Two Amarillo Youth Sports Giants Just Joined Forces

Yesterday, a ripple was sent through the Amarillo youth baseball and softball communities with an announcement. For someone like me who has been a part of this scene for over 10 years total, and nearly five years here in Amarillo, I was a bit surprised to see it.

I've always had good talks and communication with Rob Woods, the director of Texas Panhandle Youth Sports Foundation, over the years. We've had great chats about the direction of youth baseball in the city, challenges they have had, among other things. One thing he was so excited about was the opening of Rockrose Sports Park and what it would do for youth baseball in the area.

A Merger To Bring It All Together

I shared that excitement with him, even though it was likely neither of my boys would ever play baseball on those fields. I'm a huge advocate for growing youth baseball in Amarillo. A big announcement took place yesterday that is going to help that scene grow and bring two of the biggest youth sports programs together under one umbrella.

Kids, Inc. and TPYSF announced yesterday that they were partnering up to become one. TPYSF, home to Amarillo Area Youth Baseball League (AKA rotary baseball), Canyon Baseball Association, West Texas Youth Baseball League, and the more recently formed West Texas Fastpitch, will now be found under the Kids, Inc. umbrella of leagues available for kids to sign up and play.

What Changes Are Expected

The biggest changes you will see with the merger is that there will be front office support when you have questions, concerns, etc., the addition of Rockrose Sports Park to the available fields they can use, and a team of youth sports professionals that will help run the leagues.

One of my biggest questions when I saw the merger was, how much will this change the West Texas Youth Baseball league? This is the travel baseball arm of TPYSF, and I was curious as to what would change with the Kids, Inc. merger. From what I've seen, signing up for league play and scheduling of those games will be through Kids, Inc., and that's the only change.

Those teams will still be formed independently with no influence or help from Kids, Inc. Tryouts are run individually by the teams coach, and tournaments will still be signed up for by utilizing the USSSA website.