Located in the heart of a thriving youth sports community in Massapequa Park, New York, Massapequa International Little League has become a staple of athletic excellence. Based in a town known for its competitive spirit and strong sports culture, the league has built a reputation for success, highlighted by its 2023 Little League Softball® World Series Championship title. Families across the region are eager to be a part of the experience, drawn to the league’s commitment to developing the youngest athletes in the Tee Ball Division through the Senior League Division. The league continues to see strong participation and retention at every level, thanks to its dedication to skill development, teamwork, and community.
To learn more about Massapequa International LL, Little League® sat down with Christopher Brooks, League President; Tom Dorsa, Softball Vice President; and Joe Mulligan, Baseball Vice President, for a Local League Spotlight, a series of content created to help other leagues learn from each other’s success stories.
Why Little League and Why Tee Ball?
Chris Brooks (CB): Nothing is better than Little League. You’re playing with kids in your community and building lifelong memories together at such a young age. When you put a lot of investment into the younger divisions, the goal is to give the kids the ability to learn different skills and the fundamentals of each program. It’s about keeping all 1,100 kids in mind when we build these programs. When we offer these programs, it’s about making the league the best it can be. We have seen kids from other programs come to join us because we put so much effort into our younger age groups. From the opening day parade, an end-of-season barbecue, to 15 to 18 games a year. We place a large emphasis on Little League coming first, and we put all our resources into making sure that every kid, not just our tournament kids, gets the best experience out of our league and out of the program.
- The league begins reaching out to the local preschools with information about the Tee Ball Division and how to sign up for the upcoming season.
Preparation, Transparency, and Accountability
Tom Dorsa (TD): We have a new parent meeting every year, and it is generally filled with parents who are new to the league, from four-year-olds to nine-year-olds. There, they become fully aware of how we operate, how we work, and work to be a very transparent league. Anything they want to know, we’re happy to tell them. We want to be transparent and accessible.
CB: After the start-of-the-season coach meeting, where we review goals for the season, we direct them to LittleLeague.org, where there is training material. Additionally, Lisa Dorsa, who leads the Tee Ball division in our softball program, invites all the coaches, managers, and team helpers for that division and gives a speech about what her expectations are and provides them with information on the drills they should do and who to reach out to for help. If a parent reaches out to any of our league vice presidents, we usually respond within 12 to 24 hours to that parent, whether that is over email or hopping on a call with them. We are always here to help and guide them throughout their experience.
Joe Mulligan (JM): If you look at the leadership from the top down, and the coaches and other volunteers see that we are putting in a lot of effort from the parade to field maintenance, those characteristics will follow in each of our divisions as far as how they run. It has been great to see over the past few years how everyone has increased their efforts in many different areas to make the league so strong. Additionally, by holding the league vice presidents accountable and expecting good things from them, you know that the program will be strong across the board.
Clinics that Build Skills and Confidence
CB: In the winter, through coordination with the local school districts, we provide free clinics for our Tee Ball divisions and up. We provide pitching, catching, and field work clinics. We have a lot of dedicated volunteers at that younger age to try and teach the kids the right way to hit a ball off the tee or how to throw the ball. For our coaches, Joe set up a lot of our local college and varsity coaches to come down and give a free coaches clinic to work with our younger coaches on certain things. Tom has also gotten some high school varsity girls to come and teach the coaches how to teach young girls how to pitch. We try and pull in our resources in the community to give our coaches and volunteers as much information and resources as possible.
TD: Many of our older players who have aged out come back to help us teach the younger players. They dedicate their time to coming down to work with the little ones on building those fundamental skills. The younger players admire the older players, and seeing them there, I think, is what helps bring them back, because they aspire to be a varsity baseball or softball player one day.
Making Games Fun and Inclusive at Every Level
CB: To keep the youngest age group engaged, we adhere to a 70- or 80-minute time limit on the scheduled games, twice a week, at a minimum. The first 20 to 30 minutes are specific. The coaches work with the kids on the side on different drills, so the kids are not standing around; every kid is actively doing something. The remaining 30 to 40 minutes is allocated to about a 2 or 3-inning game. During the game, we use little round discs that stay in certain positions to help the players identify where to stand for each position. After every three or four batters, we rotate the kids to different positions to keep them engaged the entire time they are playing.
TD: Each division has its method of making it fun. For instance, in Tee Ball, we have a home run hitter at the end of the inning to clear the bases because we play base to base. Another one is having a coach present a game ball to a player at the end of each game, and at that age, that is a big deal. These are the things that make the games fun and exciting for them, especially as the weeks go on.
Softball on the Rise
TD: One big thing we have seen since the Little League Softball World Series championship win in 2023 is the younger girls coming to the games to watch the older girls play. The intensity level with the parents and the kids has multiplied since that World Series win. Many of those World Series girls have come back to help with clinics in the winter and help coach the younger divisions. Every year, our numbers have crept up, but the intensity level has gone through the roof. What also helped grow our softball program was the start of a Fall Ball program during the pandemic year. We wanted to start something to get the kids outside playing and moving around. I think that got a lot of people interested in softball who generally were not before.
To learn more about the Little League program and find a league in your community, visit PlayLittleLeague.org.
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