Greetings Little League Fans – 

Spring has sprung.  Now, it’s time to get our fields in shape for our baseball, softball, and tee ball players to have the best year ever.  

Saturday, May 1, is FIELD COMMUNITY CLEAN-UP / WORK DAY for all of our baseball, softball, tee ball groups. We need all hands on-deck! We need all players’ families to assist and make sure our fields to be in playing shape in time for the following week’s start of practices and games.

NEEDS:  Please bring rakes, edging spades, shovels, hoes, yard waste bags, and wheelbarrows!  Also:  long (100’ or 200’) tape measures.  Other tools to aid in weeding, edging, and softening infield dirt.

MAJORS BASEBALL FAMILIES

The Marge Jones and Lincolnville Town fields Work Day will take place on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  We will need crews at both sites, so please email Rick Thackeray at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com and let us know on what field you’d like to work.  Please put “Work Day Help -Majors Baseball” in the email subject line.

SOFTBALL FAMILIES

Our Softball fields at both Marge Jones field (Rockport) and the Hope Elementary School softball field will need some work this spring.  We need volunteers for both fields on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  We will need crews at both sites, so please email Rick Thackeray at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com and let us know on what field you’d like to work.  Please put “Work Day Help - Softball” in the email subject line.

AA and AAA MINORS BASEBALL FAMILIES

The True Park Field Work Day will take place on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 1-2 extension or longer stepladders would be helpful for hanging the nets on the batting cage.  Otherwise, please arrived with your steel rakes, shovels, spades, hoes, tape measures, and wheelbarrows to help bring the field back into shape.

TEE BALL FAMILIES

Our Softball fields at both Old Rockport Elementary School field (corner of Routes One and 90) and the Hope Elementary School softball field will need some work this spring.  We need volunteers for both fields on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.  We will need crews at both sites, so please email Rick Thackeray at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com and let us know on what field you’d like to work.  Please put “Work Day Help – Tee Ball” in the email subject line.

Our fields need extra attention this year after losing a year of activity in 2020.  With many hands, we’ll have less work for all.  We appreciate everything you can do!

See you on Saturday!

SOFTBALL EVALUATIONS: FTLL evaluates all Softball players to assess their skills and place them on teams at the appropriate level of play (i.e., Majors, Minors AAA, or Minors AA). FTLL will communicate team placements as soon as possible after evaluations are completed.

Evaluations will be held at the PITCH in Warren on the evening of Wednesday, April 28.

Softball players ages 7-8 should check in at 5:45 pm. Our goal is to process all 7-8 year old players by 6:45 pm.

Softball players ages 9-12 should check in at 6:30 pm. Their evaluations will run from 6:45 to 8 pm.

WHAT TO BRING: Your player should bring/wear a well-fitting face mask (COVID), sneakers (no cleats), softball pants, leggings or sweatpants (no shorts), glove, and water bottle.

REGISTER FIRST:   Players must be registered for SOFTBALL no later than Friday, April 23, at 11:59 p.m. to be assessed on April 28. Register for 2021 Spring Softball today if you haven't already done so.  

IMPORTANT: Everyone must complete and submit PITCH’s “Online Waiver” before your player can set foot on the field. Please go to the PITCH website and do that before you head to evaluations: https://www.mainepitch.com/info

The PITCH does not allow any parents or other observers to enter the field area. They can wait in the lower or upper lobby.

If it is not possible for your player to attend evaluations on April 28, please email Bob Bocko at robert.bocko@comcast.net

• Coaching the Coaches Clinic
• Monday, April 26, from 6:00 to 8:00 PM
• At The PITCH, in Warren.

We are happy to be able to host a “Coaching the Coaches” clinic for new and returning baseball, softball, and tee balls coaches.  Nick Caiazzo, director of player development The Edge Academy, in Portland, and long-term coach of the Maine Thunder 14u travel softball team, will run the two-hour clinic, sharing tips about building baseball/softball fundamentals and running successful practices.

We can only allow a limited number of live participants, so email us today at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com to reserve your spot.  We will be broadcasting the event live through Zoom for folks who cannot attend in-person, but do not delay if you want one of the in-person spots.

Get ready for the season and become the best coach you can be!  Join us on April 26!  If you have any questions, please email us at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com.

 Also ...

Every volunteer - including coaches -- must complete and return an official 2021 Little League Volunteer Application before working with any of our community's children.  Please use the online form at the link below, save it onto your desktop, and then email it back to us at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com.

https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/volunteer-application/

See you on the field, soon!

Registration is live for all four programs -- Baseball, Softball, Tee Ball, and Challenger.  Please visit each of those program pages for more information about what program is right for your player.

Visit "Active Seasons" now to start your registration!

Please see the "Tryouts Information" post for dates and times related to Majors Baseball and Softball tryouts..

REGISTER NOW!

Please email Rick Thackeray at mainefivetownlittleleague@gmail.com  if you have any questions.

View the Maine Dept. of Economic and Community Development's "checklist" guidelines for community sports here:

https://www.maine.gov/decd/checklists/community-sports

Five Town Little League is in the process organizing a CHALLENGER division for children with physical and intellectual disabilities. We are excited about this opportunity and we want hear back from parents that are interested in signing their children up!

This program will not work without parents and friends willing to step forward and volunteer with coaching and team organization. Please contact program coordinator Dana Jackson at dana.jackson@charter.com or 207.458.2341 or Moriah Hersey Grant at moriahgrant@gmail.com  to learn more!

Please visit Little League International's Challenger page to learn more about this amazing program:

https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/challenger/

Follow Five Town Little League on Facebook for in-season updates and highlights.

https://www.facebook.com/fivetownlittleleague/

We have posted our Parental Code of Conduct in the right column and made it a part of our Consent/Waiver/Release during registration. Please read it carefully in order to understand our requirements.

Children from Appleton may be eligible to have their Little League registration fees covered through the generosity of the folks with the Jeff Landwehr Memorial Fund.   Priority for these scholarships is given for children who have a demonstrated need for assistance, but it is the goal of the Landwehr Fund to assist as many Appleton children as possible on a first come, first serve basis.  So, do not delay in registering.  Please contact Ken Butler at kpbutler@tidewater.net for more information or visit the Jeff Landwehr Memorial Fund's Facebook page