Happy Friday, RLL Families! This is a long one, so check out each topic because it may answer your questions!!!

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR:

TBALL, JUNIORS, SENIORS, UMPIRES

Registration Close Dates:

Mar 12 – Tball, Juniors

Apr 29 – Seniors

Important Dates:

March

12 - Board Meeting, Walkup Signups

18 - Practices begin (CP-Majors) ***Don’t forget your medical release form for your coach: littleleague.org/downloads/medical-release-form/

18 – Coaches Clinic Coach Pitch Division @ ERMS Equipment Shed (Field 5-7) 5PM

18 – Equipment pickup (CP, AA, AAA, Majors) @ ERMS Equipment Shed (Field 5-7) 5-530

April 

1– 5 SPRING BREAK (Practice optional)

8 - T ball, Juniors Practices Begin ***Don’t forget your medical release form for your coach: littleleague.org/downloads/medical-release-form/

9 - Board Meeting 

9 – RLL Fundraiser night at THE SCORE

13 – Umpire Clinic (9-noon)

13 - Field clean up

14 - Field clean up (make up day) 

16/17 – Picture Day (CP-Majors)

22 - Games Begin (CP-Majors) 

25- Picture Day (Tball, Juniors)

29- T ball Games Begin 

Rockford Little League FAN GEAR!!!!

We are excited to announce that Rockford Little League Gear will be available through our online fan store! Take note of the dates below. A portion of your purchase will come back to RLL, so this is another great way to support RLL and your favorite ball players!

Store website: https://rockfordlittleleague.bigcartel.com/

March 31: store closes

April 22: all orders will be available for pickup at the Concession Stand at ERMS fields!

Thank you to our 2024 RLL Sponsors:

Schedules

Tball, Juniors and Seniors registration is still open. We will begin working on those schedules after registration is closed and all players are rostered!

Practice Information

• Don’t forget to bring your medical release form for your coach: littleleague.org/downloads/medical-release-form/
• Practice Cancellations/Weather Policy:

• All practice cancellations will come from your coach. RLL will only call off practices if use could cause damage to the field.
• RLL Weather Policy: We will not play if the temperature at practice or game time is below 40* or the Heat Index is above 110*. We will check field conditions at 4pm on weekdays and 8am on Saturdays. If fields are not playable, we will send communication out via email and Facebook by 4:30pm on weekdays and 8am on Saturdays. For games: we will make a judgement call on any incoming inclement weather and communicate that as well. We may attempt to play in light rain, but not thunderstorms. If there is lightning in the area, play will stop for 30 minutes, and all players must return to their parent’s vehicles during this time. Play cannot continue until 30 minutes after the last lightning strike. In the event of lightning, we will review the weather forecast and determine if play can continue.

• GAMES CANCELATIONS WILL BE MADE BY ROCKFORD LITTLE LEAGUE, ONLY
  • Please note that even if games are cancelled at Rockford, teams playing away games may still be playing. RLL will communicate with other leagues and pass along that information to our families via email and facebook!
• LABEL YOUR CHILD’S GEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coaches Corner

• Coach Pitch Divisions – Coaches Clinic and equipment pick up are scheduled for March 18. Stay tuned for more information!
• AA, AAA, Majors Divisions - Equipment pick up will be March 18. Stay tuned for more information!
• TBALL: WE NEED MANY MORE HEAD COACHES AND ASSISTANT COACHES! SIGN UP AT www.rockfordll.com!!! We’d love for each team to have one head coach and 2-3 assistant coaches! No experience necessary! More coaches per team = more drills ran at practice = less idle time = more reps = HAPPY KIDS!!!

Umpire Clinic
Umpires: ages 11-99

Umpires are paid per game. RLL will provide training and all the gear you will need. Online registration must be completed by anyone who is interested in umpiring at RLL. If you are age 18 or older, please complete the Volunteer Registration/Background Check Form at rockfordll.com. Your age and experience will largely determine the divisions for which you may umpire. Email [email protected] with any questions!

The first Umpire Clinic is on the books, so mark your calendar:
Saturday, April 13, 2024, 9am-12pm at Algoma Township Hall

Algoma Little League has invited us to join them once again for an umpire clinic you won’t want to miss. The clinic will cover both classroom and on-field instruction by Nick Sweeney, a local Cedar Springs resident who has over 25 years of experience umpiring NCAA Division I, II, & III ball games! This is a great opportunity for umpires of all ages and levels to learn and improve their umping skills. Please be sure you are registered to umpire with RLL. Email rockfordllumpire@gmail.com to get on the list to attend this clinic!

There will be one more clinic date at Rockford, but we strongly encourage our umpires to attend the clinic with Algoma LL.

What gear does my player need?

Your child will need to have his or her own ball glove, baseball/softball pants (traditionally white, black or grey), rubber soled cleats (Intermediates and above can wear metal cleats), batting gloves (if desired), and an equipment bag/backpack (if desired). Rockford Little League will provide jerseys and hats for baseball players, and jerseys and visors for softball players. There will also be team helmets, bats, and catching equipment although players are welcome to bring their own if preferred. Softball players: infielders MUST wear face masks. We strongly encourage outfielders to wear masks, but it is not required.

**Please label ALL of your players’ gear so we can return it to you promptly when your child loses something!

Volunteers

In response to the 2023 end of season survey, we’re changing things up for the 2024 season! No official signups available yet, but here’s what you can expect for this season:

• Each family should plan on volunteering for 2 hours during the season. RLL runs on volunteers!
• To combat long lines at the concession stand, each team will be responsible for covering a shift a couple times during the season.
• Each team will be assigned to a field for field clean up (APRIL 13/14). We’re up to +50 teams and 10 fields this season!
• Each team will be assigned to a field for the duration of the season and the expectation is to pick up trash, clean dugouts (trash), report unsafe conditions, rebuild mounds (fields 1-4), etc.

We will have more updates on this as we get closer to the start of the season. There are MANY other volunteer opportunities available as well. Email us at [email protected] and we will be happy to put you to work!

We LOVE our RLL Families! Please reach out to us if you have any questions. We are always looking to improve and receive input from our families. You can email us at [email protected]. Please give us up to 48 hours to get back to you; we’re all volunteers here! Follow us on Facebook for the most up to date information! Www.rockfordll.com is also a great source for information. Check out the FAQ section!

We look forward to a great 2024 season and can’t wait to see everyone on the fields again soon!

Your Rockford Little League Board

Tenille Schlachter -- President 

Kristen Williams -- Vice President AND Sponsorship Coordinator

Bill Flavin and Miguel Quintanilla -- Coaching Coordinator

Cindy Oakes -- Player Agent 

Melissa Pitsch -- Treasurer

Jennifer Stolsonburg – Secretary

Jackie Bosman -- Equipment Coordinator

Talia Rench -- Umpire-In-Chief

Heather and Jordan Day -- Concessions

Brent Petersen -- Safety Officer

Holly Carroll -- Information Officer