Tolland Little League
2021 President’s Annual Report
As of November 16, 2021
Introduction
o This report is furnished in accordance with Article VI, Section 2 of the Tolland Little League Charter.
o As I always do in this report, I wholeheartedly thank the board of Tolland Little League (TLL), all of the coaches, and all other volunteers for making softball and baseball possible for children in Tolland. It is a significant amount of work, and I appreciate it. I am sure players and parents do as well.
o This year the TLL Board said goodbye to Joe Duberek, Nick Grassi, Chloe Coles, and Missy Jamieson. My special thanks goes to these outgoing board members for their hard work and support for TLL.
o We have a few key open board and officer positions going into the 2022 Spring season. We will begin our recruiting effort now.
o Overall TLL had a successful year in carrying out our mission while coming back to mostly normal operations after the COVID-19 pandemic. We had a successful regular season, summer season, fall season, and competed in all-star play.
· Financial Results
o Our total income was $41,994 from registrations for all seasons.
o Fundraising revenue was $28,304, which is an outstanding result.
o Total expenses were $46,142 from chartering, insurance, umpires, grounds expenses, and equipment costs. Included in this amount is $2,898 of fundraising expenses.
o I typically expect the league to operate at about a break-even basis, excluding fundraisers that are intended to pay for field projects.
· Teams and Enrollment
o Enrollment in baseball was strong again this year at 262 players for the Spring, and enrollment in softball was solid at 64 for the Spring. We will continue to work on softball enrollment in 2022. We also had a significant number of registrations to manage, coach, join the board, or otherwise volunteer.
o Outside of the regular season, we had 10/11 and 11/12 baseball teams compete in District 8 baseball all-star tournaments.
o We had teams at the minors, majors, and juniors levels play in our fall season too.
· Conditions of Fields and Facilities
o Conditions at the fields in Tolland were very good again this year. Prior to the beginning of the Spring season, the Town did great work at Cross Farms Field C to fix significant lips in the infield and a raised home plate due to extremely dry conditions last fall. The resources from the Town continue to do a terrific job preparing our fields for play. We have some of the best field surfaces in this area.
o We were again unable to use the gyms at THS for open batting cage and our evaluations due to COVID. We hope to be able to use THS again, as the use of the THS mini gym adds significantly to our development capabilities in the offseason.
· Safety
o We followed applicable guidance for COVID compliance this year. It was largely a return to normal with the addition of keeping attendance and socially distancing where applicable.
o Safety is always top of mind for TLL. We had a few typical injuries that go along with softball and baseball. Thankfully none were serious.
o We purchased a significant quantity of ice packs last year, and we have just a few left. We will purchase more over the winter.
o We file our A Safety Awareness Program (ASAP) with Little League International every year. This provides savings on our insurance.
· Feedback
o We plan to conduct surveys of parents and coaches this offseason.
o We will build the results of those surveys into our plans for TLL for 2022.
· 2022 Priorities – the following is an initial list of goals for the TLL board
o Further improve softball registration numbers
o Improve coach training and development to help our volunteer coaches
o Begin All Star talent identification, commitment, and development earlier in the season
o Implement focused Summer and Fall planning sessions
o Reintroduce winter clinics for players
o Invest in new equipment, as needed
o Execute on field projects and enhancements