To meet your volunteer requirements each season, each family is required to:
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Volunteer for a Team Role
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Work the Snack Bar
Team Roles
Information about each Team Role can be found below. Team Roles are:
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Manager
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Assistant Coach (2 per team)
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Team Parent
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Safety Coordinator
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Scorekeeper (upper divisions only)
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Pitch Count (A-Ball division and above)
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Scoreboard Operator (upper divisions only)
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Music/Announcer (Friday Night Lights games at Hicks Canyon only)
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Practice Parents
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Digital Scorer (optional)
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Photo Day Coordinator (Spring season only)
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Angel’s Day Coordinator (Spring season only)
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Opening Day & Closing Day Ceremonies Committee (Spring season only)
We encourage you to choose a role that fits your schedule. If you are not able to meet the obligations of volunteering for a Team Role, you may choose to opt-out during registration for a $250 fee.
Snack Bar
Every family with a player on an upper division team (AA and above) is required to work in the Snack Bar. Snack Bar shifts are two hours. You can choose to work your shift during your child’s game or at a different time. During the Spring season, each family in the upper divisions is required to work two-to-three shifts. During Fall seasons, we have fewer Snack Bar shifts and the requirement changes based on the Snack Bar schedule. Usually in the fall, families who are not signed up for a Team Role will have to complete at least one Snack Bar shift. Claim your shift.
The main duties when working in the Snack Bar are taking orders, delivering orders, and taking payment. You are NOT required to work the grill! You can choose to volunteer during your child’s game or at another time. All signups are done on the NWLL website using Dibs. Because volunteering in the Snack Bar requires handling money, children under the age of 16 are not allowed to volunteer.
A note about opting out. You may choose to opt-out of Snack Bar duty during registration for a $150 fee. Please note that this fee is separate from the opt-out for volunteering for your team and is only available during the registration process. If you do not sign up to work at the Snack Bar or if you no-show to your Snack Bar shift, a $350 fee will be added to your child’s registration for the following season.
A note about NWLL’s Snack Bar. Our Snack Bar provider is Lima’s Peruvian Chicken Grill, owned and operated by a long-time NWLL family. The NWLL Snack Bar is known across District 55 for its amazing chicken sandwiches. Families from other leagues and families whose kids have aged out of NWLL often visit Hick’s Canyon on Friday Nights to enjoy Peruvian Chicken from Lima’s and Little League baseball. While NWLL Snack Bar is largely a labor of love, Lima’s contributes a portion of the profits back to the League every season. Without volunteers, NWLL would not be able to provide Snack Bar services to our families. If you have questions about NWLL Snack Bar or the volunteer requirement, please reach out to the VP of Volunteer Operations at [email protected].
Who Does What and When
Spring Season
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Home Team
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Away Team
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Field Set Up & Tear Down
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X
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X*
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Scorekeeper
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X
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Pitch Count / Scoreboard
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X*
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Music / Announcing
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X
Friday Night Lights @ Hick’s
Sundays @ Hick’s
Weekdays @ Hick’s optional
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The Away Team may provide their own walk-up songs.
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*Away teams from other League’s are exempted from Field Set Up and Tear Down. However, they must furnish a volunteer to do Pitch Count and Scoreboard per District 55 Guidelines for Interleague Play. Likewise, if a NWLL team is playing at another League’s field, NWLL must furnish a volunteer for Pitch Count / Scoreboard.
Fall Season
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Home Team
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Away Team
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Field Set Up & Tear Down
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X
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X
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Scorekeeper
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N/A
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N/A
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Pitch Count / Scoreboard
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X
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Music / Announcing
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X
Friday Night Lights @ Hick’s
Sundays @ Hick’s optional
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Team Roles Job Descriptions
Manager
The Little League Manager is a leader and a source of inspiration for the players they coach. Managers must demonstrate understanding, patience, and the capacity to work with children. Above all else, managers must realize they are helping to shape the physical, mental and emotional development of young people.
The manager is the leader of the team and is responsible for organizing practices, setting lineups, and teaching the fundamentals of baseball. While some prior knowledge of baseball is helpful, it is not required. We have many resources available for both first-time and experienced managers. Check out our Coaches Corner, which has official Little League practice plans and plenty of other resources for Managers.
To protect our pitchers’ arms, Managers in A-Ball and above are required to furnish an up-to-date Pitching Eligibility Tracking Form at every game. In the event of an on-field injury, Managers should complete an Injury Incident Report Form within 24 hours and email it to their Commissioner. Managers are responsible for uploading the results of games to SportsEngine.
NWLL Coaches are expected to abide by the NWLL Coaches Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background check and complete Concussion and Sudden Cardiac Arrest training on an annual basis. Coaches who are new to NWLL are required to complete the one-time Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training.
Assistant Coach
Like Managers, Assistant Coaches help build a supportive learning environment where players are developed and inspired. Assistant coaches are responsible for helping at practices, coaching first base and third base during games, and taking over if the manager is unavailable. Two assistant coaches per team are ideal. Your manager may also request practice parents to help out during practice and games to help keep the kids focused and on task.
