SO, you wanna play softball …
Fairfax
Adult Softball (FAS) is excited about your interest in our program and we
welcome your participation. FAS promotes
and administers established softball teams in an adult slowpitch softball
program within
If you are
an individual looking to play on an established team, visit our “Join A Team”
message board from the FAS home page.
To form your
own team, which
is the best way to guarantee playing softball, we have some
suggestions:
Ø
First,
you must find interested and committed individuals. Ask family members, co-workers, friends, and
neighbors, but be sure they will be 18 years of age by December 31. FAS receives numerous calls daily from
individuals interested in joining a team, so we started a “Join a Team” message
board that can be found on the FAS home page to assist managers in recruiting
players. FAS requires a minimum of 12
persons on a team with a maximum of 30 (you need to make sure you have a sub
list of rostered players for those nights when your “regulars” are unable to
play.)
o
In recruiting your players, please know that
Ø
Second,
you select a manager and assistant manager who will be responsible for the
administration of the team and to act as a liaison between the team and
FAS. These are the two persons FAS will
communicate with on all aspects of your season.
Please note that the manager and assistant manager are administrative
positions and not necessarily who you may select to coach or manage your team
on the field.
Ø
Third,
you must determine how your newly formed team is going to pay the fees required
to register your team. Franchise fees
are different for each season and do change from year to year. For planning purposes, a fair estimate of
just the franchise fee costs would be: Spring/Summer is around $700; Mini is
around $225; and Fall is around $550. Teams
may use any one of the following or any combination of them: 1) self-sponsored where
the cost is split between each member of the team; 2) team fund raisers like
car washes, bake sales, candy bar sales; or 3) obtain a sponsor to partially or
fully pay your team’s fees.
·
In
addition to the franchise fee listed on the application, your team will have
extra expenses to incorporate into your total financial needs for a season.
o
There
is a $20 non-county fee required with roster submission which is payable per
person/per team/per sport/per season and the season is defined as spring (FAS
early open), summer (FAS late open and mini seasons), and fall (FAS fall
season.)
o
Softballs may be purchased from FAS or another
choice. To purchase from FAS, please
check the appropriate boxes on the Application or visit the FAS office. Your team will supply and hit its own
approved softballs. The approved softballs for FAS play will be those approved
by ASA for each division of play and stamped by ASA, ISA, NSA, SSAA or USSSA.
·
Males
in any division of play must hit a 12-inch, .440 max COR, 375.0 lbs compression
softball.
·
Females
in any division of play must hit an 11-inch, .440 max COR, 375.0 lbs max
compression softball.
o
Uniforms are not
required, however, most teams, at the minimum, do wear matching t-shirts or
jerseys. The FAS home page has several
sponsors listed who can making ordering your uniforms easy if you choose to
purchase.
o
Bats can be an expensive item. Generally players have their own bats, but
many teams do purchase one or two community team bats. A list of approved bats is listed on the FAS
homepage under Rules. Please be sure to
visit this list BEFORE purchasing any bat.
Bat checks are strictly enforced at all games, so teams should use only
approved equipment.
o
Players
are responsible for their own gloves, approved footwear (no metal cleats), and
gear. FAS provides bases and officials
for each game.
·
The
majority of FAS teams have some sort of sponsorship.
It can be difficult obtaining funding but perseverance and commitment
will pay off and FAS has some hints to help you. A large majority of sponsors are local
restaurants and bars that you or your players patronize, or that you and your
players promise to frequent as part of your team-game experience. Consider asking you or your player’s
employers who quite frequently consider this a fringe benefit. A retail business that sells sporting goods
or promotes sports is an excellent choice.
Real estate agents quite often lend their support for the publicity.
o
The
key to obtaining a sponsor is to sell your value to them. Sponsorship is an inexpensive method of
advertising and an excellent exposure venue.
A sponsor has their name displayed on uniforms, on the FAS website in
the standings pages which is frequented thousands of times each season, in the
FAS newspaper “Full Count” which is published quarterly for over 10,000 players
to read, and said over and over again by players discussing their games with
their friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.
A team sponsorship is not a charitable tax deduction; however it certainly
is an advertising tax expense credit.
Ø
Fourth, you must register your team by the established deadlines
of February 10 for spring/summer softball, July 1 for the mini-season, and August 1, for the Fall
Season. Registering your team with FAS is
easy. Online registration is the primary method of registering;
however, you may also come to the office to register. Once the application, with complete payment,
is made, you are set. FAS offers the
following programs:
o
Spring/Summer
EARLY OPEN begins play in April and
continues for 10 weeks, 10 double-headers, and culminates with the playoff
tournaments in July. Leagues are offered
for:
§
Men
§
Women
§
Coed
§
Social
Saturday Coed
§
Reston/Herndon
area for Men, Church and Coed.
o
Spring/Summer
LATE OPEN begins play in June and
continues for 10 weeks, 10 double-headers, and culminates with the playoff
tournament in August. Leagues are offered
for:
§
Men
§
Coed,
Corporate Coed (teams comprised entirely of employees from one sponsoring
group)
§
Men’s
Masters (must be at least 35 years old by December 31)
§
Men’s
Seniors (must be at least 50 years old by December 31).
o
Mini-season
begins the end of July and continues for 5 weeks, 5 double-headers, and is a
strictly social program with no standings, no awards, and no playoff
tournaments. Leagues are offered for:
§
Men
§
Women
§
Coed
o
Fall
begins the day after Labor Day and continues for 7 weeks, 7 double-headers, and
ends with the buy-in fall tournaments.
Leagues are offered for:
§
Men
§
Women
§
Coed
§
Corporate
Coed
§
Men’s
Seniors
§
Reston/Herndon
area for Men and Coed
Ø
Fifth,
there is a mandatory Organizational Meeting held the
first part of March for the spring/summer program only, and you or a
representative of your team must attend.
You will be notified in late February of the meeting place, date, time, and
agenda. There are no pre-season meetings
for the Mini or Fall seasons.
Ø Sixth, an official roster is required before beginning play,
and no less then 2 business days prior to your first game. Rosters are completed online from the FAS
Home Page, Team Manager section. This
roster must contain complete information on all players and substitutes for
your team and may not exceed 30 players.
Remember that at 2/3 of your roster must be
Ø
Seventh,
Practice Fields are allocated in the spring/summer
program only. Applications will be made
available on line and are due the end of February. Practice fields are extremely limited; each
team is generally permitted a one and one-half hour practice, once a week. Practice fields can be obtained throughout
the year via email requests to the FAS office and limited to space available.
Ø Eighth, familiarize yourself
completely and thoroughly with the RULES,
both FAS and ASA. Inform your players of
all rules, especially those regarding conduct.
Rule books will be distributed at the March Organizational Meeting and
are always available at the FAS office.
You can review the FAS rules from the FAS Home Page and the ASA rules
are available from their home page, http://www.softball.org.
Ø Last, begin play and enjoy the
camaraderie and fun that can only be found by participating in the Fairfax
Adult Softball program!
Oops, I missed the deadline!?!
If the
deadline has passed, FAS will continue to accept applications until the league
is filled or play has begun. Submit your
application as soon as possible. If the
league is filled, we will put you on a waiting list and should a current
registered team not be able to participate, than you can fill that vacated
position. Additionally, FAS may be able
to take teams from the waiting list and form a new division to play on a day
determined by FAS.