Annual Meeting

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AGENDA1. Little League Baseball, Inc.

2. Wilton Little League

3. Annual Activities

4. League Structure

5. Managers, Coaches, Directors

6. Team Selection

7. League Operations2

Little League StructureLittle League Baseball and Softball, Inc. -

Williamsport, PA

East Region - Bristol, CT

Connecticut District 1 - Fairfield County

Little League International, Inc.– Over 7,000 leagues– Over 2.6 million participants– Over 50 countries

Wilton Little league - Wilton

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Wilton Little League

• ~800 players – baseball & softball

• 75+ teams

• Established in 1954

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BoardPresident

VP – BaseballVP - Softball

Umpires Player Agent

SponsorsTreasurerSecretary

EquipmentFields

BoostersTournaments

Player DevelopmentSafety

League InformationLegal

EvaluationSummer Sandlot / Fall Ball

Opening DayAdministration

Scott VollmerMatt ZeyherDom RauccioKarin HyzyKevin DooleyMichael Schneidman Chris SoltisDave JohnsonKevin Tietjen Michael CyrSharon BurkeDave LipskyJeff MastriannaPete VogricDave ListonPaul KilmartinTim ClarkChris SoltisHeather TietjenLisa Bogan

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WLL Objective• Provide opportunities to play

baseball & softball, emphasizing:FunSafetySportsmanshipSkill Development

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Annual ActivitiesWinter

Spring

Summer

Fall

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Annual Activities

• Winter / Preseason–Free clinics–Pay clinics–Umpire clinic

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Annual Activities• Spring

– Regular season games & practices• Develop skills and have fun• Participation is paramount

– Playing time– Variety of positions

» Infield and Outfield– All Kid Pitch teams have playoffs– All Kid Pitch team make playoffs

• Regular season record doesn’t count• Random seedings

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Annual ActivitiesSpring Season

• Spring–Playoffs (Kid Pitch Leagues ONLY)

–Opportunity to experience competitive play

–Increased emphasis on winning–Participation still a priority

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Annual Activities• Summer:

– District Tournaments• Little League sanctioned events – ages 10

- 12• Little League World Series• District Players selected by Balloting • District Managers selected by Board

–Must have managed or coached in league that season

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Annual Activities

• Summer– Tournament Teams

• Qualified, committed and available players–Minimal absence

• Input from spring managers• Competitive environment• Two teams at each age from ages 8–12

– ~150 players

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Annual Activities

• Fall Ball– Informal season– Fun– Participation– No practices– No playoffs– Prepare for spring

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League Structure

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League Structure – SoftballShared resources. Dedicated committee.

Juniors (13 year-olds) – 100% Travel

Majors (ages 11 – 12) – 100% Travel

AAA (ages 9 - 10) – 30% Travel

AA (ages 7 – 8) - All games at Middlebrook

A (5/6) - All games at Middlebrook

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League Structure - Baseball

Kid Pitch Leagues Majors (ages 11/12) AAA (ages 9/10/11) AA (ages 9/10/11)Note: Depending on enrollment and talent, it is conceivable 9s could play AAA and 10s could play Majors

A (3rd grade)

Developmental Leagues Machine Pitch (2nd grade) Coach pitch (1st grade) T-Ball (K)

• Playoffs• Random Seeding

• No Standings • Regular season

record does not matter

• No playoffs

• No standings

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Developmental League Structure• Tee-ball (kindergarten):

– Fundamentals of hitting, fielding throwing, base running, names and locations of positions

• Coach Pitch (First Grade): – Fundamentals of hitting, fielding throwing, base running, names and locations of

positions– Introduce the challenge of hitting a slow moving ball– Encouraging defensive plays by adding up then number of outs

• Machine Pitch (Second Grade):– Fundamentals of hitting, fielding throwing, base running, names and locations of

positions– Introduce the challenge of hitting a quickly moving ball (~35mph)– Introduce outs: Strike outs, defensive/ fielding outs– Introduce the catcher position

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Kid Pitch League Structure

• A-League (3rd Grade): LAST year of grade based league structure– Fundamentals of hitting, fielding, throwing, base running, names and locations

of positions– Reinforce the use of catchers– Introduce kid pitchers – Develop pitchers– Challenge of hitting a kid pitched ball– Introduce pitched balls and reinforce strikes

• AA-League: AGE and ABILITY based, NOT GRADE– 4th and 5th Graders AGES 9 and 10 – Continuing the progression of all basic skills – Introduce base stealing

• Pitcher and Catchers very important

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Kid Pitch League Structure – BaseballSkill and Age based Progression

• AAA- League: AGE and ABILITY based, NOT GRADE– 4th, 5th and 6th graders ages 10 and 11 (occasionally 9s if skill and enrollment

dictates)– League populated with 11 year-olds who did not get placed in the Major league

(top league) for one or all of the following reasons: • Insufficient room in the Major league, i.e.: too many 12 year-olds.

