SLL Spring Season Wrap-up

Success! The Swampscott Little League Spring season came to a close over the weekend with some incredible championship series play. To put things in perspective, more than 100 volunteers provided a safe, fun, and competitive playing environment for:

* 375 children (ages 4-16)
* 33 teams (softball + baseball)
* 236 games played between April 15 to June 15 (The Red Sox play 162 games from April – September…)
* 9 different fields
* Succesful Raffle
* Parade / Opening Day Ceremony
* New Web Store
* Hosting dozens of Tournament Games (including State Sectionals in July)
* Offering summer baseball for ages 8-12 via NINE different teams

A big “thank you” to all of our volunteers (managers, coaches, parents) for helping us get it all done! I also need to give a special thanks to a few of our great “young” leaders. Brad Croft, our T-Ball Director has done an amazing job over the last two years generating genuine interest and excitement in this great sport -- and insuring our boys and girls were having a blast while doing it. Our T-Ball teams got to play on the “big” diamond at DHC Field (Forest Ave), had their names announced at the plate, all eight teams were crowned “champions”, received commemorative medals to hang with pride, and are now heading to Fenway Park for a tour this weekend. Brad sent incredible email updates to the parents that included “homework”, quizzes, and loads of instructional information for all involved. Our Instructional Baseball division was led by Dom Nicastro. Dom is one of the nicest guys in the world who goes above and beyond to make sure ALL of our 7-8 yr. olds are having a great experience playing baseball. He spends countless hours at the field and his endless patience and supportive coaching demeanor is recognized by many as exemplary.

Our softball program would not be nearly as successful without Gary Lord. Gary serves as softball coordinator, player agent, master scheduler, coach, parent, and anything else he can do to insure the success of our program.  We also had many coaches who somehow found the time to coach multiple teams – including Joe Ford who coached 3 different teams this season. Brad McIntire (field manager), Marc Stern (Equipment Manager), and Jeff Rubin (Treasurer/Summer Ball Coordinator), Bob Biletch (Player Agent/Baseball Operations) also deserve special recognition (and more) for the countless hours they have spent insuring that our players and parents were able to enjoy plenty of baseball and softball in a safe, clean, and fun environment.

Finally, a special Happy 50th Anniversary wish to Pat and Warren (“Hoppy”) Hopkins. Mr. and Mrs. Hopkins have been actively supporting Swampscott Little League for 40+ years and serve as true role models and pillars of our Little League community.

I wish I could list all of the coaches here as they truly are the backbone of our league and do so many things behind the scenes that go unrecognized. A big “thank you” to all of you who gave up family time, personal time, snuck out of work early, and then found the patience to teach our kids far more than the fundamentals of baseball!

Next season will be here before we know it. We have much to improve and I am confident we will continue to make this a thriving program for our youth. On our agenda for next year:

*New Web Site
*More apparel purchasing opportunities
* Increased communication via social media
* Additional coaching and player instruction
* Lead District 16 to create summer softball program
* Increase participation at all levels
* AND MORE..

If you would like to become a volunteer (Board of Director’s, Parent, Coach, Other), please feel free to reach out to me (mdp_5754@yahoo.com).  

Have a great summer. Be safe.
Don't forget to get your uniform jerseys to your coach before August 1 to avoid a $35 replacement fee. 

Mike Pegnato
President SLL