North Adams Little League Seeking Players

The North Adams Little League is looking for new players to round out its teams this spring. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — If Santa brought your youngster a baseball mitt last week, he or she can put it to good use this spring with the NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — If Santa brought your youngster a baseball mitt last week, he or she can put it to good use this spring with the North Adams Little League

The league is looking for players to keep its six teams alive this upcoming season. With the loss of 22 12-year-olds last year, the league hopes to fill this year’s rosters without having to drop another team.

In 2012, the league had eight teams with 12 players per team; by last season, those numbers had fallen to six teams with 11 players each.

The league age requirement is 9 1/2 years old and the Little League International has adopted a new rule that states "that even though your child is 8 years old at the time of tryouts if he/she turns 9 by the end of the calendar year he/she would be eligible to play."

The North Adams Little League accepts children from surrounding towns, according to Marc Field, who is in charge of the league. Children from Clarksburg and Florida, and from Stamford and Readsboro, Vt., are eligible to play.

"One of the benefits of playing Little League is they develop friendships with league and county player that last through high school," Field said. "They learn fundamental skills of baseball through clinics, practices, and great coaching."

All of the North Adams coaches have 10 or more years of experience with coaching and baseball, which allows them to teach the kids the basic fundamentals of the game.

McCann Tech baseball coach Pat Ryan agrees that Little League is a time for players to focus on basics of the game.

"Knowing how to field ground balls, fly balls, and all the mechanics that come with that," Ryan said. "Knowing where to run and when to run, how to bunt and throw."

One of the big advantages is the opportunity to learn the basics of all positions, Ryan said.

"Sometimes a player may not discover how well they play a certain position until they reach high school," Ryan said. "I find that players who are confined to one position have a disadvantage of the opportunity of always playing."

The league is very committed to providing its players with the best learning experience that it can give them. NALL does a spaghetti supper in April and a city wide candy bar sale. The money raised goes towards things for the kids.

"Our board of directors is very committed to making the child’s experience a positive one," Field said. "We have spent a lot of money in the past two years on new uniforms, new infield ball mix, new wind screen fencing, and have and will be hosting a bunch of tournaments in the next couple of years as well."

The league plays a 22-game regular season, plus playoffs, and All-Star tournaments. Registration will be held in February and tryouts will be held in March at the Williams College Field House.