Linda North, for the Love of the Game

Linda North steps onto a sunny ball field swarming with exuberant Little Leaguers. It is Little League Baseball and Softball tournament time, and she is there from first pitch ‘til the last. It’s part of her job — a volunteer job to which Linda devotes 40-plus hours a week year-round. But it’s also a job that rewards her a hundred times over, because she has been responsible for extending the Little League experience to thousands of kids in Georgia, including the first team of Little League Girls Softball in her hometown of Peachtree City.

“Little League just got in my blood,” says Linda, laughing. “My father was a baseball fanatic, but it really began for me because of my son, Brian. He always loved baseball. As soon as he was old enough, we signed him up for Little League.”

That was in 1986, a couple of years after Linda moved to Peachtree City with her husband, John, and just about the time Little League Baseball was forming in Peachtree City. “They needed volunteers,” says Linda, “so I raised my hand to run the concession stand at Riley Field. I liked what the organization was offering kids.”

Linda ran concessions for about three years and realized she also liked the people —volunteers like herself who were enthusiastic about the advantages of Little League participation, whose children enjoyed playing ball, and who wanted to see the organization expand, giving more opportunities to their children and others. So she stepped forward again – this time to get involved in the administrative side of the organization – and began her 24-years-and-counting career of Little League volunteerism.

Today, Linda is Georgia’s District 4 Administrator for Little League, the worldwide youth baseball and softball organization that is synonymous with youth sports for many people. Her district includes leagues in 15 counties in the southern metro Atlanta region, including Fayette, Coweta, Spalding and Clayton. Little League International is the umbrella organization for the Regional, District and Local levels, the latter two of which depend entirely on volunteers, like Linda. As she says, “Volunteerism is what you make of it.” There is no doubt about Linda’s commitment to Little League and the kids who want to play.

As a district administrator, Linda is the liaison between the local leagues and the Regional and International levels. She organizes tournaments and interleague play among the District 4 teams. At the end of the regular season each year, she heads up her district’s tournament, which is the first round of the annual Little League World Series.

Another important aspect of Linda’s job is marketing the organization and expanding it at the local level.

“If you believe in a product and have a passion for it, you look for ways to enhance it. You want to grow it,” says Linda. “I don’t go out and solicit leagues, rather I answer inquiries about Little League and follow up. People ask, ‘How do we join? What does Little League do? What is the benefit of being with Little League as opposed to the league they are in at the time?’

I become responsive at that point. I meet with them and discuss what Little League has to offer. Is it a fit for them? In some cases, it’s not. But in a lot of cases, it is because there is a lot of good flexibility and structure in the program.”

Brian North says that as he got older and eventually grew out of the league, his mom’s involvement in Little League became more focused on helping other children and families in the community play ball. “Mom saw that if kids didn’t have the money or their families didn’t have the time to devote, she could find programs and services that Little League offered to help those who needed it. As the district administrator, she has concentrated her efforts on growing the influence of Little League. She’s had one of the few Big League programs in the state for 16 – 18 year olds. She worked with a good team of people to build the Field of Hope for the Challenger League for physically or mentally handicapped children. More recently, she’s concentrated her efforts on growing the softball program.”

Linda’s efforts in softball led to the formation this year of the first Little League softball team in Fayette County.

Mike Dunlap, a Little League manager in Peachtree City who wanted his softball-age daughters to have a game experience equal to his baseball-playing son, approached Linda a year ago about bringing a Peachtree City softball team into the organization. “Linda was very quick to help us realize our ambition in starting the team. She is a strong supporter of offering an equal opportunity in playing ball for all girls and boys in Fayette County.”

During its first season, the Peachtree City Senior Division team (ages 13-14) played interleague games with Spalding and Clayton counties and won their first tournament play at the District 7 Mother’s Day Tournament in Rabun County, where they were up against teams from Georgia and North Carolina.

“People think of Little League as baseball and very often they don’t think of it as softball, so I’m excited to see softball growing in my district,” says Linda. “These girls wanted the benefits of belonging to Little League and the experience that can ultimately lead to the World Series.”

Little League, which began in 1939 with just three teams in the rural, blue-collar town of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is active today in every state in the United States and at least 70 countries, including Japan, Europe, the Middle East, Canada, Mexico and South America. It has evolved into a brand name that many people equate with youth sports.

Its name recognition allows Little League International to reach out to large corporations for funding, which in turn provides unparalleled opportunities and financial “breaks” for teams, such as very affordable insurance rates. Money from ESPN funds an online coaches’ resource center where every coach associated with Little League has access to videos and other materials for teaching the fundamentals of baseball and softball. Little League sponsors one-week summer camps for players that are staffed by qualified instructors and counselors. It has also provided continuity and safety by instituting a number of regulations, such as limitations on pitch counts, mandatory breakaway bases, and batting and catcher’s helmets, which make playing the game safer for children.

