Jasper Park and Rec director keeps summer kickball fun fair for kids

At Bohnert Park, the first kickball game of the morning runs on a simple rulebook. No bunting. No one standing in front of the pitching mound when younger kids are up. Tags stay below the waist, and arguing a call can end with a player sent off. Under Janessa Wagner’s watch, those rules are not about taking the fun out of summer. They are how Jasper keeps a free tradition safe, fair and welcoming for the kids who come back year after year.

How the kickball sessions stay fair

Wagner spent a Tuesday morning in the middle of the action at Bohnert Park, keeping order as 30-something children split into two large teams. The setup is deliberate: the teams get mixed in the middle so games stay social and balanced, not tilted toward the biggest athletes or the loudest voices. That matters in a park setting where the goal is not just competition, but belonging.

When one child pushed back on a few calls, Wagner held her ground. The child’s mother laughed about how close he had come to being kicked out, a small moment that captured the tone of the whole program. The rules are firm, but the atmosphere is not heavy. Kids know where the boundaries are, and that predictability helps them relax, play hard and enjoy themselves.

That balance is a public health issue as much as a recreation strategy. Clear rules reduce conflict, lower the chance of injury and make it easier for children of different ages and confidence levels to join in. In a free program, that kind of structure also protects access, because the strongest personalities do not get to dominate the space.

Why Wagner has become the face of Jasper summer recreation

Wagner has been leading summer recreation for about 10 years, long enough to know many of the children by name and to recognize the families who shape the park scene every season. She is listed by the City of Jasper as Special Events Coordinator in the Park & Recreation Department, and city park pages identify her as the contact for Bohnert Park shelter-house reservations and park questions. In a city department built around public spaces, that makes her one of the most visible faces in the system.

Her role is part organizer, part greeter and part steady hand. Kids who see her at the ballfield may greet her again later at the pool, and she makes a point of learning names quickly, calling children by name and timing a high-five just right. Those small gestures are not small at all in a program meant for the whole community. They are the reason children feel seen, and why parents trust the space enough to linger.

That trust changes how families use the parks. Parents and grandparents are staying to watch more often than they used to, spreading out camp chairs and blankets along the field instead of dropping the kids off and leaving. The scene turns a simple recreation period into a shared neighborhood gathering, with adults present and children visibly connected to the adults around them.

What Jasper families can expect this summer

Jasper’s park department says its mission is to help citizens take advantage of “many diversified programs,” and that broad approach shows up in the city’s summer lineup. Free kickball is one piece of a much larger recreation system that includes the Jasper Municipal Swimming Pool, the Jasper Youth Sports Complex and other seasonal offerings spread across town.

Camp C.A.R.E. is one of the clearest examples of how the city layers services for young families. The 2025 Spring/Summer activities page says it is an eight-week camp for ages 4-6, held at the Ruxer Clubhouse, with Friday pool days at the Jasper Municipal Pool. For children living in the Greater Jasper School District, the weekly cost is $45. That pricing matters in a county where a modest weekly fee can determine whether a family can use a structured summer program at all.

The park department also advertises youth softball and boys’ baseball league programming, which helps explain why Wagner’s work stretches beyond one kickball field. The summer schedule is not built around a single activity. It is a network of entry points, from team sports to pool days to age-specific camps, so different children can find a place that fits their age, interests and family schedule.

Why Bohnert Park is such a natural home for the program

Bohnert Park is more than a backdrop for kickball. Jasper identifies it as an 18-acre park named for former park board member John Bohnert, and the grounds include a playground, shelter house, restrooms, a half-mile walking path, basketball courts, six pickleball courts, two baseball fields and two sand volleyball courts. The park is open from dawn to dusk, and its lighted basketball and pickleball courts stay available until 10 p.m.

That mix of amenities makes Bohnert Park one of Jasper’s central recreation hubs. It can hold a kickball session in the morning, a pickup game in the afternoon and other park traffic throughout the day. For families, that means summer recreation does not feel hidden away in a single-purpose site. It feels woven into the daily life of the city.

The park setting also underscores the equity value of Jasper’s approach. Free youth recreation gives children a place to play without a fee barrier, and the city’s mix of parks, pool access and organized programs gives families options that do not depend on private clubs or expensive travel. In a county where summer opportunities can otherwise be uneven, that kind of public offering matters.

A June 9, 2025 Jasper Park Board agenda included a Recreation Director update from Wagner and a report to approve summer employees, a reminder that these programs run on more than goodwill. They depend on staffing, planning and the kind of steady oversight that keeps the whole system running. At Bohnert Park, that work is easy to miss if you only look at the game. Wagner makes sure the structure stays in place so the fun can keep looking effortless.