Aston Valley Baseball League

Date:

4/15/24

Present:

Missy Huber,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy,

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Tom Wood, BJ Hefton, Joe Pharaoh, Scott Decker, Dave Gustafson, Bill McKee, Joe Hart, Fran Miles, Michael Troyan Jr., Chris D’Anjolell, Dan Sinnott, Walt Campbell, Chris Backer, Denny Anastasia, Emily Garvey, Mike Garvey, Anthony Marusco, Tom Baggio, Mitch Lauver, Nico Marusco

Called to Order:

8:33 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $90, 426

-Many supplies were needed to get the fields ready for the season and the concession stand start-up costs

Gus-Thank You for getting the Moose to Sponsor

Thank you to all our sponsors for helping support the league for the 2024 season

-$20,000 cannot be touched at this point because it is in a CD

-5 workers in the snack stand at night, 12 on the weekends

New Business: 

Motion to approve:  John Mancinelli

Second: RJ Diamond

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Parade went well

Thank you Aston Police and Fire Department for assistance on that day

-Thank you to Fran Miles, Bill McKee, Joe Hart for your assistance getting the fields ready

-Thank you to local elected officials for joining us

-Member Comment-Can we get a new flag? That flag was an embarrassment. Response- There is a new one up now

Teeners-Dan Campbell

- 7 teams, around 85 kids for Rec. for this season

-Rec games started tonight

- Concession stand will start to be open as well.

- B field is being worked on currently. They are putting sod down on the first and 3rd base line like Buggy. 

-Uniforms are now in!

-  We will have at least one Jr. Mid county and most likely two Sr. Mid County teams. Sign ups are currently going on

Legion Teams by birth year

2010-2011- Coach Durbano

2008-2009- Will be Coached by Palmore

(Not included in Babe Ruth Insurance-instead it is insurance through the Legion, does not cost the league anything)

Majors-Mark Natale

-Limited practices in March because of weather

-3 games are being made up from rain outs

-Thank You to John Dalton, Kevin Greim, Tom Wood that helped put in the new net for the Majors Cages

-Everything seems to be going well

Minors- Tim Teefy

-4 Make-Up Games (2 played already, 2 are scheduled)

-Good feedback for the umpires

Rookies-Aaron Pysher

No Report

Member  Comment- Can we get a call up list ready? Yes, we will work on that

Teeball- Mike Calvanese

-Opening Games on Saturday, everything went well

-Thank you Joe Hart for getting the fields ready in the morning

-T-Ball is currently practicing, we will have nightly games starting in a few weeks

-We would like to eventually incorporate the pitching machine in addition to coach pitch

-Member Comment- Can we post the schedule? Yes, we will do that soon

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

-Numbers are great this season!

-T-Ball Schedule will be finalized and out soon

-With all of the rain delays, we will have to use Sunday for Make-up games.

-Coaches are doing a nice job using the pitch tracker…do not use the innings category because it incorrectly calculates the totals

Equipment Manager-John Mancinelli

-Uniforms are all in and ordered…but some of the newer players that signed up late are in process and should be in soon

-T-Ball and Junior Rookies late registration can take their blank shirts and hat to MVP for name to be placed on it

-Working on getting a new net for the backstop at the Minors 

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

No report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Field Maintenance Day was a HUGE success

-Rookies Scoreboard is not working correctly

-Rollers for the outfield had new foam delivered

-Looking over quotes for the new backstop on the Minor’s field

-Working with the township to have the Walkway to the T-Ball Field repaired and widened

-Cameras are up and working on the Major’s Field

-Major’s Field outlet on the pitching mound is not working and will need to be repaired

-The roofs of several dugouts will need to be repaired, please let us know if you have any connections or the ability to help with repairing these roofs

Rules- Bob Weeks

Umpire will assess if the game is going too long. Most games in the Rookies will go about 5 innings within the 2 hour time spot on weekends. Weekends the time limit is enforced because of the tight schedule.

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

-We had several great applicants for the Tommy Marren Scholarship. We will announce the recipient soon

-A local guy has acquired some machinery and is selling them for cheaper prices than brand new…We might actually be able to afford 2 if the price is right

New Comment- Can Teeners use Team Snap to let them know about canceled games? Response- Coaches are asked to send an alert to the parents

Nico Marusco will be running the Aston Valley Knights camp this summer under the guidance of Bill Wright. Week of June 17th and June 24th. Monday-Thursday, make-up games on Friday if needed. 

-Dates for district tryouts? We have not announced these yet….we are thinking Late April Early May

Meeting Adjourn 9:11 PM (Bill McKee)

Second- John Mancinelli

Date:

3/18/24

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Tom Wood, Don Gilmour, Joe Pharaoh, Keith McDevitt, Chris Langille, Rick Owsley, Dave Gustafson, Fran Miles, Chris Gaspari, Bill McKee, Joe Hart, Anthony Marusco, Walt Campbell, Michael Troyan Jr., Chris D’Anjolell, Dan Sinnott, Mitch Lauver, Tom Baggio, Steve Ouimette, Michael Schaefer, Jon Dalton, Jacob Weissenberger, Mike McHugh, Chris Cooper, Denny Anastasia, Ian Scott, Jim Johnston, Mike McDermond, Bill Staiber, Jeff Kessler, Chris Backer Jr., Chris Backer Sr., Mike Garvey, Jason Farrell, Scott Decker

Called to Order:

8:32 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $117, 009.30

-Spring Season Registrations contribute to the high balance

-Sponsorship- 44 have committed, trying to get 6 more to renew (still taking on more sponsors if you know anyone interested)

-FlowServ is sending us $2,000 and PA Dept of Health for $750

-Please complete survey that was sent out via email

-11U did a last minute tournament at Prospect Park (will count towards spring tournament funds for 2024)

-Purchased a new pitching machine for the Rookies Fields

-Replaced nets in the cages for Majors and Rookies

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: Mark Natale

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Coaches- Must have background checks completed ASAP! We cannot load students into Cal Ripkin without the clearances being done.

-Opening Day is April 6th…games begin April 1st. We have games leading up to the Opening Day Parade

-Pavillion is now fixed. We are thankful to Joe Hart and the Township for fixing this.

-Joe and Bill did a great job working on the T-Ball Fields to get it up and running

-We have great numbers this season. We have 6-7 teams per division.

-Schedules have been uploaded to TeamSnap

-District Tournaments (preliminary)- We are not set to host a district tournament this Spring

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-7 teams (estimated 90 kids- all time high)

-Draft and evaluations were held last week

-We will play American Legion by birth year for post rec season ball

-Mid County League- by grade level for post rec season ball

-Delco League-AV Knights for post rec season ball

-New scoreboard will be installed later this week (Thank You SV Boosters)

-PDSD working on getting the fields ready for the season

-John Mancinelli and his crew are working on redoing the upstairs room at Buggy Field to make it a more usable space

-Working with the district to clear out the surrounding areas around field so that we do not lose so many baseballs each season

-Board Member Question- Should we post a sign so that people know how to access Buggy Field?

Majors-Mark Natale

-Practices have started…slow because of the weather

-Thank you coaches and parents for helping out on the Major Field to get it ready for the season

Minors- Tim Teefy

-Practices have started

-Plan to meet with coaches to review rules and expectations for the season

Rookies-Aaron Pysher

-Thank you for helping out with Field Maintenance

-Hoping to improve the batter’s box to prevent it from sinking

-New Pitching Machine-set-up and electricity is different from in the past

Teeball- Mike Calvanese

-Thank you to everyone that came out to help on Saturday…especially Joe and Bill

-Cleaned out the shed

-Schedules will be out in the next few days

-T-Ball will not play games on Opening Day

-Thank you for your patience for my  first year

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

-Schedules are loaded

-All players from T-Ball to Teeners have been loaded

-Pitch Tracker is loaded, please update within 24 hours of your game

-431 Total players (2nd highest of 9 years)

-Decline in T-Ball numbers (Aston AA Softball  took several of the girls this season)

-First few weeks for Minors and Rookies will be adjusted time slots because of the daylight

Equipment Manager-John Mancinelli

-Fields look great

-New Rookies Pitching Machine is much lighter to manipulate. Let me know how you like it and thanks to DICKS for the discount

-Jerseys are ordered (hopeful to have everything by Opening Day, but late registrations might not be ready in time for first game)

-We have extra supplies, if you have a player in need…please reach out

-Ordered additional catcher’s mitts and equipment

-Baseballs are ordered and available, books & clickers are on their way

-Now have a sliding mat to practice sliding (helpful for players to learn…some players are getting to Teeners without the ability to slide properly)

-We have extra keys if needed

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-Thank you to everyone that helped out on Saturday 

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Thank you to everyone that participated in Field Maintenance

-We are having an issue with one of the scoreboards, a number needs to be replaced

-Please make sure cages and bathrooms are locked if you are the last to leave the fields

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Plenty of umpires for the upcoming season- over 30 umpires going into the Spring season

-Jared (long-term umpire) is coming back to ump on Saturdays which is a HUGE help for the Majors

-Umpire clinic this Saturday

-We will have a shared document that posts the scheduled umpires

-Laminated sheet will be in each dug-out with reminders and key rules

-Umpire equipment looks good for season

-Member Question- Is Ben coming back? Yes, Monday-Wednesday

Secretary-Missy Huber

-Snack Stand- We do not need to have coverage anymore. We collected the money during registration to cover this. A schedule will be posted soon.

- -Backstop at the Majors Field will need to be replaced and/or repaired

-Schedules in Team Snap- Make sure the schedule is not doubled in Team Snap

-Have players make sure to write their names on their equipment so that it can be returned

-We are proposing buying a 4-wheeler with a tow behind hook up (dragger too). Will store AED and medical equipment to get it to areas in need fast. This would be to replace the red tractor that is on its last leg. We can purchase certain attachments this year and more in the future. Motion-John Mancinelli, Second- Joe Hart- Requesting no more than $15,000 to purchase this item. Motion passed unanimously. 

