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August 23, 2005 Meeting Minutes

Posted by Ron Weber at Aug 23, 2005 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
OTS Board/Manager Meeting Dagsboro Church of God West Field, Dagsboro DE Tuesday August 23, 2005 – 12:00 In Attendance: Sal Corrallo (VP), Bill Neyen (Treas.), Ron Weber (Sec.) Managers: Bo Wood, John Walker, Don Clements, Pete Rendina, Mike Carta, Gary Meredith, Neil Fleming, Ed Sternberg, Mike Hopkins, Tom Farrah, Archie Alexander Meeting Minutes 1. Request for Player Input • A survey form requesting player input concerning the OTS League was reviewed with minor changes to be made. • The form will be distributed to all players attending the games on Friday August 26. • Completed forms are to be returned to the managers by Friday September 2nd. • Anyone who has already provided written suggestions on league improvements, do not have to fill out the form. 2. Managers list of players for fall ball • Managers submitted names of players who have committed to play fall ball. • The list will be used to form complete teams for the fall season =. • Players will be notified as to what team they’ll be playing for, well in advance of the fall season start date. • Archie Alexander, publicity chairperson, will have the local area newspapers include a write-up on our fall season, encouraging new players to come out and participate. • Note to players: there is still time to get on a team for fall ball….contact your manager. 3. Format for fall ball • The fall season begins on Tuesday September 13th. • Fall games will be played at the Dagsboro Church of God following the same schedule as the summer games….Tuesday and Friday at 9:00 and 10:30. • A schedule will be built and given to all players prior to the start of the fall season. 4. Plans for electing interim president • This item was put on hold till the week of August 29th. 5. Plans for fall picnic • OTS Picnic is Tuesday September 20th at West Park in Ocean View starting at 11:00 – fall softball games are cancelled for that morning. • Directions to the park and additional picnic details have been posted on the OTS website. http://eteamz.active.com/Delmarvaots/index.cfm? • Picnic team: Gary Meredith-Food Procurement, Ron Weber-Drinks, Bo Wood-Setup/Tear down, Pete Rendina & Mike Hopkins-Chefs, Bill Neyen-Activities, Sal Corrallo-Music, Mike Carta-50/50 drawing • Players are encouraged to contact any of the volunteers to offer help. 6. Update on field improvement • We plan to improve both infields during the off season and have them ready for next spring. • John Walker will contact Pat Sherry’s daughter, head grounds keeper for a NJ Semi-pro team, to find out her availability to meet with us to begin preliminary planning of the work and cost to complete the project. • John will also contact Del Tech to see if they would have an interest in helping with the improvements. • If possible we plan to meet with Pat’s daughter and the Del Tech rep. at the same time. 7. Appreciation for Buck’s maintaining the fields. • Everyone agreed that Buck has done a great job taking care of the fields. As a token of our appreciation, we will give him a Thanks You card with $100 bill. 8. Player Ratings • Player rating forms and guidelines were handed out and discussed. Everyone was in agreement top use the forms with no changes. • Managers were asked to complete their player ratings by September 2nd. • Ratings will be compiled for the entire league and reviewed by the managers and board for possible discrepancies. • These ratings will then be used as part of the 2006 drafting process.
