Southwest Washington · Washington
Youth Sports in Longview: Leagues, Facilities & What Families Need (2026)
Youth sports in Longview, Washington offer more than most families expect from a city of 38,000. Between two competing high schools, a soccer association with nearly five decades of history, and a parks system covering 645 acres, the infrastructure here is genuine — not just a handful of recreational leagues bolted together. The surprise for relocating families is usually how organized and community-rooted the programs feel given Longview's size.
What shapes the sports landscape most is the dual-high-school dynamic. R.A. Long and Mark Morris High School both compete in the Greater St. Helens 2A conference, creating a healthy sense of rivalry that filters all the way down to youth leagues. The key organizations families will encounter include the Greater Longview Soccer Association (GLSA), Longview Youth Baseball (affiliated with Babe Ruth), the Longview Girls Softball Association, and the Longview School District's own athletic programs. The YMCA fills the early-childhood gap with introductory soccer and baseball for kids ages three and up.
This guide covers the full youth sports ecosystem — recreational leagues, competitive pathways, high school athletics, and Parks & Rec programs — for families deciding whether Longview is the right fit and for parents who've already moved here and need to figure out where to sign up first. Whether you're looking for a no-pressure Saturday morning soccer program or a travel softball pathway, here's what to expect.
| Organization | Sport | Age Range | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater Longview Soccer Association (GLSA) | Soccer | Elementary–High School | Rec / Competitive |
| Longview Soccer Club (LSC) | Soccer | Youth–Teen | Competitive/Club |
| YMCA Youth Soccer | Soccer | Ages 3–5 | Recreational |
| Longview Youth Baseball / Longview Babe Ruth | Baseball | Youth–Teen (to 18) | Rec / Competitive |
| YMCA T-Ball & Coach Pitch | Baseball | Ages 3–6 | Recreational |
| Little League – Lewis River LL | Baseball | Youth | Rec / Competitive |
| Longview Girls Softball Association (LGSA) | Softball | Youth–Teen | Rec / Competitive |
| CC Devils Fastpitch | Softball | Youth–Teen | Competitive/Travel |
| Kelso Hoops Youth Basketball League | Basketball | Youth | Recreational |
| Longview Parks & Recreation Youth Programs | Multi-Sport | Various | Recreational |
The Greater Longview Soccer Association has been running youth soccer in Longview since 1976 and is the city's largest youth sports organization. GLSA offers recreational leagues spanning elementary through high school age groups, with an emphasis on technical development and values-based coaching — responsibility, sportsmanship, and leadership are explicitly built into their curriculum. The Longview Soccer Club (LSC) runs alongside GLSA as a more competitive club pathway, with registration available at their clubhouse at 920 7th Ave, Longview.
GLSA and LSC both use fields within the city's parks system; Lake Sacajawea Park and the broader west-side parks corridor are common practice and game-day venues. The YMCA supplements the youngest age group with a preschool soccer program (ages 3–5) featuring equal playtime and Saturday games — a solid first exposure before kids age into GLSA's main leagues.
Spring registration typically opens in February, and the recreational leagues tend to fill quickly in the elementary age divisions. Families new to Longview should register as soon as windows open — waiting until April has historically meant getting placed on waitlists for the most in-demand age groups.
Competitive track: Players with travel aspirations typically move through LSC's club structure and connect with regional competitive leagues in the Clark County / Southwest Washington corridor.
Longview Youth Baseball operates under the Babe Ruth umbrella, with the local affiliate — Longview Babe Ruth — covering youth through age 18. The 2026 spring registration is active at longviewyouthbaseball.org, and the organization explicitly offers scholarship applications so that cost is never a barrier to participation. Washington Babe Ruth District 1 encompasses all of Cowlitz County, meaning post-season tournament pathways connect directly into a competitive regional bracket.
For younger players, the YMCA's T-Ball (ages 3–4) and Coach Pitch (ages 5–6) programs serve as the on-ramp, with registration opening in February. The Little League affiliate — Lewis River LL — also serves the area for families who prefer the Little League structure over Babe Ruth.
Registration for spring baseball typically runs from February through March, with the season starting in April. The most competitive age divisions fill faster than recreational ones, so families aiming for a specific team should register within the first week of the window opening.
