(7/26/2010)     Historical Season         Print     Top If you were a member of the MMFL during this 2010 season, you've become a part of history. We have all experienced the worst year ever for rainouts and game rescheduling. Not only did we experience problems with weather conditions, but we also had to cope with the WIAA and their high school season adjustments. Subsequently we've had more scheduling changes than ever before. To date there has been a total of 93 scheduling changes (16%) of our scheduled 607 doubleheaders. Here is a summary of those scheduling changes............ Rainouts via the hotline: 22 Rainouts at the field: 10 Administrative rescheduling: 53 Normal cancellations: 6 Forfeit cancellations: 2 Based on our pre-season calculations we planned on 270 field dates for the actual summer season. We went into the season with 405 field dates available, considerably more than enough for makeup games. Was it? Obviously not, for this kind of year. July is usually our busiest month where we play the majority of our games. If you've been watching the news media, July of 2010 has already exceeded any previous July on record for rainfall, almost 10" inches. While trying to keep economics under control and your fees as low as possible, obviously all of our planning and historical information could not predict what we've experienced. Two years ago we did experience a similar summer with a lot of rain in June. We extended that summer season by a week so teams could get their makeup games in. However, the cost for that added week far exceeded the value we were offering when only three of the 16 field dates were taken advantage of by our teams. Despite this horrendous softball season, the MMFL is hoping that once all the dollar figures are in, we will be able to continue our planning strategies and move into a more successful 2011 year without attempting to recoup any lost revenue. Larry Pinkowski President, MMFL (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 (5/21/2010)     New Board Member         Print     Top A new replacement Board member has been added to the MMFL as a replacement for Steve Nichols. This new member will be serving in a temporary capacity until our formal November elections when you will all have the opportunity to officially elect him. We are pleased to announce that Neil Vandenhouten of the Franklin Force is the new Board member. Neil brings many years of fast pitch softball experience to the league that will obviously help us. Let's all welcome him with a word or two to his new e-mail address, boardmember@mmfl.org.   Send Neil An E-Mail (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. (2/16/2010)     Certificates of Insurance         Print     Top Coaches, As of Tuesday, 2/2/2010, Proof of Liability Insurance Certificates will be available from your login menu. This certificate can theoretically now be attained from any computer connected to the Internet, anytime. Coaches can logon to the secure area of our website using the ID and Password assigned to your team. A new menu option has been added, “Certificate of Liability Insurance”. This selection should produce your team’s certificate in .pdf format. Coaches can then simply print their certificates anytime they need them. These certificates will no longer be included in your team’s packet at the annual spring meeting. MMFL (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 in 2010. They will still be banned in all other age groups. (11/14/2009)     2010 Pitching Distances         Print     Top In 2010 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 Again in 2010, one coach per team will be required to be certified......read on. 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. The MMFL experienced a raise per individual in 2009. 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 THIS YEAR. 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 2010 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 same ball will be used again in 2010. 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 (10/16/2009)     2010 ASA State Tournaments         Print     Top Last week the Wisconsin ASA had their annual Fall meeting. At that meeting the 2010 ASA state tournaments were announced. These will be the ASA Class A, B and C tournaments. Below is a brief description of these classifications and their dates and locations for 2010. CLASS A – This level of the ASA State Tournament is open to any team that wants to play at the most competitive level in all age groups. These teams can be all-star teams, league teams, playground teams or any team for that matter. Winners here could advance to National Championships. 7/9/2010 – 7/11/2010 in Watertown, WI CLASS B – In order to play in this level of the ASA State Tournament, team members must be part of an ASA league. However, these team members could be all-star players from the league in a specific age group. They do not all have to be members of the same league team. Winners in this classification will be invited to participate in Northern National competition. 7/9/2010 – 7/11/2010 in Seymour (Eau Claire, WI) CLASS C – This is a new classification created in 2009. To play in this tournament, your team members must be the same players that play together as a team in an ASA league throughout the summer. Typically, this classification was created to provide a lower level of tournament competition for recreation league teams. There is no advancement from this tournament. 8/6/2010 – 8/8/2010 in Baraboo, WI Visit the WASA website for more information, Click the link below.. Teams and individuals can participate in one, and only one, of these tournaments. Contact Dale Ferron, ASA J.O. Commissioner, or the specific tournament director for more information.   Tournament Classifications (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 (7/20/2009)     State and National Tournaments         Print     Top If your team has participated in a state or National tournament, the MMFL is interested in knowing how you placed. Please send an e-mail to the MMFL President, president@mmfl.org, and let us know. Click the link below.   MMFL President (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. In 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.