Virginia District 7 Volunteers, Parents, Spectators and Players,

District 7 League administrators have the utmost concern for the health, safety, and overall wellbeing of our Volunteers and players. So, District 7 leagues have decided to postpone the Little League season until at least 24 April based on the current COVID-19 situation. (Newport News locations are at least 1 May)

Governor Ralph Northam issued a statewide order to protect the health and safety of Virginians and reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19. Executive Order Fifty-Three orders the closure of certain non-essential businesses, bans all gatherings of more than 10 people, and closes all K-12 schools for the remainder of the academic year. Governor Northam is also urging all Virginians to avoid non-essential travel outside the home, if and when possible. This order goes into effect at 11:59 PM on Tuesday, March 24, 2020 and will remain in place until 11:59 PM on Thursday, April 23, 2020.  These are the times something our nation has not experienced, ever.

Obviously, this restriction includes recreation and sporting events. District 7 and our eight leagues previously decided to maintain the initial LLI recommendation to postpone LL activities until 6 Apr. On 13 Mar, LLI extended the recommendation to 11 May. This recommendation was based on the experts of the CDC and the WHO organizations. Presently, that recommendation has not changed, however our local leagues are faced with some situations and decisions that will need to be made.

The Little League season is not over, local leagues across the nation have to decide what they want to do for future operations.  D7 leagues don’t think the final plans need to be made right away as there is still some possibility to recover some of the season. Based on the future decisions of our National, State and LLI leadership, there will be some decisions that we will need to make.

LLI is working to make some adjustments to the Spring/Summer/Tournament seasons. There are numerous questions to be answered, and they won’t be answered for at least a few weeks (if not longer) so please be patient.

1. What if there is not a Little League regular season, will I get a full refund?  A: This is not something that can be answered at this time. Leagues have used your registration fees to buy uniforms and equipment, concession goods, charter and insurance fees, etc. It’s unknown if these costs would be recovered through insurance or LLI refunds. However, this is a topic on LLI’s “issues” to figure out, but rest assured your concern is the top of the list.
2. If there IS a Little League season do we have to compress it into the few weeks leading into the summer and tournament season?  A: LLI is looking at options to extend the regular season, potentially into Summer.
3. Is the tournament season on schedule?  A: Although it would be great to say it is, there will need to be some adjustments and LLI (and D7) is looking at this issue as well.  More to come.

We all have uncertainties, however, all organizations have the same during this crisis. Please be patient as we work through the future of our Little League.

Free Online Courses - Big Al

District 7 Little League now has access to Big Al’s online training and development programs and resources for all of the Coaches, Parents and Players in 2020.

The parent programs include…instructional videos of the fundamental skills that player should learn and practice at both the 4-8 year old and 9-12 year old levels. 

The online programs also includes a Section called Practice at Home. This section of videos includes lots of fun drills, games and challenges that you can practice at home so you can get stronger and improve your skills all season long. 

There is also a section on strategy and positional play with roles and responsibilities for every player on the team in a variety of game situations.  

These resources will help you and your son or daughter have fun, stay in shape and improve their skills at home over the next few weeks and all season long. 

This material will come in handy as we are being restricted from practicing due to the COVID-19 virus but gives an opportunity to tune the skills while at home!

To have a quick look at what the programs include please watch the 2 short Parent Videos on the front page of www.bigalbaseball.com.

• Information Video about the Parent 4-8 online program
• Information Video about the Parent 9-12 online program

To activate your own personal membership at no cost go to www.bigalbaseball.com. 

1.       Click on the Membership Code button in the top right corner of the web page.

2.       Select the online Parent 4-8 or Parent 9-12 Program…that fits the age of your son or daughter.

3.       To activate your program fill in the registration fields and click CONTINUE.

4.       Enter your Membership Code VD7PARENTS in the box and then click on the APPLY button.  (This will recalculate your membership cost to 00.00.)

5.       Read and Accept the Terms and Conditions and click on the CHECKOUT button.

6.       You will be taken to the Login page. Go ahead and Login with your own Username and Password.  (Note: depending on your browser and computer settings you may need to enter you UN and PW twice.)

7.       Please click on the link to your Parent program on the MY PROGRAMS page and enjoy!

To LOGIN the next time, please just go directly to www.bigalbaseball.com and click on the Login Button at the top right corner of the web page and Login.

We hope that you will take advantage of the resources and the and practice at home fun drills and challenges and keep improving your skills through the next couple of weeks and all season long.