Joliet community going to bat for historic Belmont Little League

It’s been a sweet season for the Belmont Little League, the Joliet youth baseball organization formed in the years after World War II by veterans who came back to their hometown.

Bolstered by community support, Belmont has new outfield fences for its Little League park, a ball field of their own for T-ball players, and more improvements in the works.

The Belmont Little League was formed in 1951, which gives it a 74-year history in Joliet.

“This is a huge season for Belmont Little League,” said league President Lisa Martinez, pointing to the help the league and the kids who play in it are getting from local businesses and organizations.

A $28,000 donation from the Rotary Club of Joliet has made it possible to erect new outfield fences at the field.

However, several local organizations and businesses have made contributions that will help bolster the future of the organization, she said.

“The goal now is to get this place set for the next 74 years,” Martinez said. “We’re preserving history. This place means so much to so many people.”

The league has a long history. But with history comes wear and tear, and Belmont is in the process of making upgrades.

“We’re one of the oldest charters out there for Little League,” Martinez said. “It was started by the guys who came back from World War II.”

The Little League park, along with the Belmont Athletic Club, are tucked away in a wooded corner of the east side of Joliet bordering Pilcher Park and the Highland Park neighborhood.

It’s a spot that most Joliet residents probably would never come across, but one that has formed a deep connection with those who have played on the fields.

Shannon Wolf, owner of Wolf’s Sealcoating Inc. in Joliet, was a Belmont Little Leaguer in the 1980s. He later became a coach and was president of the league in 2017.

His company sponsored the construction of a separate T-ball field that gives the youngest members of the league “a place of their own,” Wolf said.

Wolf said the Belmont Little League provides “a place for the kids to have some fun, play some ball, and learn the game.”

In that spirit, the Joliet Slammers, the city’s minor league team, this year formed a partnership with the Belmont Little League, providing financial support and some of its own resources in teaching the game.

On a recent Saturday, several Slammers, including a player, a coach and front office staff, were at Belmont offering instruction to the young players.

“I want everyone to have a mean face when they’re hitting,” Slammers’ Bench Coach Ron Biga urged T-ballers gripping baseball bats and heeding his instruction. “We want that pitcher to be afraid of us.”

Slammers’ starting pitcher Zac Westcott provided instruction in catching fly balls and grounders.

The partnership is “about growing the game locally,” Westcott said.

The name of the game on that Saturday was as much about fun and physical activity as it was baseball.

“I think the main thing is getting active and getting people outdoors,” Westcott said. “At this age, it’s about having fun.”

Westcott, a South Florida native, has his own memories of going to baseball camps at the University of Miami when he was a youngster.

Belmont Little Leaguers appeared to be having plenty of fun the day the Slammers came out.

Martinez said the Slammers partnership has had an impact on the Little Leaguers.

“The Slammers are a real big part of Joliet,” she said. “It gives them (the Little Leaguers) an opportunity to be very proud.”

A few senior players in the Little League have been bat boys at Slammers games, she said.

The Little League experience is not just an opportunity for youngsters.

Lou Manzella, father of one of the Little Leaguers, said he signed up as a coach after hearing there was a need.

“This is my first year. It definitely won’t be my last,” Manzella said.

He has found the experience of supervising children rewarding.

“It’s having to deal with 10 kids, and nine of them are not your own,” Manzella said.

The sponsorships from the Slammers and other organizations are an inspiration for coaches and kids in the Belmont Little League.

“It’s good for Belmont,” Coach Arian Ulloa said as he watched his daughter, Gabriella, and other T-ballers run the bases under Slammers’ instruction. “It’s great for them to help the kids out.”