(1/25/2012)     Insurance Certificates         Print     Top Coaches, MMFL team certificates of insurance are now available. They can be accessed from your login menu, option “Certificate of Insurance”. If your team form (.pdf format) does not come up, please notify the MMFL President immediately via e-mail. president@mmfl.org   president@mmfl.org (1/4/2012)     2012 Age Group Divisions         Print     Top 2012 Coaches, Now that teams have been accepted for the 2012 MMFL summer season, the next step we face is to organize our team age groups into divisions. Divisions are created based on team questionnaires, a team’s makeup (players), and history. Without delay, coaches should be filling out their on-line questionnaires ASAP. These questionnaires are part 3 of our registration process and available from their login menu. Every year we have to beg a few of our team coaches to fill out this form. It is imperative this be done as soon as possible and divisions created before any scheduling can even be considered. Unlike a team’s unplayable dates (part 2 of the registration process), these questionnaires cannot be reopened once submitted. However, the questions are quite basic and should be easily answered. We only ask that you fill out the form honestly and without trying to second guess our intentions. The MMFL tries each and every year to make these divisions as competitive as possible. Competitive divisions will make the summer season a lot more fun for everyone, players, coaches, parents and fans. Prior to permanently assigning teams into divisions, we may be temporally assigning divisions to teams for testing purposes. These divisions could and probably will change after tesing is complete. MMFL (12/9/2011)     Registration Reminders         Print     Top Here are a few quick reminders for those teams that have already registered for the 2012 summer season. 1. Your team will not be selected for approval until we receive your deposit or full payment. 2. Returning teams only have until 12/31 to register and send in your payment. After that we will begin selecting from the pool of NEW teams. Returning teams will lose any priority status after 12/31. 3. Once your team has been accepted, coaches will receive an ID and Password via e-mail to gain access to the secure area of our website. From there you can begin entering your rostered players so they will be insured and protected. 4. Also, once your team is accepted, the MMFL registration process is not complete without doing parts 2 and 3. Part 2 is your unplayable/playable dates to help us schedule your team for the summer. Part 3 is a questionnaire that values your team and assists us in determining what age group division to place your team. These forms are available from your login menu. (11/21/2011)     2011 Elections         Print     Top Recently, at our fall full league meeting elections were held. Meeting minutes will be posted soon on the Meetings Page of our website. As with most elections there will always be those that win and those that don’t make it. In the case of electing new and re-electing existing members to the MMFL Board of Directors, let me say thanks to all those who are currently serving and those individuals that have served in the past. For those of you who attended the meeting and took part in the elections, we now have a new board member, Amy Jacob. We all welcome Amy to the Board of Directors and look forward to working with her in our continued effort keeping the MMFL Wisconsin’s #1 league. While gaining Amy on the board, we’ve lost a very valuable asset the league, John Ruffolo. During the past 8 years of John’s service to the MMFL, he has influenced us all tremendously with his knowledge of the game, his experience with players and of course his leadership skills. We will all miss him a lot and we all need to wish him all the luck in the world in his future endeavors, both on and off the ball field. If you see John be sure to shake his hand and say “Thanks”. Thanks John, Larry Pinkowski President, MMFL (8/4/2011)     Tournament Finishes Needed         Print     Top 2011 Tournament Standings - If your team placed in a tournament this summer, please send us the Tournament Name, Team Name and Finish. The MMFL will be updating the Home Page with the 2011 information. Send to president@mmfl.org Thank you!   president@mmfl.org (7/15/2011)     Umpire Self-Scheduling Login         Print     Top Touch base with Mike Brewer if you need your login authorization code. MMFL Board (2/24/2011)     Umpire Self-Scheduling System         Print     Top As is typical in the MMFL, we once again would like to announce yet another enhancement to our website and the operation of our summer league. MMFL umpires will now have the opportunity to schedule themselves for our summer games. We are announcing the Umpire Self-Scheduling System. Unlike many other umpire scheduling systems, this one pertains only to MMFL scheduling. It is internally linked, via our sophisticated database, to supply data instantaneously to all aspects and functions of our website. Umpires can now login to this Self-Scheduling System, select their assignments, all while their selections will be instantly reflected in our Master Schedule. This system in cooperation with our UIC (Umpire-in-Chief) should eliminate past communication errors. As a result we should anticipate a higher level of attendance and performance at our games from those umpires that are willing to commit to the #1 league in the state. (11/24/2010)     Rules Update & Survey Questions         Print     Top As per the Fall Full League Meeting and the Board’s decision, the MMFL Rules and Regulations have been modified. Please take the time to read them over. The major changes are in the TEAMS category, sub-category Number of Players. A continuous batter order will now be mandatory in the 10U & 12U age groups. Continuous batting order means all rostered players at games will be on the line-up cards and will bat in that order throughout the games. The other survey question recently asked of the membership, “Awards for 1st place divisional winners” was declined and will not be instituted as part of the MMFL.   