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June 21, 2005 Meeting Minutes

Posted by Ron Weber at Jun 21, 2005 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
OTS Board/Manager Meeting Dagsboro Church of God West Field, Dagsboro DE Tuesday June 21, 2005 – 12:00 In Attendance: Tom Harvey (Pres.), Sal Corrallo (VP), Bill Neyen (Treas.), Ron Weber (Sec.) Bo Wood, John Bokop, Don Clements, Rich Barry, Mike Carta, Gary Meredith, Glenn Chisholm, Neil Fleming, Ed Sternberg, Mike Hopkins, John Walker MEETING MINUTES 1. Behavior on the field • A far ranging discussion was held stressing the need for restraint and civility, by all league members, when issues arise on the playing fields 2. Using replacement players to eliminate forfeits - Following a thorough discussion of this subject, it was decided by a vote of all present to enforce the current rule. The rule states: • For a game to be counted in the standings, a team must have at least nine roster players present and will play only with those players. A team with less than nine players will forfeit the game. If the opposing team has nine or more players they will be credited with win. If one or both teams forfeit a game they may share players and play a scrimmage game that will not count in the standings. • The rule can be waived by the League Officers on an exception basis i.e. loss of players due to participation in the National Senior Olympics, long term illness, or long term injury. 3. Player playing time • Everyone agreed that it is the managers responsibility for insuring that ALL players in attendance on game-day play a minimum of 3 innings. 4. Update on parking and repair of access road • It was agreed that we will continue to park in the current designated area, beyond the right field foul pole of the West field, for the remainder of the season. • Buck, the grounds keeper, has been repairing the ruts along the access road and the damaged area at the West field. 5. Rescheduling Friday July 1st and Tuesday July 5th games • These games will be played at the Indian River High School fields in Dagsboro 6. Double Headers vs. Bye games - concern about playing double headers in the heat of the summer. • By a vote of 6 to 1, the decision was made to continue to play double headers. • Managers involved in the double headers can agree to play the games with the batters starting with a 1&1 count. This will speed the game(s). Both managers must agree. • Ocean Atlantic Agency team has requested NOT to play double headers. The schedule will be modified to accommodate their request. 7. Appreciation for Buck’s maintaining the fields. • All agreed that following the season, the league will show it’s appreciation for the outstanding job Buck has done preparing and repairing the playing fields and surrounding property. 8. Review circumstances and decide outcome of games and any needed changes to By Laws: • Colonial East Ltd. vs. OVFR game on May 31st which was protested due to an incorrect interpretation of the Catch-up rule. a. All agreed that the rule was incorrectly enforced and that Colonial should have been able to catch-up. b. However, since the outcome would have no bearing on the 1st half standings, it was agreed by both managers to simply drop the game with no one winning or loosing. • OVFR vs. VFW game on May 31st where the application of the Automatic Out rule ended the game with the tying run in scoring position. Considering the circumstances, where the game was running an hour late, causing a player to leave due to a scheduled meeting, should the rule have been applied? a. All agreed that due to the circumstances, the rule was incorrectly enforced and that Ocean View should have been able to send another batter to the plate and potentially tie or win the game. b. However, since the outcome would have no bearing on the 1st half standings, it was agreed by the OVFR manager and the VFW representative to simply drop the game with no one winning or loosing. • Anderson’s Carpet One vs. VFW game on Friday June 10th where a judgment call by the umpire resulted in one of Anderson’s players leaving the game and causing Anderson to have only 8 players, thus forfeiting the game. a. This was a misinterpretation of the forfeit rule. The forfeit rule states that For a game to be counted in the standings, a team must have at least nine roster players PRESENT and will play only with those players. It does not state that the team must have nine players for the entire game. b. Although Anderson might have won the game with eight players, the outcome would have no bearing on the 1st half standings. It was agreed by the Anderson’s manager and the VFW representative to simply drop the game with no one winning or loosing. 9. Scheduling time to use the fields • Everyone was reminded to notify Pastor Gene at least a day in advance of using the fields outside of usual game days & times. • Phone [Cell] 302-236-0514 [Work] 732-6550 [Home] 302-934-6312 • This eliminates any conflict with Buck’s mowing and the kids activities 10. Update on additional field improvements • Skin Base Paths [partial grass infield like major league stadiums] and Pitch Mound – Pat Sherry’s daughter has offered to consult on this project – she is the head grounds keeper for a semi-pro team in NJ – it is also possible that Del Tech will do work – project on hold till fall. • Picnic Tables - DONE • Score Boards - DONE • Storage Building - DONE • Outfield fence [2 - purchase or build easily set-up and removable fence] – ON HOLD • Batting Mats - DONE • 2 Garden Rakes to level batters box – DONE 11. Next meeting will be scheduled as needed
