All of our moms in ALL put in time pitching and catching for their kids, but there are many more substantive contributions to thank them for this week. From setting up the carpools to making sure we get a healthy bite before or after a game, to making sure that every uniform we need in a day is ready to go, we know that our moms are most often the organizational wizards who keep our crazy sports lives on track.

Most importantly, our moms are the ones who most often remind us what’s important. It IS just a game, after all. When it all gets too exciting, the moms are the ones smiling and shaking their heads at us, waiting to remind us that it’s all about fun, sportsmanship, and doing our best. For all the time and heart they put into to raising all of our ALL-stars, we say thank you, and Happy Mother’s Day.

–
Adam Balutis
President
Arlington Little League

Your coach will distribute the Picture Day forms to team members. Please complete your form before coming to the event. Extra forms will be available on the 28th.

This is a small fundraiser for the league, but more importantly, offers families the chance to capture a moment in time that many consider important. Even if a family does not plan to purchase any pictures, they are encouraged to participate in the team picture, particularly if your team has a sponsor because we give sponsors a team plaque as one token of our appreciation for their support.

If you have any questions about Picture Day, please contact one of our Picture Day coordinators, Dana Doughtery or Michele-Anne Riley.

• Arlington Little League merchandise, baseball pants, and raffle tickets will be available for purchase;
• the league will hold a cleat and equipment exchange (families should bring any excess gear they wish to donate);
• the Washington Nationals will be on site handing out free t-shirts and other gifts;
• the Northwest Arlington Lions club will be on site conducting free vision and hearing screening; and
• moonbounces and face painting will be set up after the initial ceremony.

Families should arrive at the park by 1:45 and bring their baseball player to field #4 to assemble with their team and coach. League representatives will be on hand to direct people and answer questions. Parking is available in the Barcroft parking lot and garage, at the DMV lot next to the park, and along the street (leave plenty of time to find parking, as the size of our league has now surpassed 1,000 registrants). The Parade of Champions starts at 2:00. Opening Day ceremonies will finish up by about 2:30. It’s a fun time for the whole family and a great way to kick off the season!

See you at the ballpark!

• Parade on the field prior to the game
• Signature Sunday autograph session
• Kids Run the Bases following the game

Limited discounted tickets available ($20 – outfield reserved seating). Contact Cathy at equipment@arlingtonlittleleague.org for tickets and/or details.

Little League is an international organization for youth baseball and softball. Every year communities like Arlington, VA conduct a season in the spring months beginning in March and ending in June. That season is followed by the beginning of an international tournament for 11/12 year olds, and state tournaments for 9/10 and 10/11 year olds. The games you see televised on ESPN and ABC in August are the Regional Championships through the Little World Series Championship that conclude the Little League year. Every league that participates in Little League may field an All Star team that competes in these tournaments. Arlington Little League may field a team for each level (9/10, 10/11 and 11/12 year old levels)

Arlington Little League is a member of Virginia’s District 4. District 4 is composed of the following communities: Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, Great Falls, Mason District (Annandale), McLean, Reston, and Vienna. Each of these little leagues may enter 1 to 3 teams into the District 4 all star tournament depending on the size of their league. The winner for each level of the District 4 tournament advances to the Virginia state tournament. The 11/12 year old level state champion advances to the Southeast Regional tournament and that champion advances to Williamsport, PA to compete for the Little League World Series title. As you can see the all star season is an opportunity for Arlington Little League to give its best players a chance to shine. The chance to participate in the all star season is an honor for each player fortunate enough to be selected to represent his/her Little League.

