Minor sports is often victim to cycles in its registration.
A baby boom one year can cause a bump in numbers down the road while a quiet year in the maternity ward eventually has an adverse effect on numbers.
For Trail Minor Baseball the registration numbers may be similar to last year but the difference is in what might be down the road.
While players in the older groups have dwindled, the younger crop of players points to a potential all-around increase in the next couple of years.
“The main thing is as long as we can keep them interested,” pointed out Trail Minor Baseball president Willie Bain.
The association has 77 players registered this year with a few more trickling in as opening day, which is set for April 30, approaches.
And while there are only five 12-year-olds currently signed on for the season, there are 45 players between the ages of five-and-eight-years-old coming up the system.
D.J. Ashman, who coaches the Trail 11-12-year-old team, said the influx of new families moving into town for various work projects as well as a baby boom among young local families has renewed hope that Trail Minor Baseball will be thriving once again.
Meanwhile in Fruitvale, the Beaver Valley Minor Baseball Association is seeing the reverse of that trend.
While registration is relatively the same as last year, Beaver Valley has a strong cast of nine to 12-year-old players. There’s enough to form two 11-12-year-old teams and two nine-10-year-old squads.
In Trail, there will only be one 11-12-year-old team and two nine-10-year-old squads.
The Trail association is also banking on the future in another way. This fall, the local group is expected to submit a bid for the 2012 Little League provincials.