1. WESTPORT BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
“The Westport Baseball and Softball Experience”- Ages 4 to 19
February 13, 2017

2. WESTPORT BASEBALL AND SOFTBALL
Co-Presidents; Jeffrey Brill, David Goldshore
Mission Statement: Aligning a Baseball and Softball organization whose goal is to develop the skills, character and passion of Westport youth by promoting a fun, safe and competitive program
WBS/IST Partnership
CEO, IST Glenn Katz

3. WBS OFFERINGS LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL CHALLENGER
SUMMER SOFTBALL
SUMMER BASEBALL
TRAVEL SOFTBALL
YOUTH TRAVEL BASEBALL
ADVANCED BASEBALL

4. LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL
Program Head: Stephen Axthelm, VP Softball
Mission Statement: Westport Little League Softball is dedicated to building skills and instilling confidence to enable our girls to succeed. We strive to make softball enjoyable and rewarding for players of all skill levels.
Grades: PK thru 9
Seasons: Spring, Fall

5. LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL
LEAGUE NAME
GRADE
COMMISSIONER
PRACTICES
GAMES
Instructional
Coach Pitch
PK/K/1
Terri Dusch
1 to 2 weekly Clinics
IST/Kid Zone (Wed or 4:00p)
1 Weekend Game/week
Sat 9:00am A2 2
1 to 2 weekly Clinics with IST/Kid Zone (Wed or 4:00p)
Sat 10:30am
AA3
Kid Pitch/Coach Relief 3
Terri Dusch/Eric Emmert
1 Team Practice/Week
@ TBD
Sat 12:00pm
AAA/Minors
Kid Pitch
4/5
@TBD
1 Weekend and 1 Weekday Game/week
Sat 11:30am/Mon 5:30pm
Majors
6/7
Andy Ceisler
Sat 9:00am/Tues 5:30pm
Juniors
8/9
TBD

6. LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
Program Head: Jim Kabakow, VP Little League Baseball
Mission Statement: Westport Little League Baseball focuses on building the appropriate skills, instilling confidence and making baseball enjoyable for players of all skill levels while gradually introducing advanced skills, positional play, strategy and competition, and good sportsmanship.
Grades: PK- 8
Seasons: Spring, Fall

7. LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
LEAGUE NAME
GRADE
COMMISSIONER
PRACTICES
GAMES
CAP K
T-Ball
PK/K
Jeff Mitchell
1 Team Practice/week
@TBD
1 Weekend Game/week
Sat 1:00pm
CAP 1
Coach Pitch 1
Tom Whelan
Sat 11:00am
CAP 2
Machine Pitch 2
William Spencer
1 Team Practice/week
Sat 9:00am or 11:00am
A Ball
Kid/Machine Pitch 3
Justin Walters
1 IST Clinic/Week
Tues 5:30pm
Sat 3:00pm or 5:00pm
1 Weekday Game/week
AA Ball
Kid Pitch 4
Wyman Chu
1 Weekday Game/week Mon 5:30pm
1 Weekend Game/week Sat 2:00pm
AAA Ball 5
Dave Lapping
1 Weekday Game/week Thurs 5:30pm
1 Weekend Game/week Sat 11:30am
Majors
5-7
Mark Sikorski
1 Weekday Game/week Wed 5:30pm
1 Weekend Game/week Sat 9:00am
50/70
5-8
TBD

8. 2017 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATES
Tee-Ball for Cap PK/K
Pitching Machines
Cap 2 moves to full machine pitch
A-Ball moves to ½ kid (1st, 2nd and 6th innings); ½ machine pitch (3rd, 4th, 5th innings)
Demo
Clinics: Ron Clarke/Paul Coniglio, Directors of Player Development
IST League Clinics for A-Ball to replace the midweek game in April
IST Group Clinics for Grades K-5
Coaches Clinics

9. 2017 LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL UPDATES
New League Terminology
AA is now A (3rd Grade)
AAA is now AA (4th Grade)
Minors is now AAA (5th Grade)
Majors is now Majors (5-7th Grade)
5th Grade eligibility for Majors
New Wood Bats Rule:
CEO EL Bats, Eric Lehrer
Deputy Commissioners
Support the Commissioners
Drive Enrollment
50/70 Field/League Formation
Speed up Rules
Umpiring : Brian Kurtz, Head Umpire
Green Books
Zero Tolerance Policy

10. LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL IMPORTANT DATES
December 28, 2016 – Registration opened
February 13, 2017 – Parents meeting
February 15, 2017 – Early bird registration promotion ends
March 4, 2017 – Registration deadline (Roster spots are not guaranteed after this date)
March 11, 2017 – Player evaluations at Staples Field House
Week of March 13, 2017 – Teams announced
March 28, 2017 – A-Ball Clinics begin
April 1, Opening Day for A, AA, AAA, and Majors leagues
April 8-16, April Break (no games)
April 22, Opening Day for Cap PK/K, Cap 1, and Cap 2 leagues
June 1, Double-elimination playoffs begin for A, AA, AAA, and Majors leagues
June 10 or 11, World Series Day for A, AA, AAA, and Majors leagues
June 17, Final day for Cap PK/K, Cap 1, and Cap 2 leagues

11. LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL AGE CHART
DOB From
DOB To 13
5/1/2003
4/30/2004 12
5/1/2004
4/30/2005 11
5/1/2005
8/31/2006 10
9/1/2006
8/31/2007 9
9/1/2007
8/31/2008 8
9/1/2008
8/31/2009

12. CHALLENGER Program Head: Beth Cody, Commissioner of Challenger
Mission Statement: Westport Challenger is a special league for kids with mental and physical challenges to have fun playing ball while building life-long friendships with “buddies.”
Ages: 4-18
Seasons: Spring and Fall
Privately funded

