BLL,

I hope this letter finds you and your families well during this holiday season and looking forward to a wonderful 2024! After so much going on in 2023, I know the Dagleys are looking forward to a week or two of downtime before starting again on all the things in the upcoming year. Below, I wanted to give you all some updates on what has been going on in BLL and a snapshot of what is ahead (including a calendar!) as we enter the Spring season. We are looking forward to continuing our tradition of "teaching kids to hit and steal since 1953."


Fall 2023

First, I wanted to congratulate all the managers, coaches, players, and parents on an amazing Fall! I was able to watch some games at all levels, and cannot believe how far our Fall program has come and how we have been able to blend the development of baseball skills with competitive games and playoffs!  It was a great Fall season and I wanted to congratulate all the teams and recognize our league champions and second-place finishers!


American League Champions


YANKEES

Coach | Ken Mondshine

National League Champions


REDS

Coach | Jeff Peskin

Texas League Champions


Villanova WILDCATS

Coach | Sam Lee

American League Runners Up


RAYS

Coach | AJ Rosenfeld

National League Runners Up


ASTROS

Coach | Mike Gallagher

Texas League

Runners Up


Kentucky WILDCATS

Coach | Jed English

Spring 2023

Can you believe it's almost here!? With ~580 kids signed up, we are getting ready to start our 71st year of little league baseball in the Bellaire Community with lots to come!  Our board has been working overtime to bring the most fun season yet, and I am excited about every part of it.  You may have noticed that we got started earlier this year in terms of registration.  This was to allow for more time in the Spring to blend practices and games, account for bad weather, and get more baseball in for our young men and women! So you know what to expect, here is a snapshot of important dates before we start the season:

IMPORTANT DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

Spring Training

January 6 & 13

Managers Meeting

January 17

Spring Assessments

January 20 -21

TBall/Rookie Draft

January 22

American League Draft

January 23

National League Draft

January 24

Texas League Draft

January 25

Spring Season Begins

January 29

A few notes on the items above for you newer parents (or us seasoned parents that have too much going on and forget😊).

  

Spring Training is optional!  It is a chance for your kids to knock the winter rust off and get some free baseball training from local professional coaches!  We will offer it for two weekends so feel free to sign up and get some free training before the season!


Spring Assessments are for Texas through American League players.  These are MANDATORY and….will be inside this year! The team at Buckley Performance has opened up their awesome facility to BLL to allow us to use all the cool performance tools to assess the players before our draft.  This is going to mean more swings, more ground balls, more pitches, more catching, and LESS WEATHER INTERRUPTIONS!  More details to come but we are excited about having this opportunity and thankful to the Buckley team for making it possible!


BLL Drafts

This is when the Managers get together and select the kids to make the teams. You should hear from your Manager the week of January 22 about which team you are on.  Having done this for many years, I can tell you that most of the managers are as excited about the draft as you are and want to get that email out ASAP!


Other Key Dates

Opening Day this year is going to be on March 2nd (TX Independence Day!) and look, I don’t want to brag, but we are going bigger, better, and bolder than we ever have! This is saying something since I believe we have the best opening day in the great State of Texas!  But wait, there is more! Mark your calendars for March 1st as well for a special surprise event for the league and the city!  More details to come, but prepare yourselves to be rocked!


Miscellaneous Knick Knacks and What Not

For those at Horn, you will notice that for the first time since 1953, there is a water fountain that works (ok, it hasn’t been that long, but it sure feels like it)! It also offers the ability to fill up a water bottle with filtered water.  I know, we are so 21st century.  We are also fixing the light situation in the Horn bathrooms so that no one has to potty in the dark of night anymore. Our Fields and Facility rep, Cody Moore, has essentially been sleeping at the fields to improve the experience and fix things left and right to give the league the best experience possible! As always, if you see things or have ideas, let us know at info@bellairelittleleague.org


Concessions continue to be epic and growing!  Chick-fil-A will continue to be served at all the fields, and we want to welcome ‘401 and the option you all voted on! Some healthier items are on the menu! We are excited to bring new and different options to the field for families to enjoy while watching the best baseball in Texas! Lastly, on Saturday mornings, Tapesters will be serving some delicious taquitos to get the day started right!  Our reps Lori Roth and Jed Mandel continue to think big in ways we can up our concessions game and we are excited about doing more in the Spring!


I am sure there are 1000 more things I could say here, but the last note I have is to thank all of you parents and grandparents who support BLL.  As a league, we are so thankful that you continue to be a part of the league that utilizes baseball as a way to develop life skills and invest in a thriving Bellaire community.  You all are awesome! 


I also want to thank and acknowledge our BLL Board members. This team has been working extremely hard to make BLL the best little league in the State. I am continually in awe of what this team does, how thoughtfully they do it, and what they can accomplish.  To each board member who makes this possible, a sincere thank you for all that you do and continue to do to make this league great for this community. When you see them, be sure to give them a high-five. They VOLUNTEER for these roles and take them very seriously!


Closing Notes

I am so excited about the Spring ahead. We are going to have some great times on the field and in our community, some incredible experiences, and a whole lot of fun. What a privilege it is for us to be able to take these moments and be on the dirt (or turf) with our kids throwing a ball, building community, and enjoying the moments we have with our children. My oldest started high school this year and I can hardly believe that LL is so far behind us and now he calls his mother “Bruh”.  But we remember when he started T-Ball and how he grew up in BLL.


I hope we can all take a moment this Spring amongst the competition to enjoy the little things that make this town and this game so awesome!  See you all on the fields! Go BLL!


Sam Dagley

BLL President


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