Curfew is sundown

We have opened registration for the baseball programs that Westport Little League Baseball (WLLB) expects to offer this summer for players who are Little League age 12 and younger.  These include our District All Star Teams and Tournament/Friendship Teams.  To register, please click HERE and pay a non-refundable deposit of $50.00 per player.  Every player who registers should expect to be placed on a team based on a variety of factors, including, as applicable, his or her on-field performance in the Spring Little League baseball season and in an evaluation (if applicable), with potential input solicited from current and prior coaches, and additional consideration given to a child's expected commitment level to a summer baseball program.

The deadline to register your child to be considered for selection to a District Team is May 16. The deadline to register your child for a Tournament/Friendship Team is June 7. Descriptions of anticipated 2024 Westport Baseball Summer Teams are set forth below.

EXPECTED SUMMER TEAMS (assuming sufficient players registered and volunteer coaches):

8/9 Friendship Blue
[8/9 Friendship White]
9U Tournament
10U Tournament
11U Tournament
12U Tournament
9U District
10U District
11U District
12U District

ELIGIBILITY

Participants in all of Westport’s summer baseball programs described in this email are required to have participated in Westport’s 2024 Spring Little League and to have met the requirement of participation in 60% of the games in the regular season of the applicable Westport Spring Little League program (based on the Little League International rule).  Players on District Teams (and likely also on Tournament Teams) will generally be limited to those who are within the applicable Little League International age bands (chart linked below).  A copy of the 2024 Age Chart is located HERE.

DISTRICT TEAMS

WLLB expects to field 10U, 11U and 12U District All Star Teams chartered with Little League International and an unofficial District 9U team to represent the Town of Westport.  There is no District Team for the 8U age group.   

The 9U team will participate in at least two tournaments, starting with the Monroe Tournament which is scheduled to begin on or around June 24.   The Fairfield Tournament will follow thereafter. 

All players invited to join a Westport District Baseball Team, and their parents, must sign a Commitment Letter, a copy of which will be available from the Summer Commissioner (contact information below), which sets forth the player's commitment to the District Team and to abide by certain requirements and a code of conduct.  If selected to a District Team, a player is expected to be available for the duration of the team's Summer season, including pre-District tournament practices, scrimmages and potential tournaments, the entire Little League tournament and likely another tournament following the Little League tournament (Westport participates in different tournaments at the various age groups), if a team is unfortunately eliminated from District play.  Practices will range from 4-6 days per week depending on the team.  Accordingly, families should consider their children's other commitments before a child seeks to join a District Team. District 2 tournament play typically ends in mid–July and supplemental tournaments end in late July.  Play on the 11U or 12U District Teams could extend into August if the team continues to advance as Westport's 11U team did in 2022.    

All players interested in playing on a Westport District Baseball team are required to participate in year-end evaluations which help WLLB assess the Spring Little League season and players' development and shape future programs, including the forthcoming Fall Little League season. Times and locations for these evaluations will follow in a separate email. 

Players should not wear to the evaluations any Westport Youth Travel Baseball or other AAU club team clothing or apparel.  They will be asked to remove any such item if they fail to comply.  These are closed evaluations.  Parents should drop off their children and pick them up after they are complete.

We expect to announce rosters for the District Teams via posting on the Westport Little League Baseball website and outreach by the Manager in early June.

TOURNAMENT/FRIENDSHIP TEAMS

The Tournament/Friendship Teams' summer season begins approximately at the end of school and ends in late July.  Once the season starts, teams may choose to enter separate baseball tournaments.

Westport Summer League/Friendship League Teams

Depending on interest, Westport expects to field teams at the Little League 8U-12U age groups (see age chart above). These teams will compete in one or more local summer leagues and/or tournaments.  Players who do not make a District Team will be eligible to play on such teams.  Some younger team(s) may play in a combination of friendly kid/coach pitch games.  These non-District Teams also require commitment by the player and his or her family. The team will practice or play from mid-June through the end of July and possibly into August depending upon the tournament schedule.

Westport Little League Baseball will once again look for parent volunteer coaches to coach its Tournament/Friendship summer baseball teams at the 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U and 12U age groups.  If you are interested in managing or coaching a team, please contact Steve Lupinacci at SLupinacci@westportbaseballandsoftball.com.

An inability to recruit a sufficient number of able volunteer coaches means we need to either hire a coach (which increases the cost of participation) or not field teams during the summer.  Please help by volunteering your time this summer to coach baseball if you have time and are interested in assisting. 

Depending on registration numbers, evaluations for these Tournament/Friendship teams may be held the second week of June, and details will follow.  If a player participates in one of the earlier evaluations and is not selected for the roster of such team, he or she is not required to be evaluated a second time unless requested by a Manager.

Rosters for these 8U-12U teams will be announced on or around June 14 via outreach from a coach of the team. 

REGISTRATION FEES; UNIFORMS

The cost per player is currently indeterminable, as it depends on a variety of factors, including level of participation, number of games to be played and tournaments entered (each tournament sets different registration costs).  More information will be made available on the cost once we set registration fees for our summer programs in June.  Registration fees will cover umpire fees, team equipment, tournament fees, balls, insurance, field maintenance and administration fees.  A sub-committee of the WLLB Board is designing new District and Tournament team uniform kits for which players will need to be fitted.  Parents will be responsible for paying for their children's uniforms and practice jerseys at the time of pick-up at ASF.  Managers will notify parents of players on their teams when to bring their children into ASF to be fitted for uniforms.

To register, please click HERE and pay a non-refundable deposit of $50.00 per player.  

If you have any questions, please contact Steve Lupinacci, Summer Commissioner, at Slupinacci@westportbaseballandsoftball.com.

"Baseball, to me, is still the national pastime because it is a summer game.  I feel that almost all Americans are summer people, that summer is what they think of when they think of their childhood. I think it stirs up an incredible emotion within people."--Steve "Buzz" Busby

You are invited to attend Westport Little League night at the Hudson Valley Renegades vs. Brooklyn Cyclones on Friday, June 14 at 7:00 pm.  

Details on the game and link to purchase tickets is below - but act fast as the deadline is May 30.  

We have extended this event to all Westport baseball and softball families -- all Westport Little League players wearing their team jersey will have the chance to high five the players on the field.  

Friday, June 14 at 7:00 pm - Westport Little League night at Hudson Valley Renegades vs. Brooklyn Cyclones (minor league baseball).  Westport Little League Baseball and Softball players should wear their team jersey - we have arranged for them to greet the players in the "High Five Tunnel". 

Fireworks after the game.  

We have reserved a section behind third base - purchase your tickets asap. Ticket options include advanced parking discount, meal discount and option to pre-purchase Renegades hat. (deadline to order is May 30). 

Link to order:  Westport Little League Softball Night (fevo-enterprise.com)

Any questions? Email Melissa at mirabilm@gmail.com