Special ceremonies spark Wasilla Youth Baseball season

May 6, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

WASILLA - Hundreds of boys and girls in dozens of different multicolored uniforms proudly lined the soon-to-be-green grass of Smith Fields outside Wasilla Saturday for opening ceremonies of the Wasilla Youth Baseball League.

Players and coaches from more than 33 teams turned out under sunny skies to help officials and local dignitaries usher in another season of youth baseball in the Valley.

&#8220I'm really looking forward to it,” league president Bill Kramer told the crowd.

Kramer said the 2007 season is set to be an exciting one for the league, which recently became an affiliate of the national PONY (Protect Our Nation's Youth) organization.

Improvements at Smith Fields have enabled the league to host all league games - more than 300 over the course of the summer - at the complex. Additionally, the league has added an expanded snack bar area that will allow parents and spectators to dine on complete meals while watching their children play.

&#8220There are going to be meals served here,” Allen said.

On hand for the ceremonies was Wasilla mayor Diane Keller, who said the hundreds of smiling players were a testament to the nature of the youth program.

&#8220It's about winning, but it's more about having fun,” Keller said.

Bill Kramer said youth baseball in Wasilla could not exist without the support of hundreds of volunteers, who dedicate their time to coaching, working the snack bar, field maintenance and other miscellaneous chores that keep the league running.

&#8220This league is 110 percent volunteers,” Kramer said.

Perhaps no one embodied the spirit of volunteer support of the league better than longtime youth baseball supporter and coach Devin Branham. Branham, who passed away last summer, was one of the most involved and dedicated members of the baseball community, spending much of his free time coaching and helping out the league however he could.

On Saturday, the league honored his memory by naming one of the complex's fields in his honor.

The emotional ceremony included a ceremonial first pitch from Branham's son, Kyle.

Following the dedication, Devin Branham's friend and fellow youth coach Steve Srebernak said Branham was the kind of person who was always willing to do whatever it took to lend a helping hand.

&#8220He was just an all-around positive guy,” Srebernak said.

Srebernak said naming the field in Branham's honor was an ideal tribute to a man who meant so much to the area's youth baseball community.

&#8220He was a really good guy, really involved,” Srebernak said. &#8220Everyone has enemies, but I don't think anybody disliked Devin.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@

frontiersman.com