Athletics

After you register, the natural question is, “Now what?" Here's some answers.

Player Evaluations

For all but the 5 and new 6 year olds playing Rookie League, or T-Ball, the next step is Player Evaluations. Here’s what to expect.

Evaluations will be held at on December 4 and 5, 2004 at Mishcon Field for Little League Baseball; Allen Field for Juniors and Seniors; and NMB Senior High for Softball. Here’s the schedule:

Age On July 31, 2005	LL Baseball Evaluation Time (Mishcon)	Juniors & Seniors Evaluation Time (Allen)	Softball Evaluation Time (NMB HS)
5 & new 6 year olds	no evaluation necessary
returning 6 year olds & 7	10:00 – 11:30 a.m.
8	11:00 – 12:00 Noon
9	11:30 - 12:30 p.m.		10:00 – 11:00 a.m.
10	12:30 – 1:30 p.m.		11:00 – 12:00 Noon
11	1:30 – 2:30 p.m.		12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
12	2:30 – 3:30 p.m.		1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
13 and Up		10:00 – 1:00 p.m.@ Allen Field	2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

For those of you who have never experienced an evaluation, here’s how it works: Bring your glove and cleats. Plan to arrive about 30 minutes early of your scheduled time. Check in at the Sign-In table to receive your Evaluation Number. Have a parent pin it on your back. Stretch your muscles and play warm-up catch with a pal or your parent for 10-15 minutes in the designated warm-up area. DO NOT SWING YOUR BAT!

Listen for your Timeslot and Evaluation Number to be called. Your evaluation will last about 10 minutes. Although the order of events may vary slightly depending on the level, a typical evaluation includes the following skills

Batting. You will be asked to take several swings, and may be asked to square up to bunt. Running on the last pitch, you will be instructed to drop the bat and run to first base. We will then ask you to run from first to third.

Fielding. Next, you will be asked to go to shortstop with your glove. Coaches will hit to you 2-3 ground balls and 2-3 fly balls.

This will complete your evaluation. That’s all there is to it! The purpose of the evaluation is to assess each player’s experience so that the teams can be fairly balanced, and managers can get an idea of where players are strong and where they will need help. Remember, we join a team to learn as well as play. When we learn, we improve, when we improve, we have more fun. When we have fun, we’re all winners!

Team Selection

Following the evaluations, team drafts will be conducted strictly in accordance with Little League Rules and Regulations to assure fairness. Needless to say, parents and players are not permitted to attend.

Team Announcement

After teams have been drafted, your new manager will call you on December 13 or 14. If you have not heard by December 17, please call your Player Agent. All Player Agents and League Vice Presidents contact information is on the Contact Sheet in this packet.

MANADATORY PRESEASON PARENTS, MANAGERS, AND COACHES MEETING

We require ALL PARENTS, MANAGERS, AND COACHES TO ATTEND A PRESEASON MEETING ON MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 10, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., where we will review not only sportsmanship, but also player safety and other important issues. As you can see from the Codes of Conduct and our policy of enforcement, we will have a very low tolerance for Code violations this year, especially with respect to disputes with umpires. We also will discuss the important issues of your child’s health and safety, and what we are doing to protect them. DON’T MISS IT!

Practices and Uniforms

From that point forward, you will meet and practice with your new team. You will receive your uniform, including a cap, jersey, pants, and socks. Your manager will prepare you for your first game, which won’t take place until after…

Opening Ceremonies

On Sunday, January 30, 2005, we will have our annual Opening Ceremonies at Mishcon Field. This will be the first day that you and your teammates all wear your new uniforms, and come onto the field as a team! We will also take team and individual pictures this day. In past years, we have had special guests like Ivan Rodriguez; you’ll just have to wait to see what surprises we have in store this season!

Regular Season

Our regular season will start on January 31, and run through April. Each team will play between about 10 and 20 games, depending on age. Majors and up teams will likely play a number of games against neighboring Little Leagues.

Playoffs

Playoffs will start in May, and run about 3 weeks. Weather and other circumstances permitting, they will be double elimination.

All-Star Selection

Before selecting its tournament teams (see next section), the NMBOLL selects League All-Stars in Minors and above, an honor bestowed on those players demonstrating superior levels of skill, sportsmanship, dedication, and teamwork, and regardless of availability for tournament play,. Further information regarding the selection process will be available on our website and through our managers as the season progresses.

Tournament Play

At the conclusion of the regular season and our league playoffs, the NMBOLL, like thousands of Little Leagues all over the world, selects teams to play in the Little League Tournament, which begins about July 1 each year. All League All-Stars who have expressed an availability, desire, and willingness to participate on a tournament team shall form the initial pool of players from which the tournament team will be selected. Players, Managers and Coaches participate in this selection process. The Board of Directors shall confirm or reject the tournament teams’ selection by majority vote. The Board shall consider players’ performance, dedication, and sportsmanship.

