Highlights for Welcome to the 2015 Waunakee Area Little League Season! Our Objective: Our Little League: INSIDE

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1 Welcome to the 2015 Waunakee Area Little League Season! Our Objective: The Waunakee Area Little League will provide a healthy environment for the youth of our community. Our focus is to encourage participation, develop character and discipline, promote teamwork, and advocate citizenship and community pride. We will strive to provide quality instruction in the development of baseball & softball skills, sportsmanship, competitiveness and fair play. Waunakee Area Little League is committed to enriching the lives of all our youth and fostering a love of the game. Our Little League: Waunakee Area Little League is a chartered Little League and a member of Wisconsin District 4 Little League (www.eteamz.com/widistrict4). Waunakee Area Little League has been affiliated with Little League since 2006 and enrollment in the program has grown each year. In 2014, more than 1000 children played in thirteen different leagues. The Waunakee Area Little League is administered by the Village of Waunakee Community Services Department. Highlights for 2015 Expanded spring clinics for both baseball and softball. Little League Coach Resource Center. Winter open gyms for softball. INSIDE Coaching & Sponsorship 2 Registration / Weather 3 Info and What s New for K-8th Grade Offerings 5-7 Softball Open Gyms 8 Calendar 9 Volunteer and Sponsor Forms

2 WALL Leagues WALL includes baseball and softball leagues for children of all ages. WALL play is based on a player s current grade in the spring. A summary of the leagues are provided below. Little Hitters T-ball: Coed league for 4 year olds T-ball: Coed league for 5 year olds Coach pitch baseball: Boys currently in Kindergarten and 1 st grade Opportunities Coach pitch softball: Girls currently in Kindergarten and 1 st grades Rookie league baseball: Boys currently in 2 nd grade, pitching machine Rookie league softball: Girls currently in 2 nd grade, pitching machine Minor league softball: Girls currently in 3 rd and 4 th grade, live pitching Minor league A baseball: Boys currently in 3 rd grade, live pitching Minor league AA baseball: Boys currently in 4 th grade, live pitching Major league softball: Girls currently in 5 th and 6 th grade, live pitching Major league baseball: Boys currently in 5 th and 6 th grade, live pitching Junior league softball: Girls currently in 7 th and 8 th grade, live pitching Babe Ruth 13 s baseball: Boys currently in 7 th grade, live pitching Babe Ruth 14 s baseball: Boys currently in 8 th grade, live pitching Coaching Opportunities WALL play is based on your child s current grade in the spring. If you ve ever considered coaching and making a difference in the lives of young people, WALL needs you. Coaches are needed in all age groups. There will be educational opportunities for coaches throughout the season. Coaching applications are due by Friday, March 13, All coaches must fill out a 2015 coaching application form and drop it off or mail it to the Village Center. If you are registering in person you can fill out an application at the Village Center. As part of the application process, all coaches will be required to go through a background check. Coaches must fill out a new form each year. A volunteer form can be found on the WALL website or can be picked up at the Village Center. Team Sponsorship The WALL had more than 1000 children between the ages of 4 and 16 participate in our baseball and softball leagues last year. This program touches nearly every household in the Waunakee community in some way. Organizations have helped us by sponsoring a team with their company name and logo. Team sponsorships are $300. The league applies funds received for sponsorships toward the purchase of safety equipment and uniforms. Throughout spring and summer, hundreds of people will see the sponsoring organization s logo on uniforms and on our website. If you or your business are interested in sponsoring a team in the Waunakee Area Little League please contact Jeff Skoug at Your name here! 2