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April 20, 2005 Meeting Minutes

Posted by Ron Weber at Apr 20, 2005 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
OTS Board/Manager Meeting Dagsboro Church of God Wednesday April 20, 2005 – 11:30 p.m. In Attendance: Tom Harvey (Pres.), Sal Corrallo (V.P.), Bill Neyen (Treas.), Ron Weber (Sec.) Don Clements, John Walker, Neil Fleming, Ed Sternberg, Mike Hopkins, Gary Meredith, Manny Ortiz (for Pete Rendina), Bob Shaeffer, Bo Wood, John Bokop, Ed Sternberg, John Walker Meeting Minutes: 1. Treasures Report: Bill Neyen reported that the current balance is $10,830. This included a profit of $1929 from the Spaghetti dinner and $2108 from the gift basket raffle. A special thanks to Kelly Williams for all she did in raising such a large sum of money for the league. Thanks Kelly, for your creativity to come up with the idea; your courage to solicit the many businesses for gift certificates; your untiring energy to sell over $2100 worth of tickets; but most of all for your sincere caring for the betterment of the Olde Tymers Softball league. Thanks to all who helped with the dinner, especially the VFW Post for providing their great facility to host the event. Special thanks to Pete and Barb Rendina, Sal Corrallo and Bob Lattanzi for pulling it all together. Upcoming major expenses will include, lumber and other supplies necessary for improving the 2 fields at Dagsboro Church of God and shirts and hats for the 2005 season. 2. Old Business: There was no old business to discuss. 3. Senior Olympic Team Support: A request to purchase team hats from Delaware Senior Olympics, for the OTS team playing in the National games in Pittsburgh, was turned down. The board and managers unanimously agreed that our team should represent OTS in the national games by wearing shirts and hats displaying the OTS logo. OTS will continue to purchase these OTS shirts and new hats for the team. 4. Additional Field Improvements at COG: a. The field improvement committee will obtain estimates to improve the infields on both fields. We will get estimates on each of the following: 1) remove the sod from the entire infield, fill and grade with quality infield mix. 2) remove sod around the base paths, pitchers mound and batters box, similar to major league infields, fill and grade with a quality infield mix. 3) remove sod around each base, pitchers mound, and batters box, fill and grade with a quality infield mix. Estimates and timeframes for completing the work, will be reviewed and a decision made at the May meeting. b. We will place 2 picnic tables at each field. We will add tables if needed. c. Score Boards - we will purchase a low cost score board to be posted on the backstop of each field. We will look for a scoreboard that posts the names of the home and visiting teams, the score and the inning. d. The field improvement committee will get estimates on a small storage building that we can use to hold equipment and supplies. The cost will be reviewed and a decision made at the May meeting. We will contact Pastor Gene to get approval from the church on where the building can be set. e. It was decided not to purchase or build removable outfield fences at this time. f. Batting mats have been ordered for the batters boxes on both fields. Trash cans will be purchased for both fields and finally, a storm fence will be erected in front of the pond on the right field side of the upper ball field. This will help keep balls from rolling into the pond. 5. Correcting Team Imbalances 6. Formula for 2005 Player Draft: Four methods for conducting this years draft were presented; a) Full Draft, b) Manager and Assistant Manager Conduct Draft, c) Managers and Assistant Managers conduct draft and retain two players from previous year's roster, d) Teams are formed by a committee made up of all managers - Managers then do a blind draw for teams. Following a lengthy discussion the board and managers voted. The results were; a=0 votes, b=4 votes, c=6 votes, d=1 vote. The 2005 Player Draft will be "Managers and Assistant Managers conduct draft and retain two players from previous year's roster". The draft will be conducted on Wednesday April 27. Players will be contacted by their managers by April 29.
