WARNER ROBINS -- For one family, moving 257 miles to Warner Robins has been made a little easier.

Jeff Sparrow was a board member at the Summerville Little League in South Carolina. When his two boys, Griffin, 7, and Max, 9, found out they were moving to Warner Robins, Max got on the computer and did a little research.

Once they realized they were going to play in the same league that won the 2007 Little League Baseball World Series, things got a whole lot brighter.

“He was real excited,” Jeff Sparrow said.

The first stop the family made in town was the Little League International Southeastern Region Headquarters. Sparrow is a reservist with the Air Force Reserve Command. They got in town just in time for tryouts.

After learning of Sparrow’s involvement in his previous league, he was asked to be and now is an assistant coach for the C-ball White Sox, along with coach Jimmy Dunn, also the president of Warner Robins American Little League.

“To me, this is the best age,” Sparrow said of the 7- and 8-year-olds he coaches.

The players start out hesitant, but by the end of the season, they want to slide into every base.

An avid Atlanta Braves fan, Max was outraged at wearing his team’s Phillies uniform. His dad has promised a bonfire to get rid of the jersey once the season is over. He keeps telling his son, “Remember, it’s the Warner Robins Phillies.”

Because Little League operates on the same system, the transition from Summerville to Warner Robins has been made easier.

“All Little Leagues set the groundwork by offering coaches classes,” said Sparrow.

The rules are the same from league to league as well.

He said all of the people he has met so far at WRALL have been supportive.

“Everybody just wants to help,” he said.

To contact writer Angela Woolen, call 923-5650.