Coaches, we want you to be as excited as we are that the Little League season is approaching!

Beginning six weeks before Opening Day, we'll add information here about upcoming events plus reminders and information you need to be prepared to coach.

Don't forget to watch your email as well.  Be sure messages from [email protected] do not end up in your junk mail folder.

Return to the Resources for Coaches page.

Here are some final things to know as we prepare to start next weekend.

No Practices on Friday

There will be no practices the day before Opening Day so that we have time to prepare all the fields.

Coaches Dinner

This is a potluck on Friday night starting at 6:00 PM at the fields for all coaches and their families. The league will provide the main course and fountain drinks and we ask coaches to bring a side dish or dessert to share. Bring your chairs or blankets and allow us to thank you for volunteering. We have a form for you to RSVP.

Schedules

All the schedules are posted on the website. They will also be on the display boards at the concession stand.

Local Rules

Please be sure you review the Local Rules and D2 Interleague Rules on the For Coaches page under the Volunteering tab. One part of the Local Rules states that Westwood teams are responsible for raking out the parts of the infield where the dirt is especially churned up, like batters boxes, pitching mound/circle and around the bases. Also, teams are to make sure the dugout trash bins are emptied into the cans at each field and other trash is picked up. We appreciate help from coaches and players with these upkeep tasks.

It's getting closer! Final preparations will start soon.

Equipment Checks

At plate meetings before games, you will be asked if your players are "legally and properly equipped". Be sure you review the rule book and the Little League website for all requirements, particularly for bats and helmets and make sure you know if your players have legal equipment.

Coaches Dinner

This is a potluck on April 25 starting at 6:00 PM at the fields for all coaches and their families. The league will provide the main course and fountain drinks and we ask coaches to bring a side dish or dessert to share. Bring your chairs or blankets and allow us to thank you for volunteering. We will send a link soon to a sign up sheet and ask that you RSVP so we know how many to plan for.

Medical Release Forms

You should have a completed Little League Medical Release Form for all of your players.  Keep them with you at every game and practice in case there are any injuries when the player's parent or guardian is not around.  Your Team Parent can help coordinate completion and collection of the forms though the Head Coach should be the one who holds the forms.

Interleague Play

If your team will be playing at other local league locations, be sure you review the D2 League Locations page on our website for the locations. You may also contact your opposing coach to confirm where you are playing.

Umpires and Game Coordinator

We are excited to be continuing our student umpire program this year. If these umpires, who are under age and/or students, are working without an adult umpire partner, we will designate an adult at the field to be a game coordinator. This person is a spectator who is watching the game and can support the umpire and get the Field Director if a situation gets out of hand.

The energy is building and it's almost time to get out on the fields!

Practice Schedule

Be sure you have communicated your practice times to your team. The schedule is on the website on the Schedules page under the Divisions & Schedules tab.

Equipment

You will be able to pick up your equipment bag this week. Be sure you have everything in your equipment bag and that you bring it to your practices.

Concessions

Each team will be assigned at least one day (a few teams will have two days) to work in the concession stand. It will be on a day you have a game at Westwood. You may gather food items that are ordered, operate the grill, take money, or do other things to operate concessions and will be under the guidance of an experienced lead. This is the league's largest fundraiser and we cannot operate it without you. If you split shifts among your team, it will be about 2 hours of work.

It's almost time to start practices so here is some good information to help you prepare.

Contact Your Team

Be sure you contact your team as soon as you have your roster. Parents want to know the coaches and to find out what they can about practice schedules and other plans leading up to the season.

Equipment Pickup

You will receive bags of league-owned equipment to use during the season. It will include helmets, catchers gear, bats, practice balls, game balls, and a scorebook. We'll have them ready for the Coaches Meeting on April 7 or you can get them at your first practice.

Find a Team Parent

If you don't already have one, try to recruit a team parent. They are able to handle "administrative" duties like team photo orders, team snacks, and your team's turn in concessions so that you don't need to handle those. If you need help finding someone, let us know.

Cleanup Day

Remember that Cleanup Day is April 12 and 13 from 1-5 PM each day. Come and work on a field where you will be playing so that it will look and play its best for you. You can also help cleanup and prepare the rest of the grounds for the season. Many hands make light work.

Here is this week's update as we count down to Opening Day.

Interleague Play

Due to the number of teams we have in some divisions, we will be coordinating with other local leagues to play games against them. Those games may be at Westwood or at the other league. You can see the other league locations on the District 2 website. The specific leagues we'll play will differ by division and won't be known until a district scheduling meeting is held a little later. Divisions that will be playing an interleague schedule this year for Baseball are Intermediate and Junior; for Softball it is Little Major, Major, and Junior.

Schedules

Our goal is to have the schedules for practices, opening day, and regular season games done before the Meet-and-Greet. Some of the division schedules may not be done because they involve interleague play and we need to wait for the schedule coordinator to finish and publish them.

Practice Start Date

We plan to open the fields for practices on April 8 and they will run through April 24. The full schedule will be communicated to the coaches and posted on our website soon.

Weather Policy

As we get closer to the start of practices, know that we will not practice unless the temperature is at least 40 including wind chill. This is a District policy that we follow. There will also be no practices if there are any weather warnings.

Cleanup Day

Please plan to come to the fields on April 12 and 13 to help get the fields cleaned up and ready to play. There will be trash pickup, weeding, raking, and sweeping to be done. More details will be sent later but put the date on your calendar and come for as long as you are able.

Background Checks and Training

Please be sure you have completed your background check if you have received a message about it.

Concussion training is required by the State of Michigan every 3 years. if you do not have a certificate of completion from within the last 3 years, you can find links to the concussion training on our website under coaches resources.  Little League has also introduced an Abuse Awareness Training Program that is required for coaches complete.  This is done online through LittleLeague.org and will produce a completion certificate at the end of the course.

Please complete the training and send your completion certificate to [email protected].

Here is some important information as we kick off our weekly updates leading up to the season.

Rules Meeting

The district rules meeting will be virtual this year and we will provide the details when we have them. All Little Majors, Majors, Intermediate and Junior coaches must have at least one coach per team in attendance. A recording is to be available later if you cannot attend.

Meet-and-Greet

What is it? Our annual gathering where you can see your neighbors, get information from the league for this season, and meet your team. We start at 6:00 PM on Monday, April 7 at King-Westwood School on Nichols Rd.

Coaches Meeting

This mandatory meeting starts at 7:00 following the Meet-and-Greet. We'll have lots of information for you, including your rule book, and an update from D2 on what they want coaches to focus on this season, plus your required first aid training.

Umpires

We need umpires for the Little Major (9-10) division and up to be able to play. We provide training and equipment so you can do it even if this is your first time. High school students can be part of our umpire training program and be paid to call games. Contact our Umpire Coordinator Tom Wrench at [email protected] for details.