Parents -

Our first game is tomorrow, 4/11, at 5:45PM on the CP3 field.

We our the Visiting team, so if you can help rake, empty trashcans, or make sure dugouts are clean after the game I would appreciate it.

Try to arrive at the field by 4:55PM. I understand that you may be late; no worries.

Schedule

4:55PM - Stretching, jogging, throwing

5:05PM - Fielding practice on CP3

5:20PM - Batting Practice at the cages

5:35PM - Line up for Little League Pledge

5:45PM - Play ball

AAA Rules

• 2 hour 10 minutes hard stop from scheduled start time

• 5 run limit for innings 1-5, unlimited for 6th inning

• Bunting permitted

• No player sits out 2 innings defensively before all players have sat for 1 inning

• Stealing permitted

• Intentional walks allowed

We have 13 boys, so there will be 4 players in the dugout when we are on the field. Everyone bats; continuous batting order.

I have baseball caps in my car if you still need one.

Please let me know if you will be unable to attend the game as soon as you know. Kids get sick at school - totally get it. Just drop me an email (purduetom@gmail.com) or text 703.400.1261.

Practices will be every Thursday at Sully Highlands Field 3 at 5:30PM. Bring lots of fluids because it will be warm.

With the nice weather, these practices always end up going over 7:30PM - I apologize in advance. The fields have lights and the kids are having a good time and someone always wants extra BP. Please don't feel guilty about heading out prior to 7:30PM.

Please reach out to me with any questions/concerns.

See you tomorrow,

Coach Tom

purduetom@gmail.com

703.400.1261

 

Hello Parents -

I'd like to welcome you all to the CYA Fall 2023 Season for AAA.

While I may have not directly coached your son previously, I have seen most of them playing in the field. For the ones I havent seen, your former coaches spoke highly of all of you. With that being said, our team looks very solid this season. We have lots of live arms on this team.

AAA - Nationals - Johnson Roster:

Benjamin Domizioli
Nicholas Eskola
Colton Frye
Matthew Johnson
Evan Kim
Justin Kim  
Max Lee
Vihaan Manthripragada
Jesse Moon
Doug Noakes
Matthew Parrilli
Matthew Toreno
Shane Wheelock

I will be scheduling practices once we get the official go-ahead from the CYA Master Scheduler this evening or tomorrow morning.

League Schedule

• April 10: Games begin
• April 15: “Opening Day”
• May 1 – 15: Registration for Tournament Teams (Managers)
• May 1 – 22: Registration for Tournament Teams (Players)
• May 13: Picture Day
• May 22 - 27: Playoffs start
• May 26: Tournament Team Managers Announced
• May 29: No games, Memorial Day weekend
• June 1: Tournament Teams announced
• June 10: Championship games
• June 1 – 30: Tournament Team practices, games TBD

Parent Participation

I know that many of the parents on this team have helped coach in the past. I am hoping that you would volunteer your time again this season and serve as an Assistant Coach. Please reach out to me and let me know if you'd like to help in any capacity.

Practice stations are the best way we can teach the fundamentals to our boys and keep their attention. I try to avoid having kids standing around and waiting their turn. More coaches means we have the ability to break kids up into small groups.

We can have as many Assistant Coaches as we can, but the league limits that only 2 AC's can be on field at a time.

We need parents to help line the fields before the games when we are the home team and rake at the end of the game when we are Visitors. It's easy and I can walk you thru it.

Scorekeeping - This is a huge help if anyone is willing to keep the books. This is very easy to learn and really does help keep you engaged with the game. We need to track pitch counts for the league.

Equipment

Your ballplayer needs a baseball glove, bat, pants, and helmet. Please also purchase a protective cup – required if your ball player wants to be a catcher. Make sure the bat you have has a USA Bat stamp somewhere on it. I dont know our team colors yet, but I should receive the uniforms on Saturday.

During the games: No light colored long sleeve undershirts. No reflective sunglasses. (not sure they ever enforced the suglass rule though)

Practices

Coaches schedule out our practice every 2 weeks. I will do my best to stay consistent with the field we get to use. Unfortunately, we have to compete for field time with AA, AAA, and Majors. The weather also messes with that on occasion.

Bring fluids to practice, please! There will be lots of running. Kids get thirsty and I won’t have a jug or anything to share water. We will have a few water breaks during practice. Prior to practice, make sure your players are well fed and hydrated.

Every year someone forgets to bring water or the kids are not well fed and are dragging. Please bring your boys hyped up and ready to hussle. I'd rather they come late to practice fed and hydrated, then on-time and hungry.

Games

Games are on Wednesday and Saturday.

Missing practice and games

I don't penalize the kids for being late to practice or games. That's not fair to the kids or to you parents - traffic here is awful enough. Don't stress. If the boys are late to the game, they might just be scratched from playing in the field the first inning or moved down the batting order because I have to submit the lineups before the game.

If your son can't make a game or practice, please let me know by 3PM or so. That helps me when I'm doing the lineup. Please let me know by email or in the app. I dont have access to my cell phone until I get out of work, but don't hesitate to text me if that's easier on you.

We will be rotating batting order and fielding positions every game. I want kids to experience all aspects of the game and focus on learning different positions. Once the tournament happens later in the season, we will shift to a more strategic approach.

There will be multiple pitchers per game. I know that many of you have travel players who also pitch. Let me know what's going on rotational wise with your travel team. Also, let me know if your son has any arm soreness, fatigue, or pain. We don't want him throwing with a tired arm.

Closing

Start playing catch now for 20 minutes every day to get their arms warmed up.  Our first practices will have a big focus on player catch, so expect some sore arms for the next few weeks if your son has not thrown consistently. I will be asking the boys to throw bullpens during practice to see where we stand pitching wise.

Assistant coaches – Please let me know if you are interested in helping.

If you have any questions/concerns, please email/call/text. Email is best during the work day; I don’t have my phone with me during the workday.

Thanks,

Tom Johnson
purduetom@gmail.com
703.400.1261 (cell)