How do I know which local little league my child is eligible to participate in?

Player eligibility to participate in the Monroe Woodbury Little League is based on your school district.  If you are unsure of which town's league your child is eligible to play in based on your home address, please use this website to search for your league.

What are my responsibilities to confirm my eligibility to participate in the league?

Valid proof of player age and residency within the MW school district is required to be provided  
for program eligibility.  

Every registered player needs to have a copy of their Birth Certificate on file.  This should be uploaded to your website account page for each child.

What’s the difference between Instructional, Coach Pitch, and Competitive divisions (Minors, Majors, 50/70 and Jr/Sr)?

Instructional divisions consist of players of league age 4 through 7, Competitive divisions begin at league age 8 or 9 with the Minors division.  

Instructional divisions do not track formal game results. The goal is to develop fundamental skills, learn about the game, participate on a team, meet new friends and prepare for the day when they enter a competitive division.  An official Little League training curriculum is provided to instructional level coaches to focus on player fundamentals, skill building and fun drills.  For our Coach/Player pitch divisions, coaches work together to reduce coach pitch and increase player pitch throughout the season, calling strikes, outs and advancing bases. The more instructional players are exposed to these aspects of the game, the better prepared they will be for our competitive divisions.  

Competitive divisions play games with umpires. Game scores and game results/standings may be displayed on our website.

When will I find out which team my child is on?

Spring season team assignments are typically communicated by the 2nd or 3rd week of April for competitive divisions (ages 8yrs old and up) and may be slightly later for instructional divisions.

Fall season team assignments are typically communicated in early to mid-August.

Can I request my child's team assignment?

Team or coach placement requests are given appropriate consideration for "instructional level divisions only".  We do our best to honor as many of these requests as possible for our league families. However, we cannot always honor these requests as we must have balanced team rosters during the season.

We do NOT accept placement requests for competitive level divisions.   

For the Spring season, when the league has a minimum of four teams in a division, all games are played internally (MWLL vs. MWLL) and teams are formed via a player draft process intended to keep them as fair and balanced as possible.

For the Fall season, and when the league is playing an interleague schedule versus other local towns, team formation will be determined by the direction of the Board of Directors.

When do practices begin?

Spring season practices typically begin in mid-to-late April on a schedule determined by the team Head Coach.

Fall season practices typically begin in the beginning of September.

When will the team game schedules be available and where do I find it?

Team game schedules for the Spring season will be posted to our website in April.  We recommend that you use the website as the most current, accurate place to find all MWLL information - games are rescheduled from time to time and updated on our website - so any downloaded copies or printouts may become outdated.  

Team game schedules for the Fall season will be posted to our website in early September and can be accessed the same way as Spring schedules.

When do games start?

Spring season games typically start by the 3rd week of April and end mid-June before the end of the school year.  Schedule can be affected by holidays and school activities.  Competitive division playoffs occur during the final week (or two) of the season.

District All Star games typically begin in mid to late June or early July and are based on District 19 scheduling.

Fall season games typically start by mid-September and end mid-to-late October.  The Harvest Cup playoff tournament for competitive divisions begins in mid-to-late October based on District 19 scheduling.

Who do the teams play against?

All baseball teams in our Instructional, Tee Ball, Minors and Majors will play in house (MWLL vs. MWLL). When there is an insufficient number of teams to play in house, games will be scheduled against other local District 19 leagues for home and away. This typically includes our competitive Softball divisions, 50/70 intermediate and JR/Senior's baseball divisions.

For Competitive divisions, if enough teams are available, they will play in house only. If not, the league will work with other local District 19 leagues to join a POD, which is a group of local towns who will form their own collection of teams and play against each other home and away.

Are trophies provided to every player?

Participation trophies are awarded to all players in instructional divisions only.  

Achievement trophies are earned by playoff winners in competitive divisions. 

How do District All Stars work?

District All-Star teams are for competitive-level divisions only.

Evaluations / tryouts are held for age-qualified players. District All Star games typically begin in mid to late June or early July. All bracket scheduling, team and tournament rules are governed by NY District 19 little league.
 
How often are games played?

Spring season games are typically held twice a week and last approximately one hour for the younger instructional divisions and up to two hours or more for the older competitive divisions.

