[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 43, Number 26 (Monday, July 2, 2007)]
[Pages 869-870]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks at Opening Day of 2007 White House Tee-Ball

June 27, 2007

    Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to opening day right here on the South 
Lawn of the White House. Jonas Brothers, thank you guys. It's good to 
see you. Proud you're here. As usual, you did a fantastic job with the 
national anthem. Just give them a hand.
    I'm proud to be here with the commissioner of tee-ball today, two-
time Olympic gold medalist, Michele Smith. Thanks for coming, Michele. 
Proud to be with you.
    First, we want to welcome to tee-ball here on the South Lawn the 
Bobcats from Allegany County Little League, Cumberland, Maryland. And we 
want to welcome their mighty opponent from Luray, Virginia, the Red 
Wings. The commissioner and I wish the girls all the very best. We want 
to thank the coaches, and of course we want to thank the parents for 
coming. We welcome you here--opening day of tee-ball on the South Lawn.
    I do want to thank the Arizona Wildcat national champs for joining 
us today. Taryne Mowatt, the coach at first base--Taryne, thanks for 
coming. Congratulations--Caitlin Lowe, the third base coach. We've got 
bench coaches; we've got the team. We want to wish you all the very best 
next year. For--that would be a three-peat, right? Good luck to you all. 
Thanks for setting such a fine example.
    One reason that we invited the Wildcats to come today to honor these 
girls softball teams is because it's in the Nation's interest to promote 
women athletics. We're a big believer in Title IX programs. We think 
it's good for America that our women are playing sports. And the best 
way to convince women to play sports is to start early. So these champs 
are here to encourage these young girls to play hard, play often, and 
play good, and one day you may be national champs as well. So thanks for 
coming. We're glad you're here.
    I do want to thank Mayor Ralph Dean of Luray. I forgot to welcome 
you, Mr. Mayor. We're proud you're here. Thanks for coming. We want to 
thank Girl Scouts of USA for joining us today. Girls, thanks for bearing 
the colors. We thank you for coming. We're proud you're here. Thanks for 
being Scouts.
    And by the way, we're about to get the first pitch in. And Meredith 
Cripe is going to give me the ball in a minute. Meredith, we're really 
glad you're here. Thanks for coming. It's a big day to be here to put 
out the first pitch on opening day, and we're glad we selected you.
    I do want to thank Hannah Storm, the announcer today. Hannah, thanks 
for lending your talent--mother of three soon-to-be all-star softball 
players. We're glad you're here. We want to thank the Little League 
International staff. Thanks for putting on this event. Thanks for 
supporting Little League baseball. Thanks for helping our kids 
understand the blessings of exercise and team sports.
    I do want to thank representatives from the YWCA, the Boys and Girls 
Club of America, and Girls on the Run.
    And finally, after this event, the commissioner and I are going to 
present each of you all a token of our appreciation for you coming, and 
we're also going to say thanks to Erica Minor, who is the youth 
volunteer. We like to honor people who serve their neighbors, love a 
neighbor like they'd like to be loved themselves. And Erica is such a 
person.
    And now, before we begin the game and before you give me the ball, 
Meredith, we're going to have the Little League Pledge. Are you ready? 
Ready to go? Here we go.

[At this point, the pledge was recited.]

    Play ball.

Note: The President spoke at 3:16 p.m. on the South Lawn at the White 
House. In his remarks, he referred to entertainers the Jonas Brothers;

[[Page 870]]

Meredith Cripe, member, Chantilly, Virginia, Little League Challenger 
League; and Hannah Storm, anchor, CBS News ``The Early Show.''