Junior Giants in Del Norte County outlines season, seeks volunteers for free youth league

Aaron, an ambassador for the Junior Giants, opened a community pitch meeting describing the league’s schedule, volunteer needs and parent expectations for the upcoming eight‑week summer season.

“Code of ethics: just cheer for both teams,” Aaron said, asking parents to keep the program family‑friendly and to support volunteer coaches who “are giving their time.” The Junior Giants, run by the Giants Community Fund, are free and noncompetitive; a presenter said, “Junior Giants is completely free… It’s not competitive,” and stressed character development elements such as weekly lesson packets.

Why this matters: The program provides no‑cost access to baseball and softball for local children while offering short trainings, loaner equipment and weekly lesson plans designed to teach teamwork, confidence and integrity. Organizers emphasized safety rules, background checks for volunteers and a plan to notify teams about field cancellations due to smoke, heat or rain.

Organizers shared operational details parents and volunteers need to know. Practices are scheduled Monday through Friday, 5–8 p.m.; Aaron said practices will begin at Crescent Oak Baseball Fields and later move to Pikes Field. He described volunteer roles — team parent, assistant coach and primary coach — and said coaches receive packets and practice plans via the Junior Giants app, which presenters said “goes live on Monday.” Loaner gloves, reversible pants and hats or visors will be provided, and organizers encouraged volunteers to use the app to communicate with teams.

The league also added mental‑health resources this year; Aaron said he and Britney, a co‑ambassador and experienced coach, will run a week‑five lesson tied to the Kevin Love Fund and that online videos for coaches and parents are available.

Organizers described incentives and special opportunities: teams that complete a reading log (‘road map’) may be eligible to attend a Junior Giants festival at Oracle Park in San Francisco, and the presentation referenced a $10,000 scholarship for incoming eighth‑grade players. Aaron said application workshops will be offered to help families complete scholarship materials; presenters noted workshop slots are limited.

Operational reminders included: volunteers must complete background checks for field clearance, injury and concussion protocol requires removing any child suspected of head injury and only returning them after medical clearance, and organizers will send an anonymous end‑of‑season survey to collect feedback. Aaron closed by directing volunteers to juniorgiants.org to sign up and providing contact information for the Del Norte County Recreation Department (707‑464‑7237).

Next steps: organizers said the app will publish rosters and schedules and that they will pass a QR code to speed signups; they encouraged volunteers to complete the Junior Giants University Parents 101 training and to contact ambassadors with any registration or clearance problems.