13. LITTLE LEAGUE SUMMER PROGRAM
Program Heads: Vince Kelly, Summer Commissioner Baseball; Lou Alfero, Summer Commissioner Softball
Mission Statement: Westport Little League Summer Program focuses on building on the Spring Seasons by instilling confidence and making baseball and softball enjoyable for players of all skill levels while enhancing development for game and tournament style competition.
Ages: 8 – 13 (Little League Ages)

14. SUMMER LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL
LEAGUE NAME
LL AGE
COACHES
PRACTICES
GAMES
District
10s,11s,12s
9-12
Parent Volunteers
Every day
District, State, Regional, International Tournament Play
Trumbull Tournament 8s
8-9
2-3/per week
Trumbull Tournament
Fairfield County 8s 8
Coaches’ Discretion
District 1/2

15. SUMMER LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL
LEAGUE NAME
LL AGE
COACHES
PRACTICES
GAMES
District
10s,11s,12s
9-12
Parent Volunteers
Every day
District, State, Regional, International Tournament Play
Pre-Districts 9s
8-9
2-3/per week
Monroe and Fairfield Pre-District Tournaments
Local Friendlies
LL Tournament
8s-12s
8-12
Coaches’ Discretion
District 1/2 Summer League
Fairfield House League
Fairfield House League Games
50/70 Intermediate
11-13
IST Evening Clinics
4-7
IST Professional Coaches
Sessions available every day
N/A

16. TRAVEL SOFTBALL
Program Heads: Mike Lustbader, Director of Travel Softball; Lou Alfero, Commissioner Travel Softball
Mission Statement: To provide an opportunity to compete at higher levels, and to develop the personal and social skills of our girls in order to prepare them to succeed at future levels of softball as well as in group settings in school and beyond
Ages:
Seasons: Spring, Fall

17. YOUTH TRAVEL/ADVANCED SOFTBALL
TEAM NAMES
AGE
HEAD COACH
PRACTICES
GAMES
10u (Blue)
10u (White)
9-10
Mike McGarry
Jason Desser
1 Team Practice/week
IST/Off-season conditioning
1-2 Weekend Games/week
12u (Blue)
12u (White)
11-12
Lou Alfero
Neil Gabriele
14u (Blue)
14u (White)
13-14
Ron Moskovitz
Stephen Kessler
2-3 Weekend Games/week
16u
15/16
TBD

18. YOUTH TRAVEL BASEBALL
Program Head: Mark Rothenberg, VP Youth Travel Baseball
Mission Statement: To make more competitive baseball and increased skill development available at a commercially reasonable price to the most elite and focused Westport players at applicable age groups. WYTB's programs include higher-intensity and disciplined practices as well as games against teams of comparable talent from other towns to supplement WLL and Summer District seasons without detracting from the Little League experience.  
Ages: LL
Seasons: Spring, Fall (East Shore League)

19. YOUTH TRAVEL BASEBALL LEAGUE
TEAM NAMES
AGE
HEAD COACH
PRACTICES
GAMES 8u 8
Joe Cossuto
TBD 9u 9
Chris Brown
2 Practices/week
IST Off-Season Workouts
2 Weekend Games/week
Tournaments
10u
9-10
Scott Carew
2-3 Weekend Games/week
11u
(2 Teams) 11
12u
11-12
Jeff Slane

20. 2017 YOUTH TRAVEL BASEBALL UPDATES
Introduction to IST Professional Coaches
Focus on Branding and Elite Players; Mission Statement
LL Age Bands
No East Shore Playoffs
Emphasis on LL Playoffs
Preparation for Summer Baseball
Tournaments
New Uniforms

21. ADVANCED BASEBALL
Program Heads: Joe Glennon, Co-VP Advanced Baseball; Mark Lindwall, Co-VP Advanced Baseball
Mission Statement: To develop more competitive baseball players with an emphasis on advanced practice training and game and tournament competition in order to prepare for next-level of play (High-School, College, Prospect)
Staples Head Baseball Coach, Jack McFarland
Ages: 13 – 19
Seasons: Spring, Fall

22. ADVANCED BASEBALL TEAM NAMES AGE HEAD COACH PRACTICES GAMES
Babe Ruth Prep 13
IST Professional
1 Practice/week
2 Games/week
Babe Ruth Dogwood/Majors
13-15
IST Professional
Babe Ruth All-Stars
13-14
Scott Carew
13u Travel
Jeb Backus
2 Practices/week
IST Off-season Workouts
2-3 Weekend Games/week
Local and Travel Tournaments
14u Travel 14
Junior Legion
15-17
TBD
Pre-season training camp
Multiple practices/week based on game schedule
3-5 Games/week
Senior Legion
15-19
Jeff Love
3-5 Sr. Games/week
Showcase Tournaments

23. 2017 ADVANCED BASEBALL UPDATES
Advanced Baseball Player Development Fall Program
Staples JV Coach, Jeff Love
Babe Ruth All-Stars for 14u
Partnership with Perfect Playcement
CEO, Perfect Playcement, Mark Leinweiver

24. COMMUNITY New LogoWear CEO, ASF Chris Buchner Sponsorships/Banners
LL Registration Promotions
Free T-shirt early registration promotion ends on Wednesday Feb 15th
Concessions
Upgrade Food and Beverages

25. COMMUNITY Safety/Concussion Training April 1st LL Opening Day
One Majors Game at 9:00am on White Field (Last year’s World Series Teams)
Majors: 11:00am, AAA: 1:30pm, AA: 4:00pm, A: Regular Schedule
WBS Social Media