As the American flag gently waved from home plate against a pale blue sky on a warm spring day, 22 teams of Little League players wearing custom made T-shirts with names like the Yard Goats, Skeeters, Space Cowboys and Disco Turkeys lined up for Powell’s annual opening day Saturday at Homesteader Park.

The parking lot was jam-packed and camp chairs lined the fences in anticipation of the many games played on opening day. Fields of carefully cut grass and raked infields were ready for both girls and boys; most teams had two games to start the season.

Sophie Baumann, wearing the uniform of the T-Ball division Vibes and a bit overwhelmed by the pageantry, wanted to play ball like her brother, Tucker. But she also wanted her father, Chris, to coach her team. That presented an issue for dad because he has been coaching his son’s team for the past four years and Tucker plays in the coach pitch division Woodpeckers.

“Sophie looked at me with her big eyes and asked if I’d coach her team too,” Baumann said.

What choice did he have? While his son, Tucker, is a “baseball freak,” their father wants everything to be equal for his children, so he decided to coach both teams despite the many hours it would add on the field.

“It’s going to be tough to squeeze in all the practices,” he said.

Yet, Baumann has loved baseball since he was young, having been selected to play as a Little League All-Star twice while in grade school and doesn’t mind stretching his schedule thin to spend more time with his children and relive his glory days.

While Baumann was recruited to coach a second team by Sophie, the league was lucky he was willing to do it. There is a shortage of coaches and umpires to volunteer for the always growing league.

“We ended up waiting until the last minute to get coaches, but parents stepped up,” League President Casey Borcher said. “Obviously, none of this is possible without coaches, umpires and volunteers.”

Borcher’s goal is simply to introduce the game and hope to teach children the team aspect.

“There’s nothing better than spring and summertime in Wyoming and being outside and playing baseball with your friends. Our goals are for kids to have fun and get better each day,” he said.

There are a few less players this year due to a large group of kids graduating to play for the American Legion Pioneers’ B and C division teams, but Powell’s Little League is still signing up about 250 players, said Borcher.

With the Pioneers winning back-to-back state championships, most kids in the league have dreams of playing for the A team when they age out of Little League.

“All it takes is for a team to be successful, for the young kids especially ... to see what the potential is down the road,” he said. “Maybe that’ll attract more kids [to Little League].”

While the league has done a great job invigorating the national pastime in Powell, they still have a lot of competition with other sports and activities, Borcher said.

“Trying to draw kids back to baseball is always challenging,” he said.

Borcher loves volunteering for the program. Not only is he helping to guide children into activities that include exercise and don’t involve parking in front of cellphones and computer screens, he said it’s a blast working with the board of directors.

“We have a great board and great camaraderie,” he said. “Everyone is willing to pitch in.”