Westport Little League Baseball

Spring 2020 Registration is Open -- Details Below!

Exciting Renovations to Come -- Details Below!

The 2019 Staples Wreckers were the Connecticut High School Coaches Association team of the year and voted #1 team in the state by the Hartford Courant. Over the past five seasons, the team has played for six combined CIAC State and FCIAC County Championships. Over that span, the team has won 95 of 129 games played. In 2019, the team set a single season record of 25 wins, had the most stolen bases in school history (88 of 92 attempts), a team batting average of 336, and a team pitching ERA of just 2.17, including a school record eight shutouts! 

Dear Westport Families,

Little League Baseball registration is now open for the 2020 Spring season!  CLICK HERE to register your child or children now for one of our programs across ages 4-12.

REGISTER HERE

**This lengthy email provides detailed information regarding our Spring programs, registration deadlines, evaluation dates and program fees. 

SPRING REGISTRATION:  Registration for the Spring season is open and will remain open until March 5th, 2020 for grades 3 and higher, and March 27th, 2020 for Grades PK-2.  Roster spots will not be guaranteed after such dates and a late fee of $50 per player will be applied.

LEAGUES AND SCHEDULE:

The table below sets forth the WLLB league name for each grade, date of evaluation and anticipated regular season game days and times.  Please note that weekday games prior to May 2^nd will begin at 5:30 PM if darkness is still an issue.

Grade             League Name             Evaluation                  Game(s)

PK/K                Cap K                         None                          Sat., 1:00 p.m.

1                      Cap 1                          None                           Sat., 11:00 a.m.

2                      Cap 2                          None                           Sat., 9:00 a.m.

3                      A                                  March 7                      Sat., 4:30 p.m.,           

                                                                                                 Mon., 5:30/6:00 p.m.

4                      AA                               March 7                       Sat., 2:00 p.m.,

                                                                                                 Thurs., 5:30/6:00 p.m.

5                      AAA                            March 7                        Sat., 11:30 a.m.,

                                                                                                 Tues., 5:30/6:00 p.m.

6, 7                  Majors                         March 7                       Sat., 9:00 a.m.,

                                                                                                  Wed., 5:30/6:00 p.m.

AGE REQUIREMENTS:  WLLB is generally organized by grade.  However, please note that a child must have been born on or before December 31, 2015 to be eligible to play during the 2020 Spring season.  In addition, the Majors division is intended for 6^th and 7^th graders who were born on or after September 1, 2007.

EVALUATIONS:  Evaluations for children in Grades 3 through 7 (A, AA, AAA, and Majors) will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the Staples High School Fieldhouse. 

Times will be announced and posted on our website.  There are NO evaluations for children in Grades Pre-K through 2. 

CHALLENGER LEAGUE BASEBALL:  This league, which focuses on fun and building life-long friendships, is open to boys and girls with mental or physical challenges.  Challenger also seeks volunteer children age 9 and up to serve as buddies during the games, most of which will be played on Saturdays and/or Sundays in Westport and other local towns.  Please email Challenger Commissioner Beth Cody at with any questions. Register for Challenger Here.

INTERMEDIATE 50/70 BASEBALL:  This program is intended for LL-age 11, 12 and 13 year olds (for players born September 1, 2006 through August 31, 2009).  We will send more information about this program and/or Babe Ruth in the new year to parents of eligible players.

WESTPORT YOUTH TRAVEL BASEBALL AND 9U/10U WRECKERS TEAM:  Children participating in any of Westport’s Youth Travel Baseball's programs (8U through 12U) or playing on the 9U/10U Wreckers team this Spring must, as a condition to their participation in our Youth Travel Baseball programs, also register for and be a full participant in Westport's 2020 Spring Little League Baseball. 

DISTRICTS BASEBALL AND OTHER SUMMER PROGRAMS:  Any child who wishes to try out for and play on any Westport District All-Star Team (9U through 12U) or participate in any Westport summer baseball program must register for and be a full participant in Westport's 2020 Spring Little League.  All players who seek to play on any Westport District All-Star Team (9U through 12U) is required to play in at least 60% of the regular season games, which threshold is mandated by Little League International and must be certified by managers this summer.

