Did You Lose Items at Tryouts?

A number of items were left behind at the tryout day today at East Grand Rapids High School gym. If you are missing any items, please contact Jack Conway at jack.conway@mos-xerox.com or 616-889-9115 to see if your items were among those he found and to arrange pickup.

20% Off at MC Sports!

This Monday night, March 30, from 7-9pm, MC Sports on 28th Street is having a Southern Little League appreciation night. 20% off everything in the store for Southern players. No coupon required. Just tell them you are with Southern Little League. Family members can take advantage of the discount as well.

Tryouts are TOMORROW - Saturday, March 28

Saturday is tryout day at East GR High School Gym. Not every child needs to attend, but attendance is MANDATORY for some kids. Please take the time to read all the details here. If parents are fully informed, it really makes a huge difference in how smoothly this busy day runs.

Signup Update

Our signup deadline has passed, but we still have openings in 78er (coach pitch) baseball. Any player turning 7 at any time during 2015 is eligible to sign up for coach pitch as well as all those who will turn 8 any time during 2015. Click here to sign up. All other baseball divisions are on a waiting list so please contact the director.

Softball is open for signup for a limited time.

For Senior and Big League Divisions please wait for two weeks. We will let you know via our website when we're ready for those signups to resume.

And don't forget tryout day is this Saturday. Read more here.

Important Note about Tryouts

After lengthy and detailed discussions about how to be most fair in the entirety of the evaluation and drafting process, the following rules will apply for the tryouts and draft for Minor, Major and Junior Baseball:

It is mandatory that all players that will be entering a division or the draft be evaluated. We have three options for you.

• You must be at your assigned time on Saturday, March 28, to be evaluated.
• If you have a conflict at that time, you must contact the league director and make arrangements to be at the evaluations at a different time on Saturday March 28.
• In case of emergency or other unforeseen conflict, a parent or guardian of the player must call the league director and give a detailed evaluation over the phone to the director.

If none of these three options is completed, then the following will apply:

• If the player is 11 or under and trying out for Majors, the player will be placed in Minors automatically.
• If the player is 12 in Majors or any age in Juniors, the player will not be drafted but will be randomly placed on a team after the draft is completed.

Clarification: Southern is trying to be fair in the selection process while also giving all players every opportunity to be evaluated.

Tryouts are Saturday, March 28

This coming Saturday is tryout day at East GR High School Gym. Not every child needs to attend. Please take the time to read all the details here. If parents are fully informed, it really makes a huge difference in how smoothly this busy day runs.

Signup Update

In case you missed the dozens of announcements, the March 17 signup deadline has now passed. We still have spots open in the certain divisions. You can register for these divisions at the increased signup fee of $175. But hurry. Space is limited and may close without further notice.

• All Softball Divisions: OPEN
• Baseball 78ers: OPEN
• Baseball Minors: OPEN
• Baseball Majors: OPEN
• Baseball Juniors: CLOSED (waiting list only)
• Baseball Seniors: Your deadline is not until May. If you have not registered yet, that's no problem. But we ask that you please NOT register at the $175 rate. Please wait to register until we announce the call for Seniors baseball registration in a few weeks. At that point, after all other divisions close, we will reduce the rate back to $150 and ask you to register at that time.

Signup Deadline is TODAY

The deadline for signing up is TODAY - Tuesday, March 17. Please sign up as soon as possible. Click here to read more and to sign up.

Calling All New Umpires

If you are passionate about the game of baseball and turn the age of 13 by April 30, 2015, then you are invited to a meeting at East Grand Rapids High School's gym on Saturday, March 28, at approximately 2:30pm -- and immediately following the juniors' tryout/evaluation. This meeting will last about a half-hour or so and will give you the opportunity to learn more about how to become a new umpire at Southern Little League for the upcoming season. Jack Conway, Southern's umpire director, will host this meeting and address several topics including training dates, sign-up dates, pay scale, etc. This is an excellent opportunity for you to earn some money this spring, take on the responsibility of running a baseball game, interact with players and coaches, and enhance your future college application or job resume by becoming an umpire.

Signup Deadline is TOMORROW

The deadline for signing up is TOMORROW - Tuesday, March 17. Please sign up as soon as possible. Click here to read more and to sign up.

Signup Deadline is TUESDAY

The deadline for signing up is Tuesday, March 17. Please sign up as soon as possible. Click here to read more and to sign up.

Please Sign Up Soon!

The deadline for signing up is March 17. Please sign up as soon as possible. Click here to read more and to sign up.

CORRECTION: Sign-up Deadline is TUESDAY, MARCH 17

Please sign up as soon as possible here.

Sign Up Deadline is TUESDAY, MARCH 17!

The signup for the 2015 season is TUESDAY, MARCH 17. Please don't wait until the last minute, as that creates headaches for our volunteers. Please click here to read all the details and to sign up online.

2015 Baseball Big League Schedule

• League Director: Bob Hams
  email: beams "at" roomful.com (replace "at" with @)
  phone: 633-5495
  
• Please remember to sign up for email updates. That way you won't miss any schedule changes or weather updates.
• If you see a discrepancy in the scores or missing scores, please contact your coach, NOT the webmaster. Games without a score in this schedule will not be included in the standings.
• Changes made after June 9 to the original schedule will be announced via email and marked on the schedule with a C in the C column. Rescheduled rain-outs are denoted by an R in that column.
• Click here to view this schedule on its own page.
• Click here to download this schedule as a PDF you can print.

