Commerce Little League

Situated in the northwest corner of the Detroit metro area, Commerce Township is a quintessential small Midwestern American town and the proud home of Commerce Little League. Commerce Little League has been a pillar of this community since its inception in 1954. In fact, Commerce Little League has become so popular that two seasons, a spring league and a fall league, are now held to accommodate the 700+ boys and girls aged 4 to 14. With the league’s eight diamonds bursting at the seams, Commerce Little League was searching for an online registration solution that streamlined processes, eliminated hours of paperwork and made the lives of players, coaches and parents easier.

Up to bat with Mike Noon, Registrar and Treasurer, Commerce Little League

Q: Before Commerce Little League started using Active Network, Sports’ baseball and softball league software, how were you registering players?

A: Before Active, we were using some archaic computer program to track registrations. We couldn’t offer online registration or accept payments online. We were forced to accept walk-in registrations and we had to hold weekend-long registration sessions for both our spring and fall leagues. Now, we use Active for both seasons. The cumbersome, manual follow-up processes that used to take forever are now done automatically.

Q: Why did Commerce choose Active's software?

A: Active Network was our first choice for software. We were offered an upgrade on our old software but we did a demonstration with Active and were really impressed. We didn’t need to shop around anymore.

Q: Do you use the online registration solution to fundraise?

A: Yes, we do fundraise in tandem with online registration. We charge an extra $50 fee for our raffle and then distribute raffle tickets to all of our parents. They can then sell the tickets to earn that money back or they can enter the raffle themselves. It helps us raise extra money and it gets parents involved, as well.

Q: Does Active’s baseball and softball management software help you manage residency requirements?

A: For residency requirements, Active’s software allows us to compile a list of addresses from everyone that registered. We put that into an Access database and then use a mapping website to confirm the residency requirements of all our players. It saves us a lot of time from having to do it all by hand.

Q: How has your eteamz website benefitted your players, parents and volunteers?

A: Our eteamz site works well for us and gets a lot of traffic. Since we began using it, we’ve had almost 250,000 hits. We have all our league schedules, calendars, and standings along with other information posted on there. The exposure we’ve gotten from it has been fantastic.

Q: How do you promote online registration to players and families?

A: We mail out postcards to all of our players and parents three to four weeks before we open online registration. We use Active’s reporting tools to compile a mailing list of our players and then use an address label creator to streamline the process.

Q: How has ongoing support from Active been?

A: Support from Active has been outstanding. Over the past two years, I’ve called Active’s support a dozen times and each time, I’ve gotten a response the same day. I never have to wait, no matter what I’ve asked. It’s impressive.

Q: How much time are you saving each season by not having to handle checks, run to the bank or hold in‑person registrations?

A: We easily save 40 to 80 hours each season on registration time alone. When you add in the time we save by not having to track things by hand or use a spreadsheet, we save even more. I don’t have to deal with checks or cash any longer. We’re happy with Active.

Schedule a demo with an Active Network representative to see if Active can help streamline how you manage your baseball/softball league.

Active Network is the Official Online League Management Provider of Little League® Baseball and Softball