To all potential new umpires. We will be hiring approximately 12-15 new umpires this year. You must be 14 years or older in 2021 and have a general knowledge of baseball and attend a clinic in late April (date to be determined). To apply for consideration please send your name, age, phone number and email contact to: paull@starship.ca.
Orleans Little League Baseball is operated entirely by VOLUNTEERS. The League relies on the efforts of over 150 volunteers each year to ensure the organization runs smoothly.
Kindly consider giving your time to Little League this season. Volunteer today!
All volunteers, whether it’s your first time with OLLB or you have volunteered previously must fill out the 2021 Volunteer Form.
For more information: Click here
Please see below for key information related to the 2021 Baseball Season. OLLB continues to work with Ottawa Public Health and the appropriate levels of government, to ensure a safe season. As we learn more about the upcoming season we will post updates here and through social media channels. Before registering we encourage you to read the information below.
| Division | Age | Cost (Spring 2020)* | Born between |
| T Ball | 5-6 | $140 | Sep 1/14 – Aug 31/16 |
| Coach Pitch | 7-8 | $160 | Sep 1/12 – Aug 31/14 |
| Minor | 9-10 | $200 | Sep 1/10 – Aug 31/12 |
| Major | 11-12 | $210 | Sep 1/08 – Aug 31/10 |
| Junior | 13-14 | $235 | Sep 1/06 – Aug 31/08 |
| Senior | 15-16 | $260 | Sep 1/04 – Aug 31/06 |
| U19 | $300 | Sep 1/01 – Aug 31/04 | |
| Challenger | $70 | All ages |
(* – no increase from 2020)
Morissette: Remembering baseball coach Lou Nistico
Baseball Canada media/public relations coordinator Adam Morissette, shown here as a young catcher, was fortunate to have former NHLer Lou Nistico as his baseball coach in Orleans, Ont., in 1994. Photo: Adam Morissette
December 9, 2020
By Adam Morissette
Canadian Baseball Network
“Love is the most important thing in the world, but baseball is pretty good, too.”
Yogi Berra
My Little League Coach from 1994, Lou Nistico, passed away suddenly on November 27 and I wanted to write about his influence on a 12-year-old kid who loved nothing more than competing with his friends on sandlots in the Ottawa area, enjoying a game that would shape my future.
I’m extremely fortunate to make my living today working in the game of baseball and having people like Lou who helped me foster a love for the sport through their own passion and love for the game.
Since his passing, many tributes, and rightfully so, detailing Lou’s contributions to the hockey world have poured in, including a tweet from current Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe from their time in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) together.
But I’m writing today to explain Lou’s ties to the baseball community here in Ottawa and his influence on dozens of players, including me, in Ottawa’s east-end, Orleans, in the 1990s.
A huge fan of the New York Yankees, Lou represented Canada for his hometown of Thunder Bay, Ont., at the Big League World Series in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 1970, just days before reporting to the London Knights training camp for his rookie season in the Ontario Hockey Association.
Lou went on to an extremely successful junior hockey career with the Knights, becoming a crowd favourite where he earned the nickname “Leapin’ Lou.”
After a pro hockey career that included 186 games in the World Hockey Association and three games with the NHL’s Colorado Rockies in 1977-78, Lou settled in Ottawa with his family in 1984 where he began to lay roots in the region that he called home for the last 36 years.
With hockey taking precedent for Lou and son Justin with one of the most successful minor hockey teams in Ottawa’s history, the Cumberland Barons “79” squad in the winter months, the Nistico’s turned their attention towards baseball in the summers with a program on the rise, the Orleans Little League Red Sox.
After Justin and the Red Sox “Major All-Stars” brought Orleans its first provincial championship and subsequent Canadian championship appearance in 1990 (won by future MLB All-Star Jason Bay and Trail, BC) Lou took over the 11-and-12 year-old squad in 1991 and so began a string of six consecutive District 6 championships for Orleans that included three straight appearances in the Ontario final from 1992 to 1994 with an Ontario championship in 1993.
