The Holts Summit Optimist Club is hosting its first kickball league. The co-ed league is open for children in third through sixth grade. It costs $15 to participate.
Bob Crawford with the Optimist Club pitched the idea of hosting a kickball league during a recent Holts Summit City Council meeting. He said the club's baseball and t-ball leagues in the spring usually have a lot of participation. The organization has added several new members the past few months, Crawford said. Because of that increase, he said the club is looking for additional activities to keep kids active.
"It's all about the kids," Crawford said. "It's encouraging and enriching the lives of young people."
Crawford said Optimist members are excited for the new league. His two sons will play in the kickball league.
The kickball league will be held on Monday nights - and possibly Tuesday nights if a large number of kids sign up - from Sept. 15 through Oct. 17 on Howard Field in Holts Summit. About 11 kids will play on each team in the league.
Crawford said between 15 and 20 kids signed up for the league during the first registration day. The Optimists will hold a second registration day from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday at the Holts Summit Fire Station. Interested participants can also print off registration forms from the Holts Summit Optimist Club Facebook page.
If enough children are interested in the kickball league this month, Crawford said the organization will host another kickball league next year.
"All of the kids we talked to, we asked them, "Are you really good at kickball?'" Crawford said with a laugh. "(They responded) "Well, I think so.'"
Other September events
The Holts Summit Optimist Club will host two other activities on Sept. 13 - a bicycle safety event and the club's annual moonlight bike ride.
Amy Knoll, whom Crawford describes as the "mom" of the Holts Summit Optimist Club, said the group is partnering with the Jefferson City Optimist Club for the bicycle safety event. Children can bring their bikes to the event for a safety check. The group will fix any problems they can fix on the bikes. If children do not have bike helmets, the Optimist Club will give them one.
The two Optimist clubs will also have a bicycle obstacle course set up for kids. The obstacle course, Knoll said, will teach kids safe biking habits.
"It's to teach them how to properly stop at a stop sign, to look for traffic - making sure they are following the safety rules of riding a bicycle," Knoll said.
The bicycle safety event will start at 3 p.m. and end at 5 p.m. on Sept. 13 at Union Hill Baptist Church's parking lot.
The moonlight bike ride is from 8:30-9:30 p.m. on Sept. 13 at Summit Plaza. There is no preregistration for the event. The group will ride a couple laps around Holts Summit.
Megan Favignano can be reached at (573) 826-2417 or [email protected].