2017 Tee Ball Parent's Handbook

Transcription

1 PO BOX 348 THORNDALE, PA LITTLE LEAGUE BASEBALL*LITTLE LEAGUE SOFTBALL*LITTLE LEAGUE CHALLENGER President of Little League: Mark Winther, Player Agent-Baseball: Steve Santillo, VP Tee Ball: Ryan Borneman, 2017 Tee Ball Parent's Handbook Our Tee ball baseball division consists of boys who are league age 4 and 5. League age is based on the player s age they will be on August 31 st, In most cases this means that the boys are all pre-kindergarten. This division is typically the first exposure to the sport for the boys. It is imperative for the coaches and parents to understand this and make it a positive experience for them. Caln A.A. also offers Tee Ball for softball girls. Goal The goal of our tee ball division is to not emphasize competitiveness, but focus on the development of fundamental baseball skills. We have developed our schedule to allow for more practice time during the season to help the boys work on things that they encounter during the games as well as a chance to work on fundamentals in a practice setting. The entire season will be dedicated to learning the rules of baseball, fundamentals of fielding, throwing, hitting and most of all having fun! Schedule Tee Ball games are scheduled on Saturdays throughout the season. Practices will be scheduled during the week. During the first half of the season, we will hold one practice per week. During the second half of the season, we will schedule either games or practices during the week along with games on Saturdays. During our "pre-season" which typically runs for the last two weeks of March and first couple of weeks of April, practices may be held on Saturdays and during the week.

2 Some important dates to keep in mind during the season are: April 8, 2017: Opening Day April 8, 2017: Picture Day May 20, 2017: Home Run Derby May 29, 2017: Memorial Day Weekend No Games More information on these events are in this packet. Equipment All players are provided with a hat and jersey. The league will provide bats and helmets for players to use. Parents will need to provide a pair of baseball pants, preferably white, and a glove. Cleats or spikes are optional. Protective cups are optional, but encouraged. Personal helmets are optional as well as helmets equipped with face masks. Please contact your player s coach or Tee Ball VP: Ryan Borneman if you have questions concerning the necessary equipment. Fields Caln A.A. has seven fields: Big Field, Softball Field, Intermediate Field, Minor A Field, Minor B Field, Rookie Field, and Tee Ball Field. The Big Field and Softball Field are the two along Municipal Drive and across from Giant. The snack bar and restrooms are located next to the Softball Field. The Tee Ball Field is located west of Caln Elementary. You may park in the teachers parking lot for Caln Elementary. Access to that parking lot is off of business 30. The Tee Ball Field does not have bleachers, so blankets and camping chairs are recommended. A port-a-potty and snack bar trailer are next to the Tee Ball Field. All weekday practices and games and most Saturday games will be on the Tee Ball Field. Local Rules 1. All batters are to use tee for at least the first half of the season. Coach pitch can begin in the second half of season per league discretion. Underhand tosses or lobs should be used in 2

3 order that the player makes contact. The tee can always be used for those who do not put the ball in play during coach pitch. 2. Offensively, a continuous batting order allows all players to bat each inning. Batting order shall remain the same for entire game. Batting order may be changed each game. 3. Defensively, all players will play in the field with 5 players positioned in the infield. Positions will change each inning, giving each player an opportunity to experience each position. Special consideration should be used when placing players at 1 st base. 4. There is no catcher position. An adult coach should be at home plate to place the ball on the batting tee and to provide a safe environment when players are batting. 5. Coaches are allowed on the field to facilitate learning the rules of baseball. Play can and should be stopped at any time to explain/teach. 6. Bunting, stealing or leading off the base is not permitted. 7. There are no strikeouts. 8. No score, records or standings will be kept. 9. The game duration is 50 minutes to 1 hour and 15 minutes. We will play as many innings as possible in this time frame, with no new inning starting after 50 minutes. Typically, games are 3 innings long. 10. All players shall shake hands with opposing team after conclusion of each game. 11. All players shall sit on bench in batting order. 12. On deck batter should remain sitting on bench with helmet on and ready to bat. 13. No player shall swing a bat until they arrive at home plate. Safety is of utmost importance with respect to our tee ball players. Umpires Coaches share the umpiring responsibilities at this level. Volunteers Needed If you are interested in becoming an assistant coach for your child s team, please indicate your desire to do with your son or daughter s coach. All volunteers are required to fill out a 2017 volunteer application and complete Pennsylvania s criminal check and child abuse 3

4 background check. Volunteer applications and links to the two background checks can be found on our website: Our tee ball teams will often times provide a team snack at the end of every game. This is up to the discretion of each team's coach. Snack Bar Responsibility Caln A.A. operates two snack bar facilities for the enjoyment of our players, parents and families. These snack bars are operated entirely by parent volunteers. Parents on all older teams are assigned a schedule to work in the snack bars. Tee Ball parents may receive an assignment to support another team. No experience is necessary. Please keep in mind, the financial success of our league depends on the operation of our snack bar facilities. Each and every coach and asst. coach dedicates a tremendous amount of time to make our league successful. We hope you will volunteer a few hours of your time this season and help in our snack bars. Please contact the snack bar coordinator, Amy Shindle, at ashindle4@gmail.com to sign up for a snack bar time. Opening Day Opening day is scheduled for April 8th. At 9:30 am, teams will group together on the Softball Field. Signs with team names will be located on the Softball Field. Please be there no later than 9:45. A parent is welcome to stay with your tee ball son through the march and opening ceremonies or can move to the bleachers on the Big Field to watch the opening ceremonies. Beginning at 10:00 am, teams will march into the Big Field for opening ceremonies, including the singing of the national anthem and reciting of the Little League Pledge. The tee ball teams will be excused early. Parents can meet their son at the Big Field gate between the Big Field and Softball Field and watch the rest of the opening ceremonies. In connection with Opening Day, the Thorndale United Methodist Church is hosting its annual pancake breakfast fundraiser starting at 7:00 am. Boys in uniform eat free. Tickets may be purchased at the door. The Thorndale Methodist Church is adjacent to the Softball Field and Intermediate Field. 4

5 Picture Day Picture day is scheduled for April 8 th, same as our opening day at Caln A.A. Picture order forms will be distributed by each team's coach in advance of picture day. Payment for pictures is required at the time pictures are taken. Please make sure you are aware of your team s scheduled picture time. Even if you do not wish to purchase pictures, please make sure your son is present for the team picture. Team pictures are placed on a plaque and given to each of our sponsors at the conclusion of the season. We like to have a full team photo of each of our teams to place on the plaque to say, thank you to all of our league sponsors. Home Run Derby Caln AA will hold our annual Home Run Derby on May 20 th. This is one of the very few fund raising events the league will hold during the season. This event is set up for all age groups including tee ball. Players are asked to solicit sponsors from families and friends. Depending on the amount of sponsors, boys will earn shirts or jackets. The event is free to the boys. Each boy will get the opportunity to compete. The home run derby will be set up in a way that will be appropriate for our tee ball players. They will be awarded points on how far they hit the ball off the tee by lines drawn on the infield. Each team will receive their time slot to participate in the home run derby. This time slot will usually be just prior or just after their scheduled game on May 20 th. The home run derby event will be held on the Softball Field. In addition to hitting, there will be other family events around the Softball Field. We hope you will encourage your son to participate. We find that this is one of the most fun family events the boys look forward to each year. There will be awards presented to the top 3 players in each division. More information will be provided on this event once the season begins. Questions Please do not hesitate to reach out to your coach, the VP of Tee Ball Ryan Borneman, or us at info@calnaa.com if you have any questions or concerns at any time during the season. Have a great season!! 5