The end of the 2009 Baseball & Softball season is finally upon us. The Little League World Series is beginning to wind down with a world champion on Sunday.

Looking back on the season, we were very fortunate, with the amount of rain that we had, that we were able to complete the tournaments on time for the most part. Over all, there were 196 games that were scheduled and played in District 19 this year. On any given day/evening there were many schedule changes for one reason or another. The cooperation of the host leagues and the understanding from the involved teams were greatly appreciated. Rescheduling of games is, as you can imagine, a major consideration in keeping on schedule.

I would like to acknowledge the major contributors in this year’s effort. I may miss some of them but not intentionally.

First, the District staff: Sean Doherty, Debbie Iapicco, Dave Meisner, Joe Specchio & Mike Kalb. Without this group, I would be lost in every sense of the word.

The leagues that supported the majority of the games, namely: Middletown, (Gary Haleskoe & John Marcini), Tinton Falls (Chris Pak, Sean Doherty, Joe Slowinski)  Eatontown (Doug Ronan, Bob Suffel), Marlboro (Anthony Monaco, Ira Slad), Lincroft (Debbie & Jeff Iapicco, Jason Iapicco, Dan Petrocelli) & Freehold Township (Mike and Roeann LaCava, John Csakai). The supporting staff for each of these leagues are too many to mention but greatly appreciated.

I will be completing an agenda survey to be presented to Little League in their preparation for the Little League International Congress that will convene in March of 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky. If any of you have any suggestions for consideration, please convey them to me before September 10 so that I can include them in the survey. If enough District Administrators submit similar items of concern, they may be added to the congress agenda. When submitting an item to be considered, please identify the rule or regulation number before describing the change. These items may also be discussed at Section, State & Regional meetings in the fall.

On a local level, that being district, section or state, any suggestions or concerns are welcome for discussion and possible inclusion in procedures or rules.

Again, thank you all for a successful 2009 tournament season.