Rip Robertson is the Parks and Recreation Director for the City of Tucker. He brings to the job years of experience in Parks and Rec, as well as Public Works. Rip is a former Military Intelligence Analyst for the U.S. Army and is active with the Army Reserve.
One of the hallmarks of a strong Parks and Recreation program is its youth sports leagues. Here in Tucker, we have two of metro Atlanta’s most storied leagues in TYSA and Tucker Football League. But, while we’re glad to have those great leagues call Tucker home, those aren’t what I’m talking about when I talk about measuring the strength of our city Parks and Rec Department.
Since Tucker assumed responsibility for its Parks and Recreation assets from DeKalb County three years ago, we have actively sought to host our own city sports leagues. In 2019 we offered youth basketball for the very first time. While enrollment was relatively low, we had enough young men and women sign up to field two basketball teams. They competed against established teams from cities like Doraville and Hapeville. While we took our lumps against these seasoned players, our youngsters learned a lot about the game and did Tucker proud.
This year we more than doubled our signups for our winter basketball league. Unfortunately, because of COVID, we had to shift to a 3-on-3 format rather than the traditional 5-on-5. But excitement is high and, with practices already underway, I’m seeing a lot of potential in these kids.
So, what’s next after basketball? I’ve long wanted to start a City of Tucker baseball league. Thanks to our Mayor and City Council, we have been able to make a series of improvements to the fields at Fitzgerald Park and Kelley Cofer Park, including the major investment of brand-new fencing. So with our fields looking great and baseball being more socially distant than just about any other sport, what better time to go ahead and jump right in?
If you go to our website at www.tuckerga.gov/parks, you’ll find registration information for our very first city baseball league. Our athletes will have games and practices just like any other league; the biggest difference is they’ll play with the Tucker name emblazoned across their uniforms. That’s really something special.
I’ve seen baseball really flourish in other Parks and Rec operations and I know it can – and will – be successful here. Even if you don’t have a kid playing in our league, I hope to see you out at the ballfields this spring root, root, rooting for the home team!
