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Oak Ridge Woodlands Area Little League

Oak Ridge Woodlands Area Little League

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Welcome to ORWALL! If you’re new to our organization, you probably have a lot of questions. Hopefully many of them can be answered below!

Where can I find current registration information?

How do we find out which team we’re on?

  • K-ball, T-ball, and Coach Pitch teams are assigned by the Division Director. Players in these divisions are typically grouped together by school or neighborhood, but this may vary based on how many players enroll from each area and the location of the people who volunteer to manage teams.
  • All other divisions are drafted by managers. The draft is held the week following the last skills assessment. After all division drafts are completed, rosters will be officially released to managers by the board of directors, usually one to two days before the first practice. Each manager is responsible for contacting the players on the team and communicating practice schedules and any other information.

Can we request to be on a particular team?

  • K-ball and T-Ball may have some flexibility to take teammate/coach requests, but there are no guarantees that requests can be accommodated.
  • Coach Pitch 6 does not accept any requests.
  • Drafted divisions can not accept any requests. The only locks that are honored are sibling locks (players who reside at the same address).

Can we request to be put in a different division?

  • All players are allocated to divisions based on the official Little League age chart. This is based on league age, not actual age. Please see the current Little League Age Chart to find your child’s league age.
  • During registration windows, the registration system will only allow you to register your players for the appropriate age division based on the Little League age chart and their birthday. We do not allow players to play up or down in age. The division that the system shows you IS the correct division for your player.

Where should I park?

  • ORWALL has two parking lots, one on the south side accessed by Pruitt Road, and one on the north side adjacent to the Sawdust Park and Ride. You can use either, but the south lot is closest to fields 8, Senior, Major, and Minor. The north lot is closest to fields K-ball, 6 (T-ball), 7, 9, 10, and Junior.

What equipment does my player need? What equipment is provided?

  • ORWALL provides catcher’s gear to each team and a tee for K-ball, T-ball, and Coach Pitch teams.
  • Your uniform includes a jersey, hat, and belt. Socks may be provided with the uniform, but that will be determined each season and they may need to be purchased separately.
  • Each player will need baseball pants. The color will be determined by the team manager.
  • Each player will need to have a bat, glove, batting helmet, athletic supporter, protective cup, and cleats. Additional information on the type of bats and cleats allowed can be found in The ORWALL Rules.

What additional costs are likely to come up during the season?

  • In addition to your registration fee, additional costs may include things like:
    • Practice field rental
    • Pitching machine rental
    • Team banner and player pennants
    • Names embroidered on hats
    • End-of-season trophies
    • End-of-season team party
    • Coach gifts
  • Managers often find it helpful to have additional practice balls, hitting nets, training aids, etc. None of these are provided, and managers may ask for help with these expenses.

What if my family can’t afford all the things needed to play baseball at ORWALL?

  • Scholarships are available. Please email [email protected] to begin the application process.
  • The ORWALL Locker Room has some donated equipment available. Players on scholarship or who qualify for assistance can talk to any board member to see what is available.

What is the ORWALL Locker Room?

  • The ORWALL Locker Room is a collection of used equipment that has been donated. Players on scholarship or who qualify for assistance are welcome to any of the equipment available free of charge. 
  • Anyone who has used equipment that has been outgrown but is still in good condition can donate that equipment to the Locker Room. For each piece of equipment donated, you may select a piece of equipment in trade, if you like. If you don’t find anything you need, your donated equipment will be used to help scholarship players who can’t afford equipment.

When will we get practice and game schedules?

  • Game schedules can not be created until all teams have been drafted. Building the schedules is incredibly time-consuming and takes a lot of manual effort. The schedules will be published as soon as possible prior to opening day, and will include the entire season’s game schedule.
  • Rainouts and other unexpected changes cause a lot of disruption and require manually rescheduling of games. Again, these will be completed as quickly as possible.
  • Post-season tournament schedules cannot be determined until the season is over and teams are seeded. The schedules will be published as soon as they are available.
  • Practices are scheduled by each team’s manager. We encourage managers to plan ahead and give advance notice of practices. Please communicate directly with your team’s manager about any practice schedules.

Why are games scheduled so late at night?

  • With the number of players and teams ORWALL has, the limited number of fields available, and the need to schedule so many games, there is no way to avoid occasional late games. Every effort is made to limit the number of late games each team has, but events like rainouts can cause additional disruption. All game schedules follow the curfew rules of Little League International.

Which apps are used, and how can I make sure I’m getting all the right communication?

  • You will receive information on our Weather Alert texting system prior to the start of the season. We encourage all registered families to get on the text alert list.
  • Team Manager (Game Changer) is an app that many teams choose to use. This app allows communication between team members, announcements from managers, and scheduling. Your team’s manager will let you know if you will be using this app or any other for team communication. Please note that any schedules in this or any other app may not reflect changes made during the season (such as rainout reschedules), so the ORWALL website is the only official schedule.
  • GroupMe is another app that make managers use to communicate with their teams. It is the preference of the manager as to which app he/she would like to use to communicate.
  • Weatherbug is the app used to determine weather-related delays and park closures.
  • The ORWALL Board of Directors will send communication via email. Please make sure these are not going to a junk or spam folder.
  • ORWALL uses Facebook and Instagram and welcomes you to follow us there!

