Brookline Little League Association

Brookline T Ball 2017

Kick off the Season

The T Ball season will begin with the BLLA parade on Saturday, April 29.  All T-Ballers will meet at the Brookline Firehouse on the corner of Brookline Blvd and Castlegate Ave at 9:30am.  Players should wear a Brookline shirt, a Pirate’s shirt or aabseball shirt if they have one.  Please dress for the weather.   At 10am, the entire BLLA will parade down Brookline Blvd to the Recreation Center Fields.  Players will assemble on the fields for introductions and pictures along with a snack from the concession stand.

Full Schedule

Tball sessions will be held on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings beginning on Sunday, April 30.  Sunday sessions will last from 9am until 11am.  Wednesday sessions will be held from 6pm until 7:30pm.  There will be 16 sessions from April 30^th and running through Sunday June 25^th.  There will be no T-Ball on Sunday May 28^th (Memorial Day weekend).   In the event of cancellation due to weather, every effort will be made to notify everyone at least 1 hour prior to a scheduled session start time.  Cancellations will be emailed, texted, and posted on Facebook.  While we will make every effort to reschedule any cancelled sessions, we cannot guarantee that all sessions will be rescheduled as fields are in almost constant use.

Please make every effort to be on time for TBALL. It can be challenging setting up and starting sessions when players aren’t there on time and coaches have a difficult time working players into drills.

INFORMATION FOR THE PLAYERS

What to Bring to T-Ball

The uniform for practice sessions is Gray Baseball Pants, Team Shirt(issued during the first few weeks), and Team Hat.  All Players are strongly encouraged to wear PLASTIC cleats (they do not need to be baseball specific).  Please dress for the weather.    All Players are also required to have a baseball or softball glove of an appropriate fit.  While all other equipment necessary will be provided by the BLLA, players are able bring their own bats, batting helmets, batting gloves, or any other pieces of individual equipment that they may have.  An individual water bottle is also strongly encouraged.    Please make sure that anything you bring is clearly labeled with your child’s name.  We cannot guarantee that equipment left at the fields will be returned.

What to expect at Tball

The format for tball will be adapted from the recommended guidelines of the Junior Pirates organization.  Players will begin the season learning various skills related to the game.  Emphasis on throwing, catching, basic field positioning, batting, and sportsmanship will be stressed through a variety of drills.  As the season progresses, players will be placed on teams and compete in basic game situations.  While outs may be introduced, the 3 out per inning format will not be used during games.  Score will not be kept in any Tball game.  

Rules for Players

Parents should read through the following rules with players. 

• Players should make sure they are listening to their coaches at all times.
• No player should hit, kick, yell at, or make fun of another player at any time
• Players will not hold or swing their bats at any time unless directed by a coach
• If a player has an injury, needs to use the restroom, or has to leave the field for any reason, please have them ask their coaches permission.
• Players should try their best and have fun.If they aren’t having fun, ask them to tell their coach.We will find a way to make it fun!

   

  INFORMATION FOR PARENTS

  It is our goal to provide a fun and safe introduction to baseball to all the players.  In order to get the most out of each practice session, there are several things parents can do to help us out. 

• Please make sure that all players are on time for every session.While we understand that situations may prevent being on time, it is important that players are at the field and prepared to play as early as possible before a session starts.Try to be 10 minutes early.
• Each player MUST have an adult present at the field during the whole session.
• No Adult may enter the dugouts or anywhere on the field at any time, for any reason without clearance from the BLLA.We will help tie shoes and put helmets on.If you would like to help coach, ask how you can be cleared.There is no exception to this rule.
• Please refrain from providing food and beverages to players during the coaching sessions.While we appreciate purchases from the concession stand, please wait until after T-ball is over to share it with the children.For accountability sake, it is very difficult to keep track of children if they are entering and leaving the field constantly.
• Please be supportive of all players.Please don’t ‘coach’ from the sidelines.If it is important for anyone to pass on their knowledge of the game, please ask how you can be cleared to be an on-field coach.
• Please take the time to ask the children what they learned or how they did after each session.Also, if you have the opportunity, practice anything they learned at home. If you don’t have a ball, please take one home and bring it back next time!
• Concession Duty – Each family will be asked to have a family member (18 and over only) work a single 2 hour shift in the concession stand at an assigned date and time.A schedule will be handed out when completed.There is no experience needed and the work is fairly easy.There will be options to exchange shifts and also to work more than one shift if anyone is interested.Please remember that the BLLA is a completely volunteer organization and when everyone helps, everyone wins.More information will be provided with schedule.

About the Coaches

All of the BLLA coaches are VOLUNTEERS with children in the program.  Some played baseball and softball, but all are willing to help out.   Please be assured that they will do their best to teach what they know.  If anyone has any issues with anything pertaining to the T-ball program, including ideas to improve the experience for the kids, feel free to contact me at any time.

Thank you,

CONTACT:

Mike Messina

412-477-2473

[email protected]