TEACHING THE GAME: Westside Baseball Program offers free introduction to area youth

Published 12:40 pm Friday, July 25, 2025

By Jeff Nations

1/21
Westside Baseball program coach Tommy Murrell gives instructions to Alex Ketterman and some of the other children from Bowling Green Parks and Recreation on how to swing a bat at Pedigo Park on Tuesday morning, July 22, 2025. The youth baseball program, which has been going since 2018, is a free clinic for children in the community interested in learning the fundamentals of baseball. GRACE MCDOWELL / BOWLING GREEN DAILY NEWS

The sounds of a baseball smacking neatly into an outstretched glove and the satisfying crack – or ping – of solid contact off a bat is a national tradition stretching back well over 100 years.

A group of volunteers in Bowling Green are doing their part to ensure that American pastime will endure. The Westside Baseball Program which began in 2018, offers free instruction to area youths ages 8-13 as an introduction to the game. With weekly sessions at Pedigo Park throughout the summer, the program aims to help build the foundational skills necessary for players who hope to continue on in the game. And for those who don’t, the weekly practices provide a fun diversion on those hot summer days.

“We deal with those groups and it’s basically intro, fundamental-type baseball,” said Alonzo Webb, who volunteers as a coach in the Westside program. “We have pitching machines, we have coaches to instruct and things like that. It’s like an intro to the game.”

Originally conceived by Rev. William Fishback, the pastor at Old Blue Springs Baptist Church in Metcalfe County, the program has thrived in the years since. In partnership with Bowling Green Parks and Recreation, the program serves mainly city youth but is open to any players who wish to participate.

The Westside program is free and boys and girls can register through the Bowling Green Parks and Recreation website at https://www.bgky.org/bgpr. Instruction sessions are held weekly during the summer school break at Pedigo Park.

“We collaborate with Parks and Rec,” Webb said. “They support us, they bus kids over. We do have supporters and equipment donors. We’re pretty good equipment-wise.”

Email newsletter signup

Westside features a dedicated group of volunteer coaches including Fishback, Selvin Butts, Cardin Harrison, Rodney Grandberry and Tommy Murrell.

Webb said participation has been steady and the program likes to have between 15-25 players at each practice.

“It’s like a feeder program,” Webb said. “We want to get kids interested and get them into a league. That was our objective.”

About Jeff Nations

Sports Editor, Bowling Green Daily News

email author More by Jeff

You Might Like

Print Article