LITTLE LEAGUE SCHEDULE AND IMPORTANT DATES:

March 5, 2020 – Registration deadline for A, AA, AAA and Majors (Roster spots are not guaranteed after this date and a late fee of $50 will be applied)

March 7, 2020 – Evaluations for A, AA, AAA, and Majors (Grade 3 and higher) at Staples Fieldhouse (Start times for each league TBD)

Week of March 16, 2020 – A, AA, AAA and Majors teams announced

March 27, 2020 – Registration deadline for Caps programs grades PK through 2nd (Roster spots are not guaranteed after this date and a late fee of $50 will be applied)

March 28, 2020 - Opening Day for A, AA, AAA and Majors

April 3, 2020 – Caps teams announced

April 18, 2020 – Opening Day for Caps and Challenger

PRACTICES; COMMITMENT

All players who register for Spring Little League Baseball are expected to play in at least 60% of the regular season games.  Please note that failure to so play could result in ineligibility to play in the playoffs or penalties enforced against the team.  This has been a significant problem in recent Spring seasons, which resulted in unbalanced rosters and uneven games during the course of the season that compromised the integrity of the experience for players and coaches.

Team practices will be scheduled by coaches once teams are selected.  When registering, please note all potential conflicts in your child’s 2020 Spring schedule so that those responsible for putting teams and practice schedules together can take into consideration and try to avoid schedule conflicts.

WLLB appreciates that our players participate in multiple Spring sports.  To that end, we have tried to schedule Spring baseball games to avoid conflicts with other sports.  Game times are subject to change based on registration levels.

REGISTRATION FEES, DISCOUNTS

The registration fees for the 2020 Spring Little League baseball season are:

1.         $205 for PK/K

2.         $210 for Cap 1 and Cap 2

3.         $335 for A, AA, AAA and Majors

4.         $210 for Intermediate 50/70

We offer a family discount of $25.00 for each child registered after the first player is registered.  The fee for the first child is the full price.

Please note that your registration is not considered complete until payment of the registration fee is made. Any registration that is not completed and paid in full within two hours will be deleted and your child will not be deemed registered or placed on a team. If participation of your child(ren) in Little League presents a financial hardship for your family, you may apply for financial aid. If you wish to apply, please complete the online registration and selected the financial aid option. Your registration will not be deleted for non-payment.

NEW PLAYERS

If your child is playing in one of our programs for the first time, you must mail a copy of his/her birth certificate to Westport Little League. In addition, if this is the first time a member of your family is participating in one of our programs, you must also mail proof of residency (such as a utility or phone bill).   Please mail these items to:

Westport Little League, Attention Beth Cody
P.O. Box 581
Westport CT 06881

Your child cannot participate without first meeting these requirements.

PLAYER/COACH REQUESTS

WLLB manages programs for hundreds of children each Spring, and we do our best to form balanced teams.  For Cap K through Cap 2 (Grades pre-K through 2^nd Grade), teams generally include players from the same elementary school.  The Commissioners of Cap K and Cap 1 teams will make efforts to accommodate teammate and coach preferences indicated in registration when populating teams.  However, in Cap 2 (second grade), we unfortunately cannot honor requests for children to be placed on a particular team or with a specific coach or other player due to the size of our program, the conflicting nature of requests, the need to create balanced teams, the complexity of populating teams and the volunteer nature of our organization.  Rosters of teams for A, AA, AAA and Majors (Grades 3 through 7) are selected via draft.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Refunds (less a $25 processing fee) can be issued upon written request to prior to the announcement of team rosters.  After team rosters are announced, refunds will only be issued (on a pro-rata basis) for season-ending injuries upon a written request to .  Such request must be accompanied by a doctor's note.

VOLUNTEER COACHES

Our programs could not exist without parent coaches who generously volunteer their time.  For parents who would like to volunteer as a head coach or an assistant coach, please check the appropriate box on your child’s registration form.  The WLLB commissioners will choose a head coach and at least one assistant coach for each team.  Once teams are formed, each team can add another coach (approved by WLLB) who is a parent of a child on the roster.

UMPIRES

If your child is in the 6^th grade or older and is interested in working as an umpire and earning money this Spring, please sign up in registration.  

DONATIONS

Westport Baseball & Softball is a nonprofit organization that, among other things, funds repairs and capital improvements of fields in town.  We are currently undertaking a major fundraising initiative that you can learn more about here.  Our goal is 100% participation from Westport baseball families.   Please click here to donate now, or contact us at .

QUESTIONS:  If you have any questions about our programs not found on our website, please email us at . 

Thank you for your interest in Westport baseball.  We look forward to seeing you on the other side of winter on the baseball fields throughout Westport this Spring. 

