Hello Everyone and Welcome to our 2018 San Marino National Little League baseball and softball season!
The Managers are ready, the teams have been formed, practices and scrimmages are in full swing and the uniforms are on order. Everything is lined up for an amazing year. At present count, we have an unbelievable 455 kids playing SMNLL this season. For context, the two largest Little Leagues in our District 17 are SMNLL and PALL at almost identical enrollment numbers. However, PALL’s population base is 56,147; SMNLL’s population base is 16,991 - extraordinary per capita participation. With our baseball and softball programs thriving, SMNLL is the gold standard for District 17.
I briefly want to address the elephant in the room this season which are the field access challenges related to the Huntington Middle School gym construction project. These issues are specific only to our Minors and Majors teams. We have been working hard to overcome them by collaborating closely with SMUSD to find a way to balance HMS’s after-school programs with SMNLL.
As you will see, HMS has lost a substantial amount of real estate to the construction which has turned our traditional Majors and Minors Little League fields into effectively a ‘multi-purpose rectangle’. This rectangle has to accommodate HMS soccer, lacrosse, track & field and a host of other programs. As a result, we have restricted access on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and some Thursday’s. Next time you see our Scheduling VP, Ray Rindone, please give him a big hug and a high five. Ray has been jumping through every hoop and over every hurdle to make sure we can still achieve a full SMNLL schedule. Thanks Ray!
Additionally, you will see portable mounds on the Minors and Majors baseball fields since the dirt mounds had to be flattened to accommodate the different sports. These are extremely high quality Little League-approved mounds Dr. Cherniss and SMUSD purchased for us to use while the gym construction is completed. We sincerely appreciate the investment by SMUSD to help SMNLL.
Everything else will be business as usual but with a few exciting upgrades like our personalized jerseys with player name and favorite number on the back. This season is a bridge to the future – the new HMS gym will be amazing and beneficial for everyone but I also ask for your patience and understanding if there is an extra curveball or two along the way. I will be at as many games as possible. Please do not hesitate to find me if there is anything we can be doing better – or e-mail, call or text me. We have an incredible Executive Board putting forth tremendous effort to make this a fantastic season.
The next big event is our 2018 Opening Day on Saturday February 24th. I look forward to seeing you all there!
Sincerely,
Jay Fuerst
2018 President
San Marino National Little League
626.808.3292
[email protected]