Member Question- Has the Legion and fire department been notified about Opening Day- Answer- YES

-Please control all the kids on the trucks so that they are being respectful of the candy being thrown

-Once you park your vehicle, please make sure that all players remain in the truck until all trucks have parked

Motion to Adjourn- 9:16 PM (Rebecca Farrell)

Second- Joe Hart

Date:

2/19/24

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt, Rebecca Farrell, Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Tom Wood, Chris Langille, Steve Stretch, Denny Anastasia, BJ Hefton, Don Gilmour, Joe Pharaoh, Anthony Marusco, Joe Hart, Walt Campbell, Andrea Camac-Mansi, Jeff Kessler, Scott Decker, Brian Alexander, Dan Sinnott, Mitch Lauver, Steve Ouimette, Frank DiCandia, Bill McKee, Michael Truyau Jr., David Gustafson, Jacob Weissenberger, Chris D’Anjolell, Tom Baggio, Bill Staiber, Steve Burns

Called to Order:

8:30 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance-  $97, 651

-15 Sponsors have paid so far…more to come

-Raffle Tickets have been purchased for Opening Day

-Balance will adjust once uniforms are purchased and equipment for opening day

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: John Mancinelli

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Pavillion at Weir Park is condemned and fenced off. This will need to be repaired. We had to pay $500 for township to evaluate the pavilion for structural damage. It looks like the plans the evaluator submitted will be helpful in repairing the existing structure. We are hoping the township will help with repairing this structure. The township was very involved with building the existing pavilion.

-Evaluations- 6-10 PM on Friday, Saturday 7 AM- 1 PM, all day Sunday is available

Friday- Majors (all ages) 6:00-9:00 PM

Saturday- Minors (all ages)- 8:00-10:30 Rookies (all ages) 10:30 AM-1:00 PM

Hats will be fitted this year for all leagues other than T-Ball

-Draft- Gatsby’s- Bob and RJ will help out with entering players because Jim is not available until after 4:00 PM

Rookies- 12:00-1:30 PM

Minors- 1:30 PM- 3:00 PM

Majors- 3:00-4:30 PM

-Enrollment numbers are down this season

-We are not adjusting schedules for travel baseball. 

-Blue Tractor is broken…will need to be replaced (between the tractor and pavilion this will cost the league roughly $20,000)

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-New Scoreboard will be in for Opening Day

-School District has been working on the fields to prepare for the upcoming season

-Around 40 registered for Teeners Rec League

-Hoping 2-3 teams for Juniors and Seniors

-Rec will begin 1st week in April and end in June. Teeners Evaluation will be at Northley or SV on March 8th and 9th (if you played in Teeners last year, you do not need to attend this year’s evaluation). Teeners Draft Date- March 10th

SV Cuts will be around March 6th and Northley will be around March 15th

-Post-Rec Season is TBD. We are leaning toward the American Legion, but the future is not looking that great for that league at this point. 

Majors-Mark Natale

-We are looking at 5-6 teams for this division. Evaluations are Friday Night with the Draft being on Sunday.

-Coaches please hang around after the meeting to discuss this weekend

Minors- Tim Teefy

-Looking at around 7 teams for the Minors this Spring

-Coaches please hang around after the meeting to discuss this weekend

-Good with coaches for this season

Rookies-Aaron Pysher

–5-6 Teams for this Spring Season

-Coaches please hang around after the meeting to discuss this weekend

Teeball- Mike Calvanese

-Numbers are down the most for this division. Registration will remain open longer than the other divisions.

-As of now, 4 teams for T-Ball and 4 teams for Junior Rookies

--Coaches please hang around after the meeting to discuss this season

-No evaluations for TBALL and JR. Rookies

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

307 registered players (drop from previous years) plus 40 players are in process

T-Ball- 43

Junior Rookies- 39

Rookies- 56

Minors-59

Majors-49

Open practice with SV for all age divisions. $15 per child, March 16th at Buggy Field

Equipment Manager-John Mancinelli

-Hats will be available at tryouts to try on

-We are looking for more sponsors to sponsor the league for the upcoming season

-Coaches-please get player numbers ASAP after the draft

-New Pitching Machine for the Rookies field

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-If you are interested in shadowing to take over for the ‘25 season please let me know

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Red Tractor was Serviced

-Field Maintenance Day- Saturday, March 23rd (9 AM). You will get $20 reimbursed if you attend. We need a great turnout in order to prepare for the upcoming season

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Some of the Majors games will be umped by outside agencies. We are trying to avoid the upfront fee by these organizations.

-Looking at getting Fran that also umps at BYC to assist with the Majors

-Minors and Rookies will be umped by younger kids, we seem to be covered

-We will have laminated sheets with most popular rules displayed in each dugout. Most arguments with umpires are due to people not knowing the rules.

-No word on Coaching Clinics

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

 -Will you be doing CPR training? Response-Yes, we will get information out soon

-Field Maintenance Day, what equipment is needed? Response-New Tractor, Bobcat, dirt, dragger

-Minor Field, are you still having drainage issues in left field? Response- we fixed this last year and have not had issues

-Where are you storing dirt this year? Response- We will look for a better location to put the dirt near the fields

**Anyone that is coaching, please do a background check. You need to have this done every 2 years. Please have this completed by March so we can upload this in April (loading these documents takes a lot of time). If a head coach does not have a background check they will not be on the field.

-We have 5-6 board members not returning next year. If you are interested in joining the board or being more involved in the league, please reach out.

Motion to Adjourn-Rebecca Farrell 9:07 PM

Date:

1/16/2024

Present:

Mike Calvanese, Aaron Pysher, John Mancinelli, Steve Burt, Bob Weeks, R.J. Diamond, Rebecca Farrell, Mark Natale, Jim Buggy, Tim Teefy, Dan Campbell, Tom Wood 
 
Fran Miles, Walt Campbell, Joe Hart, Anthony Marusco, Ken Millard, Frank DiCandia, Don Gilmour, Mike McDermond, Zach Imburgia, Bill McKee, Mitch Lauver, Steve Ouimette, Scott Egan, Tom Zebley

Called to Order:

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $74,235.92

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Bob Weeks

Second: Rebecca Farrell

President’s Report - Steve Burt

Teeners-Dan Campbell

• E-Mails sent to players from last year 

• Will be sending e-mail out to 13 year olds 

• 13-15 Rec division plan for this year; with some 16 year olds 

• Sign-ups are live 

• Jerseys: moving away from home/away jersey… Doing one jersey, one hat. Each team will have a different color 

• Not doing free agents this year 

• Will put outside team kids on a supplemental draft 

• Last year had 5 rec teams, 3 from Nether… Nether will join this year. Chi/BYC has asked to join. Waiting on responses 

• $25 field maintenance fee will be snack stand fee since school district helping with maintenance. Must work stand to recoup fee 

• Trying to keep snack stand open to help especially with umpire fees 

• More info to come on American Legion league & post-rec League 

• Feb 1 – open discussion with anyone interested to see what is best for league 

• Interested in coaching rec league division, reach out to Dan 

• Interested in concession stand; need 1 or 2 people to consistently help

Majors-Mark Natale

 Has a few coaches so far. Looking for more.

Minors- Tim Teefy

Rookies-Aaron Pysher

Teeball- Mike Calvanese

• Reaching out to coaches with Aaron and John Mance 

• Also potentially working with majors kids to help

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Equipment Manager-John Mancinelli

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

No Report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

• Tractors going in for service 

• Rookies scoreboard now has power – Thank you to Josh Dawson 

• Q: What is going on with the pavilion and the press box structurally? A: It’s still in talks with the township engineers

Rules- Bob Weeks

• January is rules meeting – no new rules to discuss 

• Thank you to Allyson Miles – Submitted change to by laws – Will bring up in February meeting 

• Shared spreadsheet planned for umpires to share with head coaches, snack stand, etc. 

• Umpire clinic planned for March; e-mail will go out about this 

• Q: Would it make sense commissioners meet with coaches to review inside rules?  

• Q: Are we going to use kids or service for umpires? A: Leaning towards service for majors with a few exceptions 

• Comment: Let plays finish before umpires make the calls
  

Secretary-Missy Huber

• Field Maintenance: March 24th 

• Will teams that win championships ride firetrucks this year? Yes 

Motion to adjurn: Rebecca Farrell, John Mancinelli

Date:

11/21/23

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Tom Wood, Fran Miles, Dave Gustafson, Joe Hart, Bill McKee, Sabrina Hickman, Candy Miaza, Joe Pharaoh, Steve Newnom, Denny Anastasia, Walt Campbell

Called to Order:

8:03 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance-  $71, 615.60 (**$20,000 in CD)

• Still waiting for a few final bills for field maintenance

• Tommy Marren scholarship is fully funded for next year

New Business: 

Motion to approve: 

Second: 

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Welcome new T-Ball Commissioner- Mike Calvanese

12/4- Registration opens 

TBD- In person registration (Community Center, last day of basketball)

2/1- Additional Late Fee for Registration to be applied

2/21 Registration Closes (Except Tball, Jr. Rookies, and Teeners)

2/23-2/24- Evaluations

2/25- Draft Day (Rookies, Minors, Majors

3/9 Schedule released to Commissioners to Review- (plan is to have TBall through Majors have one game under the lights)

3/12 Last Day for schedule changes

3/15 - Schedule implemented

3/24- Field Maintenance

4/6- Weir Park Games to begin

4/6 Weir Park Opening Day

-A coach or assistant coach needs to be at every meeting to help get more parents involved in our league. Should we make a membership meeting the same day as a board meeting to boost the meeting. President will meet with commissioners and coaches to review that plan

-Would like to see parents sign a code of conduct with the league at registration. Working on updating a version of the example on the Cal Ripkin site

-Will begin to post important dates and events at the concession stand so that everyone is aware. Some T-Ball families were unaware of the monthly general membership meetings.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

Buggy Field

· Concession stand is closed. District is going to turn the water off

· Re-Sodding 3rd base and around pitching mound

· New Scoreboard

· Renovation of concession stand, upstairs, and shed has been approved by the school district

24-25 Spring/Summer Season

· Still need coaches. Let me know if interested

· Rec Season will start the same time as Weir and end approximately same time

· District/tournament teams

· Proposing a 16-18 Sunday Rec league with other leagues

· Mid County Jr’s End of May till mid July

· Mid County Sr’s 19+

· If interested in the planning process of Rec, District, and Mid County contact me

Majors-Mark Natale

-We are going to have a meeting to discuss expectations for Majors. Coaches are in the process of being contacted and notified for next season

Minors- Tim Teefy

-No report

Rookies-Aaron Pysher

-Working on identifying coaches for the Spring Season

Teeball- Mike Calvanese

-Working on identifying coaches for the Spring Season.

