Instructional League - Message from Commissioner

1/7/2008:   

Dear Parents and Players:

Welcome to the 2008 IFPAA Instructional Baseball League!  My name is Dave Hunker and I will be serving as Commissioner for the coming Spring season. The Instructional Baseball League is for players who are 7 years of age on April 30, 2008.  Teams will be formed with players by neighborhood, school, and personal requests.  These requests will be honored to the best of our ability, but please understand that it may not be possible to honor every request.  We expect to have between 8-10 teams with approximately 11 players per team.

Team practices will begin around the 1^st week of April.  You should receive a phone call from your child’s manager by mid-March to inform you what team your child will play for.  We will schedule a 16 game regular season beginning in late April and ending mid to late June, concluding with a round of playoffs.  Games are played at Linbrook Park.

The Instructional League serves as the next step up from T-Ball.  We will continue to instruct in baseball fundamentals – fielding, throwing, hitting and base running.  We will look to improve and refine these skills, along with teaching a level of awareness, baseball strategy, and reacting to game situations.  Some of the general rules are:

• Bases are 50 ft. apart
• Baseball used - 1S T-Ball 
• Coach pitch – No strikeouts.  Batting tee is used after 5 pitches if necessary
• 5 inning games
• 3 outs or 5+ runs per inning
• Catcher position introduced – no Rover

Parent involvement is most welcome and highly encouraged in this league. The managers can’t do this alone – they need your help.  Some of the areas you can help are:

• Assistant coaches
• Keeping score
• Bench coach – keep the kids organized
• Field preparation
• Umpiring
• Administration – phone/email tree, snack list, etc.

You are encouraged to use the online registration at www.ifpaa.org to sign up your child for the 2008 season.  Please also note the many volunteer opportunities as part of registration – your help is always appreciated.   If you have any questions, please email me at the address below.  I look forward to a seeing you all this spring for a great Instructional season!

Dave Hunker

IFPAA Instructional Baseball Commissioner

Email: dhunker@ifpaa.org