The enthusiasm and growth shown by our players has been tremendous, and the commitment of their families to the league has been inspiring. The SBLL Board has learned from our experience this past season and is looking forward to continued growth for the League in the years to come.

The SBLL fall program for ages 5-11 will be geared towards development of the core fundamentals of the game through an engaging and ever-moving camp-style practice design. This offering will include small groups, timed stations, and captivating drills that are specifically designed to develop the most important aspects of playing the game of baseball. While we won't be offering a schedule with official games, each practice will include sand-lot style baseball games, allowing a more fun "free-play" feel to the experience. This program is league based (not team based), allowing athletes some freedom in their fall scheduling. As such, families won't have to feel as if they are letting down the team if they aren't able to attend a particular session. 

SBLL fall baseball will consist of a 10-week, three opportunities per week, schedule of workouts and pickup games. All events are drop-in and voluntary. 

• There will be one weeknight “skills and drills” night, which will rotate players around a series of drills designed to improve the individual components that make up a complete baseball player. Most players in SBLL have been exposed to these at some level already, and we have seen extensive improvement as a result. One group of players, typically those who are Little League ages 5-7 in 2022 (those who played in tee ball, coach pitch, or machine pitch last year), will work with a pitching machine to prepare them for next season. Older players will work with live pitching.

• For players 8-11, who choose to participate, we will offer a separate weeknight practice focused exclusively on pitching and catching. This will provide a concentrated opportunity to develop these essential skills. Instruction will be geared to meet players where they are by providing fine tuning for established pitchers and introducing the skill to players rising to the player-pitch divisions.

• Each Sunday, SBLL will host 'Sandlot-Style' pickup games, which will be player-led, unstructured opportunities to participate in fun, relaxed baseball games, where kids make the rules, make the lineups, and make the calls. Teams will be selected that day and no standings will be kept. Coaches will be present to help make fair teams, umpire the games, and ensure safety. However, the idea of Sunday sandlot games will be to let the kids be kids and have fun playing America’s pastime.

For ages 11–13, SBLL is planning on partnering with the Arbutus Little League to offer an intermediate-level season for interested players. Any player who is Little League age 11–13 this year, may participate in this league. Depending on interest, we will form teams and play a set schedule, similar to a more typical baseball season. These games will be played on an intermediate 50/70 diamond. We are still in the process of determining the location for these games, and they may be played in Arbutus as a result.

Finally, we are very excited to offer a softball program this fall for girls ages 5–10. This is an area of importance for the League going forward, and we hope you will consider helping us build the program by demonstrating your interest. The softball practice will take place one additional weeknight each week. Players will be divided by age and ability and work on the fundamentals of hitting, fielding, and pitching a softball. The goal of the softball night is to develop the abilities of female players with the hopes of starting a full-fledged SBLL softball division in the spring of 2023. This softball opportunity is meant as a supplement to the above-described baseball opportunities. Girls who sign up for softball can also participate in any of the age-appropriate baseball activities described above.

We encourage you to sign up early, because we will likely place a cap on the allowed number of participants by age based on field space and coaching availability. If you wait until the last minute, we cannot guarantee your child a space.

Again, we want to thank you for all of your support this year, and we look forward to bringing you more fun and exciting opportunities in the weeks and months ahead!

The SBLL Board