There will be one weekday evening game and one game on Saturday morning or early afternoon. The weekday evening games may rotate - meaning teams do not always play on the same weekday each week (based upon field availability).

Fall season games are typically held once per week on Saturday afternoons so as to not conflict with other youth sporting activities.

How often are practices held?

Team coaches should try to hold at least one practice per week once the season begins, based on their availability and schedule.

How do I make sure that both parents get league and team updates?

When you create an account on our league website, you set it up with parent information first, then add your players to be registered.  You can add a second parent account to be associated with the player.  Enter accurate email and cell phone information for each parent.  When coaches send emails or text messages, they will be sent to the email address and cell phone number entered for the player and each parent.  

The second parent account can be added anytime - just log into the league website and add the second parent to your account.

What is the best way for me to get the latest league-related updates?

We proactively push out league-related communications via registered email addresses.  

We communicate field closures (typically due to weather) via text message to registered players' mobile numbers. 
Coaches are able to email and text their teams directly from our mobile phone app.  

Our web sites mobile app also includes a team discussion board allowing all team families to easily stay in contact.  

Our website automatically sends out game and practice reminders as well.

What do I need to purchase and provide for my Little League baseball or softball player(s)?

Families should purchase a USA approved and stamped bat, a glove, a batting helmet for their Little League player(s). 

Players also must wear appropriate footwear - players prefer molded rubber cleats. Metal cleats are not allowed except in the Seniors baseball division.  Parents must provide their player(s) with appropriate footwear.

A shared team set of catcher's equipment and practice/game balls are provided by the league for each team.  However, many families elect to purchase a batting helmet for their player(s) for hygiene purposes.

Boys playing baseball should wear an athletic supporter and are required to wear a cup when player catcher. Ladies should wear a face protector.  Neither is provided by the league.

There are a variety of additional player gear/equipment options - items such as eye black, sunglasses, chest protectors, elbow guards and bat grips are to be provided by families based on their preference, not the league.

BASEBALL BAT SIZE CHART

For those of you looking to buy a bat for your child, this is a general guide to bat size.  Much depends on the size and strength of the child – one of the most common mistakes parents make is buying a bat that is too big for their child.  It is wise to err on the smaller size.  Another rule of thumb is have the child hold the bat straight out in front of them (as if they are pointing at the pitcher with it) just above the knob, and count to ten.  If they can hold the bat out firmly without serious effort, then the bat is more than likely the right size.  We suggest you buy the bat and let your child’s coach look at it before you remove the plastic wrapper to ensure it is the right size for your child.  We also suggest that you refer to the LittleLeague.org bat rules.  Bat barrel size must fall within the specifications for competitive divisions (Minors and up) or the bat may be removed from game play.

All competitive division baseball bats must display the USA BASEBALL emblem in order to be legal.  You can read more about that rule change here.

BASEBALL GLOVE SIZE CHART

No hard-fast rule on glove sizes.  A glove made of leather is much easier for a child to “break in.”  A vinyl or synthetic glove will never break in and will make it much more difficult for the younger player to learn to catch the ball.  Just like bats, start off smaller and grow into a larger glove.

Keys to Success:  

• Do not overextend your child, enrolling in too many activities makes them unavailable to commit to their Little League team and will adversely impact other families in the program.
  
• Please do not register unless you are absolutely certain that your child can commit to participating.
• All fees are non-refundable, non-transferable and there are no credits issued for any reason.

Important Information: 

• The league reserves the right to place players based upon overall program enrollment, roster availability, division structure, player skills evaluation and available volunteers.
• There is no guarantee that wait listed players can be placed.  
• The Spring season begins late April and runs into June.
• Opening day, rain outs, and cancellations are determined by the town parks commission and our school district. The decision is based upon overall field conditions and the weather forecast. 

How can I get involved?

We encourage all of our league families to get involved and help make the Monroe Woodbury Little League a great place for the youth of our community to play baseball and softball!  Email us at [email protected] and let us know how you'd like to help!  You can also write us a letter of intent to be put on the Board of Directors ballot. That election is held each September

Thank you!
Monroe Woodbury Little League Board of Directors