Local Adult League Expanding in 2012

Three years ago, a group of men put together an adult baseball league called the Ches-Mont Baseball League in an effort to live by its motto "Be a Kid Again..."

No matter how they act, kid or adult, the men embarked on a mission to expand the league and get both Montgomery and Chester Counties involved in a fair, fun and organized league that had a travel aspect and competitive nature.

Wrapping up its third year, Ches-Mont plans to expand from nine teams this year to 12 teams in 2012, and in addition, start up a fast-pitch softball league for the women in town.

"This is the growth we’re talking about," said webmaster and main marketer Bryan Walbridge, who is also the secretary of the . "So far, the response has been pretty favorable. We’re talking about wives, girlfriends, sisters of guys already in the league. That’s our first target, obviously. There’s some things I’m trying to do from a marketing standpoint outside of the website. It’s tough because we’re nonprofit. It’s hard to spend money on mailers and stuff like that. But, I am trying to do some spread-the-word activities."

Much like the baseball league's first year, the softball league only has four teams for its April 2012 start. Unlike the baseball league's first year, the softball league hopes to expand and have more teams by the time the season starts. The league is open to ladies age 18 or older.

"No experience is necessary, just a desire to play and have fun," Walbridge said in a release.

Ches-Mont was the brainchild of Doug DeSimone, who started the baseball league three years ago. The league began with four teams: The Phoenixville Yankees, formed by Steve Shoemaker, the former Phoenixville High School standout who played in both the Yankees and Rockies organizations for a few years, the Spring-Ford Phillies, the Limerick Marlins and the Oaks Athletics.

In its second year, the league expanded to 10 teams and now has nine in its third season, including: Collegeville Indians, Limerick Marlins, Royersford Pirates (Walbridge's team), Oaks Athletics, Kimberton Cubs, Boyertown Expos, Phoenixville Red Sox (the Yankees disbanded as Shoemaker had time commitments to his son's baseball career), Spring-Ford Phillies and Roslyn Brewers.

Each team is responsible for finding and maintaining a "home field," such as .

"That’s the really cool thing about it," said Walbridge. "The first year, we all played at [Limerick Community Park]. Last year, with 10 teams, it was really tough to get the games scheduled in. It’s cool because there’s a little bit of travel involved and you get to play at different fields. One even has lights, so we can have a 7:30 game."

The league strives to keep things fair and uses modified Major League Baseball rules to make sure people of all ages above 18 can participate and actively compete the way they want. Each team has a sponsor, with Royersford's being Applebee's, and the league tries to keep transactions local. Overall, it's a community feel to a community-gathering league.

"We try to use local businesses, too," Walbridge said. "When I got our jerseys made, I got them done at Spring-Ford Apparel in Spring City. The Collegeville team also got his from there. I get some of my baseball equipment from Schuylkill Valley. We try to use the local facilities to keep the economy going."