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Dixie Softball Teaches Lessons

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By LEE DIEKEMPER

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 30, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - NEW PORT RICHEY - With Little League baseball and softball districts about to begin throughout the country, including locally, youngsters will be playing for a chance to be national champions in their age division.

But Little League isn't the lone route for young softball players to practice being the next Jennie Finch or Cat Osterman.

In recent days, New Port Richey hosted the Dixie softball districts at Oakridge Park, the home of West Pasco Dixie girls softball, but don't dare mention Little League to any of the officials or coaches. Not only is the term off limits, but also some suggest they weren't aware of Little League softball.

"I didn't know anything about Little League," Dixie League district tournament director Donna Brooks said. "I thought Little League was just baseball."

"A friend of ours turned us on to Dixie softball," said Leeanne Ridenoor, a Dixie softball coach. "I can't form an opinion or give an answer about Little League. I've never gone down that avenue. I didn't know there was Little League softball."

As it would imply by the name, Dixie softball and baseball is a regional organization, not a national organization like Little League. It is held in 11 states, all in the south or southeast.

The organization's Web site (Dixie.org) does not offer a complete history of the organization, but it has been around for at least 25 years. The organization does state it is coordinated by local organizations, unlike Little League, which is mostly run through its national headquarters.

But the purpose of Dixie softball and baseball is just like Little League: it offers youngsters an opportunity to play organized baseball and softball. For Brooks, her work with the district tournament is more a love for softball and children, certainly not to make a profit.

While she admitted she is compensated a modest amount for her work, she rattled off all of her expenses in coordinating the district tournament.

"Trust me, I go in the hole with this," she joked.

The recent district tournament enabled local teams to advance to bigger and better tournaments with the ultimate goal of winning the Dixie championship.

The district softball tournament consisted of 19 teams playing 34 games representing four age groups: Darlings (7- and 8-year-olds), Angels (9-10), Ponies (11-12) and Belles (13-15).

Like Brooks, Ridenoor has a daughter, Kenleh, playing Dixie softball. Ridenoor coaches her on the West Pasco Darlings.

It's almost a generational thing. When Ridenoor played organizational softball growing up in Kentucky, she was coached by her father. Years later, she realized her father was not only coaching her in softball, but also teaching her life's lessons. She's trying to do the same with the West Pasco Darlings.

"I remembered how we were taught to be on time for practices," Ridenoor said. "Later I learned that by getting into a habit of being on time, that's something that helped later because you have to be on time when you get a job.

"It's things like that, responsibilities, I learned while playing softball. I didn't realize it at the time, but I learned later how important those things were. I'm now trying to do the same with my daughter."

Brooks noted that she could see how much it meant to the players to receive medallions after each team completed its string of games in a district tournament. For her, those reactions reinforced all her time and work with Dixie softball.

"When I awarded trophies and medallions to the runners-up, they were so excited just to be able to play and get a trophy. They loved it."

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