Manager Tracey Goodman from Brooks Area Little League was the first to sign up and get a Big League Player/Instructor to come help with their 9 and 10 year old catchers.    Aaron Patten, a member of the 2008 Big League State Championship team, spent Thursday afternoon working with 3 of the team’s young catchers.    Coach Goodman said, “Aaron was awesome with my players.   He was very patient while instructing them on their stances behind the plate which resulted in many opportunities for blocking the ball.”

The players were all very excited after the practice.    Connor Simmons wants Aaron to work with him every practice.  Dalton Goodman talked the rest of the night about the techniques that Aaron taught the boys, especially how to get down and block the ball.  Grayson Samples, new to catching, learned enough to catch the entire next game the team played.

Gary Snider, Assistant Administrator of District 4’s Big League Baseball program said, “O ur mentoring program gives our Big League players a chance to see themselves at the age of these Little Leaguers again.   They remember how they felt having an older player in uniform not only talk to them but help them.   The Big League players love it and do a good job of relating to such young players, probably better than most adults can relate.   It is almost "hero like" for the young players.”

Coach Snider added, “The corner stone of the program was getting skilled help for Little League players in positions such as Infield, Outfield, Pitching, Catching and Hitting.   Little League coaches request the Big League players to instruct their teams at the various positions.   The program seems to be well received by all involved.    We see this program expanding to all the leagues and players in District 4 Little League.”

Asked about the future of the Big League Mentoring Program, Coach Snider said, “We hope to build the Mentoring Program to a point where instruction leads to invitations to Big League games and the Little Leaguers can hang with their new older buddies during the games.   I can also see our Big League players attending the games of the youngsters they instruct.   The bottom line is we have some quality young men that are pretty talented.   Our Big League players play the game because they absolutely love it.   They also love giving back and it warms your heart to see it.”

Little League Baseball and Softball is the world's largest and most respected youth sports organization. With players in every U.S. state and more than 70 other countries, the program is led by more than 1 million adult volunteers. It serves children ages 5 through 18, including children with physical and mental disabilities (Challenger Division) and children in urban areas (Little League Urban Initiative).