It’s a full-time job, but somebody’s gotta’ do it, and Dave Cresci does it with Lehigh pride.

Cresci has been president of Lehigh Sports Association, which includes Lehigh Little League, since 2019, and also serves as an assistant coach for the 12U all-star baseball team that just completed its run in the Section 6 Tournament on July 18 after being crowned District 20 champions on July 7.

“It’s a balancing act, mainly from the standpoint of time management, and obviously being a coach on this team, more emotionally invested, but I can say that I’ve been in the league for a number of years prior to being president, and you still get to know the kids, you still get to see the kids grow up, you still love them just the same as you would the 13 or so kids that you’re coaching,” Cresci said. “It’s a little bit more poignant when you get to do both.”

July 18 was an emotional afternoon for Lehigh when they were eliminated from sectionals after losing by just one run. But emotions were elevated at other times throughout districts and sectionals when calls by umpires or decisions by coaches were questioned from time to time.

“The Little League rule book governs the whole thing. You’re not allowed to argue with any judgment call that an umpire makes. That’s their judgment and we respect that,” said Cresci. “What you can argue with is the interpretation of a rule or if a rule’s being misapplied, so whenever you see a stoppage of play, and questions being asked, or people talking at the desk, it’s either one of two things- one: checking pitch counts or subs, or two: you’ve got some issue raised related to the rules.”

A rules-related issue did emerge in Lehigh’s 10U all-star tournament when there was a stoppage of play with the ball getting called out-of-play when it went under the fence.

“In my role as president, no, [I don’t step in] other than to advise the coaches, and that did happen at Pennridge, and it was to help our coaching staff understand our interpretation of the rules and what they may want to communicate back to the tournament game director,” Cresci said.

Another rules-related issue surfaced when it appeared a pinch runner was inserted into the game by Pennridge illegally, but it was then determined the substitution was a misinterpretation of the rule.

“They just unwound it, so whenever there’s an illegal substitution, the job of the game director and the coaches is to not penalize the kids. It’s to unwind it if you can, and then continue playing, and that’s what they did,” Cresci explained.

There are some things, however, that can’t be debated.

“Generally speaking, you can’t argue balls and strikes, you can’t argue if an umpire judges a player may have left early. Those things just happen,” Cresci said. “But if they’re misapplying a rule, and you have a different interpretation of it, you can make a protest, they’ll review your protest, and if it’s not adjudicated right then and there, then they start to call up toward Williamsport. First they go to the region, then they go to Williamsport.”

Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series, is always the goal for 12U all-star teams.

“We have a very big legacy, a very successful all-star program that we’ve put together every year for decades with a lot of district banners, appearances in states, and regions, and so forth,” said Cresci. “It’s stressful from that standpoint of trying to uphold that legacy and continue it. There’s a little bit of pressure there. But we have a community like no other.”

Lehigh’s legacy spans almost 70 years.

“I have to say it’s like a full-time job on top of my full-time job,” Cresci laughed. “We’re very proud of this league. We’ve been in Little League since 1952, so it’s pretty impressive. We had over 300 players this spring, we’re registering kids now for fall ball, and the interest is really strong. It’s just really nice.

“Baseball’s a great sport, softball’s a great sport, and to give an opportunity for the community to come to one place at Lehigh and play- brothers, sisters, cousins, the whole thing- we have a lot of that. It’s very much a family atmosphere and we’re proud to have a good instructional community program but also competitive baseball that can make a run in these tournaments.”