Things you should know about our league

Mission statement:  Churchland Little League, it’s board members and parents are committed to providing a fun and rewarding experience that builds player’s confidence, sportsmanship and athletic ability in an environment that is both team bonding and individually rewarding based on effort and success.  It is our hope to have a self-sustaining organization that has a strong presence in the community and will benefit generations to come.

Things to know:

This is an all-volunteer run, not for profit league.  A few of us don’t even have players in the league anymore but believe that it is a worthwhile thing for the kids of Churchland, so continue to volunteer their time.  Please also keep in mind that many of our board members also must coach teams because it is so difficult to get volunteers for our kids, so we are traveling with our teams and are not always at our complexes to handle any situations that arise.

It is still the responsibility of the generations behind us to keep the league going for our community and help us keep the costs of running the league down as much as possible so we can keep registration prices lower while still being able to have the funds to run the season.  It is tough with rising prices for everything from uniforms to umpires. We are a nonprofit organization.  No one involved in Churchland Little League is paid in any way.  We count on every dollar to be able to run two seasons a year plus all stars.

So, beginning this spring season, players' parents/guardians are required to work at least one shift, usually 2 hours, in one of our concessions stands (baseball or softball complex).  We will never schedule your team’s concession at the same time your player has a game.  Once the game schedules are made by the district, we will schedule your team's concession duty dates/times.  We will give the schedule to your team’s team parent, and they will work with you all to schedule who will work when/where.

We are also looking for new board members. If you want to help continue this league for this generation and generations to come, please contact one of us.  There is so much work to be done, from pre-season (getting the complexes and fields ready, setting up the season, working registrations, etc.) to post season, which also ends up being pre-season as well since we have two per year.  It is a LOT of work for just a few people to do. 

If you want to be able to have a voice in the league and be able to vote for your next year’s executive officers for Churchland Little League, you can become a member of Churchland Little League.  We charge a small fee ($5.00) and you will have to attend the General Elections meeting to vote (we must have a certain number of in-person votes).  Board members and Managers are automatically members (no cost to them).  If you are interested in becoming a general member of Churchland Little League, let one of us know by emailing [email protected]

 Now, on to our most frequently asked questions

Q: How much does it cost to register my player

It will depend on what division they are eligible to play in. See the registration information on our website for more details

Q: What do I need to bring with me or submit for registering my player

Little League requires that we collect proof of age and address (to show that you live in our league's boundaries and are legal to play in our league) BEFORE your player is selected to a team. If we do not receive all of this, your player will not be allowed on the field for practices/games because they are not “legal” to play for our league until the proofs are brought in and verified.  Those proofs must be dated between Feb 1 of last year and Feb 1 of the current year, (ex: Feb 1, 2022-Feb 1, 2023) We require three proofs, or a school enrollment form filled out by the principal of your players school, verifying that your player was attending that school before Oct 1 of the prior year, and that school is in our boundaries.  If you provide the school enrollment form, you will not have to provide three additional proofs.

From Little League

Residence shall be established and supported by documents containing the full residence which includes parent(s) or guardian(s) name, street address, city, state and zip code information, dated or in force between February 1 of the previous year and February 1 of the current year, from one or more documents from EACH of the three Groups outlined below:

Group I

• Driver’s License
• School Records
• Vehicle Records (i.e., Registration, Lease, etc.)
• Employment Records
• Insurance Documents

  Group II

• Welfare/Child Care Records
• Federal Records (i.e., Federal Tax, Social Security, etc.)
• State Records
• Local (Municipal) Records
• Support Payment Records
• Homeowner or Tenant Records
• Military Records

  Group III

• Voter’s Registration
• Utility Bills (i.e., Gas, Electric, Water/Sewer, Phone, Heating, Waste Disposal)
• Financial Records
• Medical Records
• Internet, Cable, or Satellite Record

   

  IMPORTANT NOTE: Example – Three documents from the same Group (utility bill, cable bill, and bank statement) constitute only ONE document. Players who have established “residence” or “school attendance” for regular season and/or tournament in a prior season using the Tournament Player Verification form, and can produce the form with proper proofs and signatures, will NOT need to complete a new Tournament Player Verification form.

  Any documents submitted as proof of residence must show customary usage or consumption to demonstrate bonafide continuous habitation as determined by Little League Baseball, Incorporated in its discretion.

• A player will be deemed to attend school in the boundaries if: The physical location of the school where they attend classes is within the boundaries established by the local league. Note: This excludes home schools, cyber schools, sports-related schools, sports academies, or preschool or after school where a student participates outside of the primary school the player is enrolled.

  “School attendance” refers to the (place) physical location the player in question attends school during the traditional academic year. Once established, a location of school attendance shall not be considered changed unless the child is enrolled and attends another school or is no longer enrolled in the previous school.

  School attendance shall be established and supported by a document indicating enrollment for the current academic year, dated prior to October 1 of the current year and with the physical location of the school, from ONE of the following categories to determine school attendance by such player:

• Official/Certified School enrollment record
• The Little League-issued school attendance form completed by the principal, assistant principal, or administrator (cannot be a front office person. It must be signed by an administrator)

Q: What equipment does my player need?