-Looking to identify older siblings to assist with coaching as well

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

-No Report

Equipment Manager-John Mancinelli

-No report

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-No report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Field closed down- thanks to all that helped

-Power to the Rookies scoreboard will be done by the spring season

-We have been informed that teens have been coming to the field and damaging various things. We spoke to the township about this.

Rules- Bob Weeks

-We will need to make some small tweaks for the Teeners division (submit requests through the website)

-Rules meeting will be in January, please submit any rule change considerations on-line

-Most likely bringing back an umpire group for the Majors to help with this level

Secretary-Missy Huber

-No report

-Working with SV Boosters, PDSD has approved the board construction for Buggy Field. AV has met as a board to contribute $6,500 to this cause. The board is going to be ordered and the signage will be made and designed soon after. Boosters and AV will write checks and submit them to PDSD and they will keep it in escrow and will handle paying the bills.

Motion to approve $6,500 for scoreboards (John Mancinelli) Second (Aaron Pysher)

-Yes- 15 

-No- 1

3 people ineligible to vote

**Plan is to have the board ready for the spring season

We would like to raise dues about $25 for each player to fund paying a person for the snack bar. This is a safety issue because there are no background checks completed for volunteers and could be an issue with handling money. Training new people each night gets to be a lot of extra work on busy nights. It will also help to get the games started on time for people that did not show up to work in the snack stand. Also would like to consider raising family rates-  

Motion (John Mancinelli) to approve a $25 increase in fees to cover a person to work in the snack stand  as opposed to being assigned a snack stand date and time. Second (Aaron Pysher) Yes-19 No-0

Motion (Tom Wood) Second (Bill McKee) Changing the family discount to be 25% off the second child, 50% of the 3rd child, 75% off the 4th child

Yes-19 No-0

Motion to Adjourn (8:38 PM)- Mark Natale

Second-Mike Calvanese

Date:

10/18/23

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, John Mancinelli, Tom Wood, Mike McDermond, Mike Calvanese, Joe Pharaoh, Don Gilmour, Anthony Marusco, Fran Miles, Bill McKee, Dave Gustafson, Joe Hart, Candy Miazza, Steve Newnom, Jason Farrell

Called to Order:

8:05 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $70, 974.18

Fall Ball brought in about $10,000, Spring Season LOST about $8,500

Concession Stands made about $6,000

Moose Lodge made a $500 donation, we will be getting them a sign down at the fields

$20,000 has been moved to a CD with a 5% return

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: Mark Natale

Member Comment- We have spent a lot of money on tournament teams, shouldn’t we be investing in all the players….maybe we should get a landscaper? Fields need a lot of work, should not just be for RJ.

Response- Capital Improvements on the field benefit all players, a landscaper all year is too expensive unless we raise the fees for players (we lost about $7 per player). We should consider getting a landscaper for certain times throughout the year.

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Tonight is nominations at the end of the meeting

-Fall Ball should be wrapping up within the next week. Season went pretty well, but looking at changes for next season. Perhaps, we should have just a few tournament weekends for A, B and even C teams. We will discuss this more once it is discussed as a board.

-Scoreboards are now up at Weir Park

-We will be dropping prices in the snack stand this weekend to clean it out

-Thank you to Steve Abate for his commitment to the board and help with equipment for several years. His son has aged out and he will be leaving the ball.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-Fall Ball is going well. We are looking forward to a great Spring Season.

--Looking for coaches for next season, please reach out and let me know 

Majors-Mark Natale

-Looking for coaches for next season, please reach out and let me know 

Minors- John Mancinelli

-No report

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-No report

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

-Have a few phone calls in with ideas for maintenance

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

No Report

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

No report

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-No Report 

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Need to get the T-Ball field in better shape

-Peco has been notified about lines that are hanging low near the fields

-Rookies Field scoreboard should have electricity in the next few weeks

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Looking to bring in an outside company for the Major’s Field

Secretary-Missy Huber

-No report

-Member Comment- SV Baseball Booster- You were presented with a request to help with a scoreboard for Buggy Field. Will you be able to help us out? We are looking for $6,000 from AVBL. We are going to raise the remaining $15,000. If you would like your name on the sign it would be an additional $1,000. We are looking to put a really great scoreboard at Buggy Field that says the names of the teams with a 9 inning scoreboard. We would use the same installation company as Weir Park. SV Boosters refuses to move the sign and will donate $0 if it is moved.

Response- We are in favor of a new scoreboard, we still need to vote as a board. The board would like more time to discuss this because we still have some unanswered questions regarding the school’s financial commitment and the interest to move the sign.

**Recommendation for AVBL, PDSD representative, and SV Baseball Boosters to meet together 

We will adjust the board meeting and general membership meeting in November so that we can vote on this and get you an answer.

President- Steve Burt 

Treasurer- Tom Wood 

Teeners- Dan Campbell 

Majors- Mark Natale 

Minors- Tim Teefy

Rookies- Aaron Pysher was nominated by Steve Burt— He accepts

TeeBall- Tom Wood nominates Mike Calvanese- He accepts

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell 

Player Agent- Jim Buggy 

Secretary- Missy Huber 

Equipment- John Mancinelli 

Field Maintenance- RJ Diamond

Rules- Bob Weeks 

Joe Hart makes a motion to approve $7,100 in order to go towards the scoreboard at Buggy Field. Second- Anthony Marusco…… (Motion was withdrawn)

Motion to adjourn: Fran Miles (9:42 PM)

Second: Mike Calvanese 

Date:

9/18/23

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Aaron Pysher, BJ Hefton, Joe Pharaoh, Mike Calvanese, Anthony Marusco, Dave Gustafson, Bill McKee, Mike McDermond, Joe Hart

Called to Order:

8:31 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $63, 849.35

-Still waiting on an outstanding check from Nether (around $6,000)

-

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: Dan Campbell

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Fall Ball is up and running. We had a successful weekend with a few rain outs that will need to be made up. Member question-How many Fall Ball Players? Answer- 2011

-Tonight is nominations for the upcoming season. This will be discussed more in New Business

-Scoreboards are installed. We are looking for an additional sponsor for the signs and would like a lit arch above the scoreboard.

-Netting on the major field has been fixed and installed.

-We had people out to evaluate the condition of the press box and pavillion. Both of these structures will need repairs for the upcoming season. Member Question- What is wrong with the Press box? Answer- Sounds like is more cosmetic, we are looking for final quotes and reports on the condition

-10/7 Community Day

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-Fall Ball has started, we have 6 teams. Week one was rained out so that game got moved to the last week of the season

-Already seeking out coaches for the spring season, if you are interested please reach out

Majors-Mark Natale

-Fall Ball is going well, but a few teams are a bit lopsided. We are working on this to accommodate the teams

Minors- John Mancinelli

-We had an issue with a Fall Ball Game that went 19-0. Nether was spoken to about this game and we will be sharing our leagues rules with them so that they are aware of stealing rules going forward

Rookies-Tim Teefy

No Report

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

No Report

-Teeball field is in rough shape, we need to do a lot of work on this field prior to the winter

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

-Uniforms have been ordered for the Fall Ball. We also ordered some addtional equipment for the umpires

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

No Report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Poles around the Rookies field are leaning, the township and Peco has been contacted to repair these poles. Once completed, Josh Dawson will assist with getting the scoreboard connected.

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Fall Ball umpires need to be made aware of the rules and discuss them with coaches prior to games or during the games if needed

-Member Question-Can we spread out Nether across our in house team? Response- Yes, but then we will have an issue with coaches and will need to give their coaches keys for equipment and batting cages 

Nether is planning on spreading out their players in order to make the teams more fair

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

Member Question- Once the concession stand is closed, or games that the stand is closed…can we order a food truck. Response- We would like to keep the stand open as much as possible, but the stand may not have enough supplies by the end of the season and we may want to consider it.

Nominations Meeting- In order to vote you must have attended at least 3 membership meetings

President- Rebecca Farrell nominates Steve Burt (He accepts)

Treasurer- Rebecca Farrell nominates Tom Wood (He accepts)

Teeners- RJ Diamond nominates Dan Campbell (He accepts)

Majors- Rebecca Farrell nominates Mark Natale (He accepts)

Minors- Rebecca Farrell nominates Tim Teefy (He accepts)

Rookies- 

TeeBall- Rebecca Farrell nominates Aaron Pysher (He accepts)

Parents Auxiliary-Steve Burt nominates Rebecca Farrell (She accepts)

Player Agent- RJ Diamond nominates Jim Buggy (He accepts)

Secretary- Rebecca Farrell nominates Missy Huber (She accepts)

Equipment- Rebecca Farrell nominates John Mancinelli (He accepts)

Field Maintenance- Dan Campbell nominates RJ Diamond (He accepts)

Rules- Jim Buggy nominates Bob Weeks (He accepts)

Meeting Adjourn (8:57 PM)- Motion Rebecca Farrell, Second RJ Diamond- 

Date:

8/21/23

Present:

Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Mike Cimabue, Walt Campbell, Fran Miles, Joe Hart, Joe Pharoah, Dave Gustafson

Called to Order:

8:32 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $78, 462.15

-150+ kids registered for Fall Ball

-Teeners Tournament made over $300.00

-Bingo made over $900 

New Business: 

Motion to approve: John Mancinelli

Second: RJ Diamond

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Big Congratulations to the 8U district team for getting a bid to the 8U World Series in Cherry Hill, NJ. Great Job to Don Gilmour and his coaching staff.

-Fall Ball is up and running at Wier Park. Games will start the Sunday after Labor Day. Tenners Registration will remain open until Saturday. Minors will play Saturday or Sunday (due to the number of teams). Teeners is still looking for coaches. Nether is bringing 2 teams per division.

-Nominations for board members will be in September and elections will be in October.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

Fall Ball registration for Teeners is going well. We are hoping to have 6 teams registered by the end of the week.

