CFR Little League - Registration Ongoing

Batter up! Summer without baseball (or T-Ball for the younger crew) is almost unthinkable. The crack of the bat on the ball, the sand, the slide....you know what I mean.

Registration is taking place at Notre Dame High School, Saturday, March 31, between 2 and 5 pm. Another registration session will be held at the Frank Ryan Clubhouse on Monday, April 2 from 6-8 pm. For detailed information see http://www.cfrllott.ca/

The Carlingwood-Frank Ryan Little League Baseball Association has been active since 1957.  It's catchment area includes all of the Kitchissippi neighbourhoods though most games are played at Frank Ryan Park.  It is a two-night per week sport so there is a certain amount of commitment required particularly if you plan to enroll more than one child. That being said, Frank Ryan Park, where most games are played, is lovely and has very nice play structures if you're bringing siblings along to the practices.  The league is both affordable and fun. Two big plusses in my book.

The Divisions

T-Ball (4-6)  - Frank Ryan Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays
Rookie (7-8) - Frank Ryan Park on Mondays and Wednesdays
Junior (9-10) - Frank Ryan Park on Tuesdays and Thursdays with possible Sunday games as well.
Major (11-12) - Ainsley Park, Mondays through Thursdays
Junior (13-14) - Hanlon Park, Sunday through Friday
Senior (15-16) - Britannia Park, Sunday through Friday

The Seasons
The CFR season is relatively short and has a different set-up then some of the other sports such as soccer and ball hockey. 

• Spring - the house league - runs for approximately two months, from the beginning of May until the end of June, so once school's out, your child has also finished baseball.
• Summer - the competitive division - runs throughout July and August with evaluations at the end of June.  Children must have played spring ball in order to sign up for summer ball. 
• Winter - there is also an indoor winter baseball conditioning session that runs from January through April.

My 8 year old played with the League last year and it was HIS sport.  He liked the independence of it, the fact that he knew what he was supposed to do and where he was supposed to be at any given time during the game.  It was a team sport but more structured than some others. He's strong and he could show that with a good, solid hit. He's also a hockey goalie and, in a similar vein, took to being back catcher.  He also had a fantastic coach - Randy Baker (to name names!) who took the game seriously, really emphasized skills development and was totally enthusiastic about the game and the kids.

This year is an especially big year for the CFR little league.as it will be hosting the Provincial Major Championships for 11-12 year olds from July 22-29 at the Britannia Diamond.  It's a particuarly good year for both you and your kids to be involved.

Little League Trivia:

Okay, so I like to know a little bit about what's what.  I'm making this something of an addendum to the main post in case you don't want to read it, but here, below, is the historical significance of Little League.

• The first Little League was founded in 1939 by Carl Stotz in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
• It grew into Little League Baseball Incorporated and all Little Leagues (including CFR) are members.
• There is an annual Little League Baseball World Series
• Girls have participated in the league since 1974 
• Over 2.5 million children participate in Little League every year