NWLL Coaches are expected to abide by the NWLL Coaches Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background check and complete Concussion and Sudden Cardiac Arrest training on an annual basis. Coaches who are new to NWLL are required to complete the one-time Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training.
Team Parent
Think of the Manager as the head coach of the team and the Team Parent as the administrator. While the Manager sets the tone on the field, Team Parents set the tone for the volunteers and spectators. To build camaraderie, Team Parents should always approach volunteering with a positive attitude and work to make every family feel included.
Team Parents are responsible for coordinating Team Roles volunteers, managing the team’s communication on SportsEngine, hat and jersey personalization, printing team banners, assigning snacks (optional), and organizing off-field activities such as the end-of-year party. In essence, Team Parents do the day-to-day organization of the team so the Manager can focus on the kids.
While the Team Parent is not expected to know the rules and regulations of Little League baseball, we recommend they keep a binder (paper or digital) with the team’s official roster, NWLL’s Rules Summary, up-to-date NWLL Standing Rules, Pitching Eligibility Tracking Form for Managers, Northwood Pitching Log, and Injury Incident Report Form at every game.
Team Parents are expected to abide by the NWLL Volunteer Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background on an annual basis. Team Parents who are new to NWLL are required to complete a one-time Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training.
Practice Parent
Managers can't be everywhere on the baseball field during practices. Practice parents help at practice by setting up equipment, running drills, shagging balls, keeping the kids focused, and other tasks as assigned by the Manager.
Practice Parents are expected to abide by the NWLL Coaches Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background check and complete Concussion and Sudden Cardiac Arrest training on an annual basis. Practice Parents who are new to NWLL in a Spring season are required to complete the one-time Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training. Practice Parents who are new to NWLL in a Fall season are not required Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training.
Scorekeeper
Each team in the competitive divisions of Juniors, Intermediate, Majors, AAA, and AA must have an official scorekeeper for home games during the Spring season.
Scorekeeping is a fun way to stay in the action of the game. It should be done by an adult and requires the ability to stay focused for the entire game. NWLL provides Scorekeeper training at the start of every season and for the post-season All Stars Tournament.
At almost all local Little League fields, Scorekeepers are seated in a designated area behind home plate. Do not keep score from the stands. Because of their proximity to the players and umpires, Scorekeepers should not coach, cheer, or comment on an umpire’s call.
At this time, District 55 requires that the League keep official scores on paper in official scorebooks. If your team wishes to use an app like iScore to track stats, you are welcome to do so, but this role is separate from the official scorekeeper.
Tee Ball, Rookie and A Ball do not keep score, except at the end-of-year tournament, so no Scorekeeper is required for these divisions. Official scores are not kept during the Fall season, so Scorekeepers are asked to operate keep pitch count and operate the score board.
Team Parents are expected to abide by the NWLL Volunteer Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background on an annual basis.
Pitch Count & Scoreboard
In order to protect the health of our players, each team in divisions where players pitch (A-Ball and up) must track its pitchers’ pitch counts. The away team is responsible for tracking pitch count for both teams and operating the score board. This can be one person or two people, depending on the comfortability of your teams’ adults. At some other local Little League fields and during Tournament Play, the pitch count and scoreboard must be done by a single volunteer.
The scoreboard at Hick’s Canyon is operated using an iPad, therefore the Scoreboard Operator should be 12+.
Team Parents are expected to abide by the NWLL Volunteer Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background on an annual basis.
Opening Day & Closing Day Committee Volunteer
NWLL Opening Day is our biggest league event of the year and requires the most volunteers of any single day. Each team needs to provide an Opening Day volunteer to help staff booths, run raffles, set up and tear down the fields, guide traffic, etc. If you’re interested in this role, contact your Team Parent.
Picture Day Coordinator
Picture Day Coordinators are responsible for distributing photo envelopes and collecting orders for the NWLL Picture Day. They are also responsible for communicating to each team the specific photo time and organizing the team on Picture Day. If you’re interested in this role, contact your Team Parent.
Angel Day Coordinator
Angel Day is a specific date, usually in late May or early June where NWLL has special discounted group tickets for an Angel’s game at Angel’s Stadium in Anaheim. The Angel Day Coordinator is responsible for marketing and selling tickets to their team and organizing the team on Angel Day. If you’re interested in this role, contact your Team Parent.
Umpire
Volunteer umpires are needed at the upper divisions to referee games. The role of Umpire is the most important league role next to Manager. Umpires are responsible for ensuring the fairness and safety of our games. Training is required and is provided by the League throughout the year.
NWLL is proud to offer a Junior Umpire Program for people ages 13-17. Junior Umpires earn volunteer hours and receive a free meal from the Snack Bar as well as a Visa gift card.
Umpires may not referee games in the same division that their child/family member plays in. For example, a youth umpire may not ump a game that his/her sibling is playing in or any games in their sibling’s division.
Our non-competitive divisions (Tee Ball, Rookie or A Ball) do not require umpires since the games are not scored.
Umpires are expected to abide by the NWLL Volunteer Code of Conduct and are required to complete a League background check and complete Concussion and Sudden Cardiac Arrest training on an annual basis. Umpires who referee more than 7 games per month or 14 games per year are required to complete the one-time Live Scan fingerprinting & Mandatory Child Abuse Reporting training.