So what is the answer? I have a hard time comprehending this too. I know little league is not as popular as it used to be, but it's there. West Hardin is close to Kountze, and Kountze has a pretty established little league. HD is not far from Liberty. HI is not too far away from Winnie who has an established PONY program. Evadale has it's own little league that plays against Buna and Silsbee. SP has Port Arthur LL. Big Sandy might be the most isolated, but they have Livingston close by.
I have 3 boys, all playing LL/Pony when they were younger. Only 1 really loved it, and wanted to play as much as possible (travel / LL / Overseas). To be good you have to play. There was one year my son played at BCLL, all-stars, Gladiator travel ball, and Coast to Coast in Puerto Rico. He played 95 games that season and he was 12. We have so many opportunities available to parents. Our travel team we called the Hicks from the sticks. We played with the Gladiators, but the players were all from small towns.
Sports is a funnel. You'll start out at 5-6 year olds with EVERY kid playing. As you progress kids fall out because of varying things. Parents in communities with little success have to get their kids involved. Small schools are difficult. Take the baseball coach. He is getting a kid that has been in football, basketball and then quickly transitions to baseball. I don't care how good a coach he is, if you as a parent haven't provided the foundation, that coach is not going to be able to help much.
Play baseball! Mine loved it so it was never a problem. If your kid is good in little league, find a travel club for them. Then you can find a fall league so they can get their AB's. Even during basketball, and we had a successful year, my son would travel an hour every Wednesday to Livingston for pitching lessons. Parents have to be involved long before they get to HS for a program to be successful. Sorry - off my soapbox now.