Verona Little League has established a new procedure and policy regarding all district teams from the 9 year olds through the Senior age levels.  There was a board oversight committee put in place to review and approve all District teams. Bill Moynihan was put in charge of being the tournament team coordinator.  For the Seniors try outs consisted of two games on 07/06/09 to allow the coaches to get one final look at every player wanting to try out for the team.  All players who were trying out had all 9 coaches at the Senior Level rank them as well for play throughout the season.  Bill Moynihan then tallied the rankings and gave every player a weighted average.  The coaches got together after the game to discuss each player and their positions.  Then the oversight committee from the board approved the team as presented.

VLL District Team - Seniors:

Head Coach: Eric Lund
Assitant Coach: Mike Watzke
Assitant Coach: Bo Ellis 
Pitching Help: George Pleimling

Dylan Bongard
Zach Drury
Louie Ellis
Austen Gross
Nate Hefty
Alan Kopp
David Lund
Michael Pleimling
Jon Rogowski
Brad Schultz
Michael Stevens
Alex Watzke
Geoff Weinberg

Alternate--Jake Hauser

Head Coach: Rob Reichert
Assistant Coach: Geoff Hebert
Assistant Coach: Jack Bahlman

Derek Witte
Eric Matyas
Kyle Reichert
Lucas Kirch
Matt Bahlman
Matt Renk
Michael Adler
Nick Phillips
Sam Hebert
Tyler Bloomfield
Tyler Stone
Zach Jones

VLL District Team - 13s:
Head Coach: Chad Armstrong

Alex Anderson
Andy Tobias
Blake Laufenberg
Connor Rortvedt
Jake Armstrong
Joe Stevens
Markus Tobias
Mitchell Flora
Pat Stevens
Phil Fromberger
Ryan Pynnonen
Travis Murray

Head Coach: Tim Monson
Assistant Coach: Joe Imhoff
Assiatant Coach: Bill Moynihan

Alex Hofstetter
Brodie Roehrig
Cameron Tindall
Casey McClure
Colin Griffin
Connor Volker
Elliott Imhoff
Eric Schmid
Grant Smith
John Moynihan
Kyle Monson
Nick Alt

Head Coach: Mike Rogowski
Assistant Coach: Eric Rortvedt

Alex Jones
Ben Rortvedt
Charlie Mrkvicka
Christian Baltes
David Rogowski
Jordan Libson
Keaton Knueppel
Nathan Cleghorn
Nick Meland
Sam Favour
Zachary Ritter
Zack Godfrey

VLL District Team - 10s:
Head Coach: Adam Slonim
Assistant Coach: Eric Lund
Assistant Coach: Lacey Lee

Bailey Lee
Bradly Laufenberg
Jack Scott
Jacob Slonim
Jake Alexander
Jake Walter
Maxwell Fink
Nathaniel Buss
Nick Pederson
Noah Anderson
Stephen Lund
Steven Kellerman
Tyler McClure

VLL Non-District Team - 10s:
Head Coach: Russ King
Assistant Coach: Curtis Lawrence

Dominic Murray
Ian Rink
Mason Sergent
Noah Currier
Tyler Udelhoven
Carson Bull
Connor Cruz
Jaden King
Luke Lawrence
Riley Frieburg
Tucker Tesky
John Coshun
Jordan Hutchcroft
Cameron Kuepers
Jared Grassman

VLL - 9s:
Coach: Wade Huseth
Coach: Mike McGowan
Coach: Rob Hano

Coonor Rink
Eli Hano
Reagan Klawiter
AJ Stroot
Henry Moore
Carson McCorkle
Connor McGowan
Grant Kelliher
Ben Felsheim
Anthony Olson
Connor Rufenact
Jamison Huseth

The regular season is underway, and Verona Little League is preparing for a great season of tournament team baseball.
 

**PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY** There many changes to the tournament team selection format this year.   Submitting an application to try out implies that you have read and understand all of which follows.  If you have any questions, please email VLLTourneyCoach@gmail.com

Purpose
Verona Little League's District/ Tournament Teams are formed to provide an opportunity to play highly competitive baseball against the best teams in our District, the State…and beyond. All the way up to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA, where the best 12-year old teams in the world compete for the Championship. Juniors (13-14) and Seniors (14-16) also have the chance to go to Taylor, MI and Bangor, ME for their respective World Series.

