Are you ready for Spring Baseball and Softball?

Registration dates for the 2015 Baseball and Softball season have been set! Mark your calendars!

February 11, 2015 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
February 14, 2015 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
February 18, 2015 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
February 21, 2015 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
February 25, 2015 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Registration prices will remain the same as last year; $50.00 per player with a discount price of $45.00 for each sibling. If space allows, players that register after February 25th will incur an additional $10.00 late fee.

Registration will be held at the Willards ball fields. In addition to cash and check, we will also accept all major credit cards.

To register your player, you will need to provide:

• copy of birth certificate
• 3 proofs of residency (proofs of residency can include a driver’s license, voter’s registration card, school records, homeowner records, utility bills, vehicle records, etc)
• player shirt and pant size
• last year’s uniform (if you failed to return in 2013)
• signature on multiple forms

There are some MAJOR changes that Little League has made this year which affect many children!!!
Little League announced that starting this year, changes to player age “cut-offs” will go in effect. They are making these changes for a few reasons and will ultimately affect all players in 2018. Briefly put, in 2018, a baseball player’s age will be determined by the age they turn during the playing year. So, for example, if your son/daughter turns 9 in November of 2018, they will be considered a 9 year old. In the past, Little League used a cut-off date of April 30th to determine a player’s age. In the above example, the old way of determining a player’s age would put our November 2018 player at age 8, since their age on April 30th is 8.

My example above shows that a player who was 7 last year COULD be considered 9 this year. For the player, this means one less year of Instructional baseball as they will be considered a Minor League player (the same could apply to a T-ball player). To ease the transition into the new rule, Little League is starting the change this year with any player born on or after January 1, 2006. This means that players who participated in the Minor and Major League baseball divisions last year will not be affected by the change. I created a calculator on this page to help you identify where your child falls this year. These changes only affect T-Ball and Baseball, not Softball!

We fully understand that many players may feel intimidated or not ready for the next step. Please assure them that many players fall into this category and will be going through the same transition (not just our league). I have heard from several parents that are hesitant to put their player in the next division, but I would encourage them to at least attend our assessments and play days. If after those sessions you still have concerns, please come talk to me (Bill Ritz) or Doug Lewis.

Read more on the age change here: http://www.littleleague.org/learn/newsletters/CBNewsletter/2014/cbnov14/newplayerage.htm

Questions? Send them our way! info@willardslittleleague.com