March 28, 2024

Vanderlaan, Brisel come together on the diamond

The Newton YMCA has always been a big part of the youth sports scene in the community.

But Tom Vanderlaan is trying to take it to a whole new level. That’s why he changed his role at the Y and is now overseeing the entire landscape of youth sports, and his next big project is the Newton Little League.

Vanderlaan and the YMCA took over the little league three years ago. But with former NHS baseball standout Dustin Brisel now coaching the high school program, the league is about to get even better.

“It will definitely take some time, but coach Brisel and I are working well together to do things a little different moving forward. Baseball can be boring to young kids so we are trying to keep practices busy so kids have a little more fun.”

The Newton Little League consists of six leagues and about 250 players right now. Vanderlaan hopes that number grows to around 300 in the near future.

Vanderlaan serves as the president of the league and handles the day-to-day operations. Brisel, along with his assistant coaches and high school players, are handling the camps and clinics that precede the start of practice. Brisel’s assistant coaches include Tyler Stewart, Ryan Comer and Wayne Mann.

“It is important for us to show the younger kids how we want to do things so when they get to the high school level the already know what to expect,” Brisel said. “I basically go through things that I will do during a varsity practice. It will help speed up practices and allow us to get more done with our time.”

The lower levels of little league include T-ball and Coach Pitch. Those are leagues for players age 4-6. Those practices start May 18 and cost $50 to play. The coaches’ meeting is May 16 at 9 a.m. at the Newton YMCA.

The next level up the chain is Machine Pitch. That league is for players age 7-8.
The coaches' meeting will May 2 at 9 a.m. at the Y and practices begin the week of May 4. Cost for this league also is $50.

The fourth level jumps up to $75 in cost. It’s the Minors for ages 9-10. Tryouts took place April 4, the coaches’ meeting included a draft on April 11 and practices kicked off this week.

The Majors also has begun practicing. That league is for players age 10-12.

The final league is Juniors. Those players will be 13-14. Practices start in May, games begin in June and the cost is $100.

Little league games are played during the week. Vanderlaan, who has coached in little league for several years and is the former Newton boys basketball coach, wants to expand the games to the weekends by forming travel teams.

Both Brisel and Vanderlaan are hoping these extra efforts will buck a trend that has seen baseball numbers decline throughout the nation.

“We need to get those numbers up and the little league circuit is where everything begins,” Brisel said. “It is important that we focus a lot of our attention in the offseason to the program. We have seven seniors this coming year and for us to remain at that number, or even grow. we want to make it fun for the players so they want to stay out throughout high school.”

Vanderlaan is always looking for volunteers to help on the Little League Board. For more information on the Newton Little League Baseball program, contact Vanderlaan at 641-792-4006 or tom.vanderlaan@newtonymca.org.