Little League has structure, particularly when it comes to tournament time, but it has a tremendous amount of flexibility at the local level during the regular season, which Linda believes is important for effective programs. “During the season, smaller leagues are able to set up their programs a little differently than larger leagues,” she says.

Linda points out that the one thing most people like about Little League is the interleague play, which gives teams a chance to play outside their league. “This is particularly good for smaller leagues that don’t have many teams,” says Linda. “It opens up a world of opportunities for kids.”

And of course, the Little League World Series is a high profile incentive for Little League play, especially here, where a Georgia team has won three World Series championships in the past four years: Columbus, 2006 Baseball; Warner Robins, 2007 Baseball; and Warner Robins, 2009 Softball. Linda says that her phone really gets busy with inquiries about joining Little League when a Georgia team wins the World Series. “Everybody wants that experience,” she says.

Tournament time is an experience Linda enjoys, too. “During the regular season, I don’t go to many games. That’s when I’m really busy with paperwork. But at tournament time – you will see me from the first pitch to the last.”

As district administrator, Linda oversees the tournament, and sometimes that means going up against some unhappy people.

“In many cases, I have watched Linda face off against a manager, coach, parent, or umpire and do so without losing her cool and keeping a calm and ladylike demeanor,” says Julie Saul, a friend who has been involved with the Little League program at Brooks Park for the past seven years. “I believe she is one of the first women to break through that male barrier that is still evident in many recreational sports today.”

“A lot of people say, ‘You’re not a man,’” admits Linda, who is the only female district administrator in the state. “‘What do you know about baseball? You don’t coach; you don’t umpire.’ No, I don’t, but I know the rules. I don’t have to coach a team to run the organization. That’s what I rely on others to do.”

Linda says her husband, who volunteered in Peachtree City Little League for about 10 years, is fine with “me doing my own thing.” “I travel around, meeting with the other leagues. I go up to Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, every year for the Baseball World Series. I go from the first game to the last. It’s my vacation. I sit in the pin trading tent and trade pins. I watch the games. I see people from all over the country. We have fun. It’s my time away, and I just enjoy it.”

As if all that isn’t enough, Linda has served as the league’s state secretary/treasurer since 1997. She is also active as a Fayette County Chamber of Commerce Ambassador on behalf of Little League, which participates in the Chamber as a non-profit.

Eventually, Linda would like to see Little League in all 15 counties in her district.

“Linda works tirelessly to promote Little League and help grow it in Fayette and the surrounding counties,” says Julie Saul. “She has such a love for the game of baseball, and her mission is to make sure every child in our community has the opportunity to experience that same love of the game.”

Randy Brown, president of the Senoia Little League, has been working with Linda for two years, gaining support to bring Little League Softball back to Senoia. “Linda is always available to talk to people about the advantages of Little League Softball. She gives 100 percent all the time to Little League softball and baseball, and by that, has done wonderful things for kids in this area.”

“I am impressed every day with the amount of work and dedication my mom puts forth and how many lives she touches as a volunteer,” says Brian North. “She spends 60 to 80 hours a week working for this organization. If her example would encourage other parents and families to put forth a little bit of their time volunteering for Little League or other youth organizations, the whole community would benefit.”

“In this day and age there are so many options for kids NOT to get out and have fun,” says Linda. “They can sit at home and play video games and become couch potatoes. Getting out and having fun is what Little League is all about. It’s a great program. No, it’s not for everybody, but it’s a good community program that people can get behind and enjoy.”

There’s not much time in Linda North’s life for hobbies. Genealogy and gardening are taking a back seat for now — and she has no plans to retire from her full-time volunteer duties with Little League. “They’ll be pushing me onto the fields in a wheelchair,” she laughs. “Little League consumes a lot of my time, but I love it. I’m not ready to give up these friendships and these people!”

Each year at tournament time, Linda presents one player on each tournament team in her district with the “Ed Hosey Unsung Hero Award.” It is an award that she initiated several years ago in honor of the man and mentor who preceded her as district administrator. Hosey gave 30 years to the district as manager, umpire and administrator, asking for nothing more in return than that boys and girls have the chance to participate in Little League and the opportunities it offered. The award does not go to the “best” player on the team but, rather, to the player who “plays for the love of the game and best demonstrates a passion and respect for the spirit of the game, with no need for praise or recognition.”

Next year, Linda will have a granddaughter old enough to play Little League Softball. “Once again, I’ll have ‘somebody’ in the game,” Linda says with a smile. “We’ll have fun with it.”

Yes, once again after 13 years, Linda North will have “somebody in the game.” Her granddaughter will play alongside thousands of kids in District 4, all given the chance to participate in Little League Baseball and Softball and the opportunities it offers because of her grandmother Linda, a volunteer who dedicates her time and talents for the love of the game and the kids who play it.