FAQ
Q: Who do we play for games?
A: The Sandlot Youth Sports League is an independent league meaning we are not on any of the county or city schedules or affiliations. We play all games right in our home ballpark of Tri-Star Park against our other park teams. Now this does make it hard if leagues have low numbers as we must have a certain amount of players to formulate a league since we cannot just join another league to create a season.
Q: What does my child's registration fee cover?
A: The registration fee for each sport is very precisely broken down to cover league costs. By league cost we mean jerseys for players, umpires and ref fees, insurance for the program, the website, and the equipment and gear we use for games and donate to our volunteer coaches to help at practices. Anything that is left over then gets put into an account to handle the more major costs and assist our sister adult programs and the needs of the ballpark overall. However, at the end of the seasons we will allow the parents and coaches to vote on a poll on what the next improvement will be for the major offseason project we are trying to do in between each sport season. This is the ballpark we hope your child will be playing in for years to come so we want you to have some say in some of the improvements.
Q: Why are there only young age groups?
A: The reason for only setting up leagues for the younger ages is because we are new and rebuilding this program that the community hasn't had for a number of years. When starting a program from scratch and looking to build on it it is best to build your base first meaning the younger ages. Most of the older kids have already been playing most of their years on the teams at other area parks as there wasn't an option here with that being said most will want to remain with their current teams and friends. We understand this can be a problem for some families with kids of different ages and we do apologize for that, however we are trying to build a program for this community for a number of years and its just best with the 3 local elementary schools to focus on building that base stronger. As the league continues to grow we will continue to add the older age groups.
Q: What rules do we play by?
A: As an independent league we are allowed to have a modified set of rules. Our leagues are more focused on development and the kids enjoying the sports so our rules are adjusted to teach and help them growth in athletics. As an example most league are very strict on their birthday cutoffs and sometimes you have that kid who just is not quite ready to move up and could benefit one more Fall or Spring season playing down before moving up, maybe the kid never played before or maybe there's something more going on. As far as official rules we kind of have the USSSA rule guidelines with a few modifications that we will make coaches and umpires aware of so that the info can be passed along to the parents and kids. Again we are more focused on life skills and development above anything else.
Q: What about rainouts?
A: Our league offers more games then any other local league and we have factored in a few time slots near end of the season to cover any make up games due to mother nature. As a park we will inform you of game cancellations with plenty of notice for the nights you play, as well as offer you ample notice for when your rain out games will be made up. We have tried to keep them on same nights your league is already playing but we do have a couple Saturday time slots near the end as well that if we have a number of rainouts may need to be utilized.
Q: Are there trophies?
A: Here at the SYSL we are trying to help teach these kids more then just sports, which is why for some of our leagues no there isn't a participation trophy as they are called. For our 5 & 6 year old age groups yes there will be small trophies handed out at the end of the season to each participant as generally this is their first year playing a sport so it's more of a keepsake. However, once your young athlete reaches the 8u levels we will only be providing awards to the top two teams in the league and are looking into league wide individual awards such as batting title, runs scored, etc. The purpose of this is to teach our youth that you don't always get a trophy that in life trophies and promotions are earned not given just because you showed up. As a former collegiate coach I saw athletes even at the college level not understand how to deal with not winning something. I know this is a subject that not everyone may agree with, however, its a philosophy we want to test out as an independent league.
Q: What do I do if there's a problem?
A: Please if there's a problem come to one of the youth directors or your coach. In today's day in age we understand that its easy to blast on social media, but once it is put out there it cannot be taken back even if deleted it's out there somewhere. We would hate to have a misunderstanding or something that can be easily managed or fixed turn into something that gets blown out of proportion online. Give us the opportunity to handle the problem first as we as a program and park want to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience at Tri-Star Park and continue to come back and play there for generations to come.
Q: We see other adult leagues playing here as well what's that all about?
A: Yes, we share this ballpark with Smokey Mountain Social an adult sports recreational group. They offer a lot of options for adults to come out and play the games you did when you were kids so why not join up one of their leagues and play the nights your kid may be at practice or maybe you can play on opposite nights and then you child can come watch, support and laugh at you while you run around playing. There's no better way to lead by example or to get your child interested in playing sports then doing it too. For more information on these adult leagues please go to www.smokymoutainsocial.com or click on their logo at the top of our page.
Q: When is concessions open?
A: Our park does have a great concessions stand and it will be open during all youth and adult sport seasons. Now sometimes if you are just practicing there may be another league playing their season so concessions may be open. Please stop in and purchase you drinks or hot dog from the park instead of the gas station on the way in. Our prices are very reasonable and as a park that has some bills that the other area parks do not have to worry about (lease and KUB monthly bills) we rely on every little bit we can to keep the programs going at a competitive cost.
Q: Are pets allowed?
A: Yes, just please remember to clean up after them as we don't need any "landmines" on or around our fields. Also please keep a close watch on your pet as kids will generally wanna come up and pet it and some animals will handle strangers or kids tugging at it different from others. Just in general be a respectful and responsible pet owner.
Q: Is smoking allowed?
A: Yes, however not around the fields! We have young athletes that have young lungs and as it is your right to smoke, vape or dip please lets think about the others around you. If you are going to do it step away from others, never blow smoke or vapors towards the other spectators, and if dipping don't spit in the common areas, as well as please pick up your cigarette butts as we try and keep this park as clean as possible.
