When Brianna Schilling started compiling names of youngsters for the Little League season, she was excited to see the largest number of sign-ups in the past 10 years. But while the number of athletes was exciting, the number of volunteers has come up short.

“We need a minimum of 13 volunteers for each game that is played,” Schilling said. “And, unfortunately, we had to cancel the Tuesday (May 27) game. We just didn’t have enough volunteers.”

Schilling wears multiple hats with the Wrangell Little League, most notably as president. She understands one reason there may have been fewer volunteers for the season.

“In order for someone to volunteer, they need to pass the Little League background check, so we can be sure they are a safe individual,” she explained. “And this year, we also had to start providing Little League training for each volunteer. And I think that may have been an extra obstacle that discouraged some people.”

Typically, Schilling said the two volunteer roles most difficult to fill are umpire and game statistics bookkeeper. But there are other, easier roles, such as scoreboard operator and concessions.

“I think the bookkeeping job may be discouraging to some people, because they might have a lack of confidence in their abilities,” she said. “You have to have some understanding of the game in order to be able to keep track of everything that is happening.”

The good news is that Schilling can — and will — train volunteers to fill that role.

“I think it’s important for everyone to know that we don’t expect perfection,” she explained. “We understand that we are dealing with volunteers. So, we really don’t expect everything to be perfect.”

In addition to needing volunteers for each game, she would also like to see more people from the community volunteer to be part of the Little League board of directors.

“Currently, our board is made up of five people,” she noted. “I would love to see us pull in more people so we can have more input on the board.”

With the season ending June 14, Schilling said she plans to see that each remaining game is played as scheduled.

“Our schedule is, games at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” she said. “It would be nice to see more volunteers. Hopefully we can have just as many kids playing next year and we can really get something going.”

Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Schilling at 907-305-0282.