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Little League Teams on Both STT and STX Kick Off Season

The Cubs participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

Little League teams on both St. Thomas and St. Croix have kicked off their season in February and into March.

The Cardinals participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

On St. Thomas, the McHen Little League is a combination of the Alvin McBean West and Elrod Hendricks East league organizations and at the end of February opened to stormy skies, but that didn’t deter officials from moving forward with both the morning parade and the first set of games. Charlotte Amalie High School’s Marching Band led the way, hitting the Alvin McBean Ballpark around 11 a.m.

Little League district administrator of the V.I. Little League Steve Parris, along with Master of Ceremonies Sheldon Turnbull, helped to welcome families and players to the ballpark, calling for increased support for parents and guardians throughout the season. “Thank you to the parents that are here to celebrate our children because this is what it is about and thank you to the athletes that are taking part,” said Parris.

Padres participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

The Jacori Blash Foundation, spearheaded by V.I. professional baseball player Jabari Blash, provided to all McHen teams with new gear, including catching equipment and batting helmets.

The Twins participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

On St. Croix, a total of 14 teams participated in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League parade that marched from the Department of Education in Christiansted over to the David Canegata Ballpark, where games were held.  “We were down for almost three years, and we wanted to make sure we came back out with a bang and have the children getting back into playing baseball and softball, which is the mission of Elmo Plaskett East. We want to teach children ages four all the way up to 16 the commodore, the sport. You know everything that encompasses baseball and softball. It’s not just the game itself, but the values and things they learn from the game,” said public relations manager for the Elmo Plaskett League, Jamilah Henry.

Yankees participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

Oto Pereira, who has his own baseball league that he carries out when the league is on break, also formulated his own team that participates in the Elmo Plaskett League called the Mets. Pereira said about baseball, “It shows a lot of character, discipline, teamwork that we need in society to network with one another, fix what needs to be fixed in the Virgin Islands, especially when it comes to youth sports.”

The Mets participate in the Elmo Plaskett East Little League Parade. (VI Source Photo by Diana Dias)

Other organizations taking part in the parade included the St. Croix Educational Complex dance squad, The Rising Stars, The St. Croix Majorettes, and Orlando Benitez, who provided the music.

Interested children looking to enroll in the Elmo Plaskett League can send an email to epellvi@gmail.com.

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