A year ago we brought our draft league to Taunton with a mere three teams and we’re excited that today we have 7 teams on Tuesdays and we’ll be launching even more teams starting on Sunday. With more players, more games, and more growth comes a need to ensure we have consistency within our program and so today we want to announce our first official League Joe Massachusetts Commissioner to lead the program going forward.
Welcome Aboard, Melissa!
As one of our three O.G. coaches, Melissa has been helping from day one and is the perfect candidate to help us continue to grow and welcome more new players into the program. She has always had an eye on fairness and parity in the league, and has frequently been among the first to welcome in and help new players find their footing. And today, she officially hangs up her coaching hat to become Commissioner! In this role, she will work directly with John at USSSA and the League Joe HQ to make sure the needs of our players are always being met.
She will close out the Tuesday league as the Bat Intentions coach while she learns the ropes, but will take the reigns officially starting with our Sunday league and our upcoming Tuesday fall league. And hey, now you don’t have to coach against her anymore so…. You’re welcome! 😉
Let’s Talk About Culture and Rules
League Joe is about fun and social play that is welcoming to new players with a dash of competitive spirit. As our programs grow, the competitive spirit can sometimes grow with it, but we never want the desire to win to trump the ability for players to enjoy a fun evening of ball. This season, we’ve seen an escalation of conflicts both on and off the field, as well as reports of teams taking things a little too seriously at times. Coaches this week will be receiving some new instructions and rules to pass to their teams to help ensure a family-friendly environment and a return to our focus on player development and fun. Additionally, our umpires have been instructed to be on the lookout for behavior that crosses the lines from silly banter to toxic feuding and have full authority to remove any player from any game they see fit.
Keep it light, keep it fun, and keep it friendly, folks!
Sunday Funday - Open Play for ALL
With our introduction of Melissa and our desire to secure a sweet venue for our Animal Themed draft, we have made the decision to delay the start of the Sunday league by one week. However, this does not mean you won’t be playing on Sunday. Instead, we will have a Sunday Open play where all players are welcome to come and check out our league. Games on Sunday will be scrimmages and an opportunity to knock off the rust for new players. In the meantime, stay tuned for an update on our official draft for the Sunday fall league which will now begin on Sunday, August 30.