Leagues on outs over boundary

It was 1974 when Kernersville Little League proposed a trade with neighboring Walkertown Little League.

A player who wanted to be in the Kernersville league lived in a section that was part of Walkertown's district for Little League. So the leagues worked out a swap: Kernersville gave up the rights to the Pine Knolls development, some woods and a creek, and obtained two streets, allowing the boy to play in its league.

Growth and development over the years, though, turned the woods and creek into the Abington and Smoke Rise subdivisions, which, along with Pine Knolls, brought hundreds of families to Kernersville addresses -- and within the boundaries of the Walkertown Little League.

Even so, boys in those subdivisions would frequently wind up on Kernersville teams, preferring to play with their friends and schoolmates at fields right near their homes rather than travel to Walkertown. In the process, they gave up their eligibility to play in the all-star teams formed at season's end and which could go on to compete for a shot at the Little League World Series.

Girls could play for Kernersville, because Walkertown had no Little League softball teams. The Walkertown officials would sign waivers allowing the girls to play outside of their home district, which straddles northeast Forsyth County and northwest Guilford County.

Things went on fine until this year, when two things happened.

First, Kernersville's proposal to redraw district lines and recapture the Abington, Smoke Rise and Pine Knoll areas was rebuffed by league officials after Walkertown objected.

Second, Walkertown started softball in two girls' age groups, 7-8 and 9-10, and said it would sign waivers allowing only older girls to play in Kernersville. Younger girls would not be granted waivers, no matter whether they had played the year before in Kernersville or whether they had older sisters playing there.

Game on.

"The boundary thing drives me nuts,'' says Steve Fischvogt, a longtime Kernersville coach now leading a 10- to 12-year-old majors team. "Just a few people establish the rules, and I'm not sure Little League has an understanding of parents' needs today. Little League's boundaries, constant rule changes and regulations are making the better kids leave and go to play travel ball instead of Little League.''

George Groce, the District 2 administrator for North Carolina Little League, has a special perspective on the dispute, having his own roots in Kernersville, where he once served as president. He said that the 1974 swap was a mistake for Kernersville.

"I told them at the time that they changed the boundaries to get that one kid some wanted that it was a mistake," Groce said. "But the land wasn't a real consideration at the time.''

Bad feelings have been building even before Walkertown started its softball program, he said.

"Both WLL and KLL are immovable objects when it comes to this,'' he said. "It runs deep and has gone on for so many years that it has taken on a personality of its own. I totally understand both positions.''

This year, Walkertown's combined Little League programs have more than 400 children; Kernersville, which had topped 600, is down to 565, said John Joyce, the current league president.

Neil Glass lives in Abington. His daughter, who's 14, has long played softball for Kernersville. His two sons, now 12 and 10, gave up all-star eligibility and play for Kernersville, too, because it would have been too hard on the family to work out schedules and practices at different locations.

That's the common scenario for parents in the disputed areas.

In fact, Joyce himself is one such parent. He and his family moved to Kernersville from Maryland in 2007, and they live in Abington.

The first year in town, they followed the rules, daughter playing softball in Kernersville and son playing for Walkertown.

"Finally, we had enough,'' because of the logistical problems, Joyce said. "Our son said he would give up being all-star eligible so that he could play at KLL, too."

For their part, Walkertown officials say they've been as accommodating as they can be. Todd Pickard, the president of Walkertown Little League, said that his organization signed the releases allowing older girls to play for Kernersville, because there are only two age groups this year in his league.

"We tried to release their brothers, too, because it seemed like the right thing to do,'' Pickard said. "However, powers-that-be higher up denied those waivers."

The failure of the two sides to agree on redrawing boundaries also has caused hard feelings.

"This was the year that some of the districts had to be redrawn, and we thought it would be a good opportunity to discuss the Abington area,'' said Brad Rodgers, the treasurer of Kernersville Little League. "The kids that live in this area have Kernersville addresses and are in Kernersville school districts. Many of them want to play with their schoolmates."

Walkertown officials said they feel for the families affected, but they want to follow the boundary lines set by Little League officials. "It's bad business to give away a neighborhood like Abington with about 400 homes in it," said Eric Freeman, Walkertown's player-agent coordinator.

Pickard said that Walkertown is planning for improvements as its league grows.

"We're here to give all of the kids in the community an opportunity to play ball and to follow the rules to the best of our ability,'' he said. "We don't set the rules and don't all agree with the rules, but have to follow the rules."

Despite the boundary disputes, the two leagues are making some efforts to work together. For the first time, the two organizations will have interleague games to increase the level of competition. And though children in the disputed areas might not wind up playing where they would like, the number of families stuck between two leagues should decrease as Walkertown's softball program grows.

Until then, officials on both sides said they are trying to follow rules without letting emotion overtake the situation.

"We do want to be good neighbors, but it's a touchy thing," Pickard said.

■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.