2010 INITIATIVES AND REGISTRATION

We hope that you will spend some time with this note to understand some changes in our programs for the upcoming season as well as our registration process for 2010. This will hopefully answer your questions, avoid confusion later, and streamline registration.

Little League has enjoyed enormous support from Scarsdale families and we consistently have over 1,000 players in the spring. This year we had our largest fall program in memory with over 200 players participating in an out-of-season sport. We also sponsored travel teams last summer for the first time in several years. We are implementing two initiatives to improve our programs for the Spring 2010 season and beyond. Our goal is to make our programs as fun as we can for the greatest number of players, resulting in having even more players play baseball in the Little League for more years.

an increased emphasis on training and development of our players and
a realignment of our programs in grades four through eight.

We believe that by helping our players continue to develop skills not only in the younger grades but throughout the entire time they play with us, and by having programs that appeal to the greatest number of players, SLL can make baseball even more fun.

Training and Development

Scarsdale Little League’s continuing emphasis and focus on training is intended to:

Better serve a broader group of the Little League players within the Scarsdale Community
Increase player retention throughout the upper grades of the Little League program
Increase skills development, interest in baseball, participation and playing time at key positions for a broader group of players

For Spring 2010, we will be introducing more clinics for players and coaches. These clinics will focus on the fundamentals (hitting, fielding, throwing) with an additional emphasis on pitching as the players move through the grades. Over the years we have found that Little League games are far more engaging for both players and families if the pitchers are able to consistently keep the game moving.

You should expect to see skills clinics replace the first few games for some leagues, and for coaches to be asked to devote more effort over the course of the season to practice and player development. We believe by starting the season with organized, skills-based clinics run by professional trainers, players will get more out of the actual games and enjoy those games more.

We hope that players, coaches and their families will take these clinics seriously and make every effort to attend. A portion of your registration dollars will be devoted to clinics, and our intent is that players at every level will have more fun playing baseball for years to come by building their skills.

League Realignment

We are changing how we organize leagues in our upper grades (four through eight) to do our best to offer appropriate and fun baseball programs for the greatest number of players at all levels. Programs for players in grades K through three are not changing except for our development emphasis.

Junior League Realignment:

We are creating a distinct program for Middle School players by grouping 6th, 7th and 8th grade players into a revised Junior League. We will continue to sponsor one 7th grade travel team and one 8th grade travel team in the spring.

The Junior League will be divided into two divisions (American and National) based upon player skills and abilities.

The American division will have approximately six teams comprised of:

All non-travel 8th graders (except those who would prefer to play in the National division) and any 8th grade travel players who chose to participate.
The more skilled and competitive players in grades 6 and 7 as determined by a tryout administered by independent evaluators and by last year’s coaches’ ratings. 7th grade travel team players will be placed on Junior League American Division teams and will be required to participate in half of their teams’ games.
The American division will play on the larger “modified” field with 75-foot base paths and 50-foot pitching rubbers (travel teams play on regulation 90 / 60-foot fields).
Mandatory tryouts for the American division (and the travel teams) will be held on March 20th and 21st from 7 to 10 am at the Underdome in Mount Vernon (we don’t like the time any more than you do!). Players should only have to attend one of the two days, but we are not able to say yet how we will determine which one day any particular player will need to attend.

The National division will include Middle School players who did not try out for the American Division (as well as 8th graders who opt out of their automatic placement in the American division) and those who were not placed in the American Division. The National division will play on the traditional smaller 60 / 46-foot Little League field.

The new Junior League structure will:

Place all Middle School players in the same league, rather than in two different leagues as had been the case. However, the stratification and difference in the field size will insulate all but the very strongest of the 6th grade players from competing against the older and more developed 8th grade players.
Provide diversity and choice of baseball programs, both more and less competitive, for a broader group of players.

The American division program offers a more competitive program for Middle School players who appropriately desire a higher level of play.
The National division program offers a venue for less competitive players to play key positions, have greater playing time than in the present Junior League, and have the opportunity to continue their baseball skills development.
A broader group of skills that 6th and 7th graders will bring to the National league will enhance the baseball experience for the greatest number of players and families.

Realignment of the Atlantic and Pacific Leagues:

The Atlantic and Pacific leagues now will be an all elementary school program comprised of 4th and 5th grade players. These players will be combined and placed into Atlantic or Pacific based upon their skills and abilities (as determined by a tryout administered by independent evaluators and the prior year’s coaches’ ratings). The Atlantic league will be comprised of roughly 72 of the more skilled players. The Pacific league will include the 4th and 5th grade players who did not try out for the Atlantic League and those who were not placed in the Atlantic league.

Our goal is to increase participation and player retention in the program by:

Better aligning the program as an all elementary school program
Increasing the speed and level of play and feel of baseball for more competitive 4th and 5th graders versus the previous stand alone 4th grade program
Providing diversity and choice of baseball program.

A more competitive program (Atlantic league) for the 4th and 5th grade players who appropriately desire a higher level of play.
A venue for less competitive players to play key positions in the Pacific league and have greater exposure to key positions than in the present one division 4th grade program.

