Can It Be Baseball Season Already?

The fastball was "live" despite the season still being more than two months away.

La Verne Little League tryouts start up later this month, but about 60 players got in some early work at a weekend mini-camp hosted by League president Brian Shively and Bonita High School head baseball coach John Knott.

The younger division, ages 6-12, practiced Saturday and Sunday at Pelota Park, while the older boys, ages 13-15, played at the Bonita baseball field, under the supervision of Knott, his pitching coach Mitch Newell and several Bonita baseball players.

“We’re just trying to reach out to the community,” said Knott, who led his team to the CIF finals last year. “It’s also neat for our kids as coaches to give back and remember the times they had when they were here. They relate to these kids because they were in their shoes not so long ago.”

Knott also got to see that a couple of his players might make fine coaches one day. “It’s really cool to watch my players teach some of the stuff we go over,” he said, ducking out of the way of a high throw that got away from one of the campers.

Shively was also watching the drills, happy that the rain had stayed away so the players could receive some great instruction. “This is fantastic,” Shively said. “This is the way it should be.

“These are the future Bonita players, so for our Little League kids to learn the Bonita way and the Bonita system, which has been so successful, is really ideal. I also enjoyed seeing many of the players who started in our program come back and help out.”

Meanwhile, La Verne Little League is racing against the clock to have the major field ready for opening day. The renovation under way is aimed at removing some of the dips and depressions in the outfield. Workers are also reconstructing the pitching mound and adding new coaching boxes. New grass, courtesy of West Covina Nursery, was also added around the backstop area. Lastly, the field will be re-seeded.

Play ball! Well, not quite yet.