Spring Sports: City Baseball & Softball Programs For Kids

The coming of spring means it’s time for little sluggers to batter up for the start of baseball and softball season. Whether you have a little one getting ready for their first year of urban t-ball, or a more advanced ball-player, we’ve got all the bases covered when it comes to hitting a home run for fun as the weather (finally) starts to warm up!

Anchored on the Upper East Side, Yorkville Youth Athletic Association is one of the largest community-based youth sports programs in the country, and baseball is their most popular offering, with every level of league and training available.

Also in Yorkville neighborhood is the Yorkville Softball League for Girls (for ages 7 -16). This league is affiliated with Little League and offers a softball season that runs from April through June and uses fields located on the Upper East Side and in Central Park. They also host All-Star teams that compete in Little League tournaments during the summer months, travel teams during the fall where girls compete against teams from around the five boroughs, and indoor pitching clinics and workouts during the winter months.

Another one of the city’s premier programs, The Baseball Center NYC, is also noted for their wide variety of programs and teams at every level—not to mention their exceptional indoor facility in the heart of the Upper West Side.

Other stalwart programs include Manhattan Athletics/Uptown Athletic Club (which is affiliated with the local CYO’s Rec Ball League), the beloved Kids of Summer (which offers afterschool programs and a summer camp), The Baseball Center NYC (which is also noted for their wide variety of programs and teams at every level—not to mention their exceptional indoor facility in the heart of the Upper West Side), and The JCC in Manhattan (which offers Sunday baseball in Central Park, where children will practice the fundamental skills of the game including batting, fielding, throwing and base-running).

And if your child likes baseball but want to explore other sports too, many city programs offer great options in varied athletics. The multi-sport Asphalt Green—now downtown as well as uptown—offers instructional classes and league teams. The same is true for Bulldog Ball Club—a well-regarded program on the rise—with its menu of introductory classes and more serious league play. Additionally, Kids in Sports’ upcoming summer camp for ages 2.5-3 years, is an indoor only, drop-off program with a multi-sport focus (including baseball). So if you have a young athlete who also wants to experience volleyball, football, and more–this program is perfect.

Camp Huntington

A co-ed, residential program for children and young adults with special learning and developmental needs.&nbsp; Our summer camp and weekend camp programs are designed to maximize a child&rsquo;s potential, locate and develop strengths and hidden abilities. Your child will enjoy the fun-filled days of summer camp while learning practical social and life skills. We offer a unique program approach of adaptive therapeutic recreation, which combines key elements that encourage progress: structured programming, nurturing care, a positive setting, and academic instruction to meet IEP goals. Our campus is located in the beautiful hamlet of High Falls, New York within the Catskill Mountain region.

The Vincent Smith School

Vincent Smith School is a non-profit, coed, independent school for grades 1-12 that serves students from Nassau, Suffolk, and NYC since 1924. The school is most known for its small classes, supportive staff, and individualized programs for students with learning differences such as Dyslexia/Dyscalculia/Dysgraphia, as well as school anxiety, school reluctance, or ADHD.&nbsp; We emphasize academic, college-prep success through differentiated instruction and on-site services as needed for reading, speech, or OT in dedicated classrooms. VSS offers rolling admissions throughout the year at our scenic Port Washington campus. &nbsp;

Enabling Devices

Enabling Devices is a family-run business that designs, manufactures and sells adapted toys and accessible devices that make life more joyful and fulfilling for children and adults living with disabilities. &nbsp; It started with a train set, a mercury switch, and a young boy whose therapist thought he couldn&rsquo;t play with toys. In 1975 our founder, Dr. Steven Kanor, walked into a room at United Cerebral Palsy/Long Island and saw a boy sitting in a wheelchair, his head resting on his shoulder. When he asked where the toys were, the OT said, &ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have the motor skills to play with toys, and he can&rsquo;t lift his head.&rdquo; But Dr. Kanor was not interested in what the boy couldn&rsquo;t do. He was interested in the boy's potential. The next morning, he was back. He&rsquo;d brought a train set, which he&rsquo;d connected to a mercury switch. The switch, the first capability switch he&rsquo;d designed, was attached to the boy&rsquo;s ear. When the boy raised his head, the switch made contact and the train ran around the tracks. After several weeks of playing with this toy, the boy was holding his head up straight, even when the train was not running. Dr. Kanor was elated. Since that day, he never stopped innovating, never stopped trying to make our products better, never stopped designing new devices. Today, our design team is just as passionate, just as creative, and just as committed to innovation as the man who founded this company. Enabling Devices is the place to find toys, devices and tools that help build more joyful, fulfilling lives. We have an extensive selection of adapted toys, capability switches, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices, adapted electronics, mounts, iPad products, sensory items and products for the visually impaired. Over the years, the important constants remain. We&rsquo;re still the same small, family-run company Steven Kanor founded in 1978, with the same values of personal connection and deep product knowledge. We&rsquo;re still committed to providing caring, individualized service to each customer. And we&rsquo;re still grateful for the privilege of sharing in your journey.