We are a comprehensive sports program sponsored by the City of Pittsburgh Parks & Recreation Department. Funding is also obtained from the Pittsburgh Pirate Charities.
Throughout the year we offer baseball and softball for ages 4-18, soccer for ages 9-18, and "Street Pals" instructional hockey.
Our mission is to offer organized sports programs to as many children as possible. We create the "venues" for the communities to enter their teams. We administer to and pay all expenses related to the operation of "leagues" and game day expenses such as umpires. All we ask is for the teams to show up on time,play and have fun.
An important part of our mission is for our players to experience other neighborhoods and to meet and hopefully get to know kids from other backgrounds and cultures. Our teams travel to many areas in the city along with some nearby suburban areas that are part of the R.B.I. program(Reviving Baseball in the Inner cities). The crown jewel of the program is that we play all of our championship games at PNC Park.
One of our most successful programs is the "Junior Pirates" instructional program. This is a program designed for boys and girls ages 4-7. Different stations are set up on a field for throwing hitting, etc. Kids rotate through the stations and are taught different aspects of the game. There is a strict NO competition rule for this 8 to 10 week program. It is instructional only, although simulated games will be played in the latter part of the sessions.
We have 20 sites throughout the city with app. 1500 kids. BIG League provides each site with bats,helmets and pitching machines, the Pittsburgh Pirate's supply shirts and hats for everyone involved.The Pirates also invite all the participants to a Pirate game each year where they are introduced on the field before a game. Each participant receives 2 tickets for the game.
In the Fall we offer three COED soccer leagues, U12-U15 and U18. In December we host an indoor "Futsal" soccer tournament for high school age boys and girls. We follow this up by offering a "Futsal league in the winter months.
There is more so if you want more info, give us a call.