County-Wide Team registration is also available. 

-Possibility for a rising 12 year old tournament at Buggy Field.

-We would like to develop 2 new committees- 1 committee in order to develop the Teeners 2024 program and 1 committee to work on the upstairs at Buggy Field in order to finish the unfinished room–how to finance it and what to do with it

Majors-Mark Natale

No Report

Minors- John Mancinelli

BJ Hefton is covering Minors for Fall Ball. Practices began this week.

**Phillies clinic was canceled due to rain…for a second time. We are hoping for a clinic end of September

Rookies-Tim Teefy

No Report

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

T-Ball Field is currently all grass. We will need to work on it this fall and would love volunteers to help with that.

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Fall Ball numbers are close to 200…which is the highest we have had in 8 years.

Teeners and T-Ball numbers are on the rise which attributes to the large increase in registrations in the fall and spring.

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

-Nothing has been ordered

-Steve will be resigning from the board this year, he has done a tremendous job with this board position and we are looking for someone to fill this opening

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-Concession stand food and drinks will be ordered for the Fall Ball Season 

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-We will have a field maintenance day on Sunday August 27th at 9 AM to get the fields ready for Fall Ball.

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Umpires are looking good for Fall Ball. Many 12’s have expressed interest in umping in the rookies this season.

-We have had several groups at different age levels doing their own fundraising. We will need to discuss this as a board going forward on the best way to address this and manage this.

-We have had donations for a specific age group, but that money was earmarked toward that age division upon request. We are a 501C3 status, so we would need to track fundraising money. 

Member Comment- Can someone seek legal and accounting help? Response- Yes, we are in the process

Member Comment- What team was this? Response- A district team that went to an additional tournament beyond what the league pays for

Joe Hart and Fran Miles would like to assist with Rules

Secretary-Missy Huber

-No Report

-Netting- $1,043 cost of purchase

The netting that was ordered is made lighter and designed to not absorb water. RJ reached out to a metal fabricating company–they propose we replace all the poles by the back stop on the Majors Field, take down existing poles and netting. The cost of this will be $5,000. 

No member comments in regards to this proposal.

Scoreboards- Aerial is working on ordering parts, signs are in. Rookies field will have a scoreboard from either the Majors and Minors.

Member Comment- Can we paint the fences black for Majors and Minors? Response- We will talk to the township about this

Member Comment- Can we replace the padding at the fields? Response- Yes we will look into it

SV Baseball Boosters are looking to upgrade the scoreboard at Buggy Field for the Spring Season.

Community Day- October 7th

Meeting Adjourned- 9:03 PM

Motion- RJ Diamond

Second- Mark Natale

Date:

6/26/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, BJ Hefton, Tom Zebley, Fran Miles, Joe Hart, Dave Gustafson, William McKee, Mike Calvanese, Anthony Marusco, Walt Campbell, Joe Pharoah, Mitch Lauver

Called to Order:

8:31 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $68, 335.92

Concession made about $20,000 for the year.

Fundraising made about $6,500

Scoreboard is coming in August and will be installed. Everything has been paid for installation and the scoreboards.

Tommy Marren Scholarship has already been funded for next year. 2023 Winners were Ethan Seasock and Cole Sorrento.

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: Fran Miles

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-It was nice to see teams that struggled all season do well during the playoffs

-We hosted 10U and 11U districts, other than one weather delay everything went smoothly. Thank you to John Dalton for organizing the district tournament and Rebecca Farrell for doing a great job with the snack stand. We had several parents share how much they liked the facilities and the snack stand. Thanks to all other board members that helped out throughout the week

-4 District Teams are making it to states- 8U, 10U, 11U, and 12 U

-We do not have enough support as of now for Fall Ball. We cannot run a Fall Ball program without more support. We are hoping for 6 teams in each division, 12 on each team and play on Sundays. 

-We are looking for help with fundraising and sponsorship. Steve will meet with Neumann University in order to see if they have any students that would like to assist as part of their Major.

-We had an incident with an 11U player that got out of hand on the field during districts. The board has chosen to suspend the player for the remainder of districts and the next tournament. The player is eligible for States, but that is the coaches decision and it looks like the child will not play during States either. (Member Comment- The cameras caught the incident and it has spread across the district. Will you continue to use the cameras and Youtube in the future as a result? Response- Yes, they have more good than bad uses and the child was disciplined as a result.)

-If you would like to run for a board position, elections are coming up this Fall and members can be nominated at any time.

-We have heard from several parents regarding a concern about playing time for district teams. This is a Cal Ripkin Rule, not an AVBL rule. Unless someone submits a rule change request, we cannot change that as of now, but such a rule would negatively impact our teams (BYC had a similar rule in the past, but it actually hurt their chances). Parents are unhappy with positions in the line-up, positions that they are playing, and playing time. We do have “B” Tournament teams for each division to help with playing time. 

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-Mid-County Team is still going on

-Congratulate Coach Steve Burns on his Teener Division Championship

-We will be hosting a tournament at Buggy on July 8th

-Fall Ball information will come out soon and Fall Ball will happen for the Teeners Division-Let Dan know if you want to help

-Survey was sent out for feedback and the results were very favorable.  

-Member Comment- Are we considering having District teams for States? It appears to be pretty easy for teams to get to States at the Teeners Division. Response-Yes, the goal is to have district teams next season.

-Babe Ruth Rules changed, league is now 13-16, we need to further discuss what that means for the TeenersLeague

Majors-Mark Natale

Congrats to the Expos (1st Place) and White Sox (2nd Place). It was nice to see teams do well towards the playoffs.

-Coaches and players behaved well. We had some great call-ups (13 players) from the Minors and it gave many players experience with the Majors.

-We had a mini Slug Fest, but would like to expand on this next year.

-We had a great 12U game at Buggy Field to see what teeners would be like

Minors- John Mancinelli

-We had a great season and great players. Playoffs were fun. Congrats to the Angels (1st Place) and Pirates (2nd Place).

-We will need to discuss a few rules that popped up during the playoffs.

-We had a lot of help getting the fields ready for districts

-I think it is good for players to play within their age and it really helped some players develop even more

-Member Comment-Can we spread out the playoffs to help teams with pitch counts? Response- We would like to, this was an odd year with Spring Break and District Schedules.

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-Thanks to all the coaches and assistant coaches who helped out throughout the season!

-We had solid and even competition throughout the season. Congrats to 1st Place-Phillies and 2nd Place- Blue Jays.

-We have an 8U District team that qualified for states and an 8U select team and a 7U District team. We would like to continue to develop these players year long and we have been reaching out to other leagues to see how we can continue to play throughout the fall.

Member Comment-Can the 7U’s continue to play throughout the Fall? Response- Yes, as long as they are available, the field can be used.

Member Comment- Did we get home plate changed at the Rookies Field? Response- Not yet, but it is on our list to do.

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

Both T-Ball and Junior Rookies went well this year. Thank you to everyone that helped out throughout the year. 

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

No Report

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

No Report

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

Thank you to everyone that helped with the Snack Stand during districts. We were very busy, but could not have done it without your support.

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-The Blue tractor needs some repairs. 

-Minors and Majors fields were worked on a lot for districts.

-Billy Wright does a great job getting the fields ready! Thank you to all members that helped getting the stand ready for the camp.

-Press Box has a leak and we cannot allow children to be in the press box without an adult. Press Box has a new speaker and microphone

-Installed a new TV/Digital menu in the snack stand

-Live Streaming at the Majors Game has been a big hit

-Member Comment-We need to clean up the Owsley Memorial

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Used over 20 umpires this season and we are hoping to continue to use these umpires in future seasons. Even had a few 12 year olds umpire Rookies Games and they did a great job….just need to be a little louder.

-If you have an issue with a rule, submit it NOW while it is fresh in your mind. Do not wait until January.

Member Comment-There seems to be a few gentleman's handshake rules instead of Cal Ripkin and AVBL rules. There seems to be situations where rules are followed for some games and not for others. There is an existing rule where if a player takes the ball from the pitcher’s mound, they assume the role as a pitcher. We need to follow the same rules all season, not just in the playoffs.  

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

-A schedule will be put up on the website with all of the upcoming games for our tournament teams

-Member Comment- Thank you to all the coaches that worked with Lukas over the years. 

Member Comment-I asked about an audit at the start of the year, did that happen? Response- Yes, we will have that done now that the season is over

Member Comment- What constitutes a good season? Rookies Response- parents, coaches and kids were happy. T-Ball Response- Parents were satisfied, great communication and feedback, players stayed safe. Majors Response- Quality of play, games were competitive, last place team finished 2nd. Good Behavior from coaches and players. Minors Response- Good behavior from coaches and players. Parents were pleased with the season. Made an effort for each player to feel important on the team. Teeners parents perspective- Players that were reluctant to play in the Teeners, decided to play. Teeners Response- Retention rate was high, kids that haven’t played for years chose to come back, positive feedback from parents, survey monkey was sent out to the league- received responses from the 26 were favorable (60% great experience, 38% good experience and only 1 response was a bad experience). We received one parent email with a concern and we will address this at the next board meeting. We also had the highest enrollment in years. We are always up for help and assistance if you want to be a part of it and make something better.

Member Comment- Tball and Junior Rookies did a great job and districts went smoothly. You made Aston Valley proud.

Adjourn- Rebecca Farrell

Second- Bill McKee

Date:

5/15/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Steve Abate, Don Gilmour, BJ Hefton, Joe Hart, Zach Imburgia, Tom Zebley, Mike Shaeffer, Jon Dalton, Mike McDermond, Anthony Marusco, Dave  Gustafson, Mike Calvanese, Joe Pharoah, Brian Alexander, William McKey, Frankie, De Grand, Jason Farrell, Ken Millard, Eric Hennig

Called to Order:

8:34 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $96,123.66

• Concession stand brought in about $6k. 

• Contributions: $8,270 

• Forecast: $36,150 (Scoreboard, sink, tournaments, nets, pitching machine) 

• Forecasted Bal: estimated- $60,000

Member Comment- It took us years to get lights, but did we have to pay for the extra parking lot. Response- No, that was the township

New Business: 

Motion to approve:  John Mancinelli

Second:  RJ Diamond

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Corn Hole sets are needed (email will be sent out) for the Beef and Beer. If you have a set, please contact Steve.

