mckll: Welcome

Monday, July 28
With additional league's chartering in the area, 
McKenzie's June 24th, 2008 General Membership Meeting included a unanimous vote
to change the name of the league -
making the program much more easily identified with the community it serves ....

"McKenzie Little League" -

is in the process of changing its name to:

 Thurston Little League 

All "eteamz" website information has been moved to:

www.eteamz.com/thurstonll

 

A Brief History:
The year?  2001.  Six families from across Lane County contacted Little League International with a desire to have Little League in their area.  "Emerald Valley Little League" was the first charter of a Little League in Lane County - forming in January 2002.  Because area interest was an unknown factor at the time, that league served all of Lane County.  With growth and development of "hometown focused local leagues," as of 2008, six chartered leagues serve specific boundaried areas across the county.  One of those leagues, "McKenzie" chartered in 2004 to specifically serve families on the Springfield side of I-5.  In 2006, McKenzie divided into two leagues with McKenzie serving Thurston High School boundaries, and "Willamette Valley Little League" serving Springfield HS and other outlying smaller communities on the Springfield side of I-5.   Initially, the area resident volunteers selected the names in reference to two area rivers:  The McKenzie and The Willamette. 
Area programs chartered with Little League Baseball and Softball as of the 2008 season:
  • Bethel Little League (serving Willamette, Triangle Lake, Elmira, and Junction City High School boundaries) ... forming their own board and website going into the 2009 season.
  • McKenzie (Thurston) Little League (serving Thurston High School boundaries)
  • Sheldon Little League - previously Emerald Valley East Little League (serving Sheldon and Harrisburg High School boundaries)
  • South Valley Little League (serving Cottage Grove, Elkton, Drain, and Yoncalla High School boundaries)
  • West Emerald Valley Little League (serving Churchill, North Eugene, South Eugene, and Crow High School boundaries)
  • Willamette Valley Little League (serving Springfield, Pleasant Hill, Lowell, Dexter, Creswell, Oakridge, Mohawk, and Marcola High School boundaries)
 In the future, as 'local hometown focus' becomes more a part of the West Emerald Valley and Willamette Valley areas, it's possible more 'geographically defined' names will come into play in those areas as well.
For more information, or to see about starting up a league in your area, visit District 9 Little League

Centerfield (Let's Go!)