F.A.Q’s

How do I know if I am within the MRLL boundaries?

Boundaries are by set by Little League. You must live within the MRLL set boundaries to participate in MRLL. This is roughly the Kiva and Cochise school boundaries. A map and written description are provided on the MRLL Home page under "Resources" or during the on line registration process. What are the ages for Little League?

Your 2012" Little League age", is the age the player will be on May 1, 2012. Any player who is at least 4 years old, and not 13 years old, on that date can enroll in MRLL. Players 13 and older can register for Juniors, Seniors, or Big League. How do I register?

MRLL is using an on line registration process. www.mrllbaseball.org You must complete the on line registration first. Little League still requires you to present the following at a walk through registration: 1). Proof's of address (3 types-phone bill, driver's license, property tax, electric bill, etc.), and 2). Proof of age. An "original certified birth certificate" is required. This means it has a stamp or seal or embossing on it. Please note: Proof of age must be an "original certified birth certificate". Yes, that's the actual one in the safe deposit box-not your Xerox copy of it! Little League is very strict in this regard. Also, you may need to pay with check or cash at registration(if you didn’t pay with a credit card on line). The amount owed will be determined at the end of the on line registration process. What do I do after I register on line? After the on line registration, you need to go to a walk through registration. At the walk through, you will need to present proof's of address, original birth certificates for each player and a check or cash in the amount indicated at the end of the on line registration process (if you did not pay with a credit card on line). See: “How do I register” question for more details. What are the divisions in Little League? MRLL has: Tee Ball-generally ages 5, 6 and occasionally 7. This is introductory baseball. Players hit off a "Tee". All players bat. Scores are not kept. Games last about 1 hour. Farm ball-generally ages 6(experienced), 7, 8, occasionally inexperienced 9yo's. This is "coach pitch" where each team's coach pitches to his team. All players bat. Goal is on skill development. Scores are not kept. Minor League-This level begins the more competitive Little League divisions. It is a player development division. Players are usually, 9, 10 or 11yo. Occasionally, an experienced 8 y.o. will play. Players are chosen by a "draft" following a tryout session. Players start to develop position skills. This is a "kid pitch" league, meaning the batter's face the opposing team's pitchers. All players bat. Kids who have played together in the past might be on different teams in this division because of the draft. Scores are kept, but not standings. There is a tournament at the end on the season. Umpires are more advanced. This league is a significant step up in skill level from Farm. Majors-The highest skill level. Ages 10, 11 if drafted to "majors" following tryouts. All 12 y.o.'s must play in Majors. Much more advanced in skills and talents. Bigger, stronger players. Scores, statistics and standings are kept. Most players considering these levels are familiar with MRLL major’s requirements. Can I pay by credit card? Yes. Beginning in 2012 we have established a credit card option using PayPal. If you don’t wish to pay this way, you can still pay by check. You will need to pay by check or cash at a walk through registration session. My son/daughter wants to play on the same team with his/her friends. Is this possible? At the Farm and Tee ball levels, players are assigned to teams based on geographical regions (to minimize travel for practices and keep neighborhood kids together). Once players get to Minor's and Major's division, there are no guarantees because of the draft. Best friends might get drafted on two different teams. (Generally, siblings, who are close in age, are kept together if possible). Can I request a coach? MRLL is no longer offering this option. In addition to being complicated to administer, we want to avoid coaches “recruiting” players to their teams. At the Minors/ Majors levels, players are matched to managers/coaches by a draft; therefore MRLL has no ability to honor requests at these levels. When does playing begin? Nothing really happens until registration and tryouts are completed at the end of January. The draft occurs in mid Feb., players in Minors and Majors start practicing soon after, and games for them start at the end of Feb. For Tee Ball and Farm, their season starts later. They typically start after spring break (SUSD calendar). All games end before school is out (SUSD schools) at the end of May. I registered my player in December for Tee Ball/Farm and haven't heard a thing since. What is going on? Tee ball and Farm players do not participate in tryouts or a draft. The tryouts and draft are time consuming functions for MRLL. Once Minors/Majors are assigned in late Feb., attention is then devoted to Tee Ball/Farm assignments. Team managers are informed who their players are in early March. They will then contact you to let you know what team you are on, and when the practices are. You are not forgotten, you will be contacted and get plenty of baseball in. Are donations to MRLL tax deductable? Yes. Little League is a non-profit, tax deductable organization. (IRS 501(c) 3 for tax purposes). MRLL functions off volunteers, sponsorships, player registrations and supporting donations. If you work for a company, consider sponsoring a team or buying advertisements for the outfield fence. Unrestricted donations are welcome as well. Any excess money is used for field and equipment improvements/replacement to provide the safest environment for our MRLL players to compete in. I would like to help, but I don't know anything about baseball. All help is welcome! We have needs for helpers of all types. Each year players leave the league because they exceed age 12, and with them, their volunteer parents often move on. We always have openings. Consider becoming