Wilton Little League

Our objective: to implant in our players the ideals of good sportsmanship,

honesty, loyalty, courage and respect for authority,

so that they may be well adjusted, stronger and happier children and will grow to be good, decent, healthy and

trustworthy citizens.

Wilton Little League60 Years of Little League baseball in WiltonLittle League International (Williamsport, PA)

East Region (Bristol, CT)Connecticut District 1 (Lower Fairfield County)

An all-volunteer organizationBoard of DirectorsLeague Directors, Managers and CoachesBoostersParents

Wilton Little League2013 was an incredible year for Wilton Little League

Nearly 1,000 player seasons across spring, summer and fall baseball and softballDistrict 1 Finalists in all five District 1 Championships:

12s baseball District 1 Finalist11s baseball District 1 Champion10s baseball District 1 ChampionLL Softball District 1 Finalist10u Softball District 1 Finalist

What’s new for 2014Field renovation at YMCA50/70 programSpring Travel baseballEnhanced YMCA partnership60th anniversary celebration

Winter: Evaluations, Clinics & Planning

Spring:Player

Development

Summer: Competitio

n

Fall: Recreation

Wilton Little League runs year-round, with three on-field seasons and an off-season devoted to League planning and player development. In each season our focus is:

Winter:− Player evaluations− Clinics− Board planning

Spring – our developmental season, focus on baseball fundamentals

Summer – our competitive season, focus on Little League tournaments

Fall – our recreational season

Annual Calendar - Baseball

League Structure – Developmental Leagues (K, 1 & 2)Kindergarten: T-ball

Introduction to Wilton Little LeagueFocus on Fun…and begin baseball fundamentalsHitting, Throwing and Catching

First Grade: Coach PitchContinued development of fundamentalsBegin to hit a pitched ball

Second Grade: Machine PitchContinued development of fundamentalsBegin to develop strike zone awareness

* “Little League Age” means age as of April 30th

League Structure – Kid Pitch (3rd – 7th / 12 y.o.)AA (“Double A”)

3rd and 4th grade (ages 8-10)Introduction to pitchingFocus on core skill developmentHitting, Throwing, Pitching and CatchingLimited base-runningPlayoffs and Championship

AAA (“Triple-A”)4th, 5th and 6th grade (ages 9-11)Intermediate kid-pitch baseballFor players with a solid understanding of the gameIntermediate base-runningPlayoffs and Championship

Majors5th, 6th and 7th grade (ages 11 & 12)WLL’s highest level of spring baseballFor our most advanced and oldest playersFull “live” base-runningPlayoffs and Championship

* “Little League Age” means age as of April 30th

Winter: Evaluations, Clinics & Planning

Spring:Development

al/Competitive

season

Summer: Extended

district play

Fall: Recreation

Wilton Little League runs year-round, with three on-field seasons and an off-season devoted to League planning and player development. In each season our focus is:

Winter:− Player Evaluations− Clinics− Board planning

Spring – our developmental season, focus on softball fundamentals; competitive inter-town play for older leagues

Summer – extended competitive play for districts and beyond

Fall – our recreational season

Annual Calendar - Softball

League Structure – Softball age 5 through 14*Softball age uses calendar year calculation!

T-ballAges 5 and 6Introduction to Wilton Little LeagueFocus on Fun…and begin softball fundamentalsHitting, Throwing and Catchingadvance away from Tee use as season progresses

AA (“Double A”)Ages 7 and 8Introduction to pitchingUses 10 inch ballFocus on core skill developmentHitting, Throwing, Pitching and CatchingLimited base-runningAim for 20% inter-town play

AAA (“Triple-A”)Ages 9 - 10Kid pitch with boundariesIntermediate base-runningPlayoffs and ChampionshipUses 11 inch ballPitching from 35 feetMajority of play is inter-townSubmits a district team

MajorsAges 11 and 12For our more advanced and older playersPlay full Little League “book” rulesPlayoffs and ChampionshipMajority of play is inter-townPitching from 40 feetUses 12 inch ballSubmits a district team

JuniorsAges 13 and 14WLL’s highest level of spring softballFor our most advanced and oldest playersPlay full Little League “book” rulesFreshman that play high school team are eligible once school season endsPitching from 43 feetUses 12 inch ballMajority of play is inter-townSubmits a district team

Player Evaluation – Baseball & SoftballWhat we do, how we do it, and why…

Provide for the right pace of development of core baseball skills with proper league allocationEnable a fair team selection processEnd of spring-season evaluations prepared by each team manager

Beginning in 2nd grade (Machine Pitch) for BaseballBeginning with AA for SoftballCore baseball skills (hitting for contact and power, pitching, fielding and running)

January evaluations within each age/grade peer groupWilton High School FieldhouseAll players 3rd grade and older for BaseballCore baseball skills (hitting for contact and power, pitching, fielding and running)

Rigorous, data-driven and time-tested evaluation metrics and techniquesA sound process…NOT a crystal ball

OtherData is maintained by Wilton Little LeagueYear-over-year analysis utilized to provide better guidance each seasonContinuous process improvement

League & Team Allocation – BaseballGrade, Age, Experience and Social Considerations

League Grades

Little League Ages*

Grade? Age? Ability? Social?

