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posted 04/08/2011 To Parents of Spring Little League Baseball Players in AA , AAA, Minors & Majors:
On behalf of Westport Baseball & Softball, welcome to the Spring Season Little League Baseball Season. We are looking forward to a fun, rewarding season for our players, parents, coaches and volunteers. Based on parent and coach feedback, we’ve made improvements to our communications with our new website and we are continually looking at ways to better train our coaches and players. In particular, we are doing a few things differently for AA.
We apologize in advance for the length of this message but I know from experience that everyone benefits from knowing what to expect from this season.
[AA: For those of you whose children are playing AA for the first time let me tell you straight out that this is the toughest year for parents and coaches. Most of the children love it, but you have to realize that it is a huge transition for the players and coaches with kids pitching, catching, stealing, umpires etc. It will get better. By the end of the season, the improvement is dramatic and by 4th grade the level of play makes it all worthwhile. For the fans, please just be patient as the kids develop as pitchers. It takes a while to consistently throw strikes with the pressure of actual batters in the box and everyone watching you.
In order to help improve the transition, we have increased our training. We offered a great four-hour clinic by Big Al Baseball which was well attended and was extremely helpful to coaches at all levels. Our AA commissioner Courtney Wilson, who just went through AA last year as a coach, is providing coaches with all kinds of age appropriate practice ideas. We plan to replace a portion of some preseason games with skills clinics beginning this weekend. And we plan to offer every AA player who is interested opportunities to do a small-group pitching clinic with a professional instructor over the course of the season beginning after April break.
Also we’ve kept the roster sizes small to give everyone more opportunities. This means you need to let your coach know if you can’t make a game and there may even be times when we play with less than 9 players. For AA, we have added requirements that all players play in the infield at least 2 innings and the outfield for at least one inning each game. We have a limit of 3 innings at any one position including pitcher. We hope that every player will try pitching and catching after they’ve had a chance to practice those positions. We always prohibit stealing home in AA and initially are only allowing stealing from 2nd to 3rd base in order to create better learning opportunities in the field. And finally we have an extended pre-season where we don’t keep standings so everyone can keep the focus on instruction and improvement rather than winning and losing.
However we only can do so much. If you really want your child to improve and appreciate our national pastime, you can help. Watch a game together and point out the nuances like how the player gets in the ready position on every play and gets balance in his batting stance. Discuss the rules. Play catch at home even if it’s with a tennis ball. Play wiffle ball. Every little bit helps.
Westport Baseball & Softball offers baseball programs for players as old as 19 years old at both the rec and travel level. Each year we have kids whose skills lag far behind in 3rd and 4th grade and then go on to be among the best players at the varsity high school level as a result of hard work, passion and maturity. Our goal is to keep every child playing and enjoying baseball for as long as possible keeping in mind that they progress at different speeds. ]
Here is an update on some changes to our procedures along with a few general reminders:
Communications: With our new website, we now have the capability to email and text all participants whenever there is a game cancellation or change. Parents have the ability and responsibility for keeping their own contact information up-to-date. Any parent listed in our system can enter EDIT MY ACCOUNT on the website MAIN MENU to update contact information or to add a second parent contact. If you add a cell number and carrier (ATT, Verizon etc.) you can also get cancellations via text. You can list multiple emails for each person by simply separating with commas. If you forget your Password, just enter your EMAIL ONLY and your password will be emailed to that address. You can also use your email and same password to view contact information for your team’s roster. If you want to download schedule information into your online calendar (or better yet get a live feed), please follow the instructions under your team’s Multi-Schedule tab. Coaches were just given instructions on adding practices, so look for those as well.
We believe the new website will help improve our communications however please bear with us as we figure out how best to utilize the capabilities and work out any kinks. Please email us if you are having any problems.
Schedule: Weather cancellations will only be posted on the website and via email/text. There is NO phone hotline. (Westport Baseball and Softball is in charge of most of its fields so don’t assume all baseball fields are closed just because the Parks & Rec or Soccer phone line says all fields are closed.)
Game reminders will be automatically sent out each week as well as any changes or cancellations. Also please refer to the website to confirm game times as occasionally changes will be made. Be aware that once the regular season begins in each league, rainouts will be rescheduled and ties/incomplete games will be finished – hopefully in all cases within a week. Please keep in mind that spring weather in New England can be challenging so be prepared. We will try to notify everyone by 3pm on weekdays if we clearly need to cancel games however we will do our best to get games played. There will be times that portions of games are played through light rain as long as safety is not an issue. In the case of lightning, be aware that our safety policy requires that everyone immediately get off the fields and out of concession stands/dugouts into cars in the parking lot and wait 30 minutes before resuming.
Regular Season games run into early June. Each team participates in playoffs in June. We expect the championship games for the remaining two teams in each league to finish on Sat. June 18th (June 19th - rain makeup). We will try to post the playoff formats before the end of April.
Concession Stands: Westport Baseball and Softball is a volunteer organization. One of the few areas where all parents are requested to help is to operate the concession stands for 3 innings at a few games each season when you are at Kowalsky, Rogers & Coley Fenced Fields. Please assist your coaches by showing up when you are scheduled. Parents should also volunteer to assist us by operating the scoreboards and keeping pitch counts at games.
