Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/03/04

DOVER TOWNSHIP -- Carol Atlak pondered the million-dollar question as her son Thomas took batting practice and ground balls inside the new indoor facility at the Toms River Little League complex on Mapletree Road here.

"Is it worth the million dollars?" she said, repeating the question from a reporter. At first she didn't want to comment on the cost of the building.

As she and other parents sat in a waiting room, the sounds of bats making contact with baseballs filled the room next door. Two Little League teams were busy using their one-hour of practice time to work on their skills in preparation for today's scheduled opening day.

Outside, it was wet and cold, the kind of March day that can make baseball an ugly sport to play.

Inside, it was warm and safe. The two Iron Mike pitching machines were tossing strikes at speeds between 45 and 65 mph as batters swung away.

Two pitching mounds were in use as coaches worked with players on mechanics and allowed them to strengthen their throwing arms. Six pairs of players were able to toss the ball 60 feet from each other. A coach on the field turf -- the same that is used at Giants Stadium -- that promised a true hop, was hitting safety balls.

"It's everything we envisioned when we first dreamed of this place," said George Gilmore, a member of the executive committee for the league. He is also the head of the Ocean County Republican Party and was a driving force in getting 10th District legislators to push for the $500,000 of state funding for the facility that came in the 2000 budget.

The grant, part of what is called Christmas tree items traditionally written into the budget at the last hour to use excess funds, was a target of criticism.

But Gilmore and the legislators defended the grant, comparing it to similar money given for parks and recreation at a number of sites throughout the county and state.

It is more than a place to practice. It has a large kitchen area, an upstairs meeting room that can easily fit 300 people, and a garage that houses more than five tractors, mowers and spreaders that are essential to maintain the eight fields used by more than 800 players on 67 teams in the league.

"You could fit our old building into the kitchen alone," said Gilmore, showing a picture of the original food stand. "We had one bathroom for this whole complex before we built this. Now we have six."

They also have a $500,000 mortgage from Commerce Bank to help pay for the site.

"We wanted to make sure the building had everything we would need," said Russell Johnson, the current president of the league. "This was a one-shot deal. We didn't want to put something up and realize that it wouldn't meet the league's needs."

Paying off the 20-year loan will cost the league $3,600 a month. Money comes from entry fees that are $150 for the first child, with a sliding scale for each additional active family member, although like all Little Leagues, players are never turned away for financial reasons.

Little Leagues also use their kitchen facilities and a series of different fund-raisers to pay for the equipment and expenses of running a league. That means power costs, insurance and maintenance needs.

"We use 40 tons of clay each year and another 40 tons of top soil," said Ken Beverly. He served as the liaison with the contractor who put the building up. A builder himself, Beverly was involved in decision-making on everything from the color of the building to the type of pitching machines being used.

His wife, Linda, has run the league's kitchen for nearly a decade. She is ecstatic about the new cooking area and expanded windows to serve customers. The league usually has sold between 150 and 200 hot dogs on a given Saturday.

"I think we may double that now," she said. They'll also include some salads on the menu. None of which concerns Dan Leyden, 13, as he waited for his turn in the batting cages.

"It's great being indoors," said Leyden, who has been playing since he was six years old. "It's a lot better than trying to take batting practice outside when it's cold and you stand around waiting for someone to hit you the ball when you're in the field."

The facility is run by the board members and there is a requirement that there be one coach for each five players practicing.

The second floor, where the meeting room is filled with tables, is surrounded by a deck that allows a panoramic view of the eight fields, the last of which was built a week ago when 100 volunteers showed up and turned a patch of dirt into a T-ball/challenger field.

There are new paved parking areas and a newly renovated major league field.

"All from volunteers," said Gilmore.

While the construction work on the building was done professionally, it was volunteers who put up the netting, helped paint the building and take turns supervising activities.

They used the site for tryouts this year and even let St. Joseph's of Toms River use it for their 8th grade tryouts when bad weather made it impossible for the school to have them outdoors.

"They asked if they could come in and we opened the doors," said Johnson.

There might be more of that community spirit in the future. Indoor facilities are becoming more a part of the Little League landscape.

Toms River East Little League opened its facility shortly after winning the Little League World Championship. Brick American offers similar opportunities for players, but not in one giant site.

"We're in competition with soccer, lacrosse and computer games for kids," said Johnson. "This gives us a chance to see them develop their talent."

Karen Gilbert understands what he's talking about. She has two sons playing in Toms River this year and marvels at the new building.

"I just moved here from Lakewood," she said. "We didn't have anything like this. But you can see programs that have this type of facility. You can see how much better their players are."

Lisa Dunne agrees that the indoor practices are a wonderful thing.

"If you've ever waited for your child to finish practice on a cold and rainy night outdoors you'd understand how nice this is," she said.

Gilbert agrees, and goes another step in praising the building.

"If it keeps kids off the street, gives them something to do year-round, a place like this is a good thing no matter the cost."

Atlak is listening to all this, and finally decides to answer the original question.

"When you think about how many people will use this place year round. And you think how many will use it over the next 20 years, you start to realize that it was money well spent," she said. "I'm all for it."

from the Asbury Park Press