T-ball K 5 & 6Coach Pitch 1st 6 & 7

Machine Pitch 2nd 7 & 8

AA 3rd – 4th 8 – 10

AAA 4th – 6th 9 – 11

Majors 5th - 7th 11 & 12

* “Little League Age” means age as of April 30th

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Team Selection, Baseball & SoftballDevelopmental Leagues – Teams assembled by League

Baseball: T-Ball, Coach Pitch and Machine PitchSoftball: T-Ball and AASocial considerations are primary focus

Parents often request teammates based on friendship, carpool convenience, practice days, etc.WLL honors all reasonable requests to the extent possible

Kid-pitch Leagues – Teams drafted by the ManagersBaseball: AA, AAA & MajorsSoftball: AAA, Majors & JuniorsManagers are provided a ranked, sorted list of players on draft night

Draft sheets are returned to WLL at end of draft, maintained by WLLManagers are given freedom to assemble teams as they see fit

Prioritization of skills on team (pitching vs. fielding vs. hitting) Drafting coaching assistants Social considerations

Goal is a balanced, competitive leagueFair draft process – all managers provided same informationNot always the same thing as balanced teams…sound process, not a crystal ball

Upcoming CalendarSoftball

Teams complete, Managers notifying playersBaseball Kid Pitch League drafts

Monday, March 17th - Wednesday, March 19th

Manager & Coaches Clinic and Safety MeetingSaturday, March 29th

10:00 am Clinic11:00 am Safety Meeting

Opening DayDevelopmental Leagues – Sunday April 6th

Miller-Driscoll Carnival Fri 4/4 – Sat 4/5Baseball

AA – Monday, March 31AAA & Majors – Tuesday, April 1

Softball – April 560th Anniversary of Wilton Little League

Wednesday, April 9th

Full slate of AAA & Majors Baseball games at the YMCA fields 5:30 – 9:00

Upcoming CalendarLittle League Day

Saturday, May 17th at the YMCAAn outdoor celebration of baseball in WiltonFood, music, prizes, raffles…and baseball

Picture DaySaturday, May 10th

PlayoffsPool Round: Saturday May 31st – Sunday June 8th

Semi-Finals: AA Monday June 9th; AAA & Majors Tuesday June 10th

Championship and Consolation games: AA Thursday June 11th; AAA & Majors Friday June 13th

Softball TBDSummer Tournaments

Player Voting Saturday June 7th

District Teams announced Sunday June 15th Summer Friendship Tournament team selection June 16th – 25th

FieldsComstock Community Center (180 School Road)

T-ball and/or Coach Pitch baseballMiller Field (Miller-Driscoll School, 336 Belden Hill Road)

T-ball baseballDriscoll Field(Miller-Driscoll School)

Coach Pitch baseballLion’s Field (725 Danbury Road)

Machine Pitch baseballMiddlebrook 1 and 2 (Middlebrook School, 25 School Road)

All softballMiddlebrook 3 (Middlebrook School, 25 School Road)

Double-A baseballClem Young Field (aka “AAA”; Wilton YMCA, 404 Danbury Road)

AAA baseballKid-pitch playoff semifinals and championship

Bill Terry Field (aka “Majors”; Wilton YMCA)Majors baseballKid-pitch playoff semifinals and championship

Parent ResourcesManager & Coaches

VolunteersSet the direction for the team

League DirectorWork with the managers and coaches on scheduling, umpires, etc.First point of contact for any manager or coach concerns

Player Agent and Board of DirectorsPlayer Agent – any parent question or concernBoard – available

Wilton Little League WebsiteTeam SchedulesSponsor highlightsBoard contact information

Board of Directors – Wilton Little LeagueBoard members and roles

Robert Louzan - President

CJ Belanger – VP softball, VP Baseball (interim)

David Johnson – Player Agent

Kerry McMahon – Treasurer

Kevin Tietjen – Secretary

David Liston – Information Officer

Eric English – Safety Officer

Mario Ferrante – Tournaments Coordinator

Tim Clark – Evaluations Coordinator

Jim Jarvie – Sponsorship Coordinator

Michael Cyr – Field Maintenance

Glenn Walsh – Purchasing & Equipment

Tim Roberts – Player Development

Jamie O’Neill – Boosters Coordinator

Softball Committee Members and rolesCJ Belanger – VP softball, District 1 rep

John D’Elisa– Player Agent

Jeff Imrie & Chris Stengrim – Player development

April Strazza– Secretary, Coach Development

Bob Belanger & Chris Kelly– Purchasing & Equipment

Patrick Cropper– Softball umpire coordination

Bob Wallace – WBSA liaison