Conduct: Please review our Conduct Policy as described in the online Parent Handbook. Most fans are well behaved but every season there are always a few occasions when some adults lose perspective. Please help make our job running the league easier by remembering some basics:
· Never criticize or comment on any umpire's call. Especially refrain from blurting out a call before the umpire does. For example, do not yell "SAFE" or "OUT". Many umpires are 11 and 12 year olds who are doing their best--they don't need to be intimidated by anyone in the stands or sidelines. (Nor do our teenage and adult umpires.) We specifically train umpires to not anticipate or rush their calls.
· It's okay to cheer for your team but rooting against a player or team is never appropriate. Here are some examples of what we often hear, but you should not yell out loud:
o To your pitcher about the batter: "Strike him out!; "He can't hit!”; "He's not swinging!"
o To your batter about the pitcher: "He's throwing balls!"; "He can't throw strikes!"
o To the opposing fielder, “Hit it to Third Baseman, he can’t catch”, "Drop it!" These are little kids who should not be razzed by adults.
· Do try not to cheer too loudly about walks and don’t cheer other team mistakes. Do cheer great plays by both teams.
· Finally, do not yell out any directions to players during a play as it may conflict or drown out the coaches’ directions. Please let the coaches do the coaching. Over the course of the season, many coaches may purposely give players less direction during a play to allow them to make their own decisions. We have also encouraged coaches to say nothing to the players from the moment the pitcher gets set until the ball is put in play. The last thing a pitcher or batter needs to hear instructions are in the midst of a pitch.
Parking: In addition to generally being careful and considerate in the parking lots please note:
· No parking or drop-offs (including coaches) are ever allowed in the service lot behind Kowalsky home plate as it is much too dangerous.
· Please be very careful in the parking lots before and after games. Remember not to drive while using your phones and carefully watch for small children.
Bats: We are using Wood Bats only (no metal) for Minors and Majors. (younger players are allowed to use wood bats in games or practice if they like.) We supply these older teams with bats but players are welcome to use their own if they are 2 ¼ “ in diameter and no longer than 33”. Keep in mind there will be an adjustment for the hitters as the wood bats are generally heavier and don’t have as large a sweet spot. Players need to learn to make sure to make contact properly in order to reduce breaking them and to hit more effectively.
For those AA and AAA players who purchase their own metal bats please be aware that Little League International has banned composite bats with a few exceptions for safety reasons. See their website (linked on our homepage news) for details http://www.littleleague.org/media/newsarchive/2010/Sep-Dec/LLBBCompositeBatMoratoriumFAQ.htm We abide by their Majors rules for all player pitch leagues. Also keep in mind that Metal bats especially the more expensive brands need proper care so you should carefully read the manufacturer’s recommendations. Many can be ruined by using with dimpled balls in a batting cage, use in cold weather, improper storage and by not rotating every time you swing.
Other Equipment:
· All batters and runners must wear a helmet with a face guard. We encouraged all players to buy their own helmet. Face guards can be bought separately at local sporting goods stores and easily added to existing helmets. Each team is provided with one team helmet.
· All AA, AAA, Minors & Majors players must purchase and wear white uniform pants with blue pinstripes. ASF sells two acceptable styles for about $20 each. Players should always tuck the shirts and wear their caps during games.
· All catchers must wear an athletic cup. We encourage all players to wear one. Many kids wear sliding shorts under their uniform pants which have insert for the cup.
· Fielders are encouraged to wear mouth guards. This will prevent damaging teath and cutting lips when a ball takes a bad hop.
· Finally, players are encouraged to wear undershirts with a protective plastic heart guard or foam padding which are also available at ASF under the name XO heart guard.
Lost and Found: Parents can now post their own items on our website. When you post make sure to include contact information and leave “Expires After” blank or else the item will disappear at that time.
Summer Teams: Westport Little League sponsors a variety of summer baseball teams for 8-12 year old players from mid June to as late as the end of July. We will be emailing and posting update information on the opportunities for this summer soon, however if you think your child may have interest, you should take the schedule into consideration as you make summer plans. You can find more information in our Parents Handbook. If you have questions, please contact us at Summerbaseball@westportlittleleague.com
Arm Safety: Our little league baseball teams follow strict pitch counts and rest requirements to try to reduce the risk of arm injury, however many kids play baseball in addition to our games and practices so parents and players must educate themselves to be aware of protecting young arms. We highly recommend reviewing the USA Baseball Medical & Safety Advisory Committee Guidelines posted under PROGRAM INFORMATION on our website. Parents should listen and react appropriately to a youth pitcher when he/she complains about arm pain and if your child is pitching outside of our league; please keep your coaches informed and keep track yourself of the amount and frequency. Our coaches follow strict pitch count limits and required rest days for all of our pitchers but cannot monitor players also pitching in other leagues.
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We hope to continue adding helpful information and links on the site. We are in the process of updating our Coaches Handbook and Parents Handbook for this season which provides much more extensive information on our programs. Keep checking the home page news for new topics and feel free to explore the entire site. Feel free to click the Follow Us on Facebook icon on the home page to get additional news via Facebook.
If you have any suggestions for the website or comments, questions or concerns during the season please feel free to email your AA commissioner Courtney Wilson at
or me at
. We will distribute a brief online survey to all parents at the end of the season looking for feedback on our programs and coaches. In the meantime there is also a feedback option on the main menu of the website.
Enjoy the season. Let’s hope for a warm, dry spring!
Best regards,
Westport Little League Baseball
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