Sign Up for the 2011 Season

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Time to start thinking about Southern Little League baseball and softball.

Here's what you need to know. Please take the time to read this information thoroughly.

• Deadline: You must sign up online or in person no later than March 15. (Seniors baseball: the sign-up deadline is not until May.)
• Those who register before 11:59pm on Sat-26-Feb will be entered into a drawing for free registration fees. We will select two winners at random.
  
• Cost: $110 per player before the deadline. $125 after the deadline based on availability. This is the same cost as last year. (No player will be denied based on inability to pay. Please see our sign-up staff for details.)
  
• How to sign up: Online (click here) or at one of our in-person sign-up sessions at Breton Village Mall (click here). The cost is the same either way. You cannot sign up by mail.
• Age eligibility and divisions: Signup is for all divisions of baseball and softball. Read more here.
  
• Geographical boundary eligibility: See our official league boundaries here. You must reside within these boundaries or have played in Southern last year to be eligible.
  
• Tryouts: After signing up, players in certain situations MUST attend their player evaluation (aka "tryout") session. Click here for details.
  
• Umpiring: Anyone 13 years old or older who is reliable and passionate about baseball can earn some extra cash umpiring at Southern. Sign-ups for umpiring will be held after tryouts at 2:30 on Saturday, March 26, in the East Grand Rapids High School gym. Training will take place at a later date.
  
• Volunteering: Southern depends on volunteers for a wide variety of roles. You'll have a chance to fill out volunteer information when you sign-up. Learn more here.
  
• Important dates:
• In-person sign-up sessions: February 9, 12, and 26
  
• Sign-up deadline: Tuesday, March 15
• Player evaluation/tryout day: Saturday, March 26
• Clean-up day: Saturday, April 9, 9am (we need lots of volunteers)
• Practices begin: After March 28 (depends on coach)
• Games begin: Week of April 18
• Family day: Saturday, June 4 (volunteers needed)
• Our website: We make all our weather and schedule announcements and we keep all our schedules, results, standings and other information here on our website. Make sure to stay on top of all the latest news by signing up for automatic email updates here. It really is the simplest way to make sure you don't miss an important announcement.
  
• Questions? Call Mark Norton at 954-0504. Make your message only your name and clearly state your phone number twice.
  

More on Composite Bats

If you're following the composite bats issue at all, please read this article from Little League Online.

2011 Sign-ups Coming Soon

The volunteers at Southern Little League have begun planning another season of great baseball and softball. We expect to have the online sign-up system ready to go around February 1. We'll be making an announcement about how and when to sign up for the 2011 season on or after that date. And we make all our announcements right here on this website. So in the meantime, if you haven't already, please take a moment to sign up to get email updates here. That way you won't miss any important announcements.

Field Location: Belding Little League

View Belding Little League in a larger map

2011 Tryout Schedule

PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE NOTE

First off, keep in mind that the term "tryout" here is a bit of a misnomer. It's actually more of an evaluation to help determine the appropriate league for each child. No one is omitted from participation based on this evaluation. We use the term "tryout" regardless, so bear with us.

To determine your child's official Little League Age, use their online age calculator here. Please use ONLY this official Little League age when considering which tryout session to attend.

All of the time slots listed below are for baseball. There will not be a softball tryout session this year.

Please notice that only kids in certain situations need to come to tryouts. Read the conditions below carefully. If you find that your child does not fit into any of these situations, then there's no need to come to tryouts. Get it? If you're still not sure, you can contact the director.

Here is the schedule for tryouts:

• Date: Saturday, March 26th
• Location: East Grand Rapids High School Gym.
• Please plan to arrive 30 minutes prior to your scheduled time slot.
• These times are subject to change. We will announce all changes on the website and email all subscribers. Sign up for email notification here.
• 9:00am-10:00am: all 9 yr olds (baseball). No 8 yr olds will be allowed to play in the minors.
  
• 10:30am-11:30am: all 10 yr olds (baseball) who were not in the majors last year and who wish to try out for majors this year. Also, any 10 yr olds (baseball) who are new to Southern this year must attend at this time. (For 10-yr-olds who were in minors last year and want to play in minors again this year, you do not need to attend the tryout.)
  
• 12:00pm-1:00pm: all 11 and 12 yr olds (baseball) who were not in the majors last year
• 1:30pm-2:30pm: all 13 and 14 yr olds (baseball) who were not in the juniors last year
• 2:30pm-3:00pm: umpire sign-up and meeting

If you have any questions or concerns, or if you know your child will not be able to attend, please contact the director.

Sign Up In Person for the 2011 Season

You can sign up in person for the 2011 season. This is for folks who do not want to use a credit card to register online. If you'd rather pay by cash or check, come to the in-person sign-up sessions where we'll be able to accept your payment and provide you with access to a laptop so you can fill out the rest of the registration information online. There are no paper sign-ups this year.

The in-person sign-ups will take place at Breton Village Mall, not at Southern as in prior years. The sign-up table will be located near the fireplace inside the mall.

• Where: Breton Village Mall (near the fireplace)
  
• When:
• Wednesday, February 9th, 6-8pm
• Saturday, February 12th, 10am-noon
• Saturday, February 26th, 10am-1pm
• A parent or legal guardian must be present at sign-up.
• The child need not be present.
• We no longer need to see birth certificates.
• Cost is $110, payable by check, cash, or credit card.
• You cannot sign up by mail.

Sign Up Online for the 2011 Season

• Online sign-ups are still open for some leagues:
• Minors/Majors/Juniors Softball: we are no longer accepting sign-ups.
• Seniors baseball & softball: Please sign up ASAP.
• Big League Baseball: Please sign up ASAP.
• Minors/Majors/Juniors Baseball: we are still accepting sign-ups.
• The cost is $125.
• You can sign up and pay online by clicking here.
• Please note: The online sign-up is hosted by a third party (active.com). There have been reports of high volume on their site. Please keep trying. There is nothing the Southern webmaster can do about this.
  
• There is no additional fee for online sign-up. The cost is the same as in-person sign-up.
  
• We no longer need to see birth certificates.