What are the rules for rainouts or weather delays?

  • In the case of lightening, games are stopped when lightning occurs within 10 miles of the park according to the Weatherbug app. The initial stoppage is for 30 minutes from the last lightning strike within 10 miles of the park. If the weather passes, the park will be reopened and games will continue. Unless a specific message is sent that states that the park is closing for the day, the stoppage is temporary and games will continue. Official messaging will be via the Band app and email from the ORWALL Board of Directors.
  • In the case of rain or any other weather conditions, once a game starts, the home plate umpire is responsible for determining if the field is unplayable.
  • When the park is closed due to weather, all players, family members, and coaches must leave the park and wait in their cars. In the case of a delay, play may be continued and if you leave, your team may forfeit the game. Do not leave unless you receive an official notification of cancellation or that the park is closing for the rest of the day.
  • When you leave the park, take your gear with you. If the stoppage results in a closure for the rest of the day, you will not be allowed back in the park to retrieve your gear.

What is a team sponsor, how do we get one, and why do we need one?

  • Each team’s manager is responsible for getting a team sponsor. The manager may request help from others on the team, but it is ultimately the manager’s responsibility to secure a sponsor for the team.
  • Most managers have success in finding a sponsor by talking to team parents who may own a business or to local business owners. Ask the owner or manager at your favorite restaurant, doctor’s office, dentist, lawn service, pest control company, chiropractor, veterinarian, dog groomer, housekeeper, home repair service, eye doctor, daycare, ice cream shop, food truck, or orthodontist. Many local businesses love to tell their clients they are affiliated with Little League baseball, and will be happy to have their name on a banner at the park.
  • The money raised from sponsors goes to help with ORWALL expenses, which helps us keep our registration fees as low as possible. Our biggest expenses are field and park maintenance, umpires, uniforms, utilities, and all-star teams.

Who keeps score during games?

  • The home team keeps the official score book. The manager of the home team must secure a volunteer to keep score. The scorekeeper can be an assistant coach, parent, or other volunteer. As this volunteer does not need to be on the field, anyone can do it and no badge is required. The manager may have a score book, printed score sheet, or app to use for this purpose.
  • The visiting team runs the scoreboard. The manager of the visiting team must secure a volunteer to run the scoreboard. Instructions are in each score box. Again, as this volunteer does not need to be on the field, anyone can do this and no badge is required.
  • The home team manager is responsible for recording the official score on the ORWALL website no later than 2:00 p.m. the day after the game.

Who preps and cleans up the fields and machines?

  • The managers of both the home and visiting team are responsible for prepping the fields and putting away pitching machines and other equipment at the end of the game. The two managers should communicate to determine how these responsibilities will be shared.

Where do we practice?

  • Your team’s manager is responsible for finding a location and scheduling all practices. These practices may not be held at ORWALL, but the communication should come directly from the manager.
  • ORWALL fields may be available for practice, but must be reserved in advance by the team manager. If fields are available, the process for reserving them will be communicated directly to the managers.
  • The ORWALL practice field (the large field behind field 10) is available on a first-come, first-serve basis and can not be reserved in advance. The only exception to this is if a K-Ball or T-Ball game needs to be relocated to the practice field and the area is reserved by the Board of Directors.

Where are the Board Room and Equipment Room located?

  • The Board Room is located above the large concessions stand on the South side of the park. Please go behind the main concession stand, open the door, and walk up the stairs.

  • The Equipment Room is located above the smaller concessions stand on the North side of the park (near Field 7). The door is located on the north side of the building, across from the door to the men's restroom.

What is the difference between AAA and AA?

  • AAA is for those players with more experience and have a higher skill set. AA is for players who may have never played organized baseball or who require a more developmental approach to the game. We sometimes choose to split divisions in an effort to make playing at ORWALL more fun for everyone. We certainly don't want a young new player to be discouraged because his knowledge of the game or skills are not as refined as some of the seasoned players. However, while we feel this is a suitable method to mitigate talent disparity, it is not "perfect" due to the subjective nature of individual managers and the relative performance of the players during the assessments. 
  • The AA program is Little League. It's the program that allows school children to play with their neighbors and their friends. We work hard to keep the AAA Division very small, so we can pull up the kids who would take 90% of the pitching/Catching/Infield time from the everyday school kid. It allows more kids to have more fun playing all positions.
  • Selection to a AAA team is based on the discretion of the AAA coaches. They assess all players who attend skills assessments and use those scores and their knowledge of past performance when drafting their team. There is no guarantee that a player who played in the AAA division will be drafted to a AAA team each season.

Contact

Oak Ridge Woodlands Area Little League (ORWALL)
1130 Pruitt Road 
Spring, Texas 77380

Email: [email protected]

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