Dear Parents,
Spring is finally here and the ABL Spring season is just around the corner. With that in mind, we wanted to share a few important updates:
1. Practices Begin Next Saturday, April 10th: while we had originally hoped (and communicated) an April 5th start date, we have been informed by the town that the fields will not be ready until Saturday, April 10th. Assuming no further changes (we will send another update either way on April 9th), we will have our first practices on Saturday, April 10th.
Important Note: as mentioned, games do not begin until Opening Day, April 24th. For the next Saturdays only (the 10th and the 17th), each division will have a 75 min practice according to the below schedule:
- Instructional: 3:45pm - 5pm
- Minors: 2:15p - 3:30pm
- Intermediates:12pm - 2pm
- Majors: 9:30am -11:30pm
Please meet at IBM Field 1 at your scheduled time, and the coaches will usher the children to the appropriate IBM fields for practice. For the avoidance of doubt, these Saturday practices in advance of Opening Day are in addition to, and not in lieu of, the regularly scheduled weekday practices, which will begin on Monday, April 12th according to the previously communicated schedule.
2. Flex Practices: in our note last week, we mentioned the possibility of flex practices on Tuesdays for those in the Minors and Instructional Divisions unable to make their regularly scheduled Monday or Wednesday practice, respectively. To date, we have only received six requests for the Tuesday practice. Please let us know ASAP if you wish your child to attend Tuesday's flex practice. If we do not have sufficient interest, we'll unfortunately need to proceed with the regular Monday/Wednesday schedule only.
3. Registration Credits: as mentioned for those that registered after March 1, we are extending a registration credit of $75 that may be applied to any future ABL registration. We expect that our vendor will begin processing these credits in the coming weeks (for everyone) and that those receiving them will see them in the accounts by the end of April. If there is a delay from our vendor, we'll communicate this to you prior to month-end.
4. Miscellaneous: we've received a few emails re purchasing bats. While not required, we do encourage each child to have his own bat (and children are required to have their own gloves and helmets). The LL guidance for bats can be found here: https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/bat-information/. If you have any other questions regarding equipment, please reach out to us at [email protected].
With registration now closed, we are putting together teams for the Instructional and Minors divisions and expect to communicate those to parents/coaches by the end of next week (and will schedule uniform pick ups at the same time - uniforms need only be worn for games). Intermediate and Majors division drafts are being scheduled separately.
We are looking forward to a great season and we'll continue to be in touch through email, Facebook and Instagram with updates throughout the season. In the meantime, do not hesitate to reach out with any questions: [email protected].
Thank you for your continued support.
- ABL Board |