Expectations
Verona Little League has been successful in creating regular season teams that balance talent across our teams within each age division. This provides an equal opportunity for the encouragement and development of all of our children, through striving for equal play, positional experimentation, etc. District/Tournament teams are built with the intention of having the best possibility of winning tournament games.  The tryouts are similar to the pre-season assessments, but the assessors are scoring based more on top-notch expectations of head, heart, hands and hustle. Smart plays, good decisions, excellent execution and a hustle attitude score well.

Little League's view of District Teams differs significantly from the regular season's spirit of equal play.  Little League defines a District Team Roster as made up of 9 players, plus alternates, not 12 peers. There are no assumptions of equal playing time, balanced opportunities to play infield and outfield, etc. The only Little League "mandatory minimum" requirement is that all of the alternates must play 3 consecutive outs (e.g., 1 half-inning in the field) and must bat once, in a regulation game.

However, there are also various "run rules" and time limits which may shorten a game to only 4 or 5 innings. For example, if one team is leading by 10+ runs in the latter innings, or if the game exceeds the allotted time, the game will be called complete, by rule. In such a case, the alternates may not even play the field or bat at all that game, were they slated to be substituted in during the innings not played. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

On the other hand, tournaments other than "Districts" themselves have their own home-rules. Some allow the teams to bat the full roster (rather than having to sub in and out); some don't.

Tournament Team Evaluation Process
Verona Little League is dedicated to the fair and full consideration of each tournament team candidate, while continuing to field some of the most competitive teams at the District level. Some people "test well". Some players get into slumps. To try to get a full picture of each candidates' true capabilities, a variety of criteria can factor into the selection of each individual tournament team player.

Pre-season skills assessment scores and tournament team tryout evaluations are considered, of course. To help determine a broader picture of each candidate, feedback will be sought from the players' current regular season Coaches and opposing Coaches. To get a sense of a player's "head, heart hands and hustle" in game situations, direct observation of a player during games (including warmups, at-bats, defensive play and time/behavior in the dugouts) may be included, as well. Team needs may also be considered (e.g., does the team need an additional catcher?)

District/Tournament team candidate identification process
Verona Little League strives to provide the best baseball experience for our players and their families. We also continue to develop methods to hold the most fair and impartial tryouts and promote a team selection process that is overseen and legitimate. League Player Agents monitor each team's player picks, and the final rosters are approved by the Tournament Team Selection Committee. After that, the offers to play on the teams are made, the teams are announced, practices begin and it's time to play ball!

This year, we are allowing players to "self-nominate" themselves.  However, this shouldn't be considered an "open tryout", a repeat of Spring Assessments or a "let's see what happens" exercise.   Tournament Team Tryouts should be attended only by players who honestly believe they have a reasonable chance to be selected as one of only 12-24 players per age division.

By simply sending an email with some required information to specific email boxes (more information below), a player - and his family - will put his "cap in the ring" and will be eligible to try out.

In order to try out, a player must submit an email application no later than the date specified below. Please take special note that a player must submit a self-nomination during the window provided to have a spot at tryouts.  If not enough players self-nominate to make a 2nd team in an age division, only 1 team will be fielded.  Participating in the tryouts gives your son the best chance of making the team, because it gives the evaluators and coaches another chance to appreciate his skills.

Also, with potentially more players trying out in an age group than in years past - but continuing to field a limited number of teams to maintain the quality of play - there will be potentially more players *not* being selected. Please carefully consider your child's (and your own) capacity to be *not* selected, before submitting to the tryout process.

Between the closing of the self-nomination period and team selection, coaches in each candidate's league will be contacted to provide feedback and observations. This "real world" information will be included along with Pre-season skills assessment so that the District/Tournament team coaching staff can make the most informed decision on each and every player.

Time and financial commitments
With a more accessible tryout process, it is more important than ever for everybody who might consider trying out for District/Tournament baseball to evaluate seriously their ability to commit to participating in 80% of all games and 80% of all practices. Games are (sometimes) Fridays and (always) Saturdays and Sundays.  Practices are usually twice or more per week. If a team plays well enough to advance in the Little League District Tournaments, it will be required to make additional weekday game/time/travel commitments.

Below, please see this year's Tournament Calendar. VLL fields only 2 teams - at the most - for each age division, one of which is the "A" team (which plays Little League Districts  and other tournaments).  The second team is the "B" team (which typically do not play Districts, but play an alternate tournament). There will be only one 14 year-old team.

For example, if your child is interested in trying out for the 11 year old team, you and he must make sure you can make either team's schedule, and that you can provide or arrange for your child's transportation to and from all games and practices. Games can be as far away as Reedsburg and Waupun or as close as the VLL Complex or West Madison's fields.