3 Traveling and Tournament Teams There are opportunities for players to participate on travelling and tournament teams at some levels. Each league handles these opportunities differently. Please refer to the league-specific information for these opportunities. Uniforms and Equipment WALL supplies the uniform/shirt, all catcher s equipment and batting helmets, umpires, and equipment needed for a safe and fun game. Players are required to provide their own cleats and a glove. A player may use his/ her own bat provided that it is Little League approved for their level of play. Please label all personal equipment with name and phone number. Baseball players in grades 4 and older will be required to provide their own gray baseball pants. There are a limited number of used pants for sale at the Village Center and can be purchased for $5.00. Some players will receive uniforms as part of their league/tournament play. These uniforms will need to be returned to the Village Center at the end of the season or you will be billed $20 for each item not returned. Practices Each coach will determine their own practice schedule. Practices are emphasized and will be held before and during the season. Practices will be scheduled at least once a week. Registration Register in person at the Village Center, online at or via phone by calling the Village Center at The early bird registration period for Babe Ruth, Major and Minor Baseball leagues is January 31 - March 15, The early bird registration period for all other baseball, softball and t-ball leagues is January 31 - April 15, Players registered by these dates will be guaranteed a spot on a team and receive a $10 discount. Players registering after the early registration deadline will be accepted based on availability and will be assessed the regular fee. Scholarships Weather Rain out information is posted at the village website: under the heading: Weather Advisory / Sports Cancellations or call the Weather Line at No child will be denied the opportunity to participate due to financial hardship. Scholarships for players are available. Contact Jeff Skoug, Recreation Supervisor, at if you have a financial need. Qualifications for scholarships are on a case-by-case basis and requests are kept confidential. Tournaments, Weather, and Uniforms Players who register for Little League and then make a traveling softball team will have their registration refunded if they decide not to play in both leagues. Parents are responsible for submitting refund requests to the Village Center by June 1, The early registration deadline for Babe Ruth, Major, and Minor Baseball Leagues is Sunday, March 15,

4 Pre-Season Baseball Player and Parent Meetings We will be holding Player and Parent meetings for our 4th 6th grade baseball leagues. At these meetings we will be explaining player & parent expectations, schedules, tournament team options and allow for a question & answer session. We will also hand out uniforms and assign teams at these meetings. Sunday, April 12th - 5:00-6:00 pm Minor League AA Baseball (Grade 4) Sunday, April 12th - 6:00-7:00 pm Major League Baseball (Grades 5-6) All of these meetings will be held at the Village Center. General Information & What s New for 2015 WALL Night at the Mallards Game Thursday, July 9th, 2015 The Madison Mallards will be holding a Waunakee Area Little League night at the Duck Pond on Thursday, July 9th, The Mallards will be playing the Kenosha Kingfish at 7:05 pm. All WALL families are invited to purchase tickets for this game at the group portal on the Mallards website: The password is Waunakee. More information on this will be coming. The Mallards are offering both a Ticket with a Hat deal for $12 and a Pepsi Tailgate package for $20 with $2 of every ticket purchased benefiting Waunakee Little League. WALL Website The Waunakee Area Little League (WALL) website, contains information about WALL. During the season, the website will provide schedules and updates for the leagues. Woodall Baseball Academy Clinics Former Major League pitcher Brad Woodall, will be offering several players clinic this spring for all WALL players. Brad will be offering a players clinic on hitting on Tuesday, March 24th from 9am 11am, a clinic on throwing/pitching on Thursday, March 26th from 9am 11am and a Spring Training Clinic on Sunday, April 12th from 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm. You can register for these clinics by going to Questions on these clinics can be directed to Brad at US Baseball Academy in Waunakee The Waunakee Area Little League (WALL) will once again be sponsoring the US Baseball Academy in The academy will be held at Waunakee High School for six Sundays beginning February 8, Players will have the opportunity to register for hitting, pitching, fielding and/or catching sessions at part of this program. To register and get further details please to the US Baseball Academy website: or call their office at

