The following is part of our ongoing efforts to keep all members apprised of the latest KCMSSL happenings.
This Newsletter’s Table of Contents:
- All-Star Games / Picnic, Etc. Review
- End of 2026 Season
- Annual Membership Meeting
- Board of Directors Election
- Membership Survey
- “Rookie” Skill Rating Reviews
- Military Service Wall
- Pull Tabs
ALL-STAR GAMES / PICNIC, ETC. REVIEW
Early feedback from participants at this year’s All-Star Games / Picnic / Skills Contests at Happy Rock Park has been positive. Was the drive somewhat of an inconvenience for a majority of our membership? Probably…because the complex is not “just around the corner” for most, but it’s a once-per-season trip.
Happy Rock Park offers us 5 fields–perfect for the 4-5 hour timeline we desire to address our litany of games, the picnic, skill events, sports memorabilia auction, etc. And having those fields situated so closely together (in a circle) allots participants and spectators very easy navigation from one field to another — https://maps.app.goo.gl/j8kaZm4RVWMXmUK69 . We also received nothing but positive comments about the fields’ playing conditions. Not to mention, the park offers more parking than any one of our other current conference venues. So, we now have two viable locations (Black Bob Park and Happy Rock) to consider using going forward.
We do, however, need to sincerely apologize for the one hornet nest we had to eliminate near the 3rd base dugout on Field #4 🙁 . Sorry about that, but we were unaware of its presence until the nest was disturbed and one person got stung.
One final note. We wish to address our past, current, and future “wanna-bee” participants for the Pitching Accuracy skill event. We have already voted to change this event’s rules for 2027. The new guidelines will make things much more appealing for our contestants, since the changes will allow for easier and, subsequently more, scoring. We will share the details of these changes with all members as we get closer to next year’s event.
2026 SEASON COMING TO A CLOSE;
Our 2026 season has already ended for a couple of conferences, while others (due to heatouts & rainouts) may run close to the end of October. There were new challenges again this season, as always. Let’s all keep in mind that whatever level of success that was achieved for your conference was the result of the ongoing dedicated efforts of our team managers, conference coordinators, and conference directors. OUR THANKS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
Plan now to attend our Annual Membership Meeting — scheduled for Saturday – December 12th, at the Tomahawk Ridge Community Center – 11902 Lowell Ave, Overland Park, KS 66213 — https://goo.gl/maps/vWXu1h9K2dxNbYgUA, beginning at 9:00 AM with free coffee & Big Daddy’s Donuts. Yes, typically this event is held the 1st Saturday of December, but due to renovations occurring at Overland Park’s Matt Ross Community Center, all of that location’s events had to be spread out among the other area centers, so our event ended up being pushed back to the 2nd Saturday. At this meeting we will:
- Recap various 2026 events and what changes may be on the horizon for 2027
- Present conference championship shirts to those teams that have not yet received them
- Present Skills Contests winners (from this year’s All-Star Games festivities) with their photo plaques
- Provide trophies to each honoree of the Wes Weddle Spirit of the Game award
- And awards to this year’s Rookie of the Year winners
- Award Ambassador jackets, or windbreakers, to all qualifying recipients (those who have achieved 20 points as a member and/or accumulated service)
- And finally, we will bestow the Presidential Award to this year’s deserving member, or members–if deemed appropriate.
Numerous other topics will be addressed, to be followed by questions anyone may wish to ask–which hopefully can be answered.
More information is to come in subsequent newsletters between now and December.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS
A heads-up that around November 1st you will be receiving an email requesting you to vote for 5 new, or a combination of incumbent and new, Board of Directors for our upcoming 2027 season. There will be a link in the email that you will click on to cast your votes. Please make your voice heard….so WE can serve YOU in the best way possible.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP SURVEY
Once the 2026 season comes to an end for all conferences, you will receive a request, via this same email process, to provide feedback to our Survey Committee and ultimately the Board of Directors as to how the events of this past season unfolded. The survey, which will be our 9th annual, will be seeking feedback as to what went well…what didn’t go so well; what you feel could be improved upon, as well as what you may feel should “stay the same”; etc., etc.
It’s possible we may already be aware of some of what you will report, but we’re quite sure we’re unaware of all the happenings around the league. It is our “desire” to address everyone’s feelings/concerns, but please realize that maybe not all of them are correctable (to the level you may wish). As a board member, it is our job to serve you the best we can. But, we are unable to do that if we’re unaware of your desires/needs, so please assist us–via this upcoming survey–by making us aware.
ANNUAL SKILL RATING REVIEWS FOR OUR “ROOKIES”
Another end-of-the-season task we have each year is conducting skill reviews/rating adjustments for each of our 1st-year members, or our “rookies”. To date we have 116 first-year (rookie) players for our 2026 season. If you played with or against one of these 116 players during the year, you will receive an email (once all sessions are complete) requesting feedback on his/her skills–in an effort to get each individual properly skill rated going forward. The email will ask for your feedback on only those rookies who played in the same conference(s) as you.
Our player rating system is only as good as the information we/you feed into it. Therefore, help us make it the best it can be by providing feedback to these skill rating requests.
And as always, if there is any other member you feel is currently improperly rated, please email a request for review to Clint Berger – clintberger@hotmail.com. A couple of sentences simply stating why you feel the person is incorrectly rated is all that is needed. Don’t know what base-rating your player of interest possesses? Your manager may be able to assist, or simply ask Clint to provide you that person’s base rating.
Hopefully, most of you know that a person’s base rating is reduced one rating point for each 5-year drop in the listed age of the conference in which the member participates. Example: When a #5 base-rated 60-year-old player participates in a 55-year-old conference, his/her adjusted rating for that conference drops from a 5 down to a 4. And only the ratings from the top 12 rated players on a team’s roster are utilized in the team’s overall rating.
MILITARY SERVICE WALL
We have already collected military service information on 134 of our current or deceased members. If you have served in our military, please help grow this list by providing the following:
- Photo of the subject military serviceperson (we would prefer a recent picture…we simply want those viewing the individual’s information to be able to “put a familiar face with a name”):
- Full Name:
- Branch of Service:
Send your information to: John Mondi – jmondi@kc.rr.com, or mail it to John — 10517 W 102nd Ter., Overland Park, KS 66214. Questions?…..please give John a call – 913.284.6005.
CONTINUE TO SAVE THOSE PULL TABS!!!!
Continue to collect those “pull tabs” to turn over to Deb Brown — for the local Ronald McDonald House. You may also hand them in, at your convenience, to your team manager, your conference coordinator, or any one of the board members. You can even bring whatever you’ve collected to date to our Annual December Membership Meeting and give to Deb. This is a charitable organization to which all of us should be able to contribute.
