Grand Terrace Little League Gets Competitive

Grand Terrace Little League (GTLL) concluded another great season last Monday. President of GTLL, Steve Bills has hopes of drawing more attention to the little league program by creating more competition among the kids. The more competitive, the more exposure the little league gets to the all-star districts. By putting the kids’ needs first, Bills is hoping to gather volunteers with coaching experience or who enjoy working with the youth. This season, Bills brought on Desmond Robinson as a volunteer. Robinson played varsity baseball for three years in high school and continued to play for another three in college. After about 15 years, Robinson finally returned to the coaching world as this season’s White Sox coach. “I want to teach the kids how to believe in themselves,” Robinson shared, “I want to teach them that if you put in time and effort in whatever you do and repetition, you will succeed.” From team work to social skills, Robinson hopes to instill life-long lessons to his players, lessons he learned from the coaches before him. After 30 years of no contact since little league, head coach and manager of the White Sox, Zac Fox, was the one that encouraged Desmond Robinson to begin coaching again. Together, Fox and Robinson coached the White Sox to victory in the 9-12 year olds division with half of their players making the All Star team, three of them being Coach Fox’s very own children. The girls’ softball team also placed first in their division. This year’s closing ceremonies gathered approximately 200-300 people including coaches, players, parents and the community to honor and recognize the kids for completing a very competitive season. All teams were present in awarding the players with trophies, ribbons, and medals for their efforts. At the end of the ceremony, the ultimate award was presented as the 11-12 All Stars were called up by age group. The All Star team welcomed 14 players with Zac Fox and Desmond Robinson as coaches. The season wouldn’t have been a success if it weren’t for all the volunteers and the board.