NATCHEZ &045; Two minds may be better than one, but local officials say one league is better than two.

When the Natchez Dixie boys league only had enough boys for three teams a year ago, league officials decided to do something. They called the Vidalia Dixie boys to ask a simple question &045; why not combine forces?

The Natchez and Vidalia Dixie boys leagues, which are for boys 13-14 years old, are still separate. They do separate drafts to make their teams and have their own All-Star teams. But for scheduling purposes the last two years, the leagues’ teams &045; three in Natchez and five this year in Vidalia &045; have been in the same boat.

With numbers steadily decreasing in recent years, John Mark Williams, Commissioner of Natchez Dixie Boys baseball, knew something had to be done. With only three teams, one team would not be able to play on any given night, making a 16-game schedule nearly impossible to finish.

&uot;The participation has just gone downhill, downhill, downhill,&uot; Williams said. &uot;We didn’t have enough to make four teams and our coaches had decided not to do it if that was all we had. We approached Vidalia about the possibility of putting the two leagues together for schedule purposes only and they were receptive.&uot;

Chuck Deweese, who heads up the Vidalia league, said the idea has been very successful.

&uot;It’s working out real well,&uot; DeWeese said. &uot;We don’t have one powerhouse team and Natchez is the same way. It lets the kids see different pitching too and that’s good for the competition.&uot;

Alan Dossett, who coaches a team in the Natchez league, was also instrumental in setting up the combined schedule.

&uot;Last year we combined schedules because we only had three teams and they had five teams. It was better to have eight-team league than us beating each other’s brains out twice a week,&uot; Dossett said.

The steadily declining numbers are worrisome for people involved with youth baseball, and everyone seems to have some idea why boys aren’t coming out for baseball in the numbers they used to.

&uot;My personal theory is there’s so much for them to do now, they’re doing other things, whether it’s other sports or playing video games,&uot; Williams said. &uot;When I was growing up my mom told me to get out there, so we played with the local guys in the yard. Everyone played baseball.&uot;

&uot;Baseball’s died off in the last five years or so. Maybe it’s soccer, maybe Natchez just doesn’t have the same resources of kids to pull on,&uot; Dossett said.

Williams, Dossett and DeWeese all said they hope to continue the combined schedule even if both leagues have enough teams to do separate schedules.

&uot;It’s a great thing for both communities,&uot; Williams said.

&uot;It’s great, especially for the kids,&uot; DeWeese said. &uot;In the past if you only had three or four teams and you played each other four or five times, you would get sick of looking at each other. It made our league from a five-team to an eight-team league. Competition-wise it helps and game-wise, you can get in enough games without having to play someone over and over.&uot;

But despite the success of the combined schedule, none of the men thinks it’s likely other age divisions will combine any time soon, partly because of unwillingness to change and partly because of problems with combining.

&uot;It used to be that Vidalia hated Natchez and Natchez hated Vidalia, though ‘hated’ is too strong a word,&uot; Williams said. &uot;They were big rivals. This might not have worked in the old days, but the last two years everything has worked great.&uot;

DeWeese thinks actually combining &045; that is, having a single All-Star team and common draft &045; would be almost impossible given that the leagues are in different states and are thus under different governing bodies.

&uot;Politically, it would be tough. It would only be a have-to situation,&uot; DeWeese said. &uot;It’s hard to say if it would happen. The only way is if the two states get together to let their be teams from different states.&uot;

DeWeese also fears that Dixie Youth may be headed for extinction.

&uot;I think in the next five to 10 years, Dixie Boys will be a thing of the past,&uot; DeWeese said. &uot;Fewer kids want to keep playing once they get to this age, and those who do are going more to the traveling teams. Ferriday’s a good example. Their

program is struggling just to stay alive.&uot;