Justin moved on from the Major division after the ‘91 season, but Lou kept on coaching other people’s kids because he loved it and they loved him for it. He loved being around the game, the families that came with it and teaching life lessons through baseball like hard work, commitment, what it meant to work towards a goal, competing, failing and learning from those failures. But most of all, he taught us to have fun, respect your teammates, coaches and respect the game itself. Because at the end of the day, that’s what baseball was and always should be for a 12-year-old, just a game.
The season before I made the Major Red Sox, Lou led the squad to an Ontario championship on home soil at Gardenway Park in Orleans in 1993 where they defeated LaSalle Turtle Club in front of hundreds of local fans. I knew right then and there where I wanted to be the next summer.
Did I mention that Lou was scared of flying? He drove the entire 10 plus hours to the Canadian championships in Saint John, N.B., from Ottawa that summer while the rest of the squad flew.
It was an all-star team on the field in ‘93 and they had an all-star coaching staff to go with it including former Ottawa 67’s star and NHL’er Peter Lee handling the assistant coach duties while Lou was the manager. Imagine having two former pro hockey players as your Little League coaches? Amazing!
The squad got out to a 3-0 record in Saint John but lost its last two round robin games to finish third while a team from Lynn Valley, BC won the national crown and represented Canada in Williamsport at the Little League World Series.
Orleans was led on the field in ‘93 by future Los Angeles Dodgers’ draft pick (selected by legendary Canadian scout Claude Pelletier in 1998) Marc-André Lagacé who took the ball every second game (pitch count restrictions were virtually non-existent in those days) and overpowered hitters from the left side while swinging a mean stick as the Red Sox three-hole hitter.
I knew I stood a good chance of making the all-star squad in 1994 and indoor workouts started in school gyms during the winter months before we hit the field at the beginning of May.
If you didn’t know Lou and were a young hopeful to play for him, you were intimidated by the man who had a presence when he came to the ballpark. I quickly learned that it was all business when we were on the field with Lou and if he didn’t like something he would let you know about, in fact, he’d likely let everyone know about it, parents and whoever else was in earshot included!
But behind the rough exterior was a man who cared deeply about all his players. He believed in outworking your competition, repetition and being prepared for your opponents.
Adam Morissette, third from the right in top row, played for the Orleans Major Red Sox in 1994 coached by former WHA and NHL hockey player Lou Nistico (top row, first on left). Photo: Adam Morissette
We were the envy of other teams in the city with legit, button-up jerseys (a rarity at the time!) and all of the top-of-the-line equipment including brand-new, white Louisville TPX bats that Lou bought himself prior to the season.
We had a swagger to us knowing that we could win every game we played and reeled off 44 wins and just 4 losses that summer.
We backed that attitude up with hard work and that was a direct result of Lou’s commitment to us and our commitment to him and the team. We practised from 9 a.m. to noon everyday at Gardenway Park and often played games in the evenings. When Lou’s van rolled up to the field for practice, players would sprint to the vehicle to unload equipment or the whole team would be running laps before a ball was taken out of the bag.
When we faced Marco Disalvo from Canterbury Little League and his 70 mph fastball in the District championships, Lou brought in a 19-year-old to throw us heaters for batting practice from the 46 foot Little League pitching distance. We were playing for keeps because Lou was and we were having a blast doing it.
We breezed through the district playdowns that year with my best buddy Mark Bunker dominating at the plate and on the mound while I caught all of our games. Our team was tight, best buddies who spent days and weeks at a time together.
It was off to Dundas, Ont., for the Ontario championships where it was a three-headed monster of Orleans, LaSalle Turtle Club featuring one-time Junior National Team player and future Baltimore Orioles draft pick Ryan Brnardic, and Toronto’s High Park who had future pro and Canadian Olympian Jonathan Lockwood as their ace. In fact, Lockwood had dominated us two seasons prior in leading High Park to the Ontario Minor (9/10) crown.
Lou had us ready and made sure all of the players were comfortable with our billet families before the tournament started. We hit BP on a backfield before each game and walked over to the game field as a team ready for action.
I can still recall pregame in-and-outs where Lou was a surgeon with the fungo bat, never missing while hitting lasers to infielders in setting a tone for our team as the ball zipped around the field for 10 minutes.
He had us ready and we responded after an early tournament loss to Brnardic and the Turtle Club by coming through the “losers” bracket in the double elimination tournament to face High Park and the task of beating them twice.