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April 4, 2005 General Meeting Minutes

Posted by Ron Weber at Apr 6, 2005 5:00PM PDT ( 0 Comments )
1. Approximately 60 registered players attended this years General Meeting held at the Bethany Town Hall, Monday April 4th. 2. Registered players attending the meeting voted on 2 important issues: - Playoff format for the 2005 season - Players voted to have a single elimination playoff, as well as a championship game between the winning teams of the 1st and 2nd half's of the season. Playoff and championship games will be scheduled for the early part of September, following the close of the 2005 season. 3. Players also voted to maintain a Tuesday/Friday schedule for practice and league games. There will NOT be practice or league games scheduled for Thursday's. 4. Practices began on Tuesday April 5th. About 50 players attended the first practice session. Additional practices will be held every Tuesday and Friday throughout April, starting at 9:00a.m. Players will practice at the M&T Bank field in Millsboro until the fields at the Dagsboro Church of God field are ready for play....expected to be ready the 3rd week in April, weather permitting. 5. Players were updated on this years equipment: Balls - we will use Worth 44cor 525 compression balls this season. These balls are crisper and will fly further than the balls used last year. Bats - players can not use any bat banned by the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA). A list of ASA non-approved bats is available at http://www.softball.org/ Shirts & Hats - Shirts will silk screened with a small OTS logo over the front left pocket area and have the sponsor name across the back, along with the player's number. Hats are 5 panel baseball hats. 6. Dagsboro Church of God fields - as of Thursday April 7th, posts and fencing has been installed on field 1 and posts have been installed on field 2. We will have at least one field fully ready for regulation play on Tuesday May 3rd. 7. Spaghetti dinner is on schedule for Friday April 8th. Please contact Sal Corrallo if you can help out.
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February 16, 2005 Meeting Minutes

Posted by Ron Weber at Feb 18, 2005 4:00PM PST ( 0 Comments )
OTS Board/Manager Meeting Ocean View Family Restaurant – Ocean View, DE Wednesday February 16, 2005 – 1:00 p.m. In Attendance: Tom Harvey (Pres.), Bill Neyen (Treas.), Ron Weber (Sec.) Archie Alexander, John Bokop, Don Clements, Neil Fleming, Rev. Gene Mion, Bob Shaeffer, Ed Sternberg, John Walker MEETING MINUTES 1. Minutes of the January 12th mtg. were approved 2. Treasurer’s Report was approved. There is currently a balance of $6,429 in the league account. 3. Progress update on COG ball field project: Tom Harvey a) Members of the Field Improvement Committee (Harvey, Clements, Walker, Bokop, Corrallo, Neyen, Weber, Wood) laid out the first of 2 fields on January 28. b) John Walker and “Buck”, who is responsible for grounds maintenance at the COG, laid out the 2nd field the week of Feb. 6. This layout is a bit different from the original plan but provides 2 added benefits. 1)a deeper left and left./center field and 2)more convenient parking for players. c) Tom plans to get work started on the improvements as soon as there are a few nice days forecasted. The work will involve digging and setting posts, stringing fencing and assembling benches. Some work may be done on the infield as well. 4. Progress update on Spaghetti Dinner: Sal Corrallo/Pete Rendina a) Sal sent an update from his Florida vacation home and said all is on schedule for the dinner. b) Additional volunteers are needed. Players are asked to contact Sal Corrallo 302) 344-1627, if they are able to help out. 5. Balls and Bats for 2005 Season: Ron Weber a) Balls approved for the 2005 season are Worth .44 cor and 525 compression. These balls are higher quality and much crisper than the ones used last season. Bill Neyen has ordered 12 dozen balls. b) It was motioned and approved that for the 2005 season only ASA tournament approved bats could be used in the OTS league. A list of bats that have been banned from ASA tournament play is available on the ASA website. None of these bats can be used for practice or league play. 6. Tidewater PT & ISORBIC Life Improvement Center Presentations: Tom Harvey/Ron Weber a) Tidewater Physical Therapy has offered to conduct a sports seminar for OTS players at no charge. Everyone at the meeting felt this was a worthwhile use of time. We will get in touch with Tidewater to set a date, time and place. It likely will be at the ball field on a practice day in early April. All players will be notified. b) ISORBIC Life Improvement Center has also offered to do a 1 hour presentation titled What is Health & Fitness? How to obtain it and maintain it! We may consider having them later in the season. Players will be contacted to determine the level of interest. 