This information is subject to change but is expected to answer the question: "This is our first season, what do we need to know?"
You should hear from your child's coach by late March/early April. At the T-ball, Jr Cappy and Sr. Cappy levels we place players on teams with players from the same school or from one other school. With 900+ kids in the league it is impossible to accomodate any requests for team placements with friends, etc.). If a child has special needs please contact the Player Agent (playeragent@fairfieldamericanll.org).
The schedule is not complete yet but the teams sometimes meet later in April and will start playing opening day weekend. T-ball plays a 90 minute practice/game on Sunday afternoons and Jr. and Sr. Cappy play a combined 2 hour game/practice on Saturdays. There are no practices during the week and the season lasts 8 weeks. T-ball and Jr. Cappy typically play at Riverfield School and Sr. Cappy plays at Gould Manor. Game dates, times and locations are subject to change and are based on what we've done in the past. Every year we ask the town for field space and we never know what we will get. There is ever increasing competition for field space from other youth sports.
Six year olds play t-ball with everyone batting in order, and everyone playing the field. The emphasis is on the most basic of baseball skills, catching, throwing, hitting the balll and running the bases. They do not record outs and do not keep score. 7 & 8 year olds play coach pitch and there is a little more "real baseball" added with each year. Coaches work very hard on hitting the bat when they pitch, but if they can't then they appologize to the player for their bad pitching and bring out a T to hit from. There are players every year who have never played before and they pick it up pretty quickly. There is no need for a 7 or 8 year old to go back and play t-ball if this is his first year.
We provide a full uniform (hat, shirt, pants, belt and socks) and players should wear sneakers and bring a glove. The league provides batting helmets with face protection (we use c-flaps) but players may provide their own, as long as they have face protection (c-flap, or a mask). Cleats, if your child has them from another sport are helpful but not necsessary at the younger levels. Players should dress appropriately for the weather as we play if the fields are open (yes, we do play in drizzle and the cold) and they will get dirty. The Rec Department posts the field closures very early. You can check the status by calling the rec hotline: 256-3144 then press 5 for cancellations and press 5 again for field closures. Sometimes the Rec Department may open the fields in the morning but close them in the afternoon (or vice versa) as the weather dictates.
Uniform pants are distributed during evaluations.
If you have any other questions please contact support@fairfieldamericanll.org.