Lou kept our focus. I know it’s a cliché, but one win at a time, one pitch at a time was what he stressed. When all of our parents were literally pulling their hair out in the stands each game, it was Lou who guided us with a calm hand, never letting the moment get too big in front of us.
Bunker pitched masterfully in the first game of the final as we squeaked out a 4-3 win to force the deciding game but it was Lockwood who dominated that contest as High Park took the Ontario crown in a one-sided victory.
We were broken as kids, but it was Lou and our assistant coach and fellow Thunder Bay native Lyle Stencer who kept things light, because, as you know, it’s just a game.
Lou went on to coach the Major Red Sox for two more seasons that included two more trips to the Ontario championships before ending his Orleans Little League coaching career with the Junior (13 year old) Red Sox in 1997.
A family man, you’d have to think that Lou’s favourite memory in baseball took place at that Junior age group in 1992 when as a parent he watched son Justin win a national championship at home in Orleans when they took down powerhouse Glace Bay, N.S., the previous year’s representative in Williamsport, for the Canadian title and a trip to the Junior Little League World Series in Taylor, Mich. Orleans Little League’s first national title was led by another local coaching legend in the late Louis Riopelle while an undersized left-hander named Erik Bédard pitched beyond his years on the mound.
Lou Nistico (left) is pictured here with his assistant coach Lyle Stencer. Photo: Adam Morissette
I lost touch with Lou over time but ran into him a couple years ago at a local hockey rink where he was scouting and I was bringing my then six-year-old to hockey lessons. He didn’t recognize me at first (it had been over 20 years!), but after saying my name it quickly became old times with Lou asking what I was up to while also asking how my family and parents were doing.
I’m sure I speak on behalf of many former Orleans Little Leaguers and their families as I offer my condolences to Lou’s kids Lori-Anne, Justin and Niki along with his eight grandchildren, according to many his pride and joy.
Now that I’m a parent and youth sports coach myself, I realize that it’s not the wins and losses that matter, it’s the memories, the life skills learned and most importantly the people you meet along the way that matter most. Lou was one of those key influencers in my childhood and I hope I can pay him back by being that person to someone else.
RIP Coach Lou.
Join us virtually via Zoom for the OLLB 2019 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and hear the latest on the status of the 2021 season.
Tuesday, February 23, 2021
8:00 pm
Zoom meetings
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87399696211?pwd=RHZLTHJrd3p6L2hhNWhack9tYXMvdz09
Meeting ID: 873 9969 6211
Passcode: 905086
Dial by your location
Meeting ID: 873 9969 6211
Passcode: 905086
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kz590m3Xn
We look forward to seeing you!
EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
1. The OLLB Education Scholarship is designed to assist OLLB players and ex-players with educational expenses and to promote the OLLB as an organization which fully supports the combination of sports and advanced education. The scholarship has a value of $500.00 and is paid from interest earned on OLLB reserve funds.
2. Monies which were transferred to OLLB in trust from the Hitmen Baseball Club on its demise will fund a second identical scholarship, entitled the Hitmen Baseball Club Education Scholarship.
3. It is anticipated that the two scholarships will be awarded each year, capital permitting. To be eligible to receive a scholarship, applicants must meet the eligibility criteria outlined below.
ELIGIBILITY
4. The following are the criteria for Applicants to be eligible for an OLLB Scholarship:
a) Applicants must be have been Player Members of OLLB for a minimum of two seasons.
b) Applicants must be entering their first year of post-secondary education.
c) Applicants must be enrolled in a university/community college recognized by the Association of Universities or Colleges of Canada (www.aucc.ca) or Association of Canadian Community Colleges (www.accc.ca) . OLLB may also consider first year attendance at a foreign university or college.
APPLICATION
5. The following items make up an application:
a) An official transcript of marks from the most recent or last completed year of education. (40% of total score)
b) A 750 – 1000 word essay on the effects that Little League Baseball had or will have on the applicant, his/her motivation and his/her achievements in life. Essays will be judged on content and presentation (40% of total score)
c) A statement by the applicant explaining why he/she should be awarded the scholarship and discussing his/her goals for future education and career path. This statement will be evaluated on content and presentation (20% of total score).
