Area little leaguers packed into Peekskill Stadium with their parents Saturday evening for the Peekskill Tides Second Annual Lapolla Little League Night.Lapolla players were brought onto the field before the game to meet the Tides players before the game and were treated to a water show by the Peekskill Fire Department. The event is one of several the team, now in its 18th season, holds for the community. For the past 12 years the Tides have competed in the Westchester-Rockland Wood Bat League. Most of the players are in or just graduating from college.Team manager Chris Jones, a corporate publicist by day, said the team has worked hard to become ingrained into the community.We try to recruit around the area around Peekskill as much as possible to build our club, Jones said. The team is also lucky to have one of the leagues best stadiums, Jones said. Not only is it situated close enough to the Hudson River to afford great views but it is also one of the few in the league to be wired with multiple cameras that allow the games to be recorded and as in Saturdays case, broadcast live on the citys cable channel.Town videographer Mike Miner also a producer/cameraman for MSG sports so it is a really good quality production, Jones said. We have the voice of the Tides, Eric Newland, and a former player as an analyst so its a full television production.Lapolla Little League chairman Chris Hanzlik said not only has the team held a special night for them for two years, they have also hosted baseball clinics for his players. Hanzlik said his kids enjoy being around the Tides players.When we talk about the Tides, you see their faces light up, its great to see the bond that develops between the kids and this team, Hanzlik said.Peekskill Mayor Mary Foster said the team not only provides affordable entertainment, but also local role models.Its meant to be motivational and help them realize there are role models, that ball players are not some fictional characters on TV, Foster said. They are real people that are here in the community.The stadium is also used by the school district, Foster said.The high school varsity team plays here and the other [visiting] varsity teams like to play here, Foster said.One of those local role models is 32-year-old Shawn Tarkington, who attended Peekskill High School and later played for Seton Hall University. A physical education teacher by day, he has been a pitching coach for the Tide for the past three years after three years with the rival Tarrytown Lookouts. A former Lapolla Little League player himself, Tarkington said the team was a great fit for the area.Its very competitive, its local, its easy to get to, Tarkington said. The competition is like no other in the area if you ask me.Unlike the areas professional minor league teams, there is no fee to attend Tides games. Nor are players paid to compete. In fact, players pay a fee and sell raffle tickets just to be on the roster.Jones also credited the teams corporate sponsor Turner Construction for making the team possible.Their global CEO lives just up the road in Garrison and they are big supporters of ours, Jones said. They make our life enormously easier.Next weekend the Tides will hold a similar event for members of the Cortlandt American Little League team.Peekskill Stadium is located right off of Route 9 on Louisa Street. The stadium has restrooms and a concession stand. For more information on the team and to see the Tides full schedule, go www.Peekskilltides.com.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
