Massachusetts District 2 baseball and softball
Next Board Meeting will be held on May 12th, 2022  at Take 5 in Agawam, We thank you for your dedication to your leagues. If another league would like to HOST  please let me know and we can move the meeting. 

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Massachusetts District 2 baseball and softball

Meeting minutes

January 12, 2021

Call to order at 6:34 PM

In attendance:

Ernest Fitzell, Marc Winer, Steve DePalma, Steve Elliot, Mike Bonfitto, Mike Raposo, Mara Breen,

Shawn Schrager, Roger Constant, Paul Poreda, Steve Schiffman, Mike D, Dan Szostek

Umpires update

Junior umpire clinics scheduled for March 6 and 13 in Agawam (location TBA) or at Batter’s Box in

Westfield

Staff umpires for District play will be started this year and continue to grow each year.

Pre-requisite for staff umpires will be a 5 year minimum experience in Little League.

Staff umpires will not be “paid” for games, but receive compensation for travel only.

Staff umpires will go through training before district play to ensure continuity among all umpires.

Covid-19 update

As of now, all coaches, infielders and the catcher, and all players on offense will wear masks. It will (at

the very least) be strongly recommended that all players, coaches and spectators wear masks at all

times while on or near the field.

Westfield Starfires

Chris Thompson from the Starfires was at the meeting to discuss what is happening with the Futures

baseball league this upcoming season. They managed to play an almost full season last summer, and

intend to have a full season this year. They were privileged to be able to play a game on NESN last year

at New Britain stadium and hope to be able to expand this year to more televised games. They will be

sending information about packages available to leagues and teams soon via email. They also will be

looking for some host families to house a player for the season.

Softball update

Marc and Shawn will be making another attempt to speak to East Longmeadow and Wilbraham about

joining D2 Little League.

USA softball is offering a travel league for the Spring and also for the Summer. They informed us that it

will be available to all players. You can play any other league at the same time as this one. Games in

the Spring will be played on Sundays, and games in the summer will be one evening during the week.

There will be playoffs, with the possibility of going on to State Championships.

There will be three informational zoom meetings:

Thursday, 1/21 at 7:00 PM

Wednesday, 1/27 at 7:00 PM

Sunday, 1/32 at 7:00 PM

An email was sent out to all heads of softball with contact information. If you need more, please

contact Marc Winer

Signups

Most towns have started signups online. Reports are that numbers are slow to get started, but hopes

are that they will pick up as Covid numbers improve and we get closer to Spring.
Tryouts/Evaluations are a concern for this year. Most towns do theirs inside a facility somewhere, and

that will be an extreme challenge this year. Most will have to do theirs outside once the weather

allows it. Please give this some serious consideration and plan ahead accordingly.

Tournaments

Jimmy Fund is still planning on moving forward for play this summer. Both baseball and softball will be

offered at 10U and 12U levels, and hopefully older levels as well.

Green Monster Tournament will depend on Belchertown’s availability to host other towns. The town

will make that decision closer to the event dates.

All tournaments will likely be a last minute addition, depending on Covid numbers and town

availability. Please keep an eye out for announcements with short notice.

District play and All Star games

The state is planning on having a full schedule of tournament play. Dates, times and locations will be

discussed at the State meetings in a couple of weeks.

D2 Baseball and softball will both be planning on an All Star weekend (at the very least). More

information to come as we get closer to the season. Respective groups will meet to discuss before the

next meeting in February.

T-Mobile financial help

They offer financial help to individuals that are in need due to Covid shortcomings. There is a link on

the District 2 website. If possible, all leagues should promote this on their website, email blasts and

social media so that anyone in need has the opportunity to apply for this aid offered for any and all

needy families.

Dick’s Sporting Goods

Dan LaBreck, regional manager, offers a cooperation with Dick’s to all leagues. He has many things to

offer for free, and also a purchasing option for game balls, equipment and anything else you may

need. They offer free practice balls, along with other things. Please reach out to him if you haven’t

already. Email:

[email protected]

Catcher’s Equipment Certification

A question was raised about the NOCSAE certification for catcher’s equipment. Clarity was needed.

Marc Winer looked up the specs on this ruling. It is not required for Little League play as of this year.

Batting helmets are required to have the NOCSAE label on them, be free of any defects, and not have

any add-ons (stickers, guards, etc.), unless given permission by the manufacturer.

Next meeting is February 9, 2021 at 7:00 PM on Zoom. Ernie will send out a meeting invitation to all

and put on the website.