6. Applications will be accepted up to and no later than December 18, 2020 by email to Manager – Scholarship Program.
Successful candidates will be chosen by the OLLB Board of Directors and notified by telephone from the Board. An award cheque will be presented upon the successful applicant enrolment at a recognized post-secondary institution. Applicants will not be informed of their specific ranking, and the decision of the OLLB Board shall be final. There is no appeal process.
7. Questions should be forwarded to the President or the Manager – Scholarship Program.
Orleans Little League is now accepting applications for individuals who are interested in coaching All Star or Canadian level teams for the Summer 2021 season.
COACH PITCH (ages 7 and 8)
MINOR (ages 9 and 10) MAJOR (age 11 and 12) JUNIOR (ages 13 and 14) SENIOR (ages 15 and 16) Coaching candidates at this level must demonstrate the following to be considered:
The selection committee will also focus on your overall coaching philosophy. You are encouraged to outline your philosophy and approach in your submission.
Deadline for application is December 18, 2020. Please send your resume, along with a cover letter which highlights your coaching philosophy and three references to Allan Tremblay
Where required, interviews may be requested by the selection committee.
Le français suit l’anglais
Just a quick message to make sure you are all well, and to let you know we are still here for you. We are working hard to get programs prepared for when we are able to use the fields again. With the news from Little League Headquarters that no districts, provincials, nationals or world series would be played this year, it was very tough for us all to take. Rest assured that we will be prepared to have a modified season beginning in July for everyone, and are working on the possibility of having extra games for those who would like more. With the news from the province that more businesses and a few activities opening this week, we are confident and patient that baseball will be back this summer, with additional safety guidelines that we will be provided by Little League Canada and our levels of government.
Also, a quick reminder that should you require a refund of your fees, please email our registrar at orleansbaseballregistrar@gmail.com.
We thank you for your patience and wish you all the best.
Stay safe.
Rob Lay, President, on behalf of the board of directors
~~~~
Juste un petit message pour nous assurer que vous allez tous bien, et pour vous faire savoir que nous sommes toujours là pour vous. Nous travaillons activement à la préparation des programmes pour le moment où nous pourrons à nouveau utiliser les champs. Avec la nouvelle du siège de la Petite Ligue selon laquelle aucun championnat de district, provincial, national ou série mondiale ne sera joué cette année, cela a été très difficile pour nous tous. Soyez assurés que nous serons prêts à avoir une saison modifiée à partir de juillet pour tout le monde, et nous travaillons sur la possibilité d’avoir des matchs supplémentaires pour ceux qui en voudraient plus.Avec les nouvelles de la province selon lesquelles d’autres entreprises et que quelques activités ouvriront cette semaine, nous sommes confiants et patients que le baseball sera de retour cet été, avec des directives de sécurité supplémentaires qui nous seront fournies par la Petite Ligue du Canada et nos niveaux de gouvernement.
Nous vous rappelons également que si vous avez besoin d’un remboursement de vos frais, veuillez envoyer un courriel à notre secrétaire d’enregistrement à orleansbaseballregistrar@gmail.com.
Nous vous remercions de votre patience et vous souhaitons tout le succès possible.
Soyez prudents.
Rob Lay, président, au nom du conseil d’administration
Today, Little League International (Canada) officially canceled it’s 2020 World Series along with all it’s Regional Championships tournaments. Despite this unfortunate news, it is our intention that once we are able to participate in baseball activities we will have a modified season for kids of all levels and abilities. We are constantly having discussions with leagues in our city to devise ways to create a fun and safe season for our kids, once governing officials feel it is safe to do so.
Aujourd’hui, la Petite Ligue Internationale (Canada) a officiellement annulé ses séries mondiales 2020 ainsi que tous ses tournois de championnats régionaux. Malgré cette malheureuse nouvelle, nous avons l’intention, une fois que nous pourrons participer aux activités de baseball, d’avoir une saison modifiée pour les enfants de tous les niveaux et de toutes les capacités. Nous discutons constamment avec les ligues de notre ville afin de trouver des moyens de créer une saison amusante et sûre pour nos enfants, dès que les dirigeants estiment qu’il est possible de le faire en toute sécurité.
