Coach Dave: Little League All Stars

Everyone,
I think most of you got the message about all-star teams from WFB Little League board president Scott Deakin. If not, I append it below.
There is so much opportunity for bad feelings about all stars that Whitefish Bay hasn't participated for the past several years. This year the WFB Little League board decided to dive into all stars again, and I'm hoping that the board can find a way to minimize bad feelings about the expense of all stars, the selections of which players will be on the all-star teams, and the impact that all stars may have on individual little league teams.
Many of the players on the Braves have little league ages of 11. Guys in that category will be considered for the U-11 all-star team unless they specifically request to be considered for the U-12 team. Basically, the U-11 team will be fifth graders, the U-12 team sixth graders. Kids can be considered for only one team. Generally, players want to stay with their school-grade cohort.
The teams will be chosen Thursday evening by the 10 head coaches of the teams in Majors. Each coach has been asked to submit a confidential list of 10 potential all stars from teams other than his own. Each coach may also nominate players from his own team.
The Braves have lots of players who would perform well if they were part of an all-star team. However, there is no guarantee that ANY member of the Braves will be chosen to take part in all stars. The selection process is subjective, and after the teams are announced hard feelings are almost inevitable.
If members of the Braves -- and/or their parents and coaches -- are disappointed by the all-star selections, I hope we will find a way to react with class and dignity. We have a great team, no matter how many (or how few) of our guys end up on an all-star squad!
Thanks for reading this long e-mail. As always, the coaches appreciate your support.
Dave

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: "Scott Deakin (GE Healthcare)"
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Sent: Sunday, May 31, 2009 10:15:13 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central
Subject: All Star in WFB 2

This year WFBLL will be participating in All Stars. You are probably all familiar with the Little League World Series, which is the final international tournament of the U11/U12 All Star teams worldwide. Little League also runs this tournament for U13/14 (Juniors), U10/U11 and U9/U10 age groups which can advance to a state tournament.

The past few years we have chosen not to participate in All Stars because a player, once chosen to All Stars, was not allowed to continue playing with his/her LL team. It was a thrill for the 13-15 kids that made the team, but very disruptive to the other 90% of the league. Little League no longer has that rule, so the Board has voted to give All Stars another try this season.

WFBLL will be fielding 4 teams this year in the age groups mentioned above. Here are the details:

* Coaches: coaches for the All Star teams must be currently coaching in their respective leagues (Juniors for U13/U14, Majors for U11/U12, and Minors for U9/U10).
* Players: players will be selected to the teams by the current league coaches. Selection must be unanimous and rosters can have 13-15 players each. There will not be formal tryouts; LL establishes a selection date late in the season so that all kids get a chance to show their talent multiple times, to multiple coaches. Age is governed by Little League’s age rule as follows:
o U13/U14 – born between May 1, 1994 and April 30, 1996
o U11/U12 – born between May 1, 1995 and April 30, 1997
o U10/U11 – born between May 1, 1996 and April 30, 1998
o U9/U10 – born between May 1, 1998 and April 30, 2000
o A player is allowed to “play up” but must declare that desire before the selection process. Players will only be considered for one team, so if they elect to play up and miss the team, they will not be considered for the younger team.
* Team Managers: Little League runs a very tight and organized tournament, but to make sure each team is playing by the rules, they require a fair amount of documentation. Each team will need a parent volunteer to manage the documentation and other miscellaneous for each tournament.
* Schedule (everyone plays the District tournament)
o Coaching applications excepted: June 1, 2009
o Team selection: June 12, 2009
o Team/Player announcements: June 15, 2009
o Practice begins: June 16, 2009
o District tournament: Begins ~July 6, 2009
o Sectional tournament: Begins July 24, 2009 (if the team wins District)
o State tournament: Begins July 31, 2009 (if the team wins Sectional)
o Regional tournament: Begins August 7, 2009 (only for U12, if they win State)
o Little League World Series: Begins August 21, 2009 (only for U12, if they win Regional)
* Eligibility: Players are eligible if they
o 1) Have played in at least 60% of their scheduled league games by June 15th,
o 2) Are able to make the All Star team their first baseball priority (can continue play with his/her LL team, but must make All Stars the priority),
o 3) Can participate without conflict.
o Are living in WFB or have filed a 2D waver with 3 profs of WFB address
* Cost: WFB LL will provide a fixed dollar amount to each team that will cover entry fees and uniform costs for the players selected to the All Star teams. Players may be asked to do some fund raising to help cover the players travel costs should the team advance to the regional, state, or Williamsport level. Uniforms will be provided..

We’re excited to be doing All Stars again! If you have any questions, please contact me or one of the league commissioners.

If you will not be available from July 6 to potentially mid August and wish to remove your son/daughter from the selection please email me with “I wish to remove my son/Daughter from the all star selection” in the SUBJECT line they will be removed.

Regards,

Scott Deakin