1. Annual Meeting

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

3. 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

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

5. 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

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

7. Annual Activities
Winter
Spring
Summer
Fall

8. Annual Activities
Winter / Preseason
Free clinics
Pay clinics
Umpire clinic

9. 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

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

11. Annual Activities Summer: District Tournaments
Little League sanctioned events – ages
Little League World Series
District Players selected by Balloting
District Managers selected by Board
Must have managed or coached in league that season

12. 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

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

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

15. League Structure

16. League Structure – Softball
Shared resources. Dedicated committee.
Juniors (13 year-olds) – 100% Travel
Majors (ages 11 – 12) – 100% Travel
AAA (ages ) – 30% Travel
AA (ages 7 – 8) - All games at Middlebrook
A (5/6) - All games at Middlebrook

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. Team Selection Process

22. 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

23. 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

24. Managers, Coaches & Directors

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

26. 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

27. 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

28. League Operations

29. League Operations
Board
Safety
Fields
Umpires
Boosters
Budget
Information

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

31. 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

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

33. 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

34. 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

35. 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

36. Budget - Revenues

37. Budget - Expenses

38. Additional Resources
Wilton Little League:

39. Additional Resources Wilton Little League: www.wiltonlittleleague.org
CT District 1:
East Region:
Little League:
WBSA:

40. Thank you for listening!
Are there any questions?