Competitive track: Longview Babe Ruth feeds into Washington Babe Ruth's West Division post-season structure, with regional tournament play connecting to state competition.
The Longview Girls Softball Association (LGSA), headquartered at 920 7th Avenue, is the primary recreational and competitive softball organization for girls in the city. LGSA's mission is explicitly competitive-development focused — building skills alongside citizenship — and it has a long track record in the community. The CC Devils Fastpitch organization, founded in 2024, adds a newer travel-oriented option for players looking at a higher competitive level earlier.
LGSA games and practices typically use city park facilities on the west side of Longview. The CC Devils operate as an independent travel program and play at facilities across Southwest Washington and the Portland metro area.
Spring softball registration through LGSA generally opens in February alongside baseball, with tryouts for competitive divisions running in late February. The CC Devils Fastpitch program runs its own tryout schedule — families interested should monitor their organization directly for 2026 fall tryout dates.
Competitive track: CC Devils Fastpitch provides a direct pathway into travel ball for players ready to compete regionally, with games ranging across Cowlitz, Clark, and Multnomah counties.
Youth basketball in the Longview area is primarily served by the Kelso Hoops Youth Basketball League, which draws from both Longview and Kelso given their geographic proximity. This is the thinnest sport in Longview's youth landscape — there's no standalone Longview-based recreational basketball league with the same organizational depth as GLSA or Longview Babe Ruth.
Most gym-based youth basketball in Longview runs through the Parks & Recreation Department's seasonal programs and the YMCA. The Mark Morris High School pool and gymnasium complex also hosts youth programs at the high school level.
Registration for the Kelso Hoops league typically runs in the fall for winter-season play. Families looking for year-round basketball development should also check the Longview Parks & Rec seasonal schedule, which adds gym time and skills programming when court availability allows.
Competitive track: Competitive youth basketball players in this area most commonly connect with AAU programs operating out of the Portland-Vancouver metro — a 50-minute drive to the region's deeper club basketball infrastructure.
Longview is home to two public high schools, and both compete in the Greater St. Helens 2A conference under WIAA governance. R.A. Long High School (2903 Nichols Blvd) and Mark Morris High School (1602 Mark Morris Ct) share Longview Memorial Stadium for football — a facility that was fully renovated in summer 2023, replacing the grass field and track with turf. The annual matchup between these two schools is known locally as the "Civil War," and it's genuinely one of the bigger community events on the Longview sports calendar each fall.
R.A. Long, the older of the two schools with 897 students, offers 26 varsity sports across fall, winter, and spring seasons. Cross country teams run their home courses at Lake Sacajawea Park. Basketball games alternate between the R.A. Long "Lumberdome" gymnasium and Mark Morris's Ted M. Natt Court, with the Civil War basketball matchup drawing strong community attendance. Mark Morris (923 students) shares a league-designated swimming venue — the Mark Morris pool hosts swim meets for Greater St. Helens 2A schools. The football and cross country programs at both schools have traditionally been among the stronger draws for student participation.
The Longview Parks & Recreation Department, headquartered at 2920 Douglas Street (phone: 360-442-5400), manages 18 parks, 23 playgrounds, and 645 acres of city parkland — a significant footprint for a city of Longview's size. The department runs seasonal youth programs separate from the private leagues, primarily targeting kids who aren't yet in organized league play or who want supplemental activity outside of their primary sport.
Named programs through Parks & Rec include youth summer camps, seasonal sports clinics, and after-school programming tied to city park facilities. Registrations can be completed at the Parks Department office on Douglas Street or through the City Hall utility payment mailbox at 1525 Broadway. Financial assistance is available, consistent with Longview's approach to removing cost barriers across its youth programming landscape.
Families relocating to Longview with kids in youth sports quickly learn that proximity to fields, gyms, and recreation centers isn't just a convenience — it shapes daily life and long-term home value. Neighborhoods like West Longview and Highlands tend to draw strong interest from active families because of their access to parks and community amenities, and homes there reflect that demand. Columbia Heights East is another area worth watching, particularly for families wanting a quieter setting without sacrificing reasonable drive times to facilities. In these pockets, well-priced homes under $400,000 can move within days, so being prepared matters more than most buyers expect.
