Little League Southwestern Region: Welcome

To order Rule Books on-line click here, or call toll-free at 1-800-874-2852. The price is $7. Rule Books also may be purchased in person at Little League International in Williamsport (including the Peter J. McGovern Little League Museum), and at the various Regional Centers.

ONLY FOR CHARTERED LITTLE LEAGUE OFFICERS OR DISTRICT OFFICERS: Rulebooks may be ordered at a discount ONLY by calling toll-free at 1-800-874-2852, or by visiting the Little League International Gift Shop or by visiting any Little League Regional Center.

NOTE: The League/District Officer MUST have the League or District ID Number to receive the discount.

DISCOUNTED RULE BOOKS CANNOT BE ORDERED ON-LINE. THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS FOR RULEBOOKS ORDERED ON-LINE.

The Rule Books also are available in an electronic version through the same ordering processes as above. The Little League E-Rules allows the user to place the rule books on two computers

Mel King passed away in his sleep on January 5th. Mel started his association with Little League in 1957 as both a coach and umpire in Borger, Texas.

In 1968, Mel was elected District Administrator for Texas District 1, a position that he held until 1974. Mel was transferred to Ohio, but continued to return to Waco every summer to umpire in the Texas State Tournament.

In 1979, Mel was again transferred to Orange, Texas, where he served as an ADA for Texas District 12 until 1990. In that year, District 12 was split into two separate districts, and Texas District 32 was born. Mel served at District Administer for District 32 from then until 2008.

Mel was honored for his fifty years of volunteer service at the 2007 Southwestern Region Tournament during the pre-game ceremonies prior to the championship game. The following year, the Texas East State Tournament was dedicated to Mel.

Mel’s funeral will be Saturday, January 9th, at 1:00 PM at the Claybar Funeral Home, 504 North Fifth St, Orange, TX 77630 (409-886-4445). Visitation will be 5 to 8 PM Friday at the Funeral Home.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that memorial gifts to begin an endowment to be used for training Umpires in Texas East. You may mail your memorial to Mrs. Jan King, 1065 Kelsey La, Bridge City, TX 77611.

Valley Mills resident and a fixture at the Region Tournament in Waco, Howard Jackson lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday evening.

Howard was an longtime umpire for his local league, was selected to umpire the Texas and Texas West State Tournaments many time. He was chosen to umpire the SW Regional Junior League Baseball Tournament in 2003. He also umpired in the Junior League Baseball World Series in 2005.

If he wasn't umpiring, Howard and his daughter Tiffany were always helping outduring the Regional Tournament and also the years that the Texas West State Tournament was held in Waco.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, January 9, at Valley Mills Church of Christ beginning at 11:00 a.m. Visitation will be Friday evening from 4:00 - 6:00 p.m. at Foss Funeral Home in Valley Mills.

All umpires are honorary pallbearers. If they attend the funeral, they are requested to wear their umpire shirts.

The 2010 Regional Umpire School is for both new and advanced (umpires with 4 or more years experience) in either Little League Baseball or Softball. A strong emphasis will be placed on the latest rule changes. For new umpires, there will be breakout sessions to cover basic mechanics. The more experienced umpires will cover some advanced field mechanics. Tournament Rules will also be discussed at length.

The clinic will take place on January 30, 2010 at the Southwest Regional Headquarters. The class will run from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The cost of the clinic is $35, and that includes a set of 2010 Rule Books and other publications. Please complete the registration. Hotel information is also included in the handout.

Contact Lisa Owens at (254) 756-1816 if you have questions or for more information.

Texas District 28 (in the Houston area) will host a Big Al Clinic for managers and coaches on Saturday, Feburary 13th, in Woodlands, Texas. There will be two sessions - one starting at 8:15 a.m. for managers and coaches of players 9-13. For managers and coaches of players 5-8, their session will begin at 12:45 p.m.

Big Al has provided training to over 100,000 mangers and coaches as one half of the famed Al and Al Clinic. His clinics cover all aspects of the game, while being fun and entertaining.

For more information, contact Ben Hunt at rbhace@aol.com. For more information on Big Al, go to bigalbaseball.com.