Riverside Bradford Baseball Board Meeting Minutes 

I. Call to Order 

Meeting held via Zoom on Monday, March 15, 2021 at 8:00PM. Called to order by Matt Souza, President, at 8:05PM. 

II. Roll Call 

In attendance: Matt Souza (President), PJ Panneton (VP Baseball Operations), Andy DiPietro (VP Administration), Jared  Duemling (Player Agent), Jennifer Duemling (Treasurer), Peter Stoehr (Secretary), Kyle Walker, Wayne Knight, Bill  McCarthy, Michael Nutton, Pat Lavigne, Randel George, Steve O’Connell, and Jason Lahaye.  

Absent: Seth Heisler, Randel George, and Jonathan Elwell.  

III. Approval of Minutes  

Minutes for meeting held on March 2, 2021 were distributed and reviewed by Board of Directors. There were no  objections to approving the minutes as distributed.  

Motion to accept made by Michael, seconded by PJ. Accepted unanimously.  

IV. Order of Business 

A. Registration Update  

a. Divisions  

i. As of 3/15, we have 354 players registered: 

1. T-Ball / Instructional: 111 

2. A/AA: 73 

3. RB Senior: 13; 5 waitlisted 

4. Major/Minor: 76 

5. 60/70: 64 

6. Buddy Ball: 15 

b. Realignment 

i. Major 60/70 – talent / #’s not strong enough  

ii. Looking at three (3) teams of 12 players per draft 

iii. Approx 56 players in the 10-, 11-, and 12-year-old age category; not enough in AA for a true AA  division  

1. Discussed creating a U12 farm league to combine these players and form a new division;  

could create a five (5) team league with the numbers we have right now 

2. Single A = 4 teams of approx. 11 or 12 players 

iv. #’s look okay for Major/Minor and T-Ball / Instructional  

v. New Single A could be more of a developmental league; wouldn’t require a patched umpire to be  present to call the game. 

vi. 28 players not coming to 60/70; where do we put them? 

1. 3 divisions proposed; 2 for competition for 10-12 year olds and 1 for developmental, non 

competitive Single A for 9 years olds (12U Division) with modified rules  

*Motion to accept made by Matt. 12 votes YES and 1 vote NO; motion passed.  

c. Division Commissioners  

i. Instructional / T-Ball: Matt and Andy will be co-commissioners 

ii. Major / Minor: Jared 

iii. Single A: Jennifer 

iv. Major 70: PJ 

v. Seniors: Randel 

vi. 12U Farm Division: Michael and Kyle 

d. Senior League Contact / Update 

i. We have 18 players registered and only 1 coach signed up 

ii. Main issue in the past is that we’ve spread the talent out over 2-3 teams in the past and the  competition was lacking.  

iii. Proposal would be to take 14 kids and build one competitive team via tryouts; team will have a  coach and a league rep 

iv. The program / games would start in late May 

v. Pitching from 60 feet 

*topic / discussion will be tabled and continue at next meeting on Monday, 4/5.  

e. SafeSport / Background Checks 

i. SafeSport is not a requirement but a guideline / recommendation. CORI is mandatory for all  coaches / volunteers. Andy will manage the CORI process. 

f. Coaches 

i. No new updates since last meeting on 3/2.  

B. Equipment Update 

a. No major updates since last meeting. 

C. Uniforms 

a. No major update since last meeting; we will be eliminating a couple of the proposed teams due to  registration numbers.  

D. Sponsorship Updates 

a. Andy received several checks and emails from sponsors that need to be reconciled. Jared has a running  tally and Pat has a spreadsheet to reconcile everything we have to date.  

b. Jared spoke with Dick’s Sporting Goods and they will be donating a $500 GC, $300 in coupons, and will  provide us with a 20% off flyer that will be good the weekend of 4/9 – 4/12 for all players and their families. c. Registration closes on 3/19. Jared will manage the lead time for the sponsor materials (i.e. banners, etc)  and we’ll need all sponsor donations in by Thursday, 4/1.  

E. Photos / Plaques 

a. We’re going to take individual pictures of the players and CLIX will superimpose each player into their team  photo. 

b. Two (2) photo days will be set-up. 

c. PJ and Matt will make the schedule; could be during the week. 

d. One-year remains on the contract with CLIX; looking to put this out to bid with other vendors next year. 

F. Opening Day 

a. We can’t have an Opening Day ceremony like years past. Andy suggested Matt reaches out to other towns  to see what they’re doing for OD. Matt plans to touch base with Will Page in Methuen for some suggestions. b. Jared suggested a virtual ceremony playing the National Anthem and having the Mayor throw out the first  pitch. 

c. +Suggestions were made to have teams make virtual videos to showcase during the ceremony OR put  together a PowerPoint presentation with team photos / player photos, team name, and sponsor info.  

G. Proposed Fields 

a. Matt will figure things out with PJ. We’re looking at 1 practice + 1 game per week or 2 games + 1 practice  per week depending on the league / numbers: 

i. T-Ball / Instructional: 10 teams 

ii. Single A: 4 teams 

iii. Farm League: 5 teams 

iv. Major 70: 3 teams 

v. Major / Minor: 7 teams 

H. Coaches Manual  

a. Jason presented his revisions, and we need to finalize key dates for the manual and bring any revisions to  the BOD for review and approval.  

I. Insurance Charter 

a. All set with this for now. Matt will update again once the teams are set.  

J. Cooperstown Update 

a. March Madness Fundraiser is $10 to enter.  

b. A golf tourney is in the works for Friday, June 18th at Bradford CC; 4-man scramble format. 

K. Open Floor 

a. We need to follow-up with any outstanding sponsors to get their money in by 4/1. 

b. Matt will follow-up with the City of Haverhill on the status / conditions of the fields. 

c. PJ and Jason put signs up around town to help drive up our registration numbers. 

d. Proposal to form a partnership with the Boys Club; Pat will reach out to Javier to open the discussion.  

V. Closing 

Next meeting to take place on Monday, April 5th at 7:30PM via Zoom. Motion to Adjourn made by Jason Lahaye at  9:17PM. Seconded by PJ Panneton and Mike Nutton. Accepted unanimously. 

Submitted, Peter Stoehr, Secretary