Historic Westside little league helps change lives

Southern Nevada has had enough bad news over the past 12 months. Occasional reminders that there remain many, many Las Vegans climbing mountains each day to make this a better community help soothe the soul during these tumultuous days.

Consider the Bolden Little League in the Historic Westside.

The controversy over policing in minority areas was among the biggest stories of 2020. But in one local neighborhood, the police are using the national pastime to allay the mistrust that many residents harbor for law enforcement.

“I think it’s very important to understand that what we’ve been doing the last few years has actually changed some people’s lives, and it’s brought the community together,” Mario Berlanga told the Review-journal.

Mr. Berlanga, the owner of Mario’s Westside Market on Martin Luther King Boulevard, is also the president of the Bolden Little League. The league was formed a few years back when Metro police Capt. Robin Plummer took over command for the area and was searching for ways to improve the department’s relationship with residents. Mr. Berlanga offered that the neighborhood hadn’t had a Little League team in a decade, and the idea was born in 2016.

Since then, the league — named for the late Larry Bolden, the first Black man to achieve the rank of deputy chief at Metro — has grown from three or four teams to 15. Six Metro police officers are among the volunteer coaches. There are no fees and equipment is free to any player who needs it.

“In the past few years, I’ve been able to watch us get this sense of community that we didn’t really have on the Westside,” said Silvia Elzy, who has three sons participating. “And even after the season, we’ve always had officers call and text to keep us in the loop on other events in the community and also to let us know if anything dangerous was happening in the area. They don’t have to do that.”

The results have been positive for all involved and created a more trusting environment. “What we were trying to accomplish, we did,” Mr. Berlanga said. “And not only on the kids’ side, but on the officers’ side.”

Like kids in every other Southern Nevada youth sports league, the Bolden ballplayers had their season canceled last year thanks to the pandemic. But they’re rip-roaring to go as this season approaches, with tryouts set for the first week of March and Opening Day planned for early April — with all the necessary pandemic precautions, of course.

The Bolden Little League is a testament to the power of small acts of virtue and humanity. Sometimes a match can create as much light as a torch.

The views expressed above are those of the Las Vegas Review-journal.

All other opinions expressed on this page are those of the individual artist or author indicated.