A: The Sandlot Youth Sports League is an independent league meaning we are not on any of the county or city schedules or affiliations. We play all games right in our home ballpark of Tri-Star Park against our other park teams. Now this does make it hard if leagues have low numbers as we must have a certain amount of players to formulate a league since we cannot just join another league to create a season.
Q: What does my child's registration fee cover?
A: The registration fee for each sport is very precisely broken down to cover league costs. By league cost we mean jerseys for players, umpires and ref fees, insurance for the program, the website, and the equipment and gear we use for games and donate to our volunteer coaches to help at practices. Anything that is left over then gets put into an account to handle the more major costs and assist our sister adult programs and the needs of the ballpark overall. However, at the end of the seasons we will allow the parents and coaches to vote on a poll on what the next improvement will be for the major offseason project we are trying to do in between each sport season. This is the ballpark we hope your child will be playing in for years to come so we want you to have some say in some of the improvements.
Q: Why are there only young age groups?
A: The reason for only setting up leagues for the younger ages is because we are new and rebuilding this program that the community hasn't had for a number of years. When starting a program from scratch and looking to build on it it is best to build your base first meaning the younger ages. Most of the older kids have already been playing most of their years on the teams at other area parks as there wasn't an option here with that being said most will want to remain with their current teams and friends. We understand this can be a problem for some families with kids of different ages and we do apologize for that, however we are trying to build a program for this community for a number of years and its just best with the 3 local elementary schools to focus on building that base stronger. As the league continues to grow we will continue to add the older age groups.
Q: What rules do we play by?
A: As an independent league we are allowed to have a modified set of rules. Our leagues are more focused on development and the kids enjoying the sports so our rules are adjusted to teach and help them growth in athletics. As an example most league are very strict on their birthday cutoffs and sometimes you have that kid who just is not quite ready to move up and could benefit one more Fall or Spring season playing down before moving up, maybe the kid never played before or maybe there's something more going on. As far as official rules we kind of have the USSSA rule guidelines with a few modifications that we will make coaches and umpires aware of so that the info can be passed along to the parents and kids. Again we are more focused on life skills and development above anything else.
Q: What about rainouts?
A: Our league offers more games then any other local league and we have factored in a few time slots near end of the season to cover any make up games due to mother nature. As a park we will inform you of game cancellations with plenty of notice for the nights you play, as well as offer you ample notice for when your rain out games will be made up. We have tried to keep them on same nights your league is already playing but we do have a couple Saturday time slots near the end as well that if we have a number of rainouts may need to be utilized.
Q: Are there trophies?
A: Here at the SYSL we are trying to help teach these kids more then just sports, which is why for some of our leagues no there isn't a participation trophy as they are called. For our 5 & 6 year old age groups yes there will be small trophies handed out at the end of the season to each participant as generally this is their first year playing a sport so it's more of a keepsake. However, once your young athlete reaches the 8u levels we will only be providing awards to the top two teams in the league and are looking into league wide individual awards such as batting title, runs scored, etc. The purpose of this is to teach our youth that you don't always get a trophy that in life trophies and promotions are earned not given just because you showed up. As a former collegiate coach I saw athletes even at the college level not understand how to deal with not winning something. I know this is a subject that not everyone may agree with, however, its a philosophy we want to test out as an independent league.
Q: What do I do if there's a problem?
A: Please if there's a problem come to one of the youth directors or your coach. In today's day in age we understand that its easy to blast on social media, but once it is put out there it cannot be taken back even if deleted it's out there somewhere. We would hate to have a misunderstanding or something that can be easily managed or fixed turn into something that gets blown out of proportion online. Give us the opportunity to handle the problem first as we as a program and park want to make sure everyone has an enjoyable experience at Tri-Star Park and continue to come back and play there for generations to come.
Q: We see other adult leagues playing here as well what's that all about?
A: Yes, we share this ballpark with Smokey Mountain Social an adult sports recreational group. They offer a lot of options for adults to come out and play the games you did when you were kids so why not join up one of their leagues and play the nights your kid may be at practice or maybe you can play on opposite nights and then you child can come watch, support and laugh at you while you run around playing. There's no better way to lead by example or to get your child interested in playing sports then doing it too. For more information on these adult leagues please go to www.smokymoutainsocial.com or click on their logo at the top of our page.
Q: When is concessions open?
A: Our park does have a great concessions stand and it will be open during all youth and adult sport seasons. Now sometimes if you are just practicing there may be another league playing their season so concessions may be open. Please stop in and purchase you drinks or hot dog from the park instead of the gas station on the way in. Our prices are very reasonable and as a park that has some bills that the other area parks do not have to worry about (lease and KUB monthly bills) we rely on every little bit we can to keep the programs going at a competitive cost.
Q: Are pets allowed?
A: Yes, just please remember to clean up after them as we don't need any "landmines" on or around our fields. Also please keep a close watch on your pet as kids will generally wanna come up and pet it and some animals will handle strangers or kids tugging at it different from others. Just in general be a respectful and responsible pet owner.
Q: Is smoking allowed?
A: Yes, however not around the fields! We have young athletes that have young lungs and as it is your right to smoke, vape or dip please lets think about the others around you. If you are going to do it step away from others, never blow smoke or vapors towards the other spectators, and if dipping don't spit in the common areas, as well as please pick up your cigarette butts as we try and keep this park as clean as possible.