I was so fortunate to be the communications agent for my sons’ Wickford, then North Kingstown/Wickford Little League for several seasons. Part of my responsibility as the communications agent was to help promote registrations for the various seasons of NKWLL – Spring, District All-Stars, Friendship Tournaments, and Fall Baseball. And as technology and online resources became more and more available for promotions, it was my responsibility to post, share, and engage with the North Kingstown community at large how to sign up, where to sign up, who could sign up, and so on. I still receive emails from NKWLL, specifically from Dan Benson, who now serves at the communications agent. In a recent email, Dan mentioned that the 2022 Spring Registration is now open and ready for families to sign up their Tee Ball to Senior Baseball League player or players.
If you are familiar with your local Rhode Island youth baseball league sign up process and have already signed up your son or daughter for the 2022 Spring Season in your community, I wish you and your family good luck this season! If you are new to the process, here are some helpful tips on the registration process.
- More likely than not, your town/city here in Rhode Island has a Little League or Cal Ripken or Girls Baseball or Babe Ruth type youth baseball league. If you are new to the area, you can reach out to your local recreation department. Or you can check online resources such as the League Finder page on www.littleleague.org. Or simply type in your town/city and youth baseball into a search engine.
- Next, you will need to determine the league age of your son or daughter looking to sign up. Leagues are set up age wise, which typically corresponds to skill level wise. The league age comes into play a lot in All-Star and District Tournament rules, where all of the players must be of a certain age range or younger. Here is an example of Little League’s age chart for baseball for 2022:
- By now, most youth baseball leagues have a social media page, a website set up for photos, fan engagement email updates, and contact information. Do some research online and follow your local town/city league on social media. Click their website link and read about the various programs available for your son or daughter. If you have questions prior to registration, get in contact via phone, email, or direct message. Ask questions and get a good comfort level for the season.
- Most youth baseball leagues, due to Covid-19, have gone to online registrations, some leagues almost exclusively online. There are some incredible sports registration websites now and the process is laid out step by step. You will need to enter your contact information to verify that you live in that league’s jurisdiction, your son/daughter’s age, etc. and then you can pay for the registration right there on the website.
- Some youth baseball leagues are still hosting in person registration sessions. At these sessions, you and meet and greet league officials and coaches and ask questions “in person.” I always loved these in person sessions because it was a great way to reconnect with other coaches and meet new families going into the Spring season. If you are more of an “in person” kind of person, watch out for updates on your league’s social media pages or if you have signed up for email updates, check your inbox daily.
- In tough financial times, families always have to make tough decisions when it comes to “extra” stuff in their lives. Many local leagues offer financial aid programs to help offset the costs of registering for youth sports like baseball. For example, there is a grant program offered by Little League which is called the Call Up Grant. Here is more about this program, “The T-Mobile Little League® Call Up Grant is dedicated to helping families in need by covering registration fees associated with their local Little League program. T-Mobile and Little League share the belief that every child should have the chance to experience Little League, regardless of their financial or personal situation.”
If all else fails, get in contact with me and I will steer you in the right direction. I am happy to help promote the many, many outstanding youth baseball leagues who provide an amazing Rhode Island Baseball Experience for their communities every single season. You can email me at ribaseballexperience@gmail.com and I will do my best to link you up with a local youth baseball league.
The Rhiter 
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