As of 5/11/20:

All Little League activity is suspended until June 15

Simsbury Little League hopes you are all well and adjusting to these unprecedented times as much as possible.  We would also like to express our gratitude to everyone who is out there fighting every day. 

We wanted to provide an update on the current season and share our plan for hopefully playing baseball this summer. 

With the state’s decision that students are not going to be returning to school this academic year, we will not be having any baseball activities until the end of the school calendar.  We are cautiously optimistic that we will be able to play baseball starting in late June. We would then play a summer season with games starting in July. 

In light of the above, we will be canceling all registrations and refunding all registration fees for the 2020 Spring Season.  Refunds will be made via the method of payment you used when registering.  When we determine what our summer season could look like, we will ask for those interested to re-register through our site. The cost of the summer league will be $50 per player, which will be due after confirmation that we are able to play. 

We will, of course, follow all applicable guidelines in determining whether we are able to play.  This remains a very fluid situation, and we will provide updates as it develops. 

As a wise man once said:  “The lights will be on and we will be playing baseball.”  We will get through this and play baseball again, hopefully sooner rather than later.  Just because we aren’t on the fields as a team, doesn’t mean you can’t play ball!  Check out our Coaches Corner, which is filled with skills and drills videos and practice plans for your player’s division. 

Stay well,

Simsbury Little League

Board of Directors

Enjoy a night at Dunkin Donuts Park with your friends and family from Simsbury Little League!

Thursday, June 18th 2020

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 fields and dug out, including any parent or adult who wishes to help with field maintenance before games and practices. All volunteer applications are completed online

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 and dug out, 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

If you would like to volunteer please email Julie Trythall ( ). Julie will email you a link to complete your background check using our preferred vendor.  Please include your full name, email address and if you are a returning or new volunteer.

Questions?
All questions related to volunteer applications can be directed to Julie Trythall ( ) or additional contact information can be found on the board contacts page.

Schedule
The listing of approved volunteers will be posted on the SLL website under Documents;  it will be updated every few days.

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

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.

Registration Dates & Fees

Baseball: 

                                                                                                  T-Ball & Farm A:    Jan. 2 - Mar. 1  $120

                                                                                                              Farm AA:    Jan. 2 - Jan. 31  $150

                                            Feb. 1 - Mar. 1  $175

                                                                                                     AAA & Majors:    Jan. 2 - Jan. 31  $150

                                               Feb. 1 - Feb. 20  $175

Softball: 

                                                                                                  T-Ball & Farm A:    Jan. 2 - Mar. 1  $100

                                                                                                              Farm AA:    Jan. 2 - Jan. 31  $100

                                            Feb. 1 - Mar. 1  $120

                                                                                      AAA, Juniors & Majors:   Jan. 2 - Jan. 31  $100

                                               Feb. 1 - Feb. 20  $120

Baseball – Coaches Clinics

March 16, 7pm

Simsbury High School

Baseball Evaluations

(Players age 9 - 11)

Monday, February 24 (5:30-8:00 pm)

More details will be posted soon. Players do not need to be available for the entire session.

There is no Make-Up Date, so if you want to be evaluated to play up, you must make this date.

Please register for the division for which you will be trying out.

Softball Evaluations

Monday, February 24 (5:30-8:30 pm)

There is no Make-Up Date, so if you want to be evaluated to play up, you must make this date.

Please register for the division for which you will be trying out.

D6 Umpire Clinic

Rookies Required / Encouraged all Other Levels

District 6 Umpire Clinic is on and will take place on Saturday, March 14, 2020 at Courtside Sports Center, 517 Burlington Road (Route 4) in Harwinton. (It’s right behind the Countryside Restaurant.) Check-in will be from 12 noon to 1 p.m., followed by the clinic from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m., which will include plate and field mechanics and well as classroom sessions. And as always – it’s FREE. Mandatory for all first and second-year Simsbury umpires, but the clinic is open to all levels of Little League umpiring experience, as well as D6 managers and coaches.

Umpire Clinic – All Returning Umpires

All umpires must attend one of these classroom clinics. 

• Session #1  
• Session #2 

@Freemason’s Hall

** Registration Closing Dates **

Baseball: 

                                                                                                  T-Ball & Farm A:     Mar. 1

                                                                                                              Farm AA:    Jan. 31  Early bird discount ends

                                            Mar. 1   Hard close

                                                                                                     AAA & Majors:    Jan. 31   Early bird discount ends

                                           Feb. 20  Hard close

Softball: 

                                                                                                  T-Ball & Farm A:    Mar. 1

                                                                                                              Farm AA:   Jan. 31  Early bird discount ends

                                      Mar. 1  Hard close

                                                                                      AAA, Juniors & Majors:   Jan. 31  Early bird discount ends

                                         Feb. 20  Hard close

Drafts

Baseball Majors and AAA:  Friday, March 13

Softball:  TBD

Baseball & Softball - Managers Meeting

All managers are required to attend!

Saturday, March 21, 8:30 am

Volunteer Applications

for a new or returning application link ( )

All approved volunteers are listed in the documents section

Spring Field Clean-Up

TBD

Practice Starts

TBD (Town of Simsbury will give us the date)

Opening Day

Baseball:  TBD

Softball:  TBD

Moto Photo Team Picture Day

TBA

Memorial Day Parade

Simsbury Little League teams will march in the parade.  More details to follow.

End of Season

Baseball:  TBD

Softball:  TBD 

• 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)