7. Progress update on General Meeting: Tom Harvey a) Tom is currently preparing the meeting agenda. b) Gary Meredith has obtained the permit from Bethany to use the Town Hall. 8. Player Evaluations – outliers: Ron Weber a) Ron presented a document which grouped players according to their 2004 ratings. Understand that player ratings are very subjective which makes them less than perfect. b) Officers and managers were asked to review the document to ensure that all players within a group were of relatively equal skill. Players who are significantly better or worse than the group they are currently in will be placed in a more appropriate group. This will be done prior to the player draft in an effort to help managers with their selections. 9. Progress update on Registrations: Bill Neyen a) As of 2/16 there were 37 players registered for 2005. 10. Progress update on New Managers: Sal Corrallo a) Ed Sternberg has decided to become Neil Fleming’s assistant manager rather than manage a team. This opens up one more manager slot. We now need 2 managers for the 2005 season. 11. Progress update on Sponsorship and Publicity: Archie Alexander a) OTS Poster – Archie has been displaying the poster in numerous businesses in Rehoboth and surrounding area. He has been in touch with the managers of a few of the large mobile home parks and told them about the league. They are very interest in helping us get the word out in their communities. Archie also plans to distribute a poster and letter to the 27 volunteer fire companies in lower Sussex County. Archie says; “ if the volunteers are too young for our league, hopefully they’ll tell their dads”. Posters have also been displayed in many businesses in the Bethany area, including the Sea Colony Fitness Center and local grocery stores. ALL PLAYERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO HELP THE LEAGUE BY DISPLAYING THE OTS POSTER IN THEIR LOCAL BUSINESSES. THE POSTER WAS SENT TO ALL PLAYERS VIA EMAIL AND POSTAL SERVICE, OVER 3 WEEKS AGO. b) Other Publicity - Archie has meetings scheduled with the Cape Gazette and Wave newspapers to discuss OTS publicity. It was also suggested that he contact Mediacom, Comcast and the Weather Channel to utilize their public service bulletin service. c) Sponsors - Archie shared a Sponsor/Patron request packet he put together, with everyone at the meeting. He recently attended the Rehoboth Chamber of Commerce meeting and told the members about OTS and our need for sponsors and patrons. 18 business owners took the packet with them following the meeting. Archie is hopeful to get a sponsor for each of our teams this year. Ocean View Family Restaurant, Dynamic PT and VFW Post 7234 have already committed. Anne Marie’s Restaurant and Colonial East Ltd. have verbally agreed to a sponsorship and are expected to commit soon. d) Other Funding - Through contact with a local businessman, Archie has learned about a general fund in the Sussex County budget that might be a potential source of funds for our ball field[s] project this year. The individual has offered to connect Archie with the appropriate parties to see if funding could be secured for our ball fields development project. If available, the funds could enable us to complete all phases of the project this year. 12. Progress update on changes to league By-Laws & Playing Rules: Sal Corrallo a) The By-Laws have been updated, as of January 12, 2005, and are available in the Handouts section of the web page www.eteamz.com/Delmarvaots/. Download to My Documents and then print it for best results. 13. Player Draft Rules – changes/revisions: Tom Harvey a) Will be discussed at the next meeting. b) Sal will document the various options with pros and cons. The final decision will be made in early April after all registrations are received. 14. Progress update on uniforms & equipment: John Walker a) John showed an example of the type of shirt we have this season. The quality is better than last year’s shirt. b) It was decided to use the logo that is currently on the OTS Tournament shirts. It is a small graphic that will be printed on the front [left side]. The sponsors name along with the player number will be on the back of the shirt. c) John can order the shirts after we have all of our sponsors. He estimates it will take about 3 weeks to get them following the order. 15. Playoff s – format & rules of play: Ron Weber a) It was agreed, by the officers and managers in attendance, that the players will select the playoff format for the 2005 season. Alternatives will be presented and vote taken at the April General Meeting. b) Rules of play had previously been reviewed and approved. Meeting adjourned at 3:30. If needed, the next meeting will be scheduled for the afternoon of April 4.

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