-Kegs, Keg Buckets, and Taps are needed. If you know anyone that has a connection, please reach out to Rebecca or Steve

-Also looking for Large Ticket Items to be raffled off, please let us know if you have any connections or can donate any items.

-Baskets will be on display on Saturday and tickets can be purchased for the raffles. Winners will be drawn on Saturday night at the beef and beer.

-Playoffs are coming up (Tuesday, May 30th they begin), please be on your best behavior as tensions begin to rise. If you are concerned about a play, call a timeout and discuss it. Do not yell at the umpire.

-As of now, we will not have a Fall Ball season. If you are interested in running the program please reach out to Steve. BJ Hefton has offered to assist with this program because of the importance for transition players. We need more people willing to help. Email will be sent out.

-District Tryouts were last week. Steve was present at all evaluations and all current rules were followed. If you want to see something different, you will need to submit a rule change our website and it will be voted on in January 2024. Steve talked to coaches, this was a very tough decision. We vote on district coaches as a board, all coaches were unopposed. Every team has at least 1 new player, which shows we are looking at new players.

11U District Tournament will be at AVBL this year. Begins on June 16th.

Member Comment-No matter how the rules change, you will always have unhappy people when players do not make it

Member Comment- Tryout was a few pitches, a few ground balls, and a few swings. Should we consider revamping the “tryout” portion. A 10U player was overlooked Response- Yes, we will look at this for next season. The 10U coach is working with the family.

Member Comment-  Can we carry a full 15 roster for district teams. Response- It limits playing time and we don’t want players to sit on the bench the whole time. We would prefer to put them on a “B Team” where they get playing time and can improve their skills. Tri-County is a great opportunity for that.

Member Comment-In the past, the district team was selected in late May…but now we select them earlier to prepare for districts earlier. This is why we have tryouts.

Member Comment-We need to expand the strike zone in the Majors. We had 7 straight walks, when some are actually strikes. Response- We did chat with the umpires to expand the strike zone. Consider meeting up with the other coach and speaking with the umpire together.

Member Comment- The schedule is a struggle this year. If we have 3 games in a week, we do not have time to practice and develop players. Response-We got in trouble for not making up games last year. We started a week later, and districts start earlier.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

Snack bar opening on Wednesday 

• Announcers & scoreboard to be used the rest of the season 

• Working on getting 12 year olds a single game at buggy field 

• Mid-County games starting soon 

• Added additional senior team 

• Delco senior men’s team starting soon 

• 13-14 travel team should have info for tryouts / reg fees by next Monday 

• 15-16 travel team on hold 

• Fall ball 12, 13, and 14s – exploring options 

• Recommended to have 6 runs/inning rule 

*We really do not have a rule book, so we are using Babe Ruth Rules…but are changing some to correspond with Babe Ruth baseball. We had a meeting with Player Agent, President, and Teener's Commissioner in order to re-evaluate the rules to make them better for 13-15 YO.

Motion made by Dan Campbell to accept the new Teeners Rule for this division for the remainder of the season. Second Bob Weeks. Motion passed, the rules are accepted.

Majors-Mark Natale

-We have had 3 rain outs, 2 out 3 have been made up…the remaining one will be made up this week.

-Slugfest, will happen for the Majors this year. Schedule will be out soon.

-We have had about 11 players called up to play in the Majors this season and it went well.

-Hopefully as the playoffs begin, umpires and coaches are aware of the rules. We will have 2 paid umpires for the final few games of the playoffs.

-Mounds will need work on the Majors field and we will need assistance with that.

-Schedule-Players are playing in leagues outside the division, Tri-County league, that is impacting player availability for pitching or even available to play

Minors- John Mancinelli

-We have one make-up game on Saturday, so we will not participate in Slug Fest

-The players that have gotten called up to the Minors and Majors have been going well

-Minors Coaches will have a meeting with John to go over the schedule for playoffs

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-8U district team has been selected, 8 U select team has also been selected

-We have had great feedback for players playing under the lights, they have enjoyed this opportunity

-Member Comment- Can we work on home plate on Sunday? Response- Yes

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

-We have 147 players between T-Ball and Junior Rookies. We have great participation from parents helping out on the fields

Member Comment- Make sure we are teaching the first baseman where to stand in order to prevent collisions.

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Not Present

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

Report-

District Player Uniforms have been ordered

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

- Raffle Baskets can be delivered to the snack stand on Thursday, Friday night at the latest.

-

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Sunday Field Maintenance will be at 2:00 PM, Minors Mound will be redone.

-Jason Farrell- Will be rolling the dirt in the fields to pack it down. This would be easier if the dirt was wet. Coaches will need to get down to the fields earlier to rake the fields.

-New scoreboard controller for the majors field

-MuscoVision charges $7 a day or $21 a month. We discussed with them the potential to cheapen the cost of these fees, but that is not an option. We are looking at a FB Stream that would be cheaper.

New Scoreboard project will be $15, 916.70. This stays within our budget of $20,000. We will have a new scoreboard for the Minors and Majors and one of those scoreboards will be moved to the Rookies field

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Top 4 umpires will be used for playoffs

-Umpire Money will be handed out at the snack stand. Rebecca will hold the umpire at the snack stand until a representative from each team is present at the snack stand

-For the last 3 playoff games of each division, 2 paid umpires will be present

Member Comment- What should we do if an umpire does not know a rule? Text Bob Weeks your question during the game

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

-2 rule books will be at the snack stand. If you want one, please go and grab it

-There is an off chance we might be hosting the 10U and 11U district tournament. We will know definitely more soon. If that is the case, we will need a lot more help down at the fields.

-Tommy Marren- 2 candidates have been identified, long standing members of the league.

Motion- to adjourn 9:59 PM  Bob Weeks Second-  BJ Hefton

Date:

4/17/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, 

RJ Diamond, Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Mike Calvanese, Ian Scott, BJ Hefton, Tom Zebley, Mike McDermond, Zach Imburgia, Fran Miles, Joe Hart, Bill McKee, Dave Gustafson, Jon Dalton, Joe Pharoah, Kris Phillips

Called to Order:

8:35 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance-  $105, 675.75 (forecasted $52,000 when remaining expenses are deducted)

-Around 460 players registered this year

-We have 2 new sponsors coming in which will bring us to about 49 sponsors and about $15,000 in sponsor money raised

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Bob Weeks

Second: Rebecca Farrell

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Check on clearances…if they are expired please get the redone

-Opening Day was a success, great turn out and Mother Nature held out

-Thank you for everyone’s help with getting the fields ready for the Opening Day events

Teeners-Dan Campbell

  -5 rec teams (AV), 12 players are free agent, 3 Nether, 1 Chichester 

-Schedule is out through Mid May

-Coaches were given scorebooks, balls, and pitch counts

Majors-Mark Natale

Coaches- We will have a brief meeting after this meeting

-Great first week of games, games have been close, pitchers looked great, even a few Home Runs

-A  few snags with umpires, but they will get even better once they have more reps 

Minors- John Mancinelli

Great first week, games went well, umpires and players are looking good.

Rookies-Tim Teefy

Everything is rolling well, working on getting through the first few innings with kid pitch

-Tim has been meeting with umpires and has been most games

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

-Players have started up. Some Junior Rookies have already been getting hits.

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Schedules are posted for all divisions, Teeners through Mid May

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

Equipment Report:

• Uniforms for all divisions have been received and distributed.

• We only had (2) uniforms that needed to be corrected.

• The corrections have been ordered.

• The new catchers gear was received and distributed to each division’s sheds.

• Baseball order was received and put in Equipment Closet.

• Teener baseballs were picked up by Dan Campbell.

• If anyone notices any equipment that needs to be purchased, please let me know.

• Began to work on the design for this year’s District Uniforms.

• Last year we placed the order the 2nd week of May, so we are 1 month out.

• Will be sending a list of 12’s to Mark Natale to verify shirt sizes for their graduation sweatshirts.

• Trophy Order will be placed in the beginning of May.

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

Great few days at the snack stand. We made about $7,000 for the first week

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Rookies and Minors Home plates needed to be replaced

-Working on redoing the backstops for Rookies, Majors, and Minors

-Majors dugout will be repainted to Blue because the yellow was blending in

-Working on getting a new sound system so that we can hear ceremony

--Majors Field scoreboard controller is broken and needs to be replaced

-Meeting will be held to review Field Maintenance, not date set

-Musco Vision rates are a bit high, we are going to work with them to lower the rates for broadcasted games

-We can use help with installing a sink for the snack stand. If you have experience with plumbing it would be great if you can help out the league.

Bill Defeo from the township is working on adding extra lights and reworking the parking lot for parking or re-evaluating the use of the tennis courts

Can we install the lights on the cages on the bullpen as well? Yes, we have extra lights

What time do the lights go out on cages? 9:45 PM

Field Maintenance on Sundays has had limited people showing up….please reinforce to parents that it would be great if they could help

Rules- Bob Weeks

-Umpires have been assigned through April. Even the 9 U, 11, 12 U teams that are playing on Sunday.

-Phone list in the snack stand for umpires (or parents) that do not show. Good feedback from coaches about umpires. They do need to be reminded to wipe the plate.

-Laminated sheets in the shed with the rules for each player to review is needed.

-Only the head coach can discuss a concern with the umpires.

-Please remind players to tuck in shirts.

-Umpires can allow substitute runners so that the catcher can get ready

-Coaches, please make sure that pitch count is being tracked, try to rotate through pitchers

-5:30 Start time for Minors game is helping them get finished on time

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

Scoreboards are being looked at…can we approve funds so that they can be ordered, there is a few week wait to get them delivered and installed.

Aerial design is being looked at for this purchase. Owner had children play through the league and is willing to work with us.  It will be about $5,000-$6,000 for the current board style. If we did an inning by inning scoreboard it would be about $12,000. The plan is to move the Minors scoreboard to the rookies, Majors to the minors, and get a new board for the Majors. The Majors Scoreboard has some weakened poles that will also need to be replaced. Township took down the old telephone poles and makes the field look better.

