Greetings --

Families and friends, the Hingham Little League Board of Directors is pleased to share our excitement about the upcoming season for over 850 registered players, 100+ Managers and Coaches, 60+ umpires, and countless fans who will be sharing in the joy that baseball brings to Hingham each spring. We have been working diligently over the last several months in preparation for a great season, and now we are ready to Play Ball!

OPENING DAY April 23rd

Opening Day Ceremonies for the 2006 season will be held on Sunday, April 23rd at 11:00 a.m. at Haley Field. ALL MAJOR LEAGUE teams should report IN UNIFORM to Haley Field by 10:45 a.m. The teams will be announced in groups followed by the raising of the American and Little League flags and remarks by Hingham Little League President Rob Blomberg.

A ceremonial first pitch will kick off this season, and following the opening ceremonies hot dogs, chips, sodas, and beverages will be available free of charge for all from our sponsors Applebee’s, Coca-Cola and Monadnock Mountain Spring Water.

All Little League families are encouraged to put on your caps and come out to support Hingham Little League – Majors games are at Haley and Hersey field at12:00, 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 pm. We can’t control the weather, so if necessary, rain date information will be posted on the Hingham Little League website at www.hinghamlittleleague.org on Sunday morning.

Minors will kick off on Monday, April 24th. Farm and T-Ball will open up on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30th respectively. Please check the website for your schedules and important communications throughout the season.

All registered players should have been contacted by team Managers. If this is not the case, it is imperative that all Managers contact your team as soon as possible to ensure placement of all the players.

UNIFORM DISTRIBUTION

Uniforms for the Majors and Minors are being prepared for final distribution next week. Farm and T-Ball uniforms are on the way and should be available next weekend. Ed Anderson will be communicating with all Managers by email for instructions on picking up your uniforms. With all our new teams and sponsors, Ed and able assistant John Wehner have done yeoman’s work in making these arrangements with the vendors. Information will be posted on the website as soon as possible once the logistics are worked out.

HLL BOD SUPPORTS ATHLETIC FIELDS ARTICLE AT TOWN MEETING

The Board of Directors supports Article 16 requesting full funding of a combined project for the Athletic Fields and the new DPW facility in the School Depot/Bare Cove Park parcel. The Athletic Fields and the DPW Project have been permitted together as a single project and much of the site preparation work for the DPW Project is directly linked to the site preparation for the Athletic Fields.

Please see the Town Warrant and a Letter to The Editor in the April 6th edition of the Hingham Journal by Bob Garrity, Chairman, DPW Building Committee, which summarizes the details on this important issue that directly impacts this constituency. The article can be located at Town Online http://www.townonline.com/hingham/opinion/view.bg?articleid=467005

We ask that you take all measures to attend Town Meeting on April 24th to let your voice be heard and would appreciate your vote in favor of the proposal that will benefit youth athletic programs in Hingham, including Hingham Little League, for years to come.

SAVE THE DATES!!

SUPPORT HINGHAM BASEBALL – ATTEND THE HINGHAM BASEBALL DINNER ON MAY 5TH

The Hingham Baseball Boosters are inviting all HLL families to join them in support of Hingham Baseball and attend the Boosters’ First Annual Hingham Baseball Dinner on May 5th at 8:00 p.m. at BlackRock Country Club. Tickets are 50.00 per person, 80.00 per couple. This will be a celebration of everything about baseball, food, drink, music, history and trivia. HHS Coach McHugh will be there; Red Sox seats will be up for auction; and there will also be a few surprises. For more info or to register go to www.hinghambaseball.com. Proceeds will go to support Hingham baseball. For more information you can also call Bruce or Maureen Thompson at 749-3543, Joe or Nancy Craven at 740-0549, or Jeff or Kerry Perkins at 781-740-1827.

The HS Boosters, working with HLL and HHBR, funded the great new batting cage behind Cronin that is available to all Hingham baseball players, as well as new protective screens to be used by all teams. The Boosters will continue to support HHS baseball, where they hope many HLL payers will eventually play, so help the cause and invest in our future High School baseball players.

BOYS OF BASEBALL

HLL is pleased to again host Steve Cosgrove, Manager of the Boys of Baseball, national travel team from Alabama to conduct a players day of instruction on Saturday May 20, 2006 8:30-4:00 pm and a parent and coaches clinic on Friday, May 19, 2006, from 4:30-6:30 pm. This is a great opportunity to learn from one of the finest coaches in the country. The kids will get great lessons about baseball and life as can be attested by the many Hingham Little Leaguers who have attended this program over the last several years. The cost of the players clinic is .00 and scholarships are available. HLL will reimburse any manager or coach for the fees to attend the coaches clinic.


HLL FUNDRAISER

Plans are in the works for a Hingham Little League Fundraiser with a different flair. Melissa Flanagan is organizing a Garden Party event where works with a baseball theme from local artists will be available for sale/auction. The date is slated for June 10th in the evening, watch the website for further details as they become available.

Thank you all for your patience in letting this group of volunteers work out all the logistics for what it takes to build what we feel is one of the better Little League programs in the area.

On a closing note for all Coaches, Volunteers, Parents, and players, please remember that this endeavour is not about winning and losing. It is about sportsmanship, fun, and building character in our players. Please acknowledge that we are ‘training’ far more Little League Coaches, Doctors, School Teachers, Lawyers, medical, financial, insurance professionals, artists, volunteers, and future Moms and Dads of Little Leaguers than we are Professional Baseball Players. If we have done our jobs right, we are training future coaches of Little League Baseball!

Our best wishes to one and all for a magical and rewarding season!

The Hingham Little League Board of Directors

Rob Blomberg, Elliot Sherman, Tim Driscoll, Rick Linehan, Melissa Flanagan, Skip Jenkins, Bob Madden, Rich Magner, Ed Anderson, Joe Craven, Joe Granatino, Owen McConville, Steve White, Bruce Corwin, and Tim Zyrkowski