Derek Lisby has been involved in Little League for nearly his whole life. He started playing at seven years old, coached his kids’ Little League teams, and currently works as a district administrator in Indiana for district seven.
Next year, Lisby begins a new journey. He will start his new role on the board of Little League as the International Field Director. Little League has played an important role in his life, and he believes it is essential to give back to the league that has given so much to him.
The International Little League board has clear missions and values.
“The International Board, which I’m joining, came out with new values: inclusivity and teamwork, and my job going forward is to start studying that and implementing those values,” said Lisby.
Inclusivity goes further than inviting teams from across the world to compete in this prominent tournament. International Little League takes this a step further; the board pays for all of the international teams’ players and coaches to come to Williamsport. The natural next step would be for the international board to financially support the families of the international teams so that they can come over and cheer on their players.
When asked if there could be financial support for the families going, he responded honestly, “I don’t know,” Lisby said. “That would depend on the budget and contracts with other vendors.”
While at Williamsport, we spoke to numerous family members and fans of the Little Leaguers, who discussed some of this tournament’s financial impacts.
“We traveled just under 16,000 kilometers (10,000 miles) to get here; it can be tough,” Amy Dobb, the mother of triplets on the Australian Little League team, said. “I wasn’t surprised we had to pay our own way; at least they pay for the kids, but it can impact families differently.”
The Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, is the premier destination for Little League teams around the world. The tournament does a terrific job supporting international teams and producing high-quality baseball. As the tournament continues to grow, it is reasonable to assume the international board will only support the international teams more under Derek Lisby’s new leadership.
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Photo Credit: Spectators enter the stadium during the Little League World Series Championship Game at Little League International Complex on August 27, 2023 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