– All 12s must play Majors• Evaluation scores• Prior season manager rating• League selection committee knowledge of the players indicate the player would benefit

from playing AAA rather than Majors– 9s are eligible based on enrollment and ability

• Major League: AGE and ABILITY based, NOT GRADE– 5th, 6th and 7th graders ages 11 and 12– All 12s must play Majors– Highest ability 11s back fill openings after 12s are placed in Majors– 11s chosen to back fill based on

• Evaluation scores• Prior season manager rating• League selection committee knowledge of the players

– 10s are eligible based on enrollment and ability 20

Team Selection Process

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Step 1 - Player Evaluation ProcessEvaluation and ranking process includes– Prior season Manager evaluations– January evaluations– Overall rankings is average of Manager and January rankings

• Gives equal weight to each process

22Wilton Little League’s goal is to have balanced teams which provide all playersthe opportunity to participate on a team which is competitive within its league

Step 2 - League Allocation ProcessWork from player ranking / evaluations

worksheet– Begin with “automatics”

12s in Majors, 3rd grade in A 11s in either Majors, AAA or AA, and 10s in either AAA or AA

– Create Leagues based on rankings

Step 3 - Team Draft Process

Manager draft– Draft group to include

• Board oversight: Player Agent & Evaluations Coordinator, President or VP

• League Director• Team Managers

– Draft methodology is by “pod”• Managers select from among a pod of players in each round

– Managers may pick a player up to one pod below current “round”– Managers “select” their child when their child’s pod is active

– League Directors and Managers are responsible for ensuring• Adequate coaching help• One sponsor per team• LD and Player Agent should help Managers with this

23Wilton Little League’s goal is to have balanced teams which provide all playersthe opportunity to participate on a team which is competitive within its league

Managers, Coaches & Directors

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• Role Model• Perspective• Sportsmanship• Fun• Development• Positive• Communicate• Lessons

Manager and Coaches• Your primary contact with WLL

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Manager Selection• Depend on volunteers• Require 75+ managers!• No manager has tenure• Manager Selection Process:

– Compile list of possible manager volunteers from registrations– LLI Rules: The president selects and appoint managers.

• No person may become a manager without the approval of the president. – WLL Process:

• President vets interested managers– No person may become a manager without the approval of the

president. • Manager list is approved by board• Managers assigned to a team by committee• Best interests of players & league

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League Directors

BaseballMajors: Michael Schneidman AAA: Chris Soltis AA: Greg KingA: Matt Zeyher Developmental Baseball Leagues: Machine Pitch: Dave Cote Coach Pitch: Karin HyzyT-Ball: Claire Carbonier

SoftballJuniors: Mike AmatoMajors: Liz WardAAA: April StrazzaAA: Jeff ImrieA: Dave Lipsky

• Your secondary contact with WLL

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League Operations

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League Operations• Board• Safety• Fields• Umpires

• Boosters• Budget• Information

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Board

–All volunteers–Active members–Governs activities of League–Ensures compliance with Little

League standards

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BoardPresident

VP – BaseballVP - Softball

Umpires Player Agent

SponsorsTreasurerSecretary

EquipmentFields

BoostersTournaments

Player DevelopmentSafety

League InformationLegal

EvaluationSummer Sandlot / Fall Ball

Opening DayAdministration

Scott VollmerMatt ZeyherDom RauccioKarin HyzyKevin DooleyMichael Schneidman Chris SoltisDave JohnsonKevin Tietjen Michael CyrSharon BurkeDave LipskyJeff MastriannaPete VogricDave ListonPaul KilmartinTim ClarkChris SoltisHeather TietjenLisa Bogan

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Fields• YMCA Fields

–Professionally maintainedReduced burden on managersImproved safetyFewer rainouts

• Town / School Fields–Maintained by town

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Umpires• Majors: Adult “patch”

– New in 2010 and requires incremental funding• AAA, AA and A kid-pitch: Junior Umpires

– Intent is to have 2 umpires per game– Primarily kid umpires

• Realistic expectations

• Coaches / parents set example• Could be YOUR kid one day

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Boosters• Sharon may NEED YOUR HELP!

–Fundraising–Concessions

• Purchasing / scheduling• Need volunteers to help!

–Opening Day–raffle, bake sale –Spirit wear

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Volunteers

–Field maintenance–Concession workers–Registration–Evaluations–Summer tournament

coaches

• Lifeblood of Little League

• Needs:– 75+ Managers– 160+ Coaches– Team Moms– Newspaper articles– Pictures

• Background checks conducted on all volunteers in regular contact with kids

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Budget - Revenues

Donations3%

Sponsors21%

Spring Baseball

61%

Tournaments2%

Boosters8%

Fall Ball5%

Budget - Expenses

Field maintenance

31%

Uniforms23%

Capital Expenditures

13%

Building Fees & Misc

3%

Umpires7%

Awards3%

Equipment6%

Administrative, 11%

Charter & Insurance

2%

• Wilton Little League: www.wiltonlittleleague.org

Additional Resources

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• Wilton Little League: www.wiltonlittleleague.org• CT District 1: www.eteamz.com/ct1• East Region: www.eteamz.com/LLBeast• Little League: www.littleleague.org• WBSA: www.thewbsa.com

Additional Resources

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• Thank you for listening!

• Are there any questions?

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