About Us
The Manitowoc Youth Baseball Association was formed in 1989 by a group of youth baseball coaches to help promote youth participation in baseball. Our objective was to play league baseball. We felt there were many children in the city of Manitowoc who wanted to play league baseball but were never afforded the opportunity.
Members of our organization have spent literally thousands of hours in getting our message out about our mission to the youngsters and parents. We did this through school surveys, newspaper articles, and radio announcements. In addition, we conducted assessment/placement days for children who had never played Manitowoc league baseball. These placements were held indoors at the University of Wisconsin Manitowoc campus in the early days. They were extremely successful. These efforts proved to be extremely fruitful in that we have grown from 180 the year before we started, to over 800 in 1992. The numbers have fluctuated over the years but the goals have not. We are very interested in keeping children active in youth baseball for as many years as possible. The ultimate goal of keeping kids out of trouble by being active in a supervised activity, improving the baseball programs at our high schools, and to put a smile on the faces of our youth.
We began an informal group to provide girls aged 10 to 15 the chance to play slow pitch softball in 1991. We help support this group as well. In 2006, the focus for the girls league was changed to fast pitch. The ultimate goal was to improve the skill level of girls moving on to high school softball.
It was hard to imagine the number of boys and girls interested that didn't get the chance to play previously. It has become a very time consuming job. The costs are rising every year and sponsors are always hard to come forward from year to year. The City of Manitowoc has asked us to pick up more and more costs every year, but it is important to remember we do this for the kids of the community.
In 2008, we had more than 500 children involved in baseball. Our end of year tournaments were very successful making many kids happy by winning their first trophy in some cases. Their eyes just light up when they realize they will be winning a trophy. It makes all the hard work worthwhile.
The girls fast pitch league became bigger in 2008. We had 12 teams and the quality of play is improving. They had an end of season tournament which was a lot of fun for the girls.
MYBA Complex Beginnings
MANITOWOC YOUTH BASEBALL/SOFTBALL COMPLEX SET FOR GROUNDBREAKING: Dream. BUILD! Play Ball.
Manitowoc, Wisconsin, July 19, 2016 – Manitowoc Youth Baseball/Softball Association President, Randy Heinzen, announces that “It is time to put the shovels in the ground and get to the BUILD stage of this project! After three years of planning and fundraising, it is with great excitement that we announce we are officially set for groundbreaking and to make this dream a reality. We have come a long come a long way with this project and have raised approximately $1.4 million of the estimated $1.8 million that is needed to complete the project. With the $1.4 million, we know that we can complete the fields and concession stand and be ready to play on the fields in spring of 2017. We continue our fundraising efforts to raise the additional $400,000 that is needed to complete lights and other amenities for the final phase of the complex.”
The project includes a four baseball/softball diamond complex to be located at Citizen Park, 930 North 18th Street, in Manitowoc.
Heinzen notes that the support of the local community has been amazing. The manner in which our dedicated project committee, along with the business owners and citizens of our area, have come together for this project truly shows the spirit of Manitowoc County. These efforts show a commitment to the future of our children, by providing them with a baseball/softball complex that will serve the lakeshore area for years to come.
A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for July 27th with the physical construction work beginning in early August.
The new complex will be used for: MYBA leagues, high school girls' fast pitch softball team home games and tournaments, T-Ball and pitching machine leagues, and locally-hosted tournaments.