Simsbury Little League

The Fall Baseball Majors and AAA drafts are next week.
All fall baseball teams will be announced next Friday and the preseason will begin.  

All adults who are interested in volunteering for Simsbury Little League as a manager, coach or umpire are required to complete a background check. This is a Williamsport Little League mandate. Only volunteers who have successfully completed their background check annually will be permitted on practice or game fields, including any parent or adult who wishes to help with field maintenance before games and practices. New this year: Volunteer applications are completed online. More details below.

Below are guidelines on who needs to fill out an application:

• All managers or coaches over the age of 16 who interact with the players on a practice or game field including helping with field maintenance
• All umpires over the age of 16 (note:  youth umpires between the ages of 12 and 15 are NOT required to complete a volunteer application
• Team administrators do NOT need to complete a volunteer application

All approved volunteer applications from the spring season are valid for the full calendar year which includes both the spring and fall seasons.  

Applicants should allow at least a few days for applications to be processed.  Some applications take longer than others, sometimes up to a week.

Please read below the suspension policy for managers and/or parents who fail to comply with this volunteer policy.
 

Volunteer Application Process -- NEW ONLINE APPLICATIONS PROCESS

If you would like to volunteer please email Jill Schwarz, Director of Volunteer Applications, at  .  Jill will email you a link to complete your background check using our preferred vendor.  Please specify in your email if you are a returning or new volunteer.

Questions?
All questions related to volunteer applications can be directed to Jill Schwarz by email simsburybackgroundcheck@gmail.com or additional contact information can be found on the board contacts page.

Tentative Schedule
January 1st:  Volunteer application processing begins for the spring season.
March/April:  The listing of approved volunteers will be posted on the SLL website under Documents;  it will be updated every few days until the deadline date
March 31:  Deadline for all applications to be submitted for spring season.
September 1:  Deadline for the fall season.

Approved Volunteer Listing
The list of approved volunteers will be posted on the Documents tab of the website in the Volunteer folder.

Suspension Policy
Below is the suspension policy for managers and/or parents who do not comply with Simsbury Little League's volunteer application policy. 

Manager Non-Compliance
A manager who allows anyone over the age of 16 who has not been pre-approved by the SLL Board of Directors to participate and interact with SLL players on a practice or game field by will be suspended. Suspensions are as follows:

Pre-Season Suspensions are enforced after application deadline has passed and all applications have been processed: Manager is suspended immediately plus two practices

In-Season Suspensions:

• 1st offense: Manager is suspended immediately, current game plus 2 games
• 2nd offense: Manager suspended immediately, current game plus 5 games
• 3rd offense: Manager suspended for the duration of the season

Parent Non-Compliance
Anyone over the age of 16 who has not been pre-approved as a coach by SLL Board of Directors who participates and interacts with SLL players by coaching on a practice or game field is suspended for the entire season and must apply for reinstatement the following year.

For more information on our fall program, please click HERE.

Our fall program is for players who are baseball age 7-11.

• A 2x8 foot hard backed banner sign, using sponsor's logo, will be hung on the outfield fences of Memorial Park.
• A rotating web banner located at the top of the home page for SLL’s website (www.simsburylittleleague.com).  The banner will include a link to sponsor's website when available. Our webpage is where all Little League families go to register and to keep informed about upcoming dates.  With over 600 families in our league we have quite a lot of website traffic recorded throughout the year!

Tommy Tanski

Each year Simsbury Little League offers four $1500 scholarships to current High School seniors.  These scholarships are offered to seniors who participated in either the baseball or softball Little League program here in Simsbury.  The scholarships are given in memory of Tommy Tanski, who was a Simsbury High School junior, and a former Little League player, but passed away in a car accident in 2011.  

Tommy Tanski played Little League from 1999-2005 and during that time played for two district All Star Teams. He also played for the Strikers soccer team and played soccer in High School.  Tommy was a tremendous teammate and understood that his contribution was more about the team than any one individual.  

For many, the time playing Simsbury Little League baseball or softball is something to be cherished for years to come.  It is when friendships are formed, character is built and memories are made. During the registration process, please consider donating towards this scholarship fund and helping SLL continue to provide them in memory of Tommy Tanski.

To make a direct donation to this fund, please click HERE.

Thank-you!
SLL Board of Directors

Simsbury Little League

Youth Umpires

Simsbury Little League's baseball and softball games are generally umpired by youth umpires.  We wanted to take this opportunity to explain to all our families the expectations we have regarding interactions with umpires. Regardless of the umpire’s age the SLL policy is that all judgment calls stand and managers, coaches and spectators are not to argue or attempt to influence these calls.  This includes any sort of gestures or sounds of disagreement.  Simply put, please support letting the umpires umpire.

All umpires will make mistakes regardless of their skill level and experience.  With 80+ umpires in the program it is an on-going task to keep up with training needs.  Please remember that our youth umpires are trying their best and are generally out there without anyone cheering them on in the stands or giving them those words of encouragement when mistakes are made.  They too are developing their game and we as a league have adopted a zero-tolerance policy to make sure there is an appropriate atmosphere for everyone involved in games at Memorial Fields.

In 2012, our League President at the time, Tom Benneche, wrote a letter to the SLL Community entitled "They Are All Our Kids!".  Below is a link to this letter as it embodies SLL's expectations regarding youth umpires.  

They Are All Our Kids! 
(May 15, 2012)