A Message from the League President

Hello Southern Little League,

As I compose this letter the thermometer says 8 degrees. Really! Hard to believe we will have evaluations the end of March. Sign ups are now open on our website. Be on the look out for emails as we get closer to opening day.

The main purpose of this letter is to inform you of a change that Little League International has implemented effective this year.

LITTLE LEAGUE PLAYER AGE REQUIREMENTS
CHANGE:

1. Players age on your 2015 birthday only for those born on or after January 1, 2006.
2. Due to new little league age requirements we will no longer allow 6 yr olds to participate in coach pitch baseball or softball, no exceptions!
3. Softball age determination will remain the same as previous years.

SOLUTION:

1. As a result of this recent adjustment to the implementation strategy, effective immediately, any player born on or after January 1, 2006 who will tuen the ages of 4-9 during the 2015 calendar year will be eligible to participate in a local Little League program and will use the new age determination date of December 31 for the remainder of their Little League career. Players Will still be assigned to a division based on local league divisional structure.
2. Consequently, players born prior to January 1, 2006 will continue to utilize the current age determination date of April 30 for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons.
3. In 2018 all players born prior to January 1, 2006, will begin utilizing December 31 as their age determination date.
4. The majority of concerns will surround the fact that a 2015 league age nine (9) year old will be 10 in 2016, 11 in 2017, but in 2018 will effectively be league age 13 and will advance out of the Major league division. All players represented within the baseball age chart will all use the December 31 date beginning in the 2018 season.

Thank you for patience and understanding.

If you have any questions or need confirmation for your players age please refer to the baseball and softball age charts on the Southern Website. Thank you again and we will see you at the fields!

Joe Mead
President, Southern Little League

Sign Up for the 2015 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.

• Age Eligibility: ***** IMPORTANT ***** The age determination rules for baseball have changed for 2015. It is VERY IMPORTANT that you read and understand this change before you sign up! Your child's age is determined as follows:
• If your child was born on or after January 1, 2006:
• Your child's official league age is his age on his 2015 birthday.
• If you child was born on or before December 31, 2005:
• Your child's official league age is his age on April 30, 2015.
• The age determination rules for girls' softball have NOT changed.
• Confused? Click here for a simple chart you can use to determine your child's official league age for baseball or softball.
• Due to Little League International's new age rules, we can no longer allow 6-year-olds to play coach-pitch baseball or softball. No exceptions.
• Cost: $150 ($100 for softball) per player before the deadline. $175 after the deadline based on availability. (No late fee for softball. 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.
• Geographical boundary eligibility: See our official league boundaries here. Your child must reside or attend school 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 28, 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: March 2, 9, and 14
  
• Sign-up deadline: Tuesday, March 17
• Player evaluation/tryout day: Saturday, March 28
• Clean-up day: Saturday, April 18
• Practices begin: Monday, April 13 or later (depends on coach)
• Games begin: Friday, April 24
• Family day: Saturday, June 6 (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. You can also follow all our announcements by liking us on Facebook here.
  
• Questions? Call Mark Norton at 954-0504. Make your message only your name and clearly state your phone number twice.
  

2015 Leadoff Party!

Annual Fundraiser for Southern Little League



An Evening of Food and Fun!

Saturday, February 7, 2015
Applause Event Center | 7:00 PM - 12:00 AM
2728 Birchcrest Dr SE (behind Pietro’s)

Auctions Supporting Southern Little League and Scholarship Fund
Cash Bar and Hors d’oeuvres

RSVP and buy your tickets in advance.
$60 per couple / $35 per person with online reservation by January 31.
$70 per couple / $35 per person at the door

Age 21 and over please

Please buy your tickets in advance here. You can pay by credit card or PayPal.
No PayPal account is required.

1 Couple $60.00 USD 1 Person $35.00 USD 2 Couples $120.00 USD

Or send checks payable to:
Southern Little League
1530 Groton Road SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49506

Please extend this invitation to all alumni, parents and grandparents of past, present and future Southern Little League players.

We hope to see you there!

Announcing the 2015 Raffle

2015 Baseball Majors Schedule

• League Director: Jamie Billo
  email: jamiebillo "at" hotmail.com (replace "at" with @)
  phone: 617-0616
  
• Please remember to sign up for email updates. That way you won't miss any schedule changes or weather updates.
• Home team will occupy the 3rd base dugout.
• If you see a discrepancy in the scores or missing scores, please contact your coach, NOT the webmaster. Games without a score in this schedule will not be included in the standings.
• Changes made after April 14 to the original schedule will be announced via email and marked on the schedule with a C in the C column. Rescheduled rain-outs are denoted by an R in that column.
• Family Day is Sat-6-Jun. A coin flip will determine home field that day. Family Day games will not count in the standings.
• Due to lack of field space, no rained out games will be made up unless one team has an unusual number of rainouts.
• Click here to view this schedule on its own page.
• Click here to download this schedule as a PDF you can print.