That preparation really starts with a lender conversation before you ever walk through a front door. Knowing your full monthly payment picture — which includes property taxes, homeowner's insurance, any HOA dues, and how your loan is structured — gives you a realistic number to plan around, not just a loan amount you technically qualify for. There's a real difference between what you're approved for and what fits your family's actual budget, especially when you're also budgeting for registration fees, gear, and travel ball seasons. When the right home appears near the
| Sport | Organization | Registration Window | Season Dates | Where to Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soccer (Rec) | GLSA | February–March 2026 | Spring: April–June | longviewsoccer.com |
| Soccer (Club) | Longview Soccer Club | Year-round | Fall/Spring | 920 7th Ave, Longview |
| Soccer (Ages 3–5) | YMCA | February–March | Spring Saturdays | Longview YMCA |
| Baseball (Youth–18) | Longview Babe Ruth | February–March 2026 | April–July | longviewyouthbaseball.org |
| T-Ball (Ages 3–4) | YMCA | February 2026 | Spring | Longview YMCA |
| Coach Pitch (Ages 5–6) | YMCA | February 2026 | Spring | Longview YMCA |
| Baseball (Little League) | Lewis River LL | February–March 2026 | Spring | Little League registration portal |
| Softball | LGSA | February–March 2026 | Spring/Summer | lgsawa.com / 920 7th Ave |
| Softball (Travel) | CC Devils Fastpitch | Fall tryouts 2026 | Year-round | CC Devils Fastpitch |
| Basketball | Kelso Hoops | Fall 2026 | Winter | leaguelineup.com/kelshoops |
| Multi-Sport / Camps | Longview Parks & Rec | Seasonal | Year-round | 2920 Douglas St / 360-442-5400 |
The honest reality of competitive youth sports in Longview is that most travel pathways lead south. Portland and the Vancouver, WA metro are the regional hubs for higher-level tournament play in soccer, softball, and basketball — a roughly 50-minute drive on I-5. For families committed to a travel-level program, weekend tournament schedules will regularly put you on the freeway, and that's a normal part of the Longview sports parent experience, not an exception. The CC Devils Fastpitch program and the LSC soccer club both operate this way, with games spread across Clark, Multnomah, and Cowlitz counties throughout their seasons.
The cost reality is also worth calibrating. Recreational league fees in Longview are modest — LGSA and GLSA pricing is in the $80–$150 range depending on age group — and both Longview Babe Ruth and the YMCA offer financial assistance without requiring families to jump through significant hoops. Travel programs are a different calculation: CC Devils Fastpitch and comparable soccer clubs typically run $800–$2,000 annually when uniform costs, tournament entry fees, and travel expenses are included.
What surprises most Longview sports parents after their first full season is how tight the community around these leagues actually is. R.A. Long and Mark Morris function as genuine community anchors, and the youth feeder leagues operate with the same energy. The dual-school rivalry creates something useful for younger kids: a sense that there's something to aspire toward, a clear local identity to grow into. Families coming from larger metro areas sometimes expect a more anonymous experience — they don't find it here.
Local Expert Takeaway: If you're moving to Longview with kids in soccer or baseball, register the week registration opens — February is the critical window for both sports. GLSA's elementary divisions and Longview Babe Ruth's competitive age groups consistently fill fastest. Families landing in West Longview or Olympic West tend to have the shortest drive to the 7th Avenue facility corridor, which makes weeknight logistics meaningfully easier.
When does Longview youth soccer registration open in 2026?
GLSA and Longview Soccer Club both open spring registration in February. The elementary-age recreational divisions through GLSA tend to fill quickly, so families should register as soon as the window opens rather than waiting until March.
Does Longview have a travel softball program for girls?
Yes. The Longview Girls Softball Association (LGSA) provides competitive recreational play, and the CC Devils Fastpitch organization — founded in 2024 — offers a dedicated travel softball pathway. CC Devils hold fall tryouts for the following competitive season.
What WIAA conference do Longview high schools compete in?
Both R.A. Long High School and Mark Morris High School compete in the Greater St. Helens 2A conference under WIAA governance. The two schools share Longview Memorial Stadium for football and meet annually in the "Civil War" rivalry game.
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