Many kids whose skill levels fall short of making high school and junior high sports teams, as well as those without the financial means to pay fees for local leagues, have a second chance through the Toledo Community Recreational Program (TCRP).

The organization offers flag football, softball, basketball, baseball and golf to teach life lessons, such as character, sportsmanship, structure and discipline, according to Jim Gramza, TCRP program coordinator. He said a lack of neighborhood leagues would leave area youth without positive activities to help them develop into upstanding adults.

The Lady Colts

“Our program is not only for those children [cut from school teams] but also for those children that just fall through the cracks and don’t have a place to play, sometimes financial [reasons] and other factors,” Gramza said. “A lot of times it’s their first experience on a team.”

He added that the nonprofit organization operates on a tight budget, relying on volunteer coaches and board members. Despite fundraising and grants, TCRP has stretched one year’s allotment through as many as three years because it “simply had no choice.” He also praised board members for their dedication.

“Part of the reason our program is successful is because we do have an excellent board and I think that to have a good program you have to start at the top,” he explained.

Kim Partin, TCRP president, said the organization originated in 1997 as a result of area agencies “pooling resources” to serve children in need of recreational activities. Some of the few leagues that existed at the time could not field enough teams for a full schedule; however, with pooled resources, TCRP was able to serve 638 kids in 2008 and part of 2009 despite losing taxpayer support.

“In the past we had funding through the City of Toledo,” Partin said. “With the cuts the city had to make, we have not received any funding from the City of Toledo in a few years, but we were kind of very wise with our dollars.”

Although TCRP hosts fundraisers to support its “T-shirt league,” more funding would allow the organization to serve more youth interested in sports. Partin added that she feels the benefits are well worth the investment, teaching kids, for instance, how to handle winning and losing, how to cope with it “when you want to play first base and you don’t get to play first base.”

The leagues also reap returns for the parents.

“A lot of times what people don’t see is that the [for] parents of the children that are involved in these sports, bonds are made that begin to broaden even their social network by getting involved,” Partin said.

“While you’re sitting in the stands, you’re talking with these other parents and the friendships that I’ve seen developed even from the parents as the children are participating. I think is very beneficial as well.”

For more information, call Partin at (419) 691-1429 or Gramza at (419) 936-3090.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 12:00 am and is filed under Sports.
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