North Reading Little League’s Wood Bat Week Starts Monday

From our friends at the North Reading Little League:

Starting Monday, the “crack of the bat” will take on a new – umm, make that an old – meaning at Benevento Park. That’s when North Reading Little League’s “Wood Bat Week,” sponsored by the North Reading Diamond Club, will get underway.

This is the eighth year for “Wood Bat Week,” which began in 2010 as a fun way to introduce ballplayers to the old-time tools of the trade. NRLL’s Majors teams (ages 10-12) will play three games with the traditional lumber, while each Minors team (ages 9-11) will use the bats for one game.

“It’s something that makes us unique among the area’s Little League programs,” said NRLL player development director Marco Vittozzi. “And it proves to be a terrific learning experience for the kids. They’re a little apprehensive at first, because a lot of them have never swung a wood bat, but after just a little instruction, they realize they can hit the ball just as hard and just as far as they do with their regular bats.”

For more than a decade, the North Reading Diamond Club has supported the town’s baseball programs by investing thousands of dollars and countless hours to improve Carey Park, fund scholarships, and advance North Reading baseball across multiple levels, while building on the great tradition established by former NRHS coach Frank Carey and current coach Eric Archambault.

Learn more about North Reading Little League and “Wood Bat Week” at www.nrll.org.