a MRLL board member if you have skills in administration, field maintenance, computers, advertising, marketing, legal or accounting or practically anything else. We can use you! Consider being a Board member if you want to participate in a wholesome youth activity. Remember, someone was probably volunteering when you participated in youth activities. If you have baseball, sports or other coaching skills consider being a manager or coach. How often do teams practice and/or play? This depends on the level of play and the individual manager. Generally the practice commitment increases as the level of play increases. Games are scheduled 3 days a week (none Sunday). Teams usually play 2 games in a given week. Some teams use the additional day for practice, (if they are not assigned a game that day). There is usually more practice in the early part of the season. Practices are usually at Cochise or Kiva schools or Chaparral Park fields. I don't want to officially sign up as a coach or manager, but I can help during games and practices. MRLL is responsible for the character of the coaches and managers. If you want to be on the field or in the dugout during a practice or game, you will need to complete a volunteer application. All volunteers undergo a background check. This is for the player's protection! This is no cost to you, but helps ensure a safe environment exists. Additionally, each manager and coach is evaluated by the league and at the end of the season by the families. This helps to ensure a high quality baseball experience exists for the players. Can girls play in little league? What about Little League softball? Yes. Girls are welcome in MRLL and there are generally several girls playing at each level. Some girls want to play softball instead of baseball. Little League, offers this as an option as well. Not all local Little Leagues offer this, (MRLL does not). If you want to play softball, you need to register through MRLL, but will then be assigned to the Arcadia Little League for little league softball When are the “walk through” registrations? The remaining ones are in January. Please see calendar for details on the home page. What do I get for my money? Your player will be assigned to a team. He/She will get a uniform (generally a hat, belt, and socks). You will get the benefits of a volunteer manager and coaches to teach your athlete the game of baseball and baseball skills. In addition to individual skills, the players will learn the value of teamwork and sportsmanship. In a 15 week season, with a game/or practice 3x week, there will be 90+ hours of baseball. You will get access to maintained practice and game fields. You will get professional umpires at the upper levels for all games. You might see a priceless smile after a solid hit or great fielding play! Where are the games played? Games are played at Cochise School fields and at Chaparral Park fields (at Hayden and McDonald). Practices can occur at Kiva as well. Please refer to the "Fields" column on the Home page for maps of the field locations and directions. My child wants to play Little League but has never played baseball before. For younger kids, age 5, 6, 7 even 8, this is generally not an issue. They will quickly catch up to the level of the other players at their level. At the older levels, it can be more difficult. Some of the upper players have played baseball for years, some year round. If you have an older child that would like to play (ages 9, 10, 11, 12); they will still need to go through tryouts. They will be placed on a level that is safe for them to play. They may need outside lessons if they have never played at an upper level, to help them catch up. Please contact a board member to discuss your particular situation if you are considering upper level play. There is still time to learn some basics before tryouts. I never played professional or college baseball. Could I still be a coach? Who do I contact? While undoubtedly, a pro player would possess great baseball skills and knowledge, it doesn't ensure that they would make a great little league coach. Successful Little League coaches need to convey their knowledge to small children. This can be basic baseball knowledge. There are many resources to help potential LL coaches learn how to be a coach. They need to be a role model, communicate well, encourage and discipline appropriately, organize, and be fair. Most of all they have to make the baseball experience rewarding and fun. If you have the motivation, you can be a little league coach. Let MRLL know you are interested and they will have you complete a volunteer application. You can start by using the "LLB Coach Resource Center" link on the home page. Will there be a Juniors team? Yes. Registration will be processed through MRLL on line and you will still need to do a walk through registration. Since Juniors starts much later in the year (March/April) further details will be forthcoming. I have access to a large amount of money. How can I help? Please contact a MRLL board member immediately! We know lots of ways. What is a "Draft"? At the upper levels of Little League players undergo a draft to determine which teams get which players. The goal is to balance the talent, and make the teams more competitive. Prior to the draft there are tryouts. During the tryouts, coaches and managers evaluate potential players. They are looking for hitting, fielding, throwing, and running skills. Each manager then ranks the players he is interested in. On draft day, the managers all get together with their ranking lists. They then take turns selecting players until all players are placed on a team. Managers are attempting to put together the best team they can. Players are usually selected in accordance with ability and skills. Once the draft is over, teams are finalized and managers contact their players. Does my son/daughter need to go to tryouts? If you are planning to play in the Tee Ball or Farm division, the answer is no. If you are planning to play in Minors/Majors, you must go to tryouts. (Those already assigned to a Majors team in the past, will remain on that team, so they do not