Motion-Make a motion to approve up to $20,000 to purchase new scoreboards and relocate existing boards as needed.

Second- Rebecca Farrell

-Motion has passed 21-0

May 7th for District Evaluations. Ask for nominations by the end of April from coaches.

Member Question- What is the cost of a game under the lights? Can we charge other teams to play under the lights? No, they are Aston Valley Players

Member Question-Do we need to hire a person to work on the fields? Aston Middletown does pay about $35,000 per year for a field maintenance person. The concern would be to increase fees or get more volunteers…..we are a volunteer league with limited volunteers.

-Phillies Training with 2 alumni players- April 30th 12-2 PM in conjunction with Aston AA, will have a training session for 100 kids for Majors and Minors play. The program will be free of charge.

-Looking for people for Tommy Marren Scholarship, it will be posted on FB 

Motion to adjourn (Rebecca Farrell)- 9:30 PM (Second-John Mancinelli)

Date:

3/22/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt,  

 Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell, Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Joe Pharaoh, Joe Hart, BJ Hefton, Dave Gustafson,, Jason Farrell, Bill McKee, Tom Zebley, Paul Mullen, Ryan Carey, Fran Miles, Mike McDermond, Allyson Garrity, Mike Calvanese, Steve Ouimette, Anthony Marusco, Josh Dawson, Kris Phillips, Mike Cimabue, Jack McGlone

Called to Order:

8:37 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance-  $125, 058

-Met our Sponsorship Goal for the season.

-Fundraising- made $574

-We had several expenses (raffle tickets, Field Maintenance, etc..) for the start of the season

Forecasted Expenses- $69, 300 (nets for cages and majors field, uniforms, raffle winners, food start up, score board, nets for majors fields, etc…)

Forecasted Balance- $55, 758.30

Member Question- Where is the money sitting? Response- right now in our checking account, but will move to savings account once the season is up and running.

New Business: 

Motion to approve:  Rebecca Farrell

Second: Aaron Pysher 

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Field Maintenance is scheduled for Saturday, March 25th…weather is not looking good, so it will get moved to Sunday if necessary.

Opening Day- Saturday, April 15th

Make sure your team is set-up and ready to go by 8:00 PM. Parade will leave by 8:30 PM

Background Checks

Website is still not working, you must use the link that was sent out. Check the dates for current checks in order to make sure you are good for the season. You will not be able to coach this season if you are not up-to-date on clearances.

CPR Training- Friday 3/31(6:00-9:00 PM)

$25 training being offered at Aston Fire Department. HIGHLY recommend all coaches attend and get certified.

Batting Practice-

Netting on the Majors Field has some holes, if a player is hitting balls over the fence and into the net please make sure to yell heads up for spectators that are in the area. This was dangerous at practice earlier this week. We are working on getting the netting fixed.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-Evaluations were this Sunday. 

-Numbers are looking good for our recreational league. Nether has 3 teams and wants to be a part of our in-house rec league of 5 teams. 

-We had about 15-16 kids for first open gym

-Evaluations will be this Sunday (either NMS or Buggy Field, depending on the weather)

-Draft is TBD

-Uniforms will have 2 jerseys, home and away (Jersey cost $25 each  and hat $20–same price with or without the names)

Mid County Division (Buggy’s Team, potential for 12+)

League will run from May to July

Field Maintenance will be the responsibility of Penn-Delco, but will need volunteers over Spring Break to clean concession stand

Member Comment- BYC and Chichester would like to join the Teeners Division. Response- we have reached out several times and they did not respond. They cannot participate at this time, but maybe a scrimmage

Majors-Mark Natale

  -Practices have started up, things are rolling along–coaches meeting will immediately follow this board meeting.

Minors- John Mancinelli

  -Practices have started up, things are rolling along–coaches meeting will immediately follow this board meeting.

Member Comment- The sun is a problem on the Minors field. Response- it will get better once the trees have leaves.

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-Practices have started up, things are rolling along Aston Elementary is now open to practices as well–coaches meeting will be tomorrow.

-Hoping to set-up some scrimmages for the week of April 3rd.

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

-Coaches meeting will immediately follow this board meeting. Already had a meeting with some coaches this week.

-T-Ball will not have games on Opening Day. Our game schedule will be out soon.

Member Question- A parent is concerned that they have not heard any information yet. Response- T-Ball and Junior Rookies is always about 2 weeks behind because registration is opened up longer. An email was sent out to all parents that explained all beginning of the season information.  

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Total-460- which is the highest in at least 8 years

Schedules are out for Majors, Minors, and Rookies.

Majors will get 3 games under the lights.

Minors and Rookies will have at least 1 game under the lights. Rookies will have Wednesday Night. Minors will have Friday Nights.

Member Question- Why are the Rookies playing under the lights, their field size is much smaller and can mess up the field? Response- because we want all players to have the opportunity to play under the lights, they are for AV not just the Majors. They will use the minors paths so that the field is not ruined.

We do not have the opportunity to practice because the fields are being used for too many games. Practice fields (i.e. Bridegewater) is not in the best shape. Response- Our plan is to have night practices available once March is over which will give more opportunity to have practices.

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

-All New catchers gear is in, and I will be distributing to the sheds this week.

-Our baseball order will be in later this week, and I will be picking them up.

-All Uniform orders for each of the divisions have been placed with MVP. [If we have anymore late sign-ups, please make sure you let me know]

-Scorebooks & pitch counters will be in by the EOW, and I will distribute them to the commissioners.

-If any of the commissioners need any additional equipment for their divisions, please let me know and I will place the order.

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

-Coke is coming to swap up a cooler this weekend.

-Harry’s is going to open up early for balloons on Opening Day.

-Team Moms were given all of the information for the start of the season.

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

• Field maintenance day is this Saturday, rain date is Sunday.  The plan is to have commissioners oversee each field. There will be a list of tasks for each field and overall complex... Josh Dawson to oversee the mound work at minors & majors field. Thank you, Josh! For field maintenance day, looking for someone to remove the bushes at the flagpole & also around the pavilion. We will not be mulching around the pavilion as we have in the past, but instead putting down some topsoil & grass seed. The mulch gets to be a mess every year from the foot traffic and we have had numerous complaints & requests to have the bushes trimmed or removed because it obstructs the views.

• Red & Blue tractors have both been serviced. There were a few issues with the Blue Tractor that have been fixed – the starter had to be replaced. Battery & choke cable has also been replaced. We are also currently looking for a new dragger to replace the current one that is in bad shape.
  
  
  

• Ordered new base plugs for the fields. Rubber mushroom type.
  
  
  

• Ordered new home plate for the TBall field. The current one is destroyed
  
  

• Diamondtex will be delivered on Thursday. Thank you in advance to Joe Hart for meeting them down there.
  
  

• Field white & line paint will be delivered this week as well. I have tried to get drop shipping; however, it seems they will be delivering to MVP. If anyone has a truck and can assist with picking up & transporting to the field before Field Maintenance Day, I would really appreciate it. Likely Thursday or Friday.
  
  

• Going to have a field maintenance training session during 1st or 2nd week of April... Exact date TBD.  Jay Farrell will assist with holding a coaches meeting on how to properly perform field maintenance. Mound, raking, etc. Thank you Jay.
  
  

• Big Thank you to Tom Zebley for volunteering his time. He has replaced all of the lights in the concession stand with brand new LED lights. He is also currently in the process of upgrading the lights in the batting cages.
  
  

• I have ordered signs for the cages. So, we will see "Rookies Cage #1", "Minors Cage #2", "Majors Cage #3" on the outside of the cages.
  
  

• I programmed the major field lights with the game schedule. They will turn on for all scheduled night games for all divisions. Lights will go on before sunset and will go off at exactly 9:45pm. It is important that everyone leaves the field by that time. If for some reason they need to be on until 10pm, please let me know and I'll adjust.
  
  

• I have been in contact with 2 vendors for scoreboards. I'm currently working with them to see if we can get lower numbers. The plan is to move the minors board to rookies, majors to minors, and install a new board at majors... Will have a more detailed update next month. John Mancinelli was working with Aerial signs to do the install.

Member Question- The Majors Scoreboard is crooked and may fall? Response- We are already looking at getting a new scoreboard and new poles for this season.

Rules- Bob Weeks

-March 25th-Field Maintenance Day- Umpires Meeting at 11 AM 

-Already have 8 Majors, 8 Minors, and 8 Rookies Umpires (only 4 are inexperienced). Kids are not allowed to have cell phones out in between innings.

-Goal is to keep the game moving along, have catchers ready before the start of the inning.

-Coaches and the snack stand will have umpires list to call if needed.

-This year the plan is to have more control down at the fields, make sure coaches and assistant coaches know the rules. We will have a 0 tolerance policy this year. Assistant Coach is NOT allowed to confront an umpire…only the head coach. This is an Aston Valley Baseball rule. 

-If a coach is unhappy about a call or a rule, please speak to the umpire off to the side, please do not make a scene.

Member Comment- Uniforms include and Aston Valley hat—not an Aston Middletown hat

Secretary-Missy Huber

-Aston Valley Baseball Fundraising is up and running, please encourage parents to visit the FB page and see what we have to offer.

None

Tommy Marren

Looking for potential scholarship recipients for the Tommy Marren award. If you know any High School seniors that have been part of Aston Valley Baseball,  please let us know.

Meeting Adjourn- 9:24 PM

Motion- Rebecca Farrell, Second-Bob Weeks

Date:

2/20/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt, Steve Abate (on phone)

RJ Diamond, Rebecca Farrell, Dan Campbell, Jim Buggy, Aaron Pysher, Bob Weeks, John Mancinelli, Walt Campbell, Joe Hart, Fran Miles, Anthony Marusco, Allyson Garrity, Jon Dalton, Denny Anastasia, Tom Zebley, Jim Johnston, Josh Dawson, Gus Bustafson, Joe Pharaoh, Jen Wiley, Mike McDermond, MItch Lauver, Chris Phillips, Steve Ouimette, Vince Spina, MIke Calvanese

Called to Order:

8:30 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $102,073.89

Sponsorships need to close up in the next few weeks so that we can assign teams by Opening Day. 70-80% have currently renewed for the upcoming season.

