jeremy O’Guin (left) and Dean Wheeler serve as vice president and president of Northwest 45 Little League, respectively.
A TEAM EFFORT Northwest 45 Little League has six divisions designed for players from age 4-16.
Tee ball (ages 4-7): Players learn the basics and hit a stationary ball from a standing tee. Coach pitch 5-6 (ages 5-6): Players hit balls from a tee or pitched by their coach. Coach pitch 7-8 (ages 7-8): A coach throws the ball, and players get ve pitches or three strikes when up at bat. Minor league (ages 9-11): Players pitch to each other, and bases can be stolen. Intermediate 50/70 division (ages 12-14): Named for the 50-foot pitching distance and 70-foot base paths introduced at this level, all standard major league rules are added. Junior-senior division: (ages 13-16): Players begin playing on a eld with the standard dimensions of a 90-foot diamond with a pitching distance of 60 feet, 6 inches.
NONPROFIT
Northwest 45 Little League was founded in 1969 and hosts 34 teams that play at Bayer Park in Spring. (Photos by Emily Lincke/Community Impact)
Northwest 45 Little League Local sports league levels playing eld for children in Spring, Klein
A t the Spring-based Northwest 45 Little League, all children are welcome to play, regardless of their family’s nancial situa- tion, according to league President Dean Wheeler. “Our biggest demographic are challenged socioeconomically, … and so we have lower costs,” Wheeler said. “We make it so that more kids can play, and that’s really what drives us is [that] we want kids to play baseball.” Northwest 45 was chartered in 1969 and in 1991 became the rst Texas team to win the Little League World Series. The organization has 34 teams made up of more than 330 children ages 4-16, and games are played at Bayer Park in Spring. While the league’s fall season is underway, registration for the spring season will open Oct. 15. Throughout each season, each team plays 12 games over the course of about eight weeks. The organization is run solely by volunteers who make up the league’s board of directors, committee members and coaches. Vice President Jeremy O’Guin, who has been coaching for ve years at Northwest 45, said players do not have to have BY EMILY LINCKE
perfect skills to enjoy playing. “You do not have to be the best ballplayer. … In baseball, to win games, you have to play smart,” O’Guin said. To aid families who may be struggling nancially, Northwest 45 is purchasing additional equipment for players to use until they decide they want to become a long-term player. The organization also oers registration discounts for those who sign up early or have registered in the previous season. In the future, O’Guin said he hopes to add a chal- lenger division, which would be a team for children with disabilities coached by volunteers who are specically trained to meet the players’ needs. Additionally, Wheeler said Northwest 45 is renovating Bayer Park’s elds with plans of adding new scoreboards, new batting cages and better internet service. Wheeler noted the organization is also looking for new sponsors and volunteers to help the nonprot continue to grow as the league aims to double its number of teams in the coming seasons. “Baseball teaches a lot of life skills,” he said. “It teaches winning, losing [and] teamwork.”
SOURCES: NORTHWEST 45, LITTLELEAGUE.ORGCOMMUNITY IMPACT
Northwest 45 Little League Mailing address: PO Box 2053, Spring Bayer Park, 24811 W. Hardy Road, Spring 832-381-8967 www.nw45ll.com
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SPRING KLEIN EDITION • OCTOBER 2022
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