It’s a situation that’s reminiscent of the Bad News Bears, for those readers old enough to remember those movies. (The premise is an ex-minor leaguer takes a group of kids and turns them into a championship team.)

Now Whitehorse has its own version of those memorable movies.

The Yukon Little League (YLL) holds practices and games Tuesday and Thursday from 5:30-7 p.m. (ages 11-12) and 7 to 8:30 p.m. (13-16) at the Kwanlin Dün field in McIntyre.

Sara Skelton, chair of Yukon Little League, spoke with the Star during a recent practice.

“We started a little league MLB-style baseball league. We’ve been working on officially starting the league for about a year. We had a lot of logistical things we had to take care of, for example, starting a nonprofit, getting the insurance, getting the charter approval. This is the first little league that’s ever been in the Yukon. So Little League International, Little League Canada were amazing and very helpful to get it started, because there’s quite a bit of paperwork and things to do.

“We’re just really excited.”

The Skelton family are from California. So how does a family from California end up in the Yukon?

“I’m from Watson Lake originally, and my husband Clark is the head coach and he’s from California,” related Skelton.

“So I’ve been out of the territory for over 20 years and Clark has been coaching baseball in California since our kids were really little. Our older son Tommy became obsessed with baseball when he was about three. He got a little plastic bat and ball and he would practice and we’d have to stop him after an hour and a half, two hours; he became so obsessed.

“So our kids started playing and Clark started coaching and we became really involved and we had a great group of parents, a great group of kids.

“And now that we’re back in the Yukon, our kids just really wanted to keep playing baseball.”

“Home Run” Henry Skelton is nine years old and his brother Tommy is 11.

Clearly, their boys are the main motivation for starting baseball in the Yukon.

“They just love baseball,” said Skelton. “Just being a part of the baseball community was so positive for them, for their mental health, getting them off the screens. It’s just been such a positive and fun thing to do as a family; we just wanted it to keep going.”

There are currently about 50 kids registered in the league.

The registration fee is only $60.

The league also supplies most of the equipment, except the gear the kids are able to bring themselves.

“The big goal for this league is to keep it really affordable, and very inclusive. We want kids to be able to come out and not worry about the cost of things,” explained Skelton.

To that end, YLL recently got a grant from the the Yukon Community Development Fund for over $27,000 worth of gear. “That’s been just a Godsend because (gear) here is so expensive,” said Skelton. “And it’s really important because it’s a hard ball and they’re throwing it fast and hitting it fast. The kids have to be safe and protected.”

Skelton said they have four official teams right now.

“We’ve been doing a lot of drills.”

“We’ve got a lot of great kids with great attitudes that want to play. All the kids are here because they love baseball.”

As she was speaking, one boy hammered the ball out to right field.

“We have some incredibly talented kids,” related Skelton.

The boy (who smoked the ball on multiple occasions) is Taiga Burrman, who won a gold medal in snowshoeing at the 2023 Arctic Winter Games and also competed in track at the 2022 Canada Games.

“He’s incredibly athletic,” said Skelton.

Burrman, 16, related how he got into the league.

“I always wanted to do baseball but there was never a league, so when Clark said they were gonna open up a league I was like, ‘Hell yeah, let’s do it.’

“Baseball’s almost everything for me. I watch the Blue Jays almost every day. Always look at the scores.”

Burrman dreams of being involved in pro baseball some day.

“That’d be awesome. Or even being part of a front office. That’d be fun. Anything that (had) to do with baseball would be amazing.”

Sara described her husband’s passion for the game of baseball.

“Clark loves to coach and he loves coaching our kids and he’s really passionate about baseball. We’re a baseball family.”

Clark Skelton used to play baseball at Modesto Junior College and semi-pro ball in Stockton, California, as a utility player, mostly in the outfield and at second base.

“I could pretty much play everything.”

He said the family moved up here during the pandemic in August of 2020.

“We got the opportunity to move up here and just came.”

The turning point in the Yukon came when their boys were playing fast-pitch.

“They were just like, ‘I really miss baseball.’” recalled Clark. “So we were like, ‘Let’s just start it.’

“Anything in the summer for kids is great, to be outside and everybody’s having a good time, having fun running around. So that’s kind of our goals. Kids have fun.”

Meanwhile, YLL is looking for a more permanent home field.

To reference another baseball movie (Field of Dreams), “If you build it, they will come.”

To that end, the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council has given the YLL permission to use a field on Nisutlin Drive in Riverdale until 2026.

“We have some amazing local companies that are donating time and labour to get that field ready,” said Sara.

One of those companies is Arctic Backhoe.

Fencing, dugouts and bleachers may be donated as well.

They are hoping to have the field ready for next season.

The Skeltons pointed out that they are very happy with the support Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council have given the league.

Future plans include playing at the Canada Games Centre in the winter.

They are also hoping to put a team together for the 2025 Canada Games.

“That’s what we’re working towards as a goal,” related Clark. “But right now I just want them to have fun and learn baseball.”

Sara added a huge thank you to all the volunteers who tirelessly put in the work to make the league a reality.

Coming up next week is a two-game showdown between a team from Haines, Alaska and 13 to 16-year-old YLL players. The two-game series takes place July 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. at the Kwanlin Dün ball field in McIntyre.

It’s still to be determined whether the Yukon Little League follows in the footsteps of the Bad News Bears and captures victory at an Outside tournament.

Here’s hoping ‘history’ repeats itself.