MMFL Rules (11/2/2010)     2011 & 2012 MMFL UIC         Print     Top The MMFL Board of Directors has decided to renew Mike Brewer's contract as our UIC for the next 2 years. We all need to congratulate Mike on his efforts to organize the umpires that oversee our games. You can send him an e-mail from the link below.   Mike's E-Mail (5/21/2010)     ACE & Background Checks         Print     Top The ASA On-Line background check has been tested and procedures written. Click the link below to see the document in .PDF format. 2010background.pdf   On-line Background Check Procedures (5/17/2010)     NEW ASA State Requirements         Print     Top The State and National ASA has just upped the requirements to enter into the ASA State Tournament or an ASA National Qualifier. Not only one coach must be A.C.E. certified but also each and every non-player member of the team (other coaches, scorekeepers or anyone on the playing field) MUST have an A.C.E. background check. For all the details, go to this link http://www.wisconsin-asa.org/Youth%20News.html . You can also call Dale Ferron, the ASA State J.O. Commissioner at (608) 838-3202 or send an e-mail to ferron.softball@charter.net .   Click here for DETAILS (3/23/2010)     Rosters & Scheduling         Print     Top Many of our MMFL coaches are probably wondering why divisional and some team schedules are not visible on our website. Don’t panic, this is a direct result of our planning and design. Rosters greatly impact the integrity of our league. We ask that rosters be signed by players and parents, then sent to the MMFL. See our Contact Page for addressing. We emphasize the importance of these roster documents by asking that at least a preliminary roster be sent in as soon as possible. Once these initial rosters are received, viewing of team schedules will be activated. Team rosters can then be further updated throughout the spring before your first game. Game signup sheets are compared against team rosters. Ineligible players will be cause for game forfeitures. Game forfeitures will cost the team involved. See our Rules Page for details regarding forfeitures. Players and coaches not listed on an official roster ARE NOT INSURED and not registered with the State or National ASA. Rosters ensure games are played with eligible team players. Official team rosters are created by adding all team members on-line from the secure area of our website, menu option “Create/Edit Team Roster”. Team coaches can add, change or delete members of their rosters. The roster form can then be printed and subsequently signed by players and parents. Once signed, the form can be mailed to the MMFL. Adding players after the preliminary roster has been sent in can be accomplished in the same manner; Enter the new player on-line, print the entire roster again, have the new player and parent sign the roster and send the form in again. Existing team members DO NOT have to re-sign the form. (11/16/2009)     Metal Spikes/Cleats (Updated)         Print     Top Metal spikes or cleats previously not allowed, WILL BE ALLOWED in the 16U & 18U age group games. They will still be banned in all other age groups. (11/14/2009)     Pitching Distances         Print     Top In the MMFL and ASA Championship games for 16U and 18U will use a 43' pitching distance. All other age groups will remain at 40' except 10U which also remains at 35'. WIAA hign school pitching distances will also be moved to 43'.   2010 ASA Rules Update (10/30/2009)     ACE Certification Update         Print     Top Achieve, Certify, Educate Each year, one coach per team will be required to be certified......read on. Any and all individuals in the dugout will need an ACE background check. Certifications can be be taken on-line, see below. Like everything else in these days, the cost of insurance for softball players is rapidly on the increase. Fortunately the ASA has negotiated, through Bollinger, to keep this rate increase at a minimum. Unfortunately there is a catch; the ASA is now demanding that at least ONE coach from each team be certified through ACE. There's a good possibility in future years, all coaches will have to be certified. ONLY CERTIFICATION LEVEL ONE (1) NEEDS TO BE COMPLETED initially with subsequent levels will be required each year thereafter. Although all the details to describe it perfectly have not been clearly defined, what we do know is listed below.. It is a certification to the ASA that a coach knows how to handle youth individuals. While training, practice and discipline is something we all take for granted, many of us often overlook specific elements of coaching that should always insure the safety and well being of the kids. This certification will provide the information you need to know and demonstrate as a coach. It will also allow officials of the ASA to do BACKGROUND CHECKS of individual coaches working