Annual Meeting

AGENDA Little League Baseball, Inc. Wilton Little League Annual Activities League Structure Managers, Coaches, Directors Team Selection League Operations

Little League Structure Little League International, Inc. Little League Baseball and Softball, Inc. - Williamsport, PA East Region - Bristol, CT Connecticut District 1 - Fairfield County Wilton Little league - Wilton Little League International, Inc. Over 7,000 leagues Over 2.6 million participants Over 50 countries

Wilton Little League ~800 players – baseball & softball 75+ teams Established in 1954

Board President VP – Baseball VP - Softball Umpires Player Agent Sponsors Treasurer Secretary Equipment Fields Boosters Tournaments Player Development Safety League Information Legal Evaluation Summer Sandlot / Fall Ball Opening Day Administration Scott Vollmer Matt Zeyher Dom Rauccio Karin Hyzy Kevin Dooley Michael Schneidman Chris Soltis Dave Johnson Kevin Tietjen Michael Cyr Sharon Burke Dave Lipsky Jeff Mastrianna Pete Vogric Dave Liston Paul Kilmartin Tim Clark Heather Tietjen Lisa Bogan

WLL Objective Provide opportunities to play baseball & softball, emphasizing: Fun Safety Sportsmanship Skill Development

Annual Activities Winter Spring Summer Fall

Annual Activities Winter / Preseason Free clinics Pay clinics Umpire clinic

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

Spring Annual Activities Spring Season Playoffs (Kid Pitch Leagues ONLY) Opportunity to experience competitive play Increased emphasis on winning Participation still a priority

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

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

Annual Activities Summer Summer Sandlot Informal pickup games Kids pick teams Need volunteers to supervise Minimal parental involvement in games

Fall Ball Annual Activities Informal season Fun Participation No practices No playoffs Prepare for spring

League Structure

League Structure – Softball Shared 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

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

Developmental League Structure Tee-ball (kindergarten): Fundamentals of hitting, fielding throwing, base running, names and locations of positions Coach Pitch (First Grade): Introduce the challenge of hitting a slow moving ball Encouraging defensive plays by adding up then number of outs Machine Pitch (Second Grade): Introduce the challenge of hitting a quickly moving ball (~35mph) Introduce outs: Strike outs, defensive/ fielding outs Introduce the catcher position

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

Kid Pitch League Structure – Baseball Skill 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 Highest ability 11s back fill openings after 12s are placed in Majors 11s chosen to back fill based on League selection committee knowledge of the players 10s are eligible based on enrollment and ability

Team Selection Process

Step 1 - Player Evaluation Process Evaluation 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 Step 2 - League Allocation Process Work 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 Wilton Little League’s goal is to have balanced teams which provide all players the opportunity to participate on a team which is competitive within its league

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

Managers, Coaches & Directors

Manager and Coaches Your primary contact with WLL Role Model Perspective Sportsmanship Fun Development Positive Communicate Lessons

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

League Directors Your secondary contact with WLL Baseball Majors: Michael Schneidman AAA: Chris Soltis AA: Greg King A: Matt Zeyher Developmental Baseball Leagues: Machine Pitch: Dave Cote Coach Pitch: Karin Hyzy T-Ball: Claire Carbonier Softball Juniors: Mike Amato Majors: Liz Ward AAA: April Strazza AA: Jeff Imrie A: Dave Lipsky

League Operations

League Operations Board Safety Fields Umpires Boosters Budget Information

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

Board President VP – Baseball VP - Softball Umpires Player Agent Sponsors Treasurer Secretary Equipment Fields Boosters Tournaments Player Development Safety League Information Legal Evaluation Summer Sandlot / Fall Ball Opening Day Administration Scott Vollmer Matt Zeyher Dom Rauccio Karin Hyzy Kevin Dooley Michael Schneidman Chris Soltis Dave Johnson Kevin Tietjen Michael Cyr Sharon Burke Dave Lipsky Jeff Mastrianna Pete Vogric Dave Liston Paul Kilmartin Tim Clark Heather Tietjen Lisa Bogan

Fields YMCA Fields Town / School Fields Professionally maintained Reduced burden on managers Improved safety Fewer rainouts Town / School Fields Maintained by town

Umpires Majors: Adult “patch” AAA, AA and A kid-pitch: Junior Umpires 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

Sharon may NEED YOUR HELP! Boosters Sharon may NEED YOUR HELP! Fundraising Concessions Purchasing / scheduling Need volunteers to help! Opening Day–raffle, bake sale Spirit wear

Volunteers Lifeblood of Little League Needs: 75+ Managers 160+ Coaches Team Moms Newspaper articles Pictures Field maintenance Concession workers Registration Evaluations Summer tournament coaches Background checks conducted on all volunteers in regular contact with kids

Budget - Revenues

Budget - Expenses

Additional Resources Wilton Little League: www.wiltonlittleleague.org

Additional Resources 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

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