Expenses upcoming—uniforms, baseballs, batting cages, field maintenance

Purchased 32,000 raffle tickets for the season.

New Business: 

Motion to approve: RJ Diamond

Second:  John Mancinelli

President’s Report - Steve Burt

Evaluations are this weekend at Neumann

Rookies Division:    February 25th 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm   

• 7 year Olds- Time Start 6:00 pm------Please arrive by 5:45 pm.

• 8 Year Olds- Time Start 7:30 pm-----Please arrive by 7:15 pm.

• 8 Year Olds Trying up for the Minors please arrive for an evaluation at 7:00 PM on Friday, February 24th. You will need to attend the evaluation for both the Rookies and the Minors

Minors Division:    February 24th 7:00-10:00 pm   

• 9 year Olds-Time Start 7:00 pm-----Please arrive by 6:45 pm.

• 10 Year Olds-Time Start 8:30 pm-----Please arrive by 8:15 pm.

Majors Division:    February 25th 9:00 pm to 10:30 pm and February 26th from 10:00 am to 11:30 am. 

• 11 year Olds-  February 25th -Time Start 9:00 pm-----Please arrive by 8:45 pm.

• 12 Year Olds- February 26th -Time Start 10:00 am-----Please arrive by 9:45 am.

We understand these dates and times were sent out late and we will excuse players that cannot make it. Draft is Sunday, February 26th and practices will begin on March 1st (most likely Vinsmith and Bridgewater). Coaches please make sure uniform numbers are different and get your sizes and numbers in ASAP. Coach’s shirts will also be ordered. Please get your background checks complete right away prior to the start of the season.

We would like all head coaches to be CPR certified and AED certified prior to the season to maintain safety for all players.

Any issues with coaches will be addressed by the board. We need to maintain control as a coach on the field and around players. If there are issues, we will be meeting as a board to discuss and discipline as needed.

Member Comment- 4th Grade Boys have a tournament on Friday Night and may miss the evaluations.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

We are excited to begin our Spring Season in the next few months. Based on parent feedback, the AVBL board has decided to take a different direction for the 2023 Spring Teener Season. We are excited to bring back our traditional 13-15 year old recreational division, which will run similarly to what is used for the Rookies, Minors, and Majors Divisions. Additionally, we are joining the Mid-County League for the 9th-11th grade division.  Depending on the number of sign-ups, we are hoping to offer our older players the opportunity to play in the senior division (grades 12+) in the Mid-County league. In addition to these options, there will be an opportunity to try out for a combined 13/14 year old or 15/16 year old travel team. These travel teams will allow for baseball to continue into the summer at a more competitive level. 

Key points for the spring season

13-15 year old Recreational Division

- Cost- $80.00 plus cost of the uniform

- Registration is extended for teeners to Mid March 

- Players that play for a travel team outside of AV, will be placed on a team that allows for the best opportunity to play for both AV and the other travel team. 

- Season will run from April to the playoffs in Mid June

- Bats- drop 3 wood or metal

Mid-County Junior Division- Grades 9-11

- Cost- $80.00 plus cost of the uniform

- Registration is extended for teeners to Mid March

- 13’s-15’s can also play in the Recreational Division. Mid-County will be the priority

Travel Team option- 13-16

- Tryouts will be in Mid to Late May

- 2-3 tournaments plus individual games

- Season- Early June to late July

- Additional fees will be applied

Majors-Mark Natale

  6 coaches are lined up for the season.

Minors- John Mancinelli

7 Coaches lined up for the season. We had a great representation of Minors coaches at the CPR Training.

Rookies-Tim Teefy

7 Coaches lined up for the season…they may actually need an 8th if the numbers continue to rise. Tim will be meeting with the Rookies coaches sometime this week in preparation of the draft.

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

73 signed up for T-Ball and 39 for Junior Rookies. We are still looking for coaches. Right now we only have 5, but we would prefer several more.

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Total of 366 players

Tball- 73

Junior Rookies- 39

Rookies- 79

Minors- 70

Majors- 63

Teeners- 42

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

-Ordered New Board Members Coats and Golf Shirts

-Ordered catcher’s equipment for 3 divisions

-Took inventory of baseballs, scorebooks, and pitch counters in the shed

-New equipment (baseballs, scorebooks, pitch counters and umpire clickers) will be ordered this week.

-Working on the design for this year’s jerseys

-Commissioner

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

We are always looking for  more more volunteers down at the snack stand. 

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Dirt has been ordered

-Tractors are in for service

-Cameras are being tested this week

-Bobcat has been secured for Field Maintenance Day

-Field Maintenance Day is March 25th

-Currently working on a list for Field Maintenance Day needs

Rules- Bob Weeks

-The January rules meeting did not change or approve any current rules

-Will be meeting with the umpires soon to go over the upcoming season.

-We do not currently know how umpires will be scheduled and paid for the revamped Teeners league. We are going to work on this.

Member Comment- Can a player in the Majors use BBCOR bats in house? Response- Ripken league requires USAA bats

Secretary-Missy Huber

No Report

N/A

Head Coaches please stay after the meeting to discuss draft and plan for evaluations

Motion to Adjourn-  Rebecca Farrell

2nd- John Mancinelli

Date:

1/16/23

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt, John Mancinelli, Steve Abate, Bob Weeks,  Tim Teefy, Rebecca Farrell

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Aaron Pysher, Jon Dalton, Joe Hart, Walt Campbell, Zach Imburgia, Tom Zebley, Anthony Marusco, Joe Camac, Kris Phillips, Jason Farrell, Denny Anastasia, Joe Pharaoh, Dave Gustafson, Mitch Lauver, Jim Johnston, Mike McDermond, Steve Downs, MIke Cimabue

Called to Order:

8:32 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $75,355.21

Books have been audited by Denny Anastasia- Everything looks good.

The books are going to move over to Quick books going forward because it will help with the auditing process and tax process. Ledger would be kept on-line and more secure.

Member Comment- Are we going to adjust the budget based on what township donates- they are broke this year? Response- Yes

Member Comment- Regarding sponsorship, can we send out the current list of sponsors? Response- Yes

Member Comment- Regarding the cameras…will the league get money back from viewers? Response- Yes about $2.00

Member Comment- Regarding the cameras…will we put up signs about recording in process? Response- Yes, they will go up this season

New Business: 

Motion to approve:  Rebecca Farrell

Second:  Jason Farrell

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-We will be having a CPR Session at the community center in light of what happened recently in the NFL. We do have a defibrillator in the snack stand, but we are looking to have others installed near further fields (i.e. TBall). More details will follow once this is finalized

-Coaches need to complete background checks through Sports Engine (Cal Ripkin), however we are waiting on Cal Ripkin to update the site

- Evaluations will be at Neumann

-Sponsor forms are available for anyone that has any leads or can assist with this

Teeners-Dan Campbell

-Working with BYC, Nether, Chichester about having an intramural teener league. Brookhaven is already interested. Many board meetings are happening this month and we are waiting to hear back from them.

-There will be a hybrid intramural schedule this Spring. Intramural for everyone and higher level competition for those seeking that kind of play.

-There will be a draft and we plan on calling up 12 YO’s so that they know Teeners exists. Plan to have a Major game at Buggy with the appropriate distance so that they get a better understanding of what teeners will be like.

-We are open to suggestions, please reach out to Dan directly

Member Question- Is there a plan for a Senior Division (19 U)? Response- yes, but we are still trying to figure out the logistics. Can’t register online as it is currently.

Majors-Mark Natale

-Looking for about 2 more coaches for the 2023 season

Minors- John Mancinelli

-6 coaches marked for the Minors division

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-Several returning coaches and looking for more coaches with players that are moving up to the Rookies Division

Teeball- Aaron Pysher

-Looking for coaches and volunteers

-Member Question- Can parents request to be together? Response- we will work on that for this division

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Current registrations are well ahead of schedule.

Total- 113

Teeners-6

Majors-23

Minors-24

Rookies-27

JR. rookes- 8

Tee-Ball- 25

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

No Report

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

No Report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Tractors were put in for maintenance

-Graffiti was found around the fields, police report was completed, township is going to take care of the problem.

Member Comments- Do we have a report from Metzgar about the underground wiring contractor? Response- Yes

Member Comment- Are we going to improve the lighting for night games around parking lot? Response- Yes, working with the township

Member Comment- Do we have dirt ordered for field maintenance day? Response- We will

Member Comment- Are we going to have a coaches meeting about properly maintaining the fields? Response- Yes, Steve wants to meet with parents and coaches–this will be added to the agenda

Rules- Bob Weeks

-We will be reaching out to umpires this week. We should be good in all divisions, but will keep tri-state on the back burner if needed.

-Cal Ripkin Rule Changes-

• 8 Year old are on a pitch count (instead of 2 innings), near regulations 8-10 YO

• Under 40 pitches in a game/day- no rest

• 41-65 pitches in a game/day- 1 day rest

• 66+ in a game/day 2 days rest

• Cal Ripkin fees have increased

-Bylaw revisions will be looked at in February

-Teeners Division rules and bylaws will be updated once the program further develops

Secretary-Missy Huber

Fundraising is starting back up on Facebook- continue to look for great items and opportunities to support our league.

Plan for excess budget–

-We are looking at adding more batting cages and a new scoreboard. We are pricing these out right now.

Member Question- Why the scoreboards for the Majors? Response- They are past their prime (life expectancy of 15 years….they are near 20), hard to get parts, poles are weakening as well

-Also planning to freshen up concessions stands at Buggy and Weir Parks

-Both tractors are in for service…but one tractor is in bad condition and will most likely need to be replaced soon.

Member Question- Does USAA baseball give grants? Response- Yes and the plan is to apply for additional

Bricks

-We honor past players, teams, coaches, board members etc…if you have a recommendation, please see a board member

-We also have the Tommy Marren scholarship for current students if you have a recommendation, please see a board member

Member Comment- Thank you for putting the audit together. Can we also do an audit of the concession stand? Response- We make on average $1.40 for fryer items that are sold. This is driving the prices and number of items sold. Our yield was 35% last year (some years it has been in the 40’s), 2 years ago it was in the 20’s–which is why prices went up last season. We are still underpriced compared to other leagues. We can do an audit of Weir Park and Buggy Field concession stand. 