Congratulations—you made it to the end of the email.

Play Ball! 

--Westport Little League Baseball

Dear Westport Baseball and Softball Families, Friends, and Alumni,

Westport Baseball and Softball, and the programs it offers -- Little League, Travel, Challenger, Babe Ruth, and American Legion -- have been a bedrock part of the community since the early 1950s.  As the longest running volunteer youth sports program in Westport, Little League participants like coaches, administrators, umpires, and parents have dedicated literally hundreds of thousands of hours of their time over the years so that our players – our children – can learn, develop, grow, engage, and have fun through the sport of baseball.    

Today we are asking everyone – both families currently in the program that are building, and former families that hold, many cherished memories close to their hearts – to give back just a little more as we get set for amazing new renovations at some of our facilities.  To complete these projects, we need your help through donations.  We cannot get it done without you!  Our goal is for 100% PARTICIPATION from all of you at whatever level you can give.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE NOW

Here Are Our Goals:

Burr Farms West

Our first project is a major transformation of the Burr Farms West field.  Our goal is to turn this field into a premier convertible 46/70 - 50/70 field with a new grass infield and pitcher’s mound, new irrigation system, and a portable fence attached to the existing one in left field. If you have a long memory, originally this was a “Pony League Field” used by 13-year olds as they transitioned to a full-size field. The original mound and grass infield were never irrigated, and we eventually had to switch to an all-dirt infield because of difficulties funding its maintenance.

In the last few years we have experienced a larger demand from more age groups for play on a field with these dimensions. It would accommodate many Westport players ages 9 through 13 who play Little League Intermediate 50/70 Baseball, our fastest growing program, and Westport Youth Travel Baseball.  At Burr Farms, we want to provide the same quality physical setting that we do at the Mary Ellen White Town Farms complex on Compo North.  Importantly, the Town is partnering with us on this project. They will supervise all the construction and provide the sod and labor to install in the infield. Our responsibility will be to provide the connectivity to the water supply, any electrical work, and the irrigation system itself. The Town will also be responsible for future maintenance. The cost of this initial investment to us is estimated to be ~$50,000. We hope to have adequate additional funds to purchase the portable fencing as well. We hope to complete this project by this upcoming spring; May 1^st, 2020 would be the goal.

Improvements at our Main Little League Complex -- Mary Ellen White Town Farms on Compo North

We also want to share with you a bigger plan of upgrading the Town Farms complex on Compo North.  This is our main Little League baseball and softball hub. 

As you may or may not be aware, Westport Baseball and Softball is financially responsible for the care and maintenance of these four fields and the three Coleytown fields.  We spend approximately $130,000 per season to fund this work.  Contingent on the success of our fundraising effort, we seek to pursue the following projects:

1. New, permanent bathrooms and concession building -- a major upgrade from the current portable bathroom situation
2. New dugouts and press boxes for all four fields at the complex.  While our fields at Town Farm are in excellent condition, the dugouts and press boxes could use an upgrade
3. Explore alternative surfaces to reduce the impact of weather on our use
4. Explore the cost and feasibility of adding an indoor complex for training

For families currently participating in any of Westport's baseball and softball programs, your donations would directly benefit your children for many years to come!  For families that have already graduated from Westport's baseball and softball programs, your contributions would help future generations experience the best that Westport Baseball and Softball has to offer.

Amounts received beyond what is necessary for the Burr Farms project will allow us to start planning, including drawing up architectural plans, for the more ambitious Mary Ellen White Town Farms fields projects discussed above.

As a volunteer organization, you should know that 100% of your donation goes to funding these renovations.  And as a 501(c)(3) organization, donations are fully tax deductible. 

Again, we’re hoping for 100% participation to get this done!  

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO CHOOSE A DONATION AMOUNT NOW

If you are passionate about Westport Baseball and Softball and would like to discuss a larger contribution, please simply reply to this email and we will be in touch shortly.

Let’s get this done together and play ball!

We truly appreciate your consideration.

-Westport Baseball and Softball

Welcome to our Westport Little League Baseball (WLLB) website. You will find information on baseball for ages 5-12 here. WLLB is a subdivision of Westport Baseball & Softball, Inc. (WBS) which also oversees Softball, Travel Baseball (ages 8-15), and Advanced Baseball (ages 16-19). Please see the links above for information on these programs. Feel free to send us suggestions on the site and on our programs via the "Feedback" page on our Main Menu.