Questions or Problems?

Although we are far from a military organization, we do believe in the chain of command. So if you have a question or problem with your child’s team, go to the manager first. If he or she can’t resolve it to your satisfaction, then your next step is your division’s Player Agent. He or she is charged with the important responsibility of making sure each child gets fair treatment by his or her manager and the rest of the league. If you still have problems, or a general question, then contact your division’s Vice President. Of course, President Jim Allen and Vice President of Administration Loretta Mufson are always available, especially if all else fails. Contact numbers and email addresses for all can be found in the handout below.

If you already have the complete registration package (see handout above), but you just want another registration form, sponsor form, or any other form associated with registering this year, you can find them in this handout.

Thanks to the generosity of our many sponsors, we can afford to offer a first-class baseball program affordable for all. If you would like to serve our kids by helping them learn the game of baseball, sponsor a team, or maybe two. Just download the form in the handout below, and all the info you need will be right there. Thanks for being there.

An Open Letter to All North Miami Beach Optimist Little League Players, Parents, Volunteers, and Friends

Welcome to the North Miami Beach Optimist Little League, 2005 Edition!

Last year was full of excitement and growth for your kids and League, thanks in large part to your involvement and support. The Board and I are very optimistic that this season will be even better, and hope you will be a part of it again.

We have made some significant changes this year, all of which I am confident will make your League better than ever.

First, we have added girls’ softball for ages 9-12!! Girls are still, of course, welcome to play baseball at all age levels, but we think this will greatly increase the opportunity for girls’ participation, and will help them in trying out for (and making!) the girls softball team when they go to high school.

Second, we have modified the organizational structure of the league. Each division (Little League (which includes kids 5-12), Juniors (13 and up), and Softball has its own Vice President, who will administer that division. Our three Vice Presidents—Stephanie Kienzle (Little League Baseball), Greg Thomas (Juniors & Seniors Baseball), and Dona Elliott(Softball)—are all great baseball people and will do a fantastic job. Of course, we continue to harvest the fruit of Administrative Vice President Loretta Mufson’s labors, as she continues to oversee the significant non-baseball aspects of our program: Opening Day and Closing Party, to name just two.

Working hand-in-hand with the division Vice Presidents will be the division Player Agents: Kevin Rafferty (Little League Baseball), Ellie Bates (Baseball Juniors & Seniors) and Jacob Cerny (Softball). For those of you new to the league, the Player Agent is, in effect, the spokesman for the players. The Player Agent acts as intermediaries when trades are undertaken, monitors the managers and coaches in the handling of the players, and coordinates any replacements to rosters throughout the season. Little wonder, then, that Little League concludes, "The rule of the Player Agent is second only to the Presidency of the local league."

Third, we will now ask each family to donate time to the league. This is, after all, YOUR league—not a league that’s privately contracted out, not a government program. To make it work, we need YOU! The volunteer selection sheet (part of the registration Handout on this site) shows that there are plenty of things for you to choose, and there’s an added bonus: For every parent who volunteers his or her time in the manner requested, we will reduce registration fee $25 per family!!

Speaking of registration fees, we have had to increase them this year. We never want to do that, but the cost of equipment, uniforms, and insurance continues to increase, so we have no choice. (We also had to increase our sponsor fees.) The new registration fee schedule, ranging from $105 to 125 per child for the entire season, is still one of the best bargains around.

Finally, we now offer online registration as a convenient option to sign up. You can, of course, still register by mail (note that we now have a PO Box!) until November 28, or in person at our Registration Days on November 20 and 21 at Mishcon Field between 10 and 4.

Whether you register online, by mail, or in person, PLEASE REGISTER EARLY!! As you know, we grew a lot last year. In fact, we may have grown a little too much—some teams were too big, and it was really difficult to find enough field times for all of our teams to have practices. While our overriding goal continues to be to serve as many of our youth as humanly and physically possible, we are nevertheless going to make sure this year that we do not overextend ourselves. In short, the sooner you sign up, the better chance you have of being placed on a team, and not on a waiting list.

Of course, we still need to have a copy of your child’s birth certificate, which unfortunately we can’t accomplish with the online registration (yet, anyway!) You have several options:

·         If you gave us a copy of your child’s birth certificate last year, you’re in good shape.

·         If this is your first year, or we didn’t get a copy for any reason last year (even if we saw the original), you will need to get us a copy. You can:

o        Snail mail it to us.

o        Bring it to Registration Days at Mishcon Field November 20 and 21 between 10 and 4. We will have a special express line set up to receive your certificate copies.

o        Scan it and email it to us.

Finally, our season starts and ends a little earlier than last year to keep pace with the school year. Check out the Calendar for all the important dates coming up for the 2005 season (check back frequently for updates). We can’t wait to get started!!

Jim Allen
President