The Ozone Howard Little League is back on the field for baseball season. Teams practice daily in the hopes of getting to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.At almost 50 years old, the Ozone Howard Little League is in great shape. Having more than 925 registered area children, four ball fields and an immaculately maintained two-and-a-half acre complex, it is always bustling.
About 70 percent of the league is made up of kids from Ozone Park, according to its president, Guy Losito. But the league is just as important to the Howard Beach community: it gets children off the streets after school, provides a social environment for both kids and parents, and upholds a reputation of which the community can be proud.
“We try to be their support system,” Losito said. The Ozone Howard Little League teaches the children more than just the rules of baseball and softball: they learn conflict resolution, team work, sportsmanship and community involvement — demonstrated by the league’s sponsors whose names are written on signs that decorate the complex.
Children and teens from ages five to 17 are divided into about 80 teams. Each age group is its own division, and within each division are several teams — depending on how many children in that age group are registered with the league.
The Ozone Howard Little League is one of the only baseball little leagues that has a large division of 13-year-olds, called “Juniors,” according to Losito. It also attracts more girls than most leagues, with 70 girls, ages 14 to 17, this year.
Open seven days a week, from 5:30 to 7:30 on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday, this league is like a second home to many of its members, some of whom joined at age five and continued through to 17. “This is their utopia,” Losito said, making a wide gesture toward the complex where dozens of children were playing and dozens of parents were cheering.
What differentiates the Ozone Howard Little League from others is that it is more like a family than a structured after-school baseball program. “You’re not gonna find a complex like this anywhere,” said Frank, a parent who did not give his last name. That is due, in part, to Losito and his colleagues who have what they call loyalty to these children. “They want to be Mickey Mantel, A-Rod,” Losito said, “but they’re never going to fulfill that dream without (this) little league.”
There is one goal that all league participants want to reach: getting one of their teams to the Williamsport, Pa. Little League World Series where they would compete with teams from the U.S. and around the world. The challenging task of preparing his players and coaches for such an event is exciting for Losito, who has played baseball all his life.
While the Ozone Howard Little League members work hard toward that end, they never fail to find the time to enjoy themselves. “We want to have a fun organization where kids (and parents) don’t have to worry,” Losito said. Judging from the mustard-stained baseball uniforms, large crowd of cheering parents and number of children practicing in the complex even though they’re not scheduled to do so, there appear to be no worries on anyone’s mind.
