Summer Rec program is going strong

Running a Summer Recreation program takes patience, organization and dedication. Dace and Cassie Van Watermeulen can attest to that.
The Van Waterneulens have been director of the Minneota Summer Rec program for five years now. With so many kids involved, it's a little like running a city-wide daycare center.
An exact total count of the kids involved in such things as T-ball, baseball and softball wasn't available, but the program has grown by 25-30 from a year ago.
Dave had been involved with Summer Rec as a coach of the Van Watermeulens’ oldest daughter's team in T-ball (she is now 13 years old) prior to becoming director.
"We really enjoy watching all the kids play the game and having fun," Cassie said. "There's something about their laughing and having fun that makes the time put into the program all worth it."
And it does take a lot more time than the average person realizes.
The directors' duties include getting the kids registered for the summer, coordinating coaches for each of the teams, lining up umpires, field availability and scheduling games.
The Van Watermeulens spend countless hours prior to and during the summer programs.
These programs include: Little Vikes (arts/crafts/games), T-ball for ages 4-5 and also kindergarten, baseball and softball for grades 1-8.
The T-ball kids, who scrimmage against one another, were out in full force Monday morning with around 15 kids per team. Some kids are focused on the game at hand, while others are sitting on the ground and playing in the dirt as they wait for the next batter. Either way, they seem to be having a good time.
"Both first and second grade practice for the most part, but will scrimmage against each other so they play some sort of game," Cassie explained. "Grades 3-8 will play surrounding towns within our league."
The Minneota baseball teams play Canby, Cottonwood, Dawson-Boyd, Granite Falls and Renville County West.
Softball teams in grades 3-6 follow the Marshall League and play Marshall, Granite Falls, Montevideo and Tracy.
The Minneota seventh and eighth grade softball teams play in the Mankato League against Springfield, Worthington, Wabasso, Mountain Lake and Marshall.
Because of the increasing number of participants, an additional softball team was added for grades 3-4, as well as baseball grades 3-4.
Summer Rec is sort of like a restaurant. If the number of participants or customers increases, it generally means it is being run the correct way.