West University Softball - - 2012 Spring Season Information

WUSA Spring Ball

Information

WUSA regular season play is a Recreational League format that strives to strike an appropriate balance between competition and participation. In all divisions except for Pixies, scores are kept, won-loss records are used to determine standings, and trophies are awarded for placement. Players are exposed to the concepts of playing to win, learning how to lose, and the role of a team player in a competitive framework. The league has participation requirements including all players rotating into the infield at least one inning per game and, in the older divisions, using more than one pitcher per game. Summer tournament teams play in very competitive environments with a focus on winning. In all of our teams, we try to ensure fun and player development.

Divisions of Play

Each WUSA player is automatically slotted into a division of play according to her birth date. Division birth dates are set up according to ASA rules and are based on the calendar year: January 1 to December 31. The WUSA divisions of play and the associated age ranges are shown below:

WUSA Division (Age Group)	Birth Dates	Age Range	Format
Pixie	2005-2007	4-6 years old	T-ball
Freshman	2003-2004	7-8 years old	Coach pitch
Intermediate Machine Pitch	2002	9 years old	Machine pitch
Intermediate Girl Pitch	2001	10 years old	Girl pitch 2 innings; machine pitch remainder of game
Sophomore	1999-2000	11-12 years old	Regular fastpitch softball
Junior	1996-1998	13-15 years old	Regular fastpitch softball

Registration Fee and Refunds

WUSA will refund registration fees upon request according to the schedule shown below:

Refund requests received prior to January 3, 2012 = Full refund
Refund requests received between January 3 and February 11, 2012 = 50% refund
No refunds will be made for requests made after February 11, 2012.

League Schedule

Date	Event
Tuesday, January 3, 2012	Registration closes
Saturday, January 7, 2012	Tryouts (click here for specific schedules)
Sunday, January 8, 2012	Drafts
Tuesday, January 10 to Friday, January 13, 2012	Team meetings
Week of January 16, 2012	Practices begin
Friday, February 10, 2012	Father-Daughter Dance
Saturday, February 11, 2012	Parade and Opening Day Carnival
Saturday, February 25, 2012	Picture Day at West U Elementary
Saturday, March 10 to Sunday, March 18, 2012	HISD Spring Break [No Games]
Sunday, April 1, 2012	Summer Tournament Team tryouts
Friday, April 6 to Sunday April 8, 2012	Religious Holidays [No Games]
Thursday, May 3 to Sunday, May 6, 2012	League Tournaments

Teams practice once per week for 90 minutes and play approximately 12 regular season games. All divisions except for Pixie will play an end-of-season tournament after the regular season ends. The general scheme used for game and practice schedules for each division are shown in the table below:

Division (Age Group)	Game Days	Practice Days
Pixie (4-6)	Saturdays	Weeknights
Freshman (7-8)	Saturdays, plus a few weeknights	Weeknights
Intermediate Machine Pitch (9)	Saturdays, plus a few weeknights	Weeknights
Intermediate Girl Pitch (10)	Weeknights	Saturdays & Sunday afternoons
Sophomore (11-12)	Weeknights	Saturdays & Sunday afternoons
Juniors (13-15)	Weeknights	Saturdays & Sunday afternoons

Tryouts and Team Formation

WUSA uses an open draft process to form teams. Tryouts give all division managers the opportunity to observe and evaluate all players for the WUSA Open Draft Process. All players must attend tryouts in order to be eligible for the open draft. There are no make-up tryouts for players that are absent. Players who do not attend tryouts are generally randomly assigned to teams at the end of the draft process. The Pixie Division does not hold tryouts; players in the Pixie Division are directly assigned to teams.

Uniforms

The league provides uniforms as follows:

For the Pixie, Freshman, Intermediate Machine Pitch, and Intermediate Girl Pitch divisions, the league provides a jersey, a pair of shorts, and a visor. Teams will purchase their own socks.

For the Sophomore and Junior divisions, the league provides a jersey and a visor. Each player will need to purchase long softball pants at Budget Sporting Goods or Barcelona Sports according to assigned colors; colors will be assigned at the team meeting. Teams will purchase their own socks.

Please study the uniform size chart (shown below the Uniform chart) carefully in order to obtain the correct size.UNIFORM SIZES ARE NOT THE SAME AS GENERAL CLOTHING SIZES, SO STUDY THE UNIFORM SIZE CHART CAREFULLY. If in doubt, order uniforms ONE SIZE LARGER.

Augusta Sportswear Size Chart for WUSA Uniforms

Equipment Information

Each player will need the following equipment:

Glove
Batting helmet
Bat (WUSA will hold a bat sale of our stock of slightly used Pixie and Freshman bats prior to tryouts)
Bat bag
Mouthguard

Other equipment is also recommended, including cleats, sliding shorts, and knee pads. In the Intermediate Machine Pitch, Intermediate Girl Pitch, Sophomore, and Junior divisions, infield face masks are required for the pitcher and 3rd base positions and are recommended for other infield positions as well. Infield masks will be provided by the league in each team equipment bag. For more information about equipment, click here.

Volunteering

WUSA is an all-volunteer organization, and we need lots of help to make our league run. You will be asked to volunteer time to help out your team and the league in one or more roles including: coaching, team parent, picture day, field preparation, concessions, carnival, etc. In addition, teams that play at WUSA's South Campus fields are required to volunteer in the new concessions stand, most likely 2-3 times during the season.