Le français suit l’anglais
Hello Orleans Little League Members,
As we are all experiencing, our new normal right now changes daily with COVID19. These changes continue to have an effect on our ability to provide a Little League season for 2020, however we do remain confident and optimistic that we will be able to provide a modified season for our members. At this time we are not able to clearly define what that season will look like, but it is our expectation to provide “something” once we are given the go ahead from the city, as well as the Provincial and Federal which in all reality will be no earlier than July.
We are currently looking at the possibility of running a modified instructional season in July and August as well as providing the ability for travel teams to be formed which could play against other organizations outside of the Little League umbrella. Our goal is to ensure that any of our members who want to play baseball will have the ability to do so. We have no official decision on how we are planning to proceed and will not be able to make a decision until we get more information from the city on field availability, and the clearance from all levels of government.
We do know that under the current circumstances families may also be under financial pressures and may need to ask for a refund. If that is the case, please email our registrar at registrar@orleanslittleleague.ca to request a refund. As a community based organization, we fully understand the financial impact this is having on families.
Having said that, at this time we intend to keep everyone who has registered as being registered for the upcoming 2020 season. By doing so, this will allow us to move quickly when we are given the go ahead to get back on the field, instead of having to open up registration again. OLLB is requesting that, if at all possible, you hold off on refund requests while we continue to review possible scenarios for this season. This will help us to both guarantee your spot and limit the administrative time and cost associated with processing refunds.
Our focus has always been, and continues to be on the health and wellness of our members and their families. Please know that the Board continues to monitor this situation extremely close and we will continue to provide updates as needed.
Sincerely,
Rob Lay, President
On behalf of the Board of Directors
Bonjour aux membres de la Petite Ligue d’Orléans,
Comme nous le vivons tous, notre nouvelle normalité change quotidiennement avec COVID19. Ces changements continuent d’avoir un effet sur notre capacité à fournir une saison de Petite Ligue pour 2020, mais nous restons confiants et optimistes quant à notre capacité à fournir une saison modifiée à nos membres. Pour l’instant, nous ne sommes pas en mesure de définir clairement à quoi ressemblera cette saison, mais nous espérons pouvoir fournir “quelque chose” une fois que la ville nous aura donné le feu vert, ainsi que le provincial et le fédéral, ce qui, en réalité, ne sera pas avant juillet.
Nous étudions actuellement la possibilité d’organiser une saison d’instruction modifiée en juillet/août et de permettre la formation d’équipes de voyage qui pourraient jouer contre d’autres organisations en dehors du cadre de la Petite Ligue. Notre objectif est de faire en sorte que tous nos membres qui souhaitent jouer au base-ball aient la possibilité de le faire. Nous n’avons pas de décision officielle sur la façon dont nous prévoyons de procéder et nous ne pourrons pas prendre de décision tant que nous n’aurons pas obtenu plus d’informations de la ville sur la disponibilité des terrains et l’autorisation de tous les niveaux de gouvernement.
Nous savons que dans les circonstances actuelles, les familles peuvent également être soumises à des pressions financières et peuvent avoir besoin de demander un remboursement. Si c’est le cas, veuillez envoyer un courriel à notre bureau d’enregistrement à registrar@orleanslittleleague.ca pour demander un remboursement. En tant qu’organisation communautaire, nous comprenons parfaitement l’impact financier que cela a sur les familles.
Cela étant dit, nous avons l’intention, pour l’instant, de garder tous ceux qui se sont inscrits comme étant inscrits pour la prochaine saison 2020. Cela nous permettra d’agir rapidement lorsqu’on nous donnera le feu vert pour retourner sur le terrain, au lieu de devoir de nouveau ouvrir l’enregistrement. L’OLLB demande que, dans la mesure du possible, vous suspendiez les demandes de remboursement pendant que nous continuons à examiner les scénarios possibles pour cette saison. Cela nous permettra à la fois de garantir votre place et de limiter le temps et les coûts administratifs liés au traitement des remboursements.
Notre priorité a toujours été, et continue d’être, la santé et le bien-être de nos membres et de leurs familles. Sachez que le Conseil continue à suivre cette situation de très près et que nous continuerons à vous fournir des mises à jour si nécessaire.
Sincèrement,
Rob Lay, Président
Au nom du conseil d’administration