Tuesday, April 5, 2016 9:30 am

By DAVID HUNTER

Spring is here and that means many things. The weather is warmer, flowers are blooming, and the baseball and softball season is here, including the local Dixie Youth Association. Opening Day is set for April 9 at the community baseball fields here in town.

"From myself and all of the board members, we are very excited to get this 2016 season underway," Cannon County Dixie Youth Association president Jen Baine said via email last week. "The hard work that is put in during the off-season and those final touches leading up to Opening Day are well worth it when games begin."

Nothing beats going to the diamond and watching a baseball and softball game, and this area is blessed with great players and teams who play in the CCDYA. This season is no different, and I am excited to start next week.

Like in all levels of sports, nothing is better than Opening Day, and the CCDYA has big plans for the event on April 9. The Reading Safari Bus will be back along with several vendor booths. Each of the players, coaches and sponsors will take the field as they will be announced in front of a huge crowd. Finally, the T-Ball teams will compete in their first game of the season after the festivities. Everything will begin at 9 a.m. that day.

This year's CCDYA is made up of six T-Ball, seven 5/6 Coach Pitch, four 7/8 Coach Pitch, three 9/10 kid pitch, four 9U softball and three 14U softball teams. The cool thing about this league is seeing the players and coaches play as hard as they can while having fun at the same time.

"For me personally, nothing is more rewarding than to see players having fun on the field," Baine said. "To see our coaches' work hard to teach these young kids not only about baseball/softball but about playing as a team. I have two boys playing this year, T-Ball and Kid Pitch, and seeing their excitement for game day never gets old."

As for the Cannon Courier, we are excited for our coverage this season. Each week, we will present the highlights as we try to get as many players' names in the paper as we can. Of course, we will need the coaches' help, so if there is any defensive, pitching, or other performances which should be mentioned, please fill out the scoring sheet provided. We will be more than happy to get it in the weekly recap. Good luck this season and Play Ball!

2016 CCDYA Teams (Head Coach)

T-Ball

Turning Heads Blue Wahoos (Derrick Mullins)

Roger Hindman Body Shop Inc. Raptors (Megan Cantrell)

First National Bank Rattlers (Hope Young)

Best One Tire Hot Rods (Brittany Duggin)

Rutherford County Monuments Grasshoppers (Jamie Hackney)

DMPI Riverdogs (Ashley Cantrell)

5/6 Coach Pitch

Cityauto.com Blue Rocks (Curtis Warrick)

JW's Collision Center Thunder (Ashley Alford)

Huff & Puff Trucking Inc. Storm (Chesney Witty)

Parsley's Market & Deli Grasshoppers (Jeff Gannon)

Slick Pig Bar-B-Q Bats (Matthew Frogge)

Quick Shop Market Mudhens (Matt Rigsby)

The Auto Shop Rattlers (Jeffery Lorance)

7/8 Coach Pitch

HP Construction Mgt, Inc. Storm (David Lovett)

Murfreesboro Anesthesia Group Rockhounds (Josh Phillips)

Crane Interiors Bulls (Jeremy Morris)

M.T.I. Auto Repair Lake Monsters (Heather Smith)

9/12 Kid Pitch

First Bank Rockies (Jeff Bane)

Scott Equipment Reds (Peter Kyne)

Murfreesboro Anesthesia Group Braves (Tim Powers)

9U Softball Coach Pitch

Community Wellness Clinic Dirt Diamonds (Chad Parker)

Woodbury Funeral Home Rocky Top Reapers (Justin Phillips)

Wildcats (Keith Holt)

Davis Remodeling Blue Blaze (Curtis Warrick)

14U Softball Kid Pitch

DTC Communications Ponytail Express (BJ Bobo)

Sonic Diamond Diggers (Melissa Keller)

Firecrackers (Jeff Todd)