need to go through tryouts). All 9, 10, 11 and 12 year old players, not assigned to a Majors team previously, need to attend one of the tryout sessions. A skilled 8yo, with prior baseball experience, wishing to play Minors, may request a tryout as well. All players in the tryouts will be evaluated by the managers/coaches and proceed through the draft. Majors players are selected first in the draft. Minors players are selected next from those players remaining. If an 8 or 9 y.o. player is considered not ready for Minors, they may be asked to play on a Farm level team. This is often a safety issue for the child's benefit. What happens during a "Tryout"? Players will be evaluated by the managers and coaches of the prospective Minors/Majors teams. Players, who are required to attend tryouts, should arrive on time and ready to play. Tryouts are organized by age groups to simplify the process. Players should have their glove, shoes, bat (if desired), and hat. Depending on the weather, they may need a light jacket or sweatshirt as well. When they check in they will be given a number to pin on their shirt for identification. Each player will tryout individually in each category. Generally, the tryouts go something like this: 1. Players will play an infield position (shortstop) and field 3 (coach batted) groundballs, throwing to first base after each fielding play. (Coaches/managers are looking for fielding and throwing skills). 2. Players will play an outfield position and field 3 fly balls hit to them, throwing to second base after each catch/attempt. (Coaches/Managers are looking for outfield fly ball catching skills and throwing skills). 3. Players will bat. They will be hitting 3 "coach pitched" balls, and then running the bases. (Coaches/Managers are evaluating hitting and running skills). My son/daughter had a lousy tryout and was nervous. They are much better players than they demonstrated. This happens all the time. Skills are not there in January. There is performance pressure. Players are nervous. Tryouts are too brief to evaluate all of the player's talents and weaknesses. Most of the coaches know of players skills from prior years as well. Skills are often apparent, even on "botched" plays. It doesn't matter if a player gets picked first or last during the draft, they will still get placed on a team. (A poor tryout, by an unrecognized better player, will actually make the eventual team stronger in the long run). Please reassure your player that tryouts are only one method of determining player’s abilities. They will have a whole season to demonstrate their talents. What kind of glove should I buy? If you are playing Tee Ball or Farm, smaller is better. Gloves for this age are in the $20 range and will last 1-2 seasons. A more expensive, larger glove tends to be heavier for the player to use and more difficult to "break in". Make sure your write your players name on it. Big League Dugout or Sports Authority can help you. What is the difference between a manager and a coach? In Little League the manager is the main person responsible for the team. He/She organizes the practices, sets the lineups, batting order, enforce the MRLL rules regarding safety, etc. They receive communications from the league when needed. Coaches have less responsibility. In some cases they work closely with the manager to run the team. In other instances, such as t-ball, they may help "herd" the players during practices and games. There are usually 2-3 coaches per team. Does my child need to wear a protective "cup"? All Little League catchers are required to wear a cup to protect their genitals. Since any player, in the development levels, may be rotated to catcher all players should wear cups. Position players at the major’s level can play without the cup if they do not play catcher. Females do not need cups, but there are protective devices available for them if desired. These days, the cups are integrated into the baseball undergarment. I saw baseball bats that cost $250 each. Are these necessary? Be realistic. A $250 bat won’t help you make contact with the ball, which is the real issue at the lower levels. As players reach the majors, they may wish for better equipment (more costly). A $30 bat is adequate for Tball and Farm. Smaller and lighter is usually best for Tball and Farm. When your child loses his bat, you may have wished for a cheaper model. Do I need to buy baseball shoes for Tball and farm? Most players buy baseball shoes (No metal cleats!). At the lower levels they cost about $25. At the end of the season, you can cut the front cleat off and use them for soccer, if desired. They will probably be too small for the next baseball season. What are the rules of Little League Baseball? Generally, Little League Rules are published each year in a booklet called “Baseball Official Regulations and Playing Rules". A copy is given to each manager. There are different rules for each level of play. You may also order a copy on line from the Little League website. Little League does not publish their rules on line. I heard National Little League has made composite bats illegal. This is partially true. In December of 2010 National Little League changed the testing requirements for composite bats. Some bats were passing the old tests initially, but then becoming more powerful as they "broke in", providing a performance advantage (and possible safety risk). Those bats that pass the new tests are allowed. Please see the link on the home page message board for a full report from Little League on this. There is also a list of currently acceptable bats. The list is growing as more bats get tested. Since we are a franchise of the national organization we (MRLL) have no choice but to enforce the new rules. http://www.littleleague.org/learn/equipment/approvedcompbatss mall.htm

I heard you play games over “Spring Break”. Yes, MRLL schedules games during the Second weekend of spring break. We need to do this to avoid big gaps in the season schedule. If you are going out of town for spring break, you might want to return a little earlier for a possible Saturday night game on the second weekend.