5 Little Hitters Parent/Child T-Ball June 8th - July 8th The Little Hitters program is for boys and girls who are 4 years old in the spring. This 5-week program is designed to introduce players to the game and start development of basic skills. The primary emphasis is placed on making sure the players have FUN! Parents will be asked to assist their children on the field. Players will meet once per week on either Monday or Wednesday evening. This league will start in mid-june. Course Number: Mon 5:30 Early Bird Fee: $25.00 Regular Fee: $ Mon 6:30 (Registered by May 15th) (After May 15th) Wed 5: Wed 6:30 T-Ball June 2nd - July 23rd The T-ball program is for boys and girls who are 5 years old in the spring. This program is designed to introduce players to the game and start development of basic skills. No score is kept and every player bats every inning. The primary emphasis is placed on making sure that the kids have FUN! Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or by neighborhood. Players will meet one time per week on either Tuesday or Thursday evening. Course Number: (Tues) Early Bird Fee: $36.00 Regular Fee: $ (Thurs) Coach Pitch Baseball June 1st - July 22nd This program is for boys currently in Kindergarten and 1 st grade this spring. The coaches will serve as the pitchers. The objective of the league is to further develop the player s basic skills and introduce players to additional rules of the game in a non-competitive environment. Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games on Monday and Wednesday nights. Course Number: (Kindergarten) Early Bird Fee:$45.00 Regular Fee:$ (1st Grade) Coach Pitch Softball June 2nd - July 23rd This program is for girls currently in Kindergarten and 1 st grade this spring. The coaches will serve as the pitchers. The objective of the league to further develop the player s basic skills and introduce players to additional rules of the game in a non-competitive environment. Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $45.00 Regular Fee: $55.00 Rookie League Baseball May 20th - July 22nd This program is for boys currently in 2 nd grade this spring. Pitching is done with a pitching machine. The objective of the league is to further develop a player s basic skills while offering more competition. Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games on Monday and Wednesday nights. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $50.00 Regular Fee: $60.00 League Registration Information (K-2nd grade) Rookie League Softball May 26th - July 23rd This program is for girls currently in 2 nd grade this spring. Pitching is done with a pitching machine. The objective of the league is to further develop a player s basic skills while offering more competition. Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $50.00 Regular Fee: $

6 Minor League A Baseball May 4th - July 15th This program is for boys currently in 3 rd grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 46 ft. pitching mound. Players are exposed to live player pitching for the first time. There are no walks (coaches will pitch to batters who have drawn a walk) in order to encourage all players to pitch. Players in this league who wish to pitch should be able to throw the ball consistently over home plate from 46 feet away. There is no stealing. Coaches are encouraged to focus on player development. Score is not kept during the regular season. However, score is kept during an end-of-season tournament. Teams are organized as evenly as possible from all registered players. Teams play scheduled games on Monday and Wednesday nights. This league will start in early May. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $65.00 Regular Fee: $75.00 (Registered by March 15th) (After March 15th) Minor League Softball May 18th - July 29th League Registration Information This program is for girls currently in 3 rd and 4 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 35 ft. pitching mound. Players are exposed to live player pitching for the first time. There are no walks (coaches will pitch to batters who have drawn a walk) in order to encourage all players to pitch. This league uses an 11 inch softball. The objective of this league is further development of player s basic skills. Teams are organized from registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games. In addition to the Recreational League, there will also be at least one Developmental softball team selected from the players that enroll. The Developmental team will play in the South Central Softball League and will be selected through an evaluation process approved by the high school coaches. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $55.00 Regular Fee: $65.00 Minor League AA Baseball April 20th - July 8th This program is for boys currently in 4 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 46 ft. pitching mound. This is a live pitching league with walks. Stealing will be allowed. The score of each game will be kept and league standings will be used to seed the end-of-season tournament. Teams are organized as evenly as possible from all registered players. Teams play 14 scheduled games, primarily on Monday and Wednesday nights. This league will start in late April. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $75.00 Regular Fee: $85.00 (Registered by March 15th) (After March 15th) Tournament Team Opportunity for Minor League AA Baseball During the 2015 regular season players who participate in Minor League AA baseball will have the opportunity to also play on a tournament team. In mid June tournament teams will be formed. These tournament teams will be organized by ability (A, B, etc.). The A-team will represent Waunakee at the Little League District 4 tournament. All teams will participate in tournaments based on coach s and player s availability and interest. Every attempt will be made to provide as many players as possible with tournament opportunities. This commitment is in addition to the regular season games and practices that are required by the regular league. Parents should realize that participation on a tournament team will require an intense commitment of time as well as additional fees and travel. Please carefully consider this before signing up for this additional opportunity. Parent & Player Meeting - Sunday, April 12th - 5:00-6:00 pm at the Village Center 6

