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Youth baseball in Etobicoke is in full swing and the Ontario Baseball Association's four local leagues - Royal York, Bloordale, Rexdale and Martingrove - are all reporting some moderate growth this season.

All four local leagues, which run house league and Toronto Baseball Association (TBA) rep programming in Etobicoke, are filled to capacity this year with the exception of a division or two.

Granted there are more kids playing baseball in Etobicoke however the increase isn't anything dramatic, says Martingrove president, Ron Handzuik. But it's a step in the right direction all the same.

The league is buoyed by the fact its numbers are up, but its girl's softball program continues to experience problems, he said. "It's very challenging," said the league president, but despite the challenges 50 more kids signed on over last. "There's lots of distractions, lots of options for kids now. But we're holding our own."

Bloordale president Stephen Poirier echoed that sentiment.

Girl's softball and T-ball, said Poirier, are both slowly fading into the sunset at Bloordale.

In the early 1990s, he said, the league saw on average 900 players turn out each year. Membership this year has bottomed out at 340, pretty much consistent with last season's figures.

For Martingrove, some 575 kids signed on this year, 110 took part in rep ball.

One of the keys to sustaining today, both leagues agree, is through interlocking with the Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA), which also houses a Weston area loop.

It means more travel and more competition for the kids in a season.

"They get tired of playing the same teams all the time. It makes things a bit more exciting," said Handzuik. "That's been the key, interlocking. We don't profess to be a league all to our own we belong to Etobicoke Baseball Association."

Martingrove's executive, he added, has also begun providing coaching certification and player clinics, and recently put together a manual outlining the game's rules to newcomers, which, he said, is going a long way in promoting the league and sport.

Both league leaders say another key to sustaining is ensuring a positive baseball experience for everyone involved. "If you get them coming back for a few years you pretty much got them," Hanzuik said on retaining players and volunteers. "If you lose them in the first year you may never see them again.

"Nobody has the right answers but these are the kinds of things I'm doing and sharing wih the EBA," he added.

Though it has lots of support at the select level parents, Bloordale is also experiencing some difficulties retaining its volunteers. "It's a problem. You can't re-train people every year. I think that will hurt us in the long term."

Martingrove, which uses Centennial Park, Silvercreek Park and Martingrove Gardens baseball diamonds, commemorated a half century Saturday at Carmen Bush/Richview Reservoir. The Toronto Blue Jays' On the Road traveling baseball clinic/fun fair assisted in the season kick off.

For more info on baseball in Etobicoke visit etobicokebaseball.com