Allowing us to approach the Pacific league with a greater focus on player development through training. We believe that a player who has a chance to develop into a more skilled player in the lower grades becomes a player who enjoys the game more and who will play for more seasons.

Mandatory tryouts for the Atlantic league will be on March 13th and 14th from 7 to 10 am at the Underdome in Mount Vernon (again we don’t like the time any more than you do!), with players assigned alphabetically to one of the days. In past years, families with last names beginning with “A” through somewhere in the “K”s has been on Saturday.

A Brief Word on Travel Teams

SLL sponsors one travel team for players in each of the 7th and 8th grades. We expect that tryouts for these teams will occur as part of the Junior League American Division process on March 20th and 21st. Participation on these teams is a privilege that reflects a player’s skill and commitment to baseball over a period of years. We expect 7th grade players to give back to the league by participating in at least half of the Junior League program games. While we do not require more, and understand that players have very busy schedules and other commitments, we encourage them to participate more fully, just as we encourage 8th grade players, who do not have a Junior League commitment, to participate.

Scarsdale Little League Spring Programs – Grades 4 to 8

			Junior League		Spring Travel
	Pacific	Atlantic	National	American	Spring Travel
Grade	60’ / 46’ field	60’ / 46’ field	60’ / 46’ field	75’ / 50’ field	90’ / 60’ field

4	Open	Tryouts	-	-	-
5	Open	Tryouts	-	-	-
6	-	-	Open	Tryouts	-
7	-	-	Open	Tryouts	Tryouts 1
8	-	-	Open	Tryouts	Tryouts 2

1 The 7th grade travel players with have a commitment to play in 50% of their American division team’s games.
2 The 8th grade travel players are encouraged to play in the American division.

Registration for Spring 2010 Little League

Registration for Spring 2010 baseball will begin on January 1 and run though February 28. All registration is done on our registration page . Click on the blue “register” tab on the left, and follow the instructions. Existing players should already have accounts, and parents who wish to coach or manage teams should indicate this during the registration process.

Families with players in grades K through 3 will see very few changes in the registration process.

Fourth and fifth grade players who would like to try out for the Atlantic League should register for that league; those who are not selected will be automatically assigned to a Pacific League team. Mandatory tryouts for the Atlantic League will be on March 13th and 14th from 7 to 10 am at the Underdome in Mount Vernon, with players assigned alphabetically to one of the days.

Seventh and eighth grade players who would like to try out for the travel team should register for the travel team. At that time, they will be charged the Junior League registration fee. Travel teams (because they have professional coaches and league entrance fees) will carry an additional charge (typically several hundred dollars more than the SLL basic program) and require an additional uniform. These amounts will be collected once the members of the team are determined. Seventh grade players who are not placed on the travel team will be automatically placed on an American or National division team, as appropriate; those who are placed on the travel team will also be placed on an American division team.

Seventh grade players who would like to try out for the American division but not the travel team, should register for the American division; those who are not selected will be automatically assigned to a National division team.

Sixth grade players who would like to try out for the American division should register for the American division; those who are not selected will be automatically assigned to a National division team.

Eighth grade players who do not want to try out for the travel team should register for the American division and will be exempt from tryouts, but a player who would prefer to play in the National division rather than the American can register for the National division.

Tryouts for the American division and the travel teams will be on March 20th and 21st at the Underdome in Mount Vernon, 7 – 10 am.

Register by March 1

It is very important that you register by the end of February – late registrants account for a small proportion of our total players but a high proportion of our effort as we organize the beginning of the season. With 90 teams and over 1,000 players, making special arrangements for even a small percentage of players requires a lot of extra work. In many cases, player registrations after we have determined team counts results in teams being larger than we would like, diminishing the experience for a wider group of players. We really want everyone to register by March 1 and we thank you for your consideration. Fees for the Spring, teams, including the clinics that will be part of the program, are $125 (grades K and 1), $150 (grades 2 and 3) and $195 (grades 4 though 8). Travel team costs have not yet been determined; travel players will not be charged a separate American league fee.

Late registration will be available at an additional $100 charge (grades 3 through 8) and $25 (grades K and 1) from March 2 through April 3, however, it is not the same as regular registration. We cannot assure the availability of travel team / American / Atlantic tryout slots for late registrants, nor can we assure that late registrants will have a uniform for opening day or for grades K through 2 that players who register late will be placed on teams with other players from their elementary school. In addition, late registrants may be responsible for picking up their own uniforms at our equipment supplier (ANL Sports in White Plains) instead of receiving them from their coaches. Please understand that we are making on-time registration by March 1 a priority and hope that you will too.

Families for whom our registration fees would create a financial hardship should please feel free to apply on a confidential basis for a waiver of our fees by return email.

You can address any questions that you may have by reply email or to one of Board members, whose particulars can be found on our about us page .

We thank you for your continued support and look forward to a great 2010 season.

Play Ball!

Scarsdale Little League Board