7 Major League Softball May 19th - July 30th This program is for girls currently in 5 th and 6 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 40 ft. pitching mound. This league is the first introduction to live pitching using a 12 inch softball. Limited stealing is allowed. The league focuses on promoting an advanced level of skill. Teams are organized from the registered players primarily by school or neighborhood. Teams play scheduled games on Tuesday and Thursday nights. There will be a minimal amount of travel involved with this league. This league will start in late May. In addition to the Recreational League, there will also be at least one Developmental softball team selected from the players that enroll. The Developmental team will play in the South Central Softball League and will be selected through an evaluation process approved by the high school coaches. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $65.00 Regular Fee: $75.00 Major League Baseball April 20th - July 2nd This program is for boys currently in 5 th and 6 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 46 ft. pitching mound. This is a live pitching league with walks. Stealing will be allowed. The score of each game will be kept and league standings will be used to seed the end-of-season tournament. Teams are organized as evenly as possible from all registered players. Teams play 14 scheduled games. Game nights will vary throughout the season. This league will start in late April. League may be split based on numbers. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $82.00 Regular Fee: $92.00 (Registered by March 15th) (After March 15th) Tournament Team Opportunity for Major League Baseball During the 2015 regular season players who participate in Major League baseball will have the opportunity to also play on a tournament team. For the tournament teams we will split up the 6th and 7th graders by grade. In mid June tournament teams will be formed. These tournament teams will be organized by ability (A, B, etc.). The A- team will represent Waunakee at the Little League District 4 tournament. All teams will participate in tournaments based on coach s and player s availability and interest. Every attempt will be made to provide as many players as possible with tournament opportunities. This commitment is in addition to the regular season games and practices that are required by the regular league. Parents should realize that participation on a tournament team will require an intense commitment of time as well as additional fees and travel. Please carefully consider this before signing up for this additional opportunity. Parent & Player Meeting - Sunday, April 12th - 6:00-7:00 pm at the Village Center League Registration Information Junior League Softball May 19th - July 30th This program is for girls currently in 7 th and 8 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 60 ft. base paths and 40 ft. pitching mound. The objective of this program is to introduce girls to a higher level of competition and high school softball. A 12 inch ball is used. Some travel is required as not all games are played in Waunakee. Teams are organized based on a draft of all registered players. In addition to the Recreational League, there will also be at least one Developmental softball team selected from the players that enroll. The Developmental team will play in the South Central Softball League and will be selected through an evaluation process approved by the high school coaches. Teams play scheduled games. Games and practice times will vary. This league will start in late May. Course Number: Early Bird Fee: $65.00 Regular Fee: $