A member submitted a Rule Change regarding steals per inning in the Rookies and eliminating steals from 2nd to 3rd base. This rule was shot down by the committee.

A member submitted a request regarding changing a bylaw regarding office positions. We still need to refine the bylaws and will present it in February once the revisions are finalized.

Meeting Adjourn- 9:53 PM

Jason Farrell-

2nd- John Mancinelli

Date:

11/21/22

Present:

Tom Wood, Missy Huber, Steve Burt, John Mancinelli, 

RJ Diamond,  Bob Weeks,  Tim Teefy, 

Dan Campbell,  Jim Buggy, Mark Natale, Aaron Pysher

Walt Campbell, Fran Miles, Anthony Marusco, Joe Hart, Jason Farrell, BJ Hefton, Joe Pharaoh, Steve Downs, Mike Calvanese, Tom Zebley, Mike McDermond, David Gustafson,

Called to Order:

8:31 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Tom Wood

Checking Account Balance- $71, 773.04

$19,210 Expenses- October

$11, 159 Expenses- November

2022 Season-

Concession Stand made- $25, 347.98

Fall Season made- $5, 707.65

Fundraising made- $17, 289.81

-Planning out how to use the remaining funds (new tractor, tractor repair, and additional field improvements)

-Accountant (Simpson) is charging us around $2000 to do taxes, we may need to consider getting a new person

Member Question- Can we produce the bills and invoices from the lights and camera installations to show how the money was spent? Answer- Yes, we can have that for the next board meeting. It was a $250,000 project and we are grateful for the grants that we were able to get locally and at the state level because it only cost the league around $60,000.

Member Question- Did we get the Cal Ripkin Grant? Answer- Yes, the money came in and cashed in July.

Member Question- What are we going to do with the remaining balance? Answer- Scoreboards, snack stands need repairs, batting cage repairs, and repairs to buggy fields

Member Question- Can we lock the money in a CD? Answer- We would like to use the  money for this upcoming season, so do not want to lock it up

New Business: 

Motion to approve: Rebecca Farrell

Second: John Mancinelli

President’s Report - Steve Burt

-Need to find people for sponsorship, we lost the 2 people (Amanda and Steph Matteo) that handled sponsorship last season. In the year end thank you letter, send out the application to continue for the next season.

--Fundraising made a lot last year with Allison and we are looking for a person to help with this in the future. Fundraising ideas- Lunch with Santa at Gatsby’s ($5.00 return to the league-12/10), Home Run Derby with coaches (attached to slugfest) and a golf outing.

--If head coaches do not complete the application/background check (through Cal Ripkin) by evaluations, they will not evaluate kids and will not draft a player. WE WILL BE VERY STERN ON THIS FOR THE 2023 SEASON.

Teeners-Dan Campbell

• Food at buggy was cleared out, but still needs a good cleaning if anyone is available to help please reach out to Dan.

• Looking to take Teeners in a new direction. All suggestions are encouraged and welcome. If interested in being on the committee please reach out to Dan.

• We will be surveying parents, teeners, former teeners to take their input in order to build upon the program.

• Thank you Anthony for coming tonight and I hope you would be part of the committee.

Majors-Mark Natale

-Should be all set for coaches in the Spring. We are hoping to have 6-7 teams.

Minors- John Mancinelli

-We are working on getting coaches for the Spring 2023 season

Rookies-Tim Teefy

-We are working on getting coaches for the Spring 2023 season. We might be light on coaches, so hoping some players that are moving up would be interested in coaching.

-Looking for ways to have the parents and families that are moving up to be more involved and part of the league

T-ball- Aaron Pysher

No Report

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

12/5- Registration opens

2/11- In person registration (Community Center, last day of basketball)

2/15- Additional Late Fee for Registration to be applied

2/22 Registration Closes (Except Tball, Jr. Rookies, and Teeners)

2/24-2/25- Evaluations

2/26- Draft Day (Rookies, Minors, Majors

3/6 Schedule released to Commissioners to Review- (plan is to have TBall through Majors have one game under the lights)

3/13 Last Day for schedule changes

3/14 - Schedule implemented

3/25-3/26 Field Maintenance

4/10- Weir Park Games to begin

4/15 Weir Park Opening Day

Member Question- Can we do an early bird registration? Answer- We have in the past, but the league loses a lot of money. About 5 years ago we did a Black Friday discount and over 100 people registered and the league lost money.

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

-Once coaches and teams are set, all information needs to get to Steve quickly for ordering purposes.

-Steve is pricing out new catcher’s equipment for each division. Baseballs are also being ordered.

Member Question- Will uniforms be the same? Answer- yes

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

No Report

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

-Camera system has been set-up, water has been turned off, fields are being aerated and seeded, stands have been cleaned

Rules- Bob Weeks

-I will be asking former rules committee members to come back. We are planning to have a meeting the first week in December.

-I would like to encourage any rule change requests to be submitted before 1/1/23 because the sooner we have the suggestions the easier it is for us to plan.

Member Question- I have had families that have asked to have waivers to play at Aston Valley? Answer- If you live in Brookhaven, but you do not attend Holy Family or Northley, you are not eligible to play at Aston Valley.

Secretary-Missy Huber

No report

Member Question- What happens to the food that was left in the stand? Answer- It was expired and has been thrown away.

Member Question- Can we do an internal audit? Answer- Yes, Denny Anastasia is going to do this in December.

Member Question- Can we put a net up at Buggy Field because of the amount of lost balls? Answer- There was a cost analysis done by the school district and the cost of the netting is more expensive than the amount of lost balls. We will need to provide coaches with more balls as a result.

A few students from Salesianum painted the room upstairs at the Snack Stand at Buggy Field, but the craftmanship is not the best and will need to be fixed. The plan is to make each of these walls more of a display center for SV, AV, and Knights. Make it more of a nice and functional area.

  Member Question- Can we reach out to Sal, Steve Abate’s neighbor, he has a painting business?

A lady tripped outside the concession stand at night.  We are going to install 2 lights on the concession stand and will  need lights in the parking lot and on the rookies field. We are meeting with the township to see if they will assist with these lights.

Date:

10/17/22

Present:

Tom Wood, Steve Abate, Rebecca Farrell, Jon Dalton, Missy Huber, Steve Burt, John Mancinelli, RJ Diamond, 

 Bob Weeks,  Tim Teefy, Anthony Marusco,

Allyson Garrity,  Jim Buggy, Joe Hart, Lisa Jennings, Phillip Morelli, Dan Campbell, Aaron Pysher, Joe Pharaoh, Mike Cimabue, Mike Calvanese, Jen Wylie, Lauren Scot, Mike McDermond, Tom Zebley, Josh Dawson, Chris Langille, Kristen Langille, Kara Cimabue, Mike Cimabue, Denny Anastasia, Ian Scott, Fran Miles, Walt Campbell

Called to Order:

8:06 PM

Minutes:

Motion to approve:

Second:

Treasurer’s Report - Allyson Garrity

Checking Account Balance-$48, 691.39

This does not reflect recent checks from Nether and BYC. 

New Business: 

Motion to approve: John Mancinelli

Second: Rebecca Farrell

President’s Report - Tom Wood

Camera Installation-

John met with Jeff (Metzgar), Jeff will be free in about 2 weeks in order to work on cameras (streaming devices for games).

Tom met with “John” (free installation) he is unable to set-up the cameras for us, but would like to do additional work on the concession stand for free and with free supplies. Board does not have concerns with John doing work on the concession stand.

League LineUp is expiring in a few days. Do we move on to TeamSnap for the schedule, registration, and website? Yes—but we will make this change completed by the next 

Decision- Meet with TeamSnap again in order to see if we can extend the commitment for the year to run parallel to League Line Up until the conversion is complete.

Meeting Time-

We will need to adjust the off season meeting start time to 8:00 PM because the Legion will be closing at 10:00 PM. During the season, meetings will be at 8:30 PM

Teeners-Anthony Marusco

Season is wrapping up. Looking to extend the season out for 2 weeks to make up for missed games due to the weather.

Majors-

No Report

Minors- Steve Burt

No report

Rookies-Tim Teefy

Looking for coaches for next season because several coaches will be moving up to the minors.

Teeball- John Mancinelli

No report

Player Agent- Jim Buggy

Registrations Open- 12/5/22, in person registrations.. Date TBD

Close 2/22/23

Late Fee 2/10/23 ($30)

Field Maintenance $25

Family Max $190

TBall- $85

Jr. Rookies- $85

Teeners- $55

Major/Minors/Rookies- $125

Evaluations- 2/24/23-2/25/23  Draft Day 2/26/23…still working on the location for the evaluations

Field Maintenance 3/25/23

Games Begin 4/10/23, Parade will be 4/15/23

Equipment Manager-Steve Abate

No Report

Parents Auxiliary- Rebecca Farrell

Jen is doing a great job at the snack stand for the Fall

Facilities- R.J. Diamond

Field close down- 11/12/22 at 10:00 AM

Rules- Bob Weeks

Fall Ball created a bunch of new umpires for Rookies and Minors, which will be helpful for the Spring 2023 Season. Rules Committee will hear from Rules Coordinator soon prior to the January Meeting. 

Secretary-Missy Huber

No report

Fall Ball Update- Final Week of the season. We will need more work at the fields next year to help with the concession stand and field prep before and after games.

Majors will play Nether vs. AV Dawson- 4:00 PM Saturday

Minors will play 12:00 PM on Saturday and Championship on Sunday

Rookies will play 12:30 PM and then 4:00 PM on Saturday, Championship Sunday at 12:30 PM

We had a lot of rain one weekend, that did back up the game schedules—but we were able to make them up. Minors had 14 teams, which should be reconsidered for next year. Estimated profit of about $10,000 for the Fall Ball Season.

Recommendations from Members-

• We need to improve the recruitment of younger parents to be more involved in the league

• Considering adding additional batting cages and improving scoreboards (looking for sponsors to help with this cost). Minors and Majors Field will be reseeded this Spring. Pitching Machines will need to be improved, they are old and not functioning properly.

Elections-