Soderville Bengal Fastpitch is a volunteer organization. The Commissioner, Director, Treasurer, Board, Coaches, Assistant Coaches and others, all take their own time to keep making our program strong and affordable for the girls. Those of us involved take great pride in the program we provide for the girls but we continue to need more help.

Every year we try to host Tournaments. These tournaments bring in the extra money needed to keep our fees low, but they take a lot of work. There are field prep and tear down hours, raking and chalking in between games, concessions workers and a tournament director needed for each tournament. Bengal Fastpitch takes pride in having a well-run tournament which means a volunteer commitment from each of you.

We are excited for the upcoming 2024 summer season.  This email is a refresher of the Soderville Fastpitch volunteer fee structure.  We get it, it can be confusing if you are new to the program.  Heck, it can be confusing even if you are not new.  Here are details and everything, yep I said 'everything' you need to know!  There are two separate volunteer fees for Fastpitch players.

1. The first portion ($100) was paid to SBAA during your registration last fall.
   • SBAA is the head organization and pays for things like insurance, field rental, those nice porta-pottys, and general administrative expense of the organization.
   • How do you get this back?   You can volunteer at one of our three concession stands or do field maintenance during the season or at the end-of-season tournaments.  Other opportunities to volunteer may come up and we will send out emails as needs arise.
2. The second portion is a check deposit of $300 collected by your Soderville Fastpitch coach in the spring prior to the start of the season.  This check will not be cashed unless your 2nd volunteer commitment falls short at the end of the season.  Here are the full disclosure details of this volunteer commitment so your check does not get cashed.  (Don't fall asleep reading this!).
   • We are not looking to cash your check, only for your volunteer time to keep a well-run program!  Please volunteer!
   • Your volunteer commitment is to complete a single four hour shift of field maintenance at a SBAA hosted fastpitch tournament.  The key words are Field Maintenance and SBAA Hosted.
   • Field Maintenance really does mean field maintenance.  It is raking and chalking of the fields during the tournament games as well as keeping the park clean.  It does not include not concessions. Bummer!  
   • SBAA Hosted means Soderville Fastpitch or MN Moose tournaments at the Ham Lake Lion's Park fields.  Please note, this does not include Soderville Baseball.  The game must have a little yellow ball.
   • Your volunteer commitment can be fulfilled by anyone age 14 or over.  Feel free to hire the neighbor to cover your hours.  
   • Sign up for the field maintenance shifts is found on the DIBS site as Fastpitch Field Maintenance.  See the Soderville Fastpitch website for a link when available.
   • The shifts for the weekend tournaments cannot be posted until the week of the tournament when the game schedule is finalized.  Currently the weekend tournaments are scheduled for June 3-4 and July 8-9 (one additional tournament may be scheduled),
   • Questions can be emailed to Corryn at operations@sodervilleblaine.org, not to James Saulsbury, Heather Wright or her doppelganger Stephanie Wallschlaeger.  Who are they anyway?

Before games begin, your coach will collect a check from you in the amount of $300 payable to “Soderville/Blaine Fastpitch” for the traveling volunteer fee. Once your volunteer commitment has been fulfilled, the check will either be returned to you or destroyed.  In the memo section on the check please write your preference, return or destroy. Checks will NOT be returned until the end of the season.  If you have more than one child playing fastpitch you only have to write one $300 check for your oldest child.

**Please note - some of you may have already completed your 2024 hours in the fall of 2023.  A list of these families will be forwarded to the coaches and they will not collect a check from you,

FASTPITCH VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Soderville Bengal Fastpitch is a volunteer organization. The Commissioner, Director, Treasurer, Board, Coaches, Assistant Coaches and others take their personal time to ensure our program is strong and affordable. Those of us involved take great pride in the program we provide for the girls.  Hosting tournaments brings in the extra funds needed to keep fees low.  As you can imagine, these tournaments take a great deal of effort.  There are field prep and tear down hours, raking and chalking in between games, concessions workers and a tournament director needed for each tournament. Soderville Fastpitch takes pride in having a well-run tournament which starts with a volunteer commitment from each of you.  Thank you for volunteering your time!

TBD