Greetings All!

DA For District 13 Has Changed!

My name is JP, the new District Administrator for Washington District 13, Little League. Very pleased to meet all of you.

Lets get the basics out of the way:

My phone number is 509-288-0141

My email is jarel@rodeotv.net

I work full time running a tech company, raised 5 kids (yes I know the pressures of having every kid in a different activity after school)

I love Little League! I love baseball! I have been involved in several district and state level teams (even won a championship or two)

I have managed teams, coached, and been involved in “Select Teams” and “Travel Teams”

I have coached, managed, played, or administrated baseball programs for 45+ years!

I live in Spokane Valley and have been a DA for Washington District 5, an ADA, and a League Board Member for about 15 years now.

I have moved to the Spokane area and am now DA for Washington District 13.

I’d like to let you all know of some of the things I’d like to talk to you all about and remind you of a couple of things Little League has asked the DAs to do.

DAs are supposed to meet 5 times each year with each League board in the district. So I will be asking you all for both “joint meeting times” when we can all as boards or representatives of boards can sit down and visit about district and board/league issues.
I believe in a strong district leadership. Therefore I’d like to start recruiting volunteers to help with the administration of the district business and functions. These volunteers would be the “ADA” or assistant district administrator position, and we need several! These are assistant level positions, and usually take no more than 20 hours in a month on average. Slower in the fall in winter, and busier in the spring and summer. They are:

ADA Treasurer – manages the bank account and bills/income for the District
ADA Baseball – manages the baseball programs
ADA Softball – manages the softball programs in the area
ADA Chief Umpire – District Chief Umpire – responsible for getting the info to the leagues about rule changes, workshops, tournaments, and more. Also helps in resolving questions, disputes, rulings, etc.
ADA Player Agent – Answers League questions about drafts, eligibility and more
ADA Communications – Maintains a district website (I will set it up), handles mailing lists, and District communications
ADA fund raising and league development – my personal favorite! This position would help leagues find resources to build their own fields, better equipment, sponsors, etc. A level above the fund raising at the league level and focused on building Little League in the District. (As an example we managed to develop more than $300,000 for District 5 last year to provide 50/70 playing field upgrades to several leagues. )

These are very helpful and necessary positions, and for those of you that want to get more involved at higher levels of Little League, then this is the path forward. You start by being an ADA. Basic ADA requirements are:

You should be able to devote 15-20 hours per month to ADA duties on average – some months are lighter, some are busier
You cannot be a coach of a District Tournament team if you are an ADA, you can manage a regular season team
You should be available to travel to round table meetings (In Seattle and San Bernardino), expenses paid by the District. These are usually 1-2 day meetings to understand Little League initiatives and so forth.
You should have a desire to make District 13 better, and help each league become outstanding! AND Be FOR THE KIDS playing in their leagues. Little League is all about making a kid’s playing experience so enjoyable that they want to come back year after year, and help mentor them into being better adults. It’s all about the Kids!
A general understanding of the Little League program (What you don’t know – we will train you on!)
You can sit on a Board and be an ADA
You can be “just a parent” and be an ADA
You can be a volunteer with the local league in any capacity
You do have to get a background check that we do through Little League
You do have to attend regular District staff meetings (once a month) for about 2-3 hours.

I need the help! My goal is to get enough volunteers at the District level to form a District Board and have the District sustaining better operations by 2022! If you are interested please call and visit with me about it ASAP… WE NEED LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS IN THE DISTRICT! HELP HELP HELP!

State Tournament

District 13 has been awarded the State Tournament for the Major’s Division this year. We need to discuss where/who is going to do that. Stacy Ashcroft has indicated their league is interested, but sometime in late December (this month) I’d like to have a meeting with all the presidents (to start to meet the 5 meeting rule laid down by Little League) and make a final decision on how we are going to manage and host the State’s most visible tournament. Hosting the 12 year olds is a big deal and I want to do it right! So be expecting a meeting invitation the middle/late December! We have a State DA meeting in January to finalize the venue and hosting league and I need that confirmed by the end of December.

District Tournament

I’d like to encourage all the leagues to participate in the District Tournament. I will be talking to the parents starting in January about the “totality” of the Little League program through a series of emails and possibly parents meetings in the local leagues. I’d like to get that idea that everyone needs to participate at some level in the Districts. It’s actually good for your programs, and good for your players. Giving them a goal to shoot for improves morale, participation, and general interest in your Leagues. The more you can get more kids to play, the more they enjoy their time in Little League. Districts/All-Stars is a good motivator if done properly. I am not about who is going to WIN districts, I am about who gets to play and how much.

Mariners Road Show/Coaching Clinic

We have the opportunity to host/be involved with a Mariners / Coaching Roadshow this next summer. Coaches and possibly players are considering coming to Spokane to host a week long camp for players and coaches. Fees and other information is forthcoming, but I have spoken to the organizers and we are putting together a great week of teaching and skills learning here in Spokane and it will be put on by an excellent coaching staff. More details as this unfolds.

Little League Day at the Mariners

This upcoming year, the Mariners will have three days during the season where Little Leaguers can get special ticket prices, do a parade on the field and get other “perks” at the T-Mobile stadium. These days will be published soon, and each league can get special tickets and information on “Little League Days”. You will be getting this information directly from the Mariners. Make sure your teams see this! The Mariners have a good relationship with Little League and this promotion is just one more thing you can use to excite your teams and players about Little League!

New Leagues

We have the opportunity to possibly add 2 new leagues to District 13. I’ll keep you posted as this develops. I like to build. I am not a “passive” DA, but I want the District to grow, I want the Leagues to grow, the players to have fun, develop their skills, and receive good mentoring by good people. I am currently talking to two different groups about forming leagues in our district and adding them to our roster. I want to see your leagues grow. In a week, I am going to toss out a couple ideas I have gotten from around Little League on how to improve registrations. Lets make 2020 a great year and a beneficial year to your players! I am not here for Cal Ripken, Babe Ruth, Pony, or select teams, I am here to build Little League. I want to see 50/70 to be played more in our District, and how about Juniors? Seniors? All of those programs would do well in Spokane. Lets explore the possibilities of growing our leagues and programs through added divisions of Little League. Many people don’t know Little League actually goes from Age 4 to 17!

I think Spokane has TREMENDOUS potential to be a real shining star in the Little League universe. We have lots of good people to help and volunteer, good playing facilities, and tons of good kids. Lets build this thing up and make it an example of how to do things right!

ASAP Plans

I wanted to remind you all to do your ASAP Safety plans early! Try to get them done by Mid January! – By doing this, you help the District meet certain goals demanded by Little League International. It’s easier now that ever, because the ASAP plan is online. Just review what you did last year and resubmit. It’s fast, simple and necessary. Do it early! I have seen some of you have already chartered too – that’s great! Get the charter done early!

Using this Forum

I have linked all the Boards together in this email forum. If you have a question, or would like to start a discussion, simply send a message to district-13-officers@lists.rodeonetworks.com and that message will be broadcast to all the board members of all the leagues in our district. Use it to discuss anything related to Little League or league operations, or any ideas you may have to help out our District. Be nice, don’t flame anyone, and be respectful. This is here for you all to COMMUNICATE.

Finally,

If you have questions, or concerns, please contact me ASAP. I want to help your Leagues become the best they can be. I am not a “sitter” but rather a “doer”. I want to see good strong Boards and people devoted to giving kids a great baseball experience. Let me know if you need help in any area!

Regards

Washington District 13 DA