There are some common questions that come up during the course of the Little League season. Here are some of them, with answers!
How is “playing time” handled?
Playing time in games is determined by the coaches at that particular grade level. Coaches, in general, are trying to get every player into a game for at least two innings in the field and/or at least one at-bat. Especially if there is a lot of kids on a team, it is not an easy task to balance playing time with trying to remain somewhat competitive. In addition, sometimes there are other factors that can disrupt even the best of intentions of a coach, such as shortened games due to time limits or “run rules”. The best course of action is to initially give your child’s volunteer coach the benefit of the doubt. Above all else, if there is a concern about playing time, it SHOULD NEVER be brought up DURING a game.
Why is it “Bloomington Park” and not River Ridge?
There’s a lot of factors, part of which is certainly history and tradition. The other parts are a bit more practical. The program is based in Bloomington, through the village park, who maintains the fields and gets them ready for play. The Little League program is not affiliated with the school. All of the home games are played in Bloomington and maintaining the Bloomington name helps avoid confusion for visiting teams/fans. That said, the programs colors are black, silver, and purple, mirroring those used by the River Ridge School District.
How are games/practices scheduled?
Practices are scheduled by the volunteer coaches. Factors include coach and field availability.
Most of our teams are in the Southwest Coaches League (SWCL), who makes the league schedule. Additional games are scheduled with area teams that are not in the SWCL as time allows.
Why doesn’t Bloomington play in more tournaments?
There has been a trend for little league teams to get into more and more area weekend tournaments. While this can be a great experience for some players, we have believed that there still needs to be a balance between Little League and other summertime family activities (vacations, camping, swimming, etc). As a policy, Bloomington Park funds the entry fees into two tournaments for each grade-level team. Individual teams may get into more tournaments if it is supported by the players and their parents, but are responsible for paying for any additional tournament-related fees.