The District 4 tournament typically will run from June 15 through the third week in July. Players are voted on to the All Star team by their peers. We are eager to help families plan ahead for the District 4 tournament—and even try to avoid week-long absences. The challenge we face is that the peer voting must not occur until the final week of the regular season—we cannot say for sure which players will make the All Star teams until then. But, we know that you book up for camps and vacations early. All we can do is give you the dates for the District 4 tournament and hope that you will make it a priority. We are taking many steps this year to improve our quality and All Star tournament experience, and we need your help. The first step in improving this experience is to hold informational meetings, which will also serve to hear from you on suggestions. If you are interested in having your son or daughter play on an All Star team after the regular season, you MUST be willing to have a parent attend one of the three All Star Information Meetings. The All Star Information Meetings are scheduled for the following dates and times:

• April 3, 2012, 7:30 pm in the Arlington County Central Library’s 2nd floor meeting room
• April 23, 2012, 7:00 pm at Washington-Lee High School, room TBA
• May 30, 2012, 6:30 pm in the Westover Library meeting room

Please register here so that we can plan how many parents will be attending.

An all star team typically will begin practice on June 16 and practice daily for three hours over a week to two weeks time until the district tournament starts. During the tournament the teams will practice between games. Arlington Little League is committed to the players, parents, and coaches that will be selected to represent our league during the all star season. The league will do everything possible to ensure that it’s all star effort is a positive, learning, and competitive environment that will foster the growth of the players’ fortunate enough to be honored with selection as an all star.

Please contact us at allstars@arlingtonlittleleague.org or (571) 494-1690 with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have regarding the upcoming all star season. We thank you for and greatly appreciate your choice to participate in Arlington Little League. Good luck this season.

At this event, registrants learn baseball techniques from volunteer coaches in small group settings. We welcome players from Arlington and elsewhere, regardless of league affiliation. Sign up for one of two sessions:

• Session 1 (Tee-Ball, ages 5 – 6): 12:30 – 1:30
• Session 2 (All players, ages 7 – 12): 3:00 – 4:30

The event is free, but donations of $25 or more are welcome. All proceeds go directly to the American Cancer Society. Our goal is to raise $2,000. We will not leave Barcroft Park until we have met our goal. General donations, not connected to a registration, are also welcome.

There are two ways to register:

1. Go to www.relayarlington.org. In the Donate window on the right side of the screen, select the “search by team” radio button. Enter Coach for the Cure as the team name and follow the instructions.

OR

2. Paste www.main.acsevents.org/goto/coachforthecure into your web browser and follow the instructions.

Please use the “note” section to indicate whether you are registering for Session 1 or 2.

Email coach4cure@arlingtonlittleleague.org to request more information and offer your support or assistance.

Please email uniforms@arlingtonlittleleague.org if you have any questions.

What does the “player agent” do? My child is 7. What the  does he need an agent for? Is it Jerry Maguire?  Do I need to study up on signing bonuses and performance incentives?

It ain’t like that, folks… From a brochure produced by Little League International:

The role of the player agent in the Little League Program is one of the most important to the successful operation of a local league. The volunteer who elects to serve as the player agent of the league takes on an exacting assignment, but one which offers rewards in the satisfaction of a well balanced league.
…
In general, the player agent represents the league president in the supervision of the player selection system or draft, maintains complete player records, trading and replacements, eligibility and team rosters.

But what does that mean to us here in Arlington? We in ALL have a rich tradition of competitive balance and that is thanks to a tradition of capable player agents dedicated to fairness in our league. It is because of these volunteers that we boast balance across the league, and hard-fought battles in games and for division titles.

Other leagues allow coaches to form their own teams. This way of forming teams has its attractions,  but it can all too often lead to unfair recruitment, manipulation of team assignments, and frequent lopsided scores. A Player Agent oversees the team formation process, and is therefore responsible for our efforts to obtain equitable distribution of talent across all teams. At ALL we’re proud of our efforts to create competitive balance and fairness.

The bulk of the Player Agent’s responsibility comes from the Majors and AAA divisions, but (s)he represents all players at all levels. Direct any questions about the following to the Player Agent, and/or to your league commissioner:

• Coach, teammate, and carpool requests
• Recommendations on level of play
• STEP
• Team change exceptions

This job is not an easy one. The Player Agent can always use the helpful hands of knowledgeable baseball folks. If you’re interested in joining the team, send an e-mail to playeragent@arlingtonlittleleague.org.