Dear Little League Community,
Welcome back to Fall Ball with SFLL! For those members who are new to our program, we are so glad to have you joining our community. We have over 850 kids playing in our league this season!
Fall is traditionally a teaching season for us, an opportunity to focus on skill development and prepare the players for the coming spring in their new division. During our weekly meet-ups teams will spend some time working in a practice format and some time scrimmaging on the field with another cohort. Our goal in the fall is to improve skills, teamwork, and getting players to push beyond their comfort zones.
"Baseball IQ" is a skill defined as a player's mental understanding of the game, situational awareness, and decision-making skills. It's one of the most valuable skills a player can have, and one of the hardest and most time consuming skills to learn. Fall Ball in particular is a perfect environment for players to build and practice their baseball IQ. Official standings are not recorded during fall ball because we want the kids to have the freedom to try new things, make mistakes and learn from them in a risk- and pressure-free environment.
Fall ball is a great opportunity for our umpires to develop and hone their skill set as well. Many of the umpires you will see on the diamond this fall will be new to their craft, and most of them you will recognize as players in our Majors, Juniors and Seniors divisions. Please join me in offering all of our umpires a warm welcome this season and remember,if you have questions or concerns about a call made on the field, wait until after the game to share them with your coach or another league official.
As you settle back into school and hear from your coach what team you will be a part of I hope the anticipation for fall ball starts to build for you and your player as it has been for our coaches and front office volunteers. We have created a preseason checklist to help you get ready for your first day this coming Sunday, September 8. I am especially excited for the rollout our new fall-MiLB uniform program and hope you all enjoy learning about the teams on our roster this season!
If at any time you have a question or concern about your player's or family's experience, please don't hesitate to reach out to your coach, player agent, or a board member for support. I look forward to seeing you out at the fields this season. Play ball!