8 Babe Ruth League Baseball April 13th - July 17th This program is for boys currently in 7 th and 8 th grade this spring. Play is on a field with 90 ft. base paths and 60 ft. pitching mound. Base stealing and pitchers balks are introduced. This league is more competitive with less player movement between positions. A longer schedule is used with inter-league play against teams from all over Dane County. Some travel is required as not all games are played in Waunakee. Teams are organized based on an assessment of all registered players. Teams play scheduled games plus 4-5 weekend tournaments. Games and practice times will vary. This league will start in early April. Teams will play together for the entire season. Registration fee includes all tournament fees and jersey/hat. Course Number: (7th grade) Early Bird Fee: $ Regular Fee: $ (8th grade) (Registered by March 15th) (After March 15th) Youth Softball Open Gyms Pre-Season Open Gyms for Recreational and Developmental Softball Players Schedule of Events These open gyms will cover the fundamental skills of softball and is targeted for all girls 8 to 14 years of age at all skill levels. Participants will be taught the proper mechanics to help them with their offensive and defensive softball skills prior to the start of the upcoming season. Coaches will concentrate on the fundamental skills of throwing, hitting, fielding, running, pitching, catching and game situations. Instruction will be provided by experienced coaches, current players and alumni. All players interested in playing in the competitive softball league should attend as many open gyms as possible. There is no need to register for these open gyms as they are free to all players. Open gym dates and times are as follows: Sundays: Jan. 11, 18, 25 Fridays: Feb. 6, 20, 27 From 6:30-7:00 p.m. for pitchers and catchers and 7:00-8:30 p.m. for all players Located in the high school field house 8

9 Upcoming Events Saturday, February 14th - Babe Ruth Assessments at the High School U13 at 5pm and U14 at 6pm Saturday, March 7th - Player s Clinic for Softball with Edgewood College Softball Coaches. Times TBD Sunday, March 15th - Early Bird Registration ends for Babe Ruth, Major and Minor Baseball Leagues Tuesday, March 24th - Player s Hitting Clinic for Baseball from 9:00 am - 11:00 am at the Village Center with Brad Woodall Thursday, March 26th - Player s Throwing/Pitching Clinic for Baseball from 9:00 am - 11:00 am at the Village Center with Brad Woodall Saturday, April 11th - Baseball Coaches Clinic with Spencer Lee and the High School Coaching Staff from 8:00-10:00 am at the Intermediate School Sunday, April 12th - Parent s & Player s Meeting at Village Center for grades 4-6 Baseball Players. Wednesday, April 15th - Early Bird Registration ends for all softball leagues, rookie & coach pitch baseball and t-ball Saturday & Sunday, June 20th & 21st - WALL Tournament for Major and Minor AA Baseball Leagues Thursday, July 9th - WALL night at the Mallards Game Saturday, July 18th - WALL Tournament for Minor A Baseball League Recommended Equipment Little League International has placed a moratorium on all composite-barreled baseball bats for the major league divisions and below. The website below will give you a list of approved bats. Please look over this list before you purchase a new bat for this season. Babe Ruth also has bat requirements for league play. The website below will give you a list of approved bats for Babe Ruth play. Little League Coach Resource Center As part of our affiliation with Little League International, our league has access to the Little League Coach Resource Center. Click on the link below and get registered to have free access to this Resource Center. The intent of this Resource Center is to provide the Little League Baseball and Softball Coach with the tools they need to be effective leaders of children, to run efficient & productive practices and to teach children the baseball or softball skills they need to be able to excel. This service is being provided at absolutely no charge by Little League International. Any and all Little League Baseball and Softball Coaches are eligible to access any of the information in this Resource Center at any time. Whether you, as a Manager or Coach, are a novice or a seasoned veteran, you will be able to learn something from this Resource Center. We hope you enjoy it. 9

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11 Waunakee Area Little League 2015 Sponsor Application Form Business Name: Address: City: State Zip Code Contact Name: Phone Number: Business Web Site Address: Yes I would like to sponsor team(s) for $300 each. Total $ *includes team jerseys featuring your company name and/or logo, listing in the sponsor section on our website and a listing in the fall Village of Waunakee newsletter. If you have a preference, please indicate division or team you would like to sponsor. Age Division: Boys or Girls (circle one) Name of child you wish to sponsor: Mail your check to: Jeff Skoug Waunakee Village Center 333 South Madison Street Waunakee, WI Please make your checks payable to the Village of Waunakee. We also take credit card payments. Call for details. Thank you for your support!