with our youth players. The certification will cost $25.00 for the first year, $20.00 for subsequent years. If certification is done on-line, you must pay via credit card. The certification tests can be taken on-line at the following site: http://ace.usasoftball.com/ace/home.asp OR If there are sufficient requests, Dale Ferron, Wisconsin’s ASA J.O. Softball Commissioner will hold a certification class at a specific location here in southeastern Wisconsin. The date, time and location would be announced later when necessary. If certification is obtained in this manner, Dale Ferron will accept checks (no credit cards) on site the day of the testing. This will be mandatory for one coach of each MMFL team. A field on your individual registration roster will be designated for ACE Certification, watch for it. Certifications will be verified. There will be more information regarding the ACE certification as time moves on. If any of our MMFL coaches have further questions regarding this requirement, please contact either: Dale Ferron, Wisconsin ASA J.O. Commissioner (608) 838-3202 ferron.softball@charter.net OR Larry Pinkowski, President, MMFL (920) 625-3382 president@mmfl.org   On-Line Certification (10/30/2009)     Official League Ball         Print     Top The MMFL changed its support for a new official league ball in 2009. The Worth company in conjunction with the Wisconsin ASA will be supplying these balls at a substantial discount to the league. We do not expect any sacrifice in quality. This will be a good opportunity for our teams to test these balls and report any problems. They have a COR of .47 and a compression of 375 lbs. They are certified by the ASA and NFHS and again are optic yellow. C12RYLAH - 12" Dream Seam C11RYLA - 11" Dream Seam (10/1/2009)     Make-up Game Requests         Print     Top Coaches can now create their own makeup game requests on-line. This should be a far more efficient and quicker method of submitting makeup game requests than typing an e-mail and sending it to the Board. Coaches and their opposing coaches for a scheduled rainout MUST still agree on an AVAILABLE DATE and FIELD from the Scheduling page of our website. Either coach can then logon to the secure area of our website and select "Report Scores, Umpires & Request Makeup Games". A team's MMFL schedule will appear as it has in the past however a new column has been added on the right side, "Request Makeup". Only those games that were rained out AND REPORTED AS "RO" or "S*" will have a pencil icon there that will link to the new request form. Once the selected the date and field has been chosen for the makeup games(s), SUBMIT the form. The league will then review the request and approve it as necessary. Once approved, both coaches will be notified via an auto-response e-mail. Be sure to verify your schedule to verify the scheduling change has been processed. That's it, that's all there is to it. It is a very complex part of our on-line system, it may not be perfect yet. If you have any questions or run into problems, don't hesitate to contact me personally. Larry Pinkowski President, MMFL (11/14/2008)     ASA Classification Update         Print     Top Within the past few years our State ASA (WASA) has subdivided each age group into classifications for the ASA State and subsequent tournaments. The intent here is to create a more competitive tournament for all teams regardless of skill level. In concept, this is the same technique we use here in the MMFL. We use the term divisions within an age group to improve the competitive environment. Newer teams coming into the MMFL, and fast pitch softball in general, are not always aware of this terminology and how it applies to tournaments and/or league play. Previously each age group was subdivided into an “A” or “B” classification. As of 2009, the WASA will be adding another classification, class “C”. Each classification is described in a document prepared by the MMFL as a guide for our teams. You can view this guide from the link below, ASA Age Group Classifications.   ASA Age Group Classifications (8/4/2008)     Classified Ad Policy Update         Print     Top The MMFL Board of Directors have found it necessary to revise its position and policy for advertising on our Classified Ad Page. The ad categories for "Team Tryouts" and "Teams Looking for Players" will be restricted to current MMFL teams only. Please be sure to include your team name, coaches name and the coaches e-mail address when submitting the ad form. All other MMFL ad categories will remain unchanged and open to anyone to utilize.   MMFL Classifieds Page (9/26/2006)     MMFL's Survey System         Print     Top The MMFL introduces another tool to help decide the direction of the league. Current MMFL members now have the ability to respond to various concerns from the Board of Directors. You must login to the secure area of our website and select the SURVEYS option from your menu. Typically, you will be presented with survey questions. Read the Survey Description for complete details and SUBMIT your response. (9/26/2006)     10U Pitching Plates         Print     Top As usual, when a new season starts there are fields that have a problem understanding how we use their facilities and what our requirements are. It is strongly suggested that coaches of our 10U teams carry a portable pitching plate to their league games. It would also be advisable to carry a tape measure to ensure proper placement of these plates thus guaranteeing a consistent pitching distance.