Practices will begin immediately after the Tournament Teams have been announced, and are at the discretion of the Coach
 

Tournament Calendar:

6/19-6/21:
14…away

7/3-7/5:
10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 14...away
13A & 13B, tbd
U16, idle

7/10-7/12:
10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B...@ Verona
14...away
U16, idle

7/17-7/19:
10A, 10B, 11A, 11B, 12B, 13A, 13B…away
12A, Districts...away
14, Districts...@ Verona
U16, Districts...@ Verona

7/24-7/26:
10B, 11B, 12A, 12B, 13A, 13B…away
10A, Districts…@ Verona
11A, Districts…away
14, Districts...@ Verona
U16, Districts...@ Verona

7/31-8/2:
All teams…away

In addition to the time commitment, there are uniform and tournament fees that in the past have been in the $100-$200 dollar range.  Financial assistance is available and will be awarded, if requested, based on a player's current status in the "Free and Reduced" school meal program.

Eligibility
Current Verona Little League players must be rostered in this year's Minors Division - or above - to participate.
To be eligible to represent Verona in District Tournament play, a player's primary residence must be located *physically within* the school district boundaries of the Verona Area School District. Simply attending Verona schools through Open Enrollment does not satisfy this absolute Little League International requirement. Various proof-of-residence documents are required to validate every player. Non-residents of the Verona Area School District can try out, but will be rostered on non-District teams (typically the "B" tournament team), if a second team is created.

An interactive map (click the "+" and "-" buttons to zoom in and out) is available from the Verona Area School District.  The school district boundaries on this map, as they accord with the State's definition,  will be *the* reference regarding player eligibility. The map can be found here: http://www.verona.k12.wi.us/uploaded/Central_Office/MAPS/VASD_021506.pdf

Player Self-Nomination details

All self-nomination emails must be received no later than midnight on Tuesday, 5/26/2009
Players must make a note of conflicts with the tryout date in their email submissions. Special cases may be reviewed by the VLL Board. Participation in the tryouts will demonstrate commitment and attitude, factors that will be part of the selection process.

Tryouts are slated for 5/30/2009, with a rainout date of 5/31/2009.
Please send an email to one (or more) of the following links, and include the information requested below just these links.

If your player wants to be considered for more than one age division, an email to each tryout email box of interest must be sent, and the candidate must attend each appropriate tryout session to receive an evaluation score. 

A player's eligible League Age is determined by the age of the player on April 30th of this year.

10 year-old team (~Minors): VLLTourney10@gmail.com (open to players currently rostered in the Minor League or above, only).
11 year-old team (~AAAs): VLLTourney11@gmail.com
12 year-old team (~Majors): VLLTourney12@gmail.com
13 year-old team (~Juniors): VLLTourney13@gmail.com
14 year-old team (~Juniors): VLLTourney14@gmail.com
U16 team (~Seniors): VLLTourney15@gmail.com

Please include the following in each submission to the appropriate mailbox, above:

Player Name:
Parent/Guardian1:
Contact phone1:
Contact email1:
Parent/Guardian2:
Contact phone2:
Contact email2:
Primary residence address:
Weeks/weekends you expect to be unavailable to practice or play (within the above schedule):
Current League (Minors, AAA, Majors, Juniors):
Current Team and Coach:
Indicate other baseball programs player is participating in this summer, if any:
Strongest Positions:
Brief description of why you feel you should be selected and what you can bring to the team:

Assessments
Confirmations will be mailed upon receipt of each self-nomination.  Tryout times, per age group, are listed below:
5/30/2009:
12 year-old Division: 1:30-3:00pm
11 year-old Division: 3:00-4:30pm
10 year-old Division: 4:30-6:00pm (open to players currently rostered in the Minor League or above, only).
13-14 year old Divisions: 5:30-7:00pm on 5th Quarter/Stampfli
Seniors: 7:00p-8:30pm on 5th Quarter/Stampfli
Stations will include sprints, pitching *and* catching, infield, outfield and hitting. Candidates will be presumed to be able to hit, catch and throw and run well. Scoring well at Tournament Team tryouts will require doing so with the highest level of skill, form, hustle and "baseball sense."

We wish every player the best of luck at tryouts, and hope that the experience is a positive one, whether selected for a team this year or not.

Thank you,

Verona Little League

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2009 Tournaments

The Verona Little League 2009 Mid-Summer Classic tournament flyer can be found here.   Hurry, only a few spots open!!!

 The following District 4 tournaments will be held at the Verona Little League (VLL) Complex in Verona.

The following Little League State tournaments will be held at the Verona Little League (VLL) complex in Verona.

Please note the VLL complex emergency procedures will be posted here.