10-year-old Ayden Wright plays for Gulfport Little League with his father, Herb, the league’s head coach.
Abby Baker
Gulfport Little League player Ayden Wright wants to be a professional baseball player or an engineer when he grows up.
Herb Wright, his father and GLL head coach, sighs and hopes for the latter, but he’s loved working alongside his son for the past four years.
Like Father, Like Son
Wright, a chatty kid who lives in his baseball shirts, started playing as a toddler in t-ball for Northeast Little League.
“It’s a decent sport,” Wright said. “I like it a lot.”
He attends St. Petersburg Christian School and will begin playing baseball for his school next year, a year earlier than they let most elementary-aged students.
“He really wanted to play; he loves baseball and fishing,” Herb said. “Those are the only two things he wants to do.”
It was three decades ago that Herb himself was a St. Petersburg kid who only wanted to play baseball.
“I’d say it’s brought us together,” Herb Wright said.
Abby Baker
He played with BayPoint Little League, and slung his bat with Trevor Mallory, a St. Pete native and retired Toronto Blue Jays baseball player. Flash forward, and Mallory’s the president of Gulfport Little League.
Mallory spearheaded the return of Gulfport Little League.
Herb enrolled his son in Gulfport’s league, and when Mallory invited Herb to coach, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
“Some of the kids we started with are the same kids we have now,” Herb said. “We’re growing together, me and the kids.”
That includes his son. Wright’s hit seven home runs this season – as of right now, Gulfport has an undefeated season: 11-0 with one tie. One of those home runs was over the fence in Seminole, something that Herb’s not yet seen a kid manage to do since the league’s return.
“It melts my heart,” Wright’s mother, Carla Mobley-Wright, told The Gabber. “He’s doing so well.”
Gulfport’s Back
After returning to existence in 2018, GLL boomed. The first year there were only two teams; but the in 2019, the league saw six teams and more than 80 kids.
COVID-19 threw a wrench in that growth, says Mallory.
“People were worried about coming back after COVID,” he added. “But now we’re coming back. Parents are trying to register now, but it’s the middle of the season. We’ll see what happens next season.”
At present, Gulfport Little League has three teams and more than 40 kids.
Most of those are Gulfport and St. Petersburg residents. GLL has boundaries that cover Gulfport and parts of St. Petersburg.
“We have pretty strict boundaries,” Mallory said. “If there’s an incident where someone really wants to play for us, we’ll make an exception.”
Gulfport Little League is back for the fourth year after a hiatus. Participation numbers continue to climb, says president Trevor Mallory.
Abby Baker
Mallory says city support makes Gulfport Little League possible.
“I know the importance of giving kids the opportunity to play,” Mallory said. “What keeps me coming back is the love we get from the city. Without the City of Gulfport and its people and businesses, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
According to Mallory, the longest sponsor of Gulfport Little League is Caldwell Realty, the name on the back of the player’s jersey’s. O’Maddy’s Bar & Grille is the largest sponsor in terms of funding.
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