Your player will need their own glove,  pants, and shoes (cleats). The league does provide some bats and helmets, but we still strongly suggest that you purchase your player their own helmet. We will provide hats (for baseball), visors (for softball), belts, socks, and shirts for spring season, and shirt and socks for the fall.

*** IMPORTANT!!!  Please DO NOT add any stickers, decorations, air brushing, or modifying of any helmets. If that happens, the helmet will not be legal to use in any little league games. We know that we have players who participate in other clubs who can use stickers and such. However, Little League is all about the safety of their players and it has been proven that adhesive and other foreign materials on helmets degrade their stability, so unless the stickers come from the helmet manufacturer, with a letter of certification, please do not alter the helmets. This goes for attachments as well (besides the facemask) You can find more information here https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/modifying-helmets-with-additional-attachments/

 Q: Is there any other costs that I should know about?

There could be a few, such as snacks and/or drinks, for your team. Things like juice boxes and small snacks for the players. Team parent will coordinate the snack schedules. Intermediate, Junior, and Senior divisions usually do not participate in snacks, however that is up to the teams to decide if/how they want to handle it.

The league/teams usually have an end of season party. Each team has the option to order trophies, medals, etc., which might run between 12-20 dollars. This is something the teams decide on and handle. It is not through the league.

If you choose to become a general member and have voting rights, there is a $1.00 charge.

If your player is chosen for an All-Star team, there could potentially be a fee and there will be a mandatory fundraiser(s) to help offset the cost of the tournament(s) such as balls, umpire fees, team charter fees to Little League, uniforms, etc.

Team pictures if you choose to purchase

Q: What is the league age range in each division?

Tee Ball-4-6

Minor (Coach and player pitch) 7-10

Majors-9-12

Intermediate-11-13

Seniors-13-16
Now, some of these ages are what we call ‘swing’ ages. In other words, they are eligible to play in multiple divisions. We will be holding try outs for league age 7 and above to determine which division to place your player. ALL PLAYERS WILL BE PLACED ON A TEAM.

Q: What does “League age” mean?

League age means whatever age your player was on December 31 of the previous year for softball, or August 31 of the current year for baseball.

Q: How are players selected for teams?

Tee Ball and coach pitch minors are randomly assigned. For player pitch and beyond, we will hold try outs for all players and then the managers will draft their teams. We will do our best to honor reasonable requests submitted in writing (siblings on the same team, ride issues, etc.), but we cannot promise anything like your players’ best friend being on the same team.

Q: How does CLL communicate general information?

The best place for faster information is our Facebook page, Churchland Little League.  You can also look for information on our website, churchlandlittleleague.com (You can also see the Facebook posts from there for those who do not use Facebook) Managers usually text or email their teams, many times using apps like Heja, Band or Game Changer. For most things like rain outs, we will contact the managers and they will contact their teams.

Q: What do I need to know about the schedule?

After all leagues in our district (6) have completed their registration and finalized their teams, the district will create the schedule. Most times, that schedule will not come out until right before the games begin. That is because even though we all closed registration, some leagues will have players join or quit and must restructure their teams. It happens every year to every league. Because of that, the schedules are made, remade, remade again....and you guessed it, remade again! So, please be patient. We know you want to make plans. We have a TON of things that revolve around those schedules and will get all that information out as soon as we can.

Q: What do I need to know about practice?

One of the benefits of managing a team is that you get to schedule your practices. There will be at least one weeknight practice, possibly more. That will depend on your team manager and field availability. There might be times when baseball is practicing at the softball complex and vice versa.

Q: What about team pictures?

Pictures are usually taken around the first two weeks of the season. Sometimes, things happen. It is a lot of moving parts that we do not have a lot of control over, and they will happen later in the season. We will send out information to the team parent when we have them scheduled. All players are required to show up for photos.

Q: Do you have an All-Star program?

Yes, we make every effort to participate in the district 6 All Star tournament every year. All Stars begin immediately after the spring season ends and runs through the beginning of July in most cases. Longer if we happen to win in our division. All stars are required to participate in a mandatory fundraiser to help cover the tournament expenses, which can be hefty between uniforms, balls, umpires, charter fees to Little League, etc. If one of our teams wins the district championship, the next stop is the state tournament, which could be held anywhere in Virginia. CLL will cover the cost of the tournament fees, and parents would be required to participate in fundraising to get the players to the tournament, hotel costs, etc., for the players. Parents are responsible for their own travel and lodging costs unless they are part of the team management. If for some reason we win the state tournament, like our junior girls did in 2022, it is a lather, rinse, repeat situation. Little League does not cover any travel expenses until/unless we participate in the world series. We do ask that if for some reason we keep winning and advancing, that you make sure your player is available for all these events. For many, it is a once in a lifetime experience, and of course we cannot participate if we can’t still field our team.

If your player is selected for and agrees to the conditions of playing on the All-Star team, you will need to provide their original birth certificate (the one you provided during registration) and three proofs of residency or the school enrollment form (same things that were required for your player to play in the league at the beginning of the season). Once the district has verified and signed off on everything, you will receive your players birth certificate back and will not have to present it again for the duration of your players Little League career if the verified form that the district administer signed is still present. We will keep a copy, but it is important that you also keep a copy because ‘things happen.’