Since chartering its first team in 1952, South Pasadena (Calif.) Little League has served the Pasadena and outer Los Angeles area community, dedicating itself to providing every child with the chance to grow, connect, and create lasting memories both on and off the field. Despite serving a community of fewer than 26,000 people, the league has experienced significant growth in recent years. As the oldest Little League® program currently chartered in California, South Pasadena LL has seen its softball program thrive, doubling its participation over the past decade from fewer than 100 players to 220 for the 2024 season.
To learn more about South Pasadena LL, Little League sat down with Alberto Ocon, League President, and Karissa Adams, League Softball Commissioner, for a Local League Spotlight, a content series created to help other leagues learn from each other’s success stories. Below, you will find quotes, along with how South Pasadena LL brings these ideas to life in their communities.
Growing the Softball Program
Alberto Ocon (AO): “Karissa and I went to our elementary schools a couple of years ago and we were able to talk to the students about the program at an assembly. We brought out players who were currently playing, and that generated interest. I think that has been a great success, not just for the entire league, but for our softball program, which has been increasing by about 20 to 25 players a year in the last three years, especially after the pandemic. The other thing we do is we send out flyers in our local schools to let them know that our seasons are beginning, and we give them to our players’ parents or guardians to take to their place of work”
Karissa Adams (KA): “Our Fall Ball program for softball has really helped over the years, but before I joined the board, it was only our older girls who were playing. I introduced the idea of opening this up to our younger kids, starting as young as Tee Ball, which has done well. What they find to be fun is different, so our fall program has allowed us to have a clinic-style – a truly non-competitive, but developmental program — that has helped girls play the sport.”
Community Events
AO: “We ended up moving our opening day to an opening night and brought out all our teams from each division for a short ceremony. We found folks to donate food, hot dogs, and a nice bounce house. Additionally, every Fourth of July, we participate in a parade that our city holds every year. About 40-50% of our participants walk the parade route with our South Pasadena Little League banner, which has brought in a lot of participants.”
KA: “Little League Days at our high school baseball and softball games are big events. We invite all the kids, and we do two separate days so that everyone can participate. All the kids wear their jerseys, get some sort of treat, and a little gift. The best thing is that we pick kids from all the different levels, and they get to go out on the field and throw the first pitch or get a ball signed by a player. They truly get highlighted at the big field with their local heroes. On a normal high school game day, there’s about a dozen parents out there and a few students, but when there’s a Little League Day, there are hundreds of people.”
- For the Little League Challenger Division®, there is a big end-of-season event where the local fire and police departments host a cookout. Athletes from other divisions of play come out to volunteer to support the Challenger Division players at this event, as well as other events, regular season practices, or games.
Keeping the Community Informed
AO: “Our social media is key. Everyone has access to the accounts to post, including the players. We have been able to showcase all our small accolades through this. Anyone that hits a home run, their picture is on there to be celebrated. It has also been helpful to bulk email both our current and past participants to keep everyone aware of what we are doing. We have also used our social media for some unfortunate situations. We have lost one of our families who was impacted by the fires, so we posted ways to help them and promote their fundraising page. We must come together as a community and support each other.”
Junior Umpire Program
AO: “The number of kids that are signing up for this and wanting to be out there is incredible. It is fantastic that we are able to have this because it benefits the league, participants, and all the young umpires. We have a great relationship with the California Intercollegiate Federation (CIF) that we use for our regular games, and many of those umpires come back and help us train and teach the boys and girls that are volunteering as junior umpires.”
KA: “The win-win-win is everywhere. We have gotten so much positive feedback such as ‘I love when we get the junior umpires, how can we have them more?’ The best response is all the junior umpires coming back to me and telling me how games have gone and the different situations they’ve been in. I have this joy in my heart seeing these kids having the ability to take on a responsibility like this and instilling confidence in them being out on the field, making calls and decisions. I have gotten letters from parents saying how important the role is to them, to feel like an adult and feel responsible.”
- The junior umpire program has been active for two years, and about 20 players are actively umpiring, with a handful that will be training this summer.
Staying Connected with Alumni
AO: “Our local merchants are what truly keeps us afloat and keeps our costs low. One of our past participants, who has now graduated from college, has started a business. The first thing he did was give us a call and say, “I started a business here in South Pasadena, I want to support, and I want to be a sponsor.’ Folks want to come back and support the program. We want to keep the games fees as low as possible so that everyone has the chance to play.
- In addition to highlighting current players and their achievements across their social platforms, they also highlight former players who go on to play at the next level.
To learn more about the Little League® program and find a league in your community, visit PlayLittleLeague.org.