Hello Team Waterdown Black (we will work on the name),

Welcome to the 2023 U16 division! I am really looking forward to the season and can't wait to get started.  While the official schedule has yet to be posted, our first game will be on May 14 in the later time slot - the perfect way to end Mother's Day.  All of our games will be at Joe Sams on diamond 1.  Please dress warmly (especially true for the parents and fans).

I anticipate getting the uniforms early this week and am hoping to set up a practice for next Saturday to hand the uniforms out, toss the ball around and get everyone moving.  I will provide more details about the practice when they become available.  I know most, if not all of you have played before, but as a reminder, you will need to bring your own helmet (with a chin strap) to the games and practices.

One of the considerations for playing the games on Sunday night was to provide certainty for everyone's schedule so that it would not interfere with people going away or summer jobs (umpiring or otherwise).  As a result, I do not want to start planning practices that will interfere with other commitments before talking with everyone - so I will speak with the players at either the first practice or the first game.

This is a houseleague division - I encourage players who want to play certain positions - or try new ones - to speak with me and I will work to provide that opportunity.  We currently have 11 players on the roster, so it means that people will be doing more playing than sitting and I want to make sure that the players are enjoying what they are doing.

With the smaller roster, comes an important request - if you cannot attend a game, please let me know as soon as possible so that I can try to find a call-up if necessary.  Please do not worry if you cannot make a game, but as much notice as possible would be great. 

Feel free to reach out to me with any questions throughout the year.  Coach Iain has, thankfully, agreed to help out this season.  I don't like to point fingers, but if any of our runners get picked off first base, it will be Coach Iain's fault. :)

Thanks,

Coach Matt

C: 905-818-6173