Welcome to Spring Baseball!
Please read all information on this page.
Teams are usually formed within a couple weeks of tryouts. This process is subject to the league having enough coaches who have volunteered to coach that season. They can’t really form teams without coaches to coach those teams, so that is usually the biggest reason for a delay in forming teams.
It is generally up to the coach to contact the players once he/she has a final roster in hand. The coach will let you know when and where practices will be, and will quite possibly have a team meeting to start out the season and get you all the information you need.
One final note: The game schedule typically isn’t released until VERY CLOSE to opening day. As frustrating as this is, it is what it is. The leagues are working with a fairly small window of time between the close of registration, then assessments, and then coming up with a game schedule for the entire league. So be patient.
Please sign up your child on the Age appropriate sign up sheet below in the links provided. Please be sure to check the Little League Age Calculator before signing up your player to ensure the are in the correct age group.
Why Does a 7-Year-Old Need to “Try Out?”
Don’t be intimidated by the word tryouts. Everyone makes the team in Little League. Tryouts (or assessments) are simply for the league to be able to spread the level of talent around. Most leagues don’t have assessments for Tee Ball, but all other levels (about age 7 and up) do.
What to Take to Tryouts
Glove
Helmet – if you have one (they have some community helmets available for those who don’t have their own, but…for my brief one-word explanation of why my kids will always have their own helmet, see this post!)
Batting Gloves – only if you have them
Water
Parents’ Glove
What Exactly is Assessed in Tryouts?
Players should be evaluated in each of the following 5 areas:
Batting
Fielding Ground Balls
Fielding Fly Balls
Throwing / Pitching
Running
What is the Evaluation Process?
Check-In
You will most likely stand in a really long line for a really long time to check your child in
Your child will receive a number to attach to the front and/or back of his/her shirt
Wait
Remember how you waited in that really long line? You will need to wait for everyone else to get through that really long line too, so come prepared to wait a lot
Depending on the set-up of the event, kids can start warming up and playing catch with each other while they wait
You might want to consider bringing a glove for yourself to be able to play catch with your child while you wait
Gather in Your Assigned Group
Most tryouts will have a few different groups of kids, and each group will rotate through the different stations (batting, fielding, throwing, and running)
Rotate Through the Evaluation Stations
This is where the kids need to pay attention to their group and where they are rotating
Depending on how tryouts are set up, parents may want to keep an eye on their kids to ensure they are where they are supposed to be
Go Home
After your child is finished at the last station, they are usually free to leave
Do Parents Stay and Watch Tryouts?
This depends on the process with your particular league. From what I’ve seen, most leagues are okay either way.
I have been to some incredibly organized tryouts where I didn’t say a word to my kid the entire time, and then I’ve also been to some not-so-organized tryouts, where I was really glad I was there to help guide my kid to the next area he was expected to be at.
I have also seen indoor tryouts where the parents couldn’t see anything anyway, so I decided to run to Target while the kids were in there. So it all depends. If you aren’t sure how it’s going to go down, I would plan on staying there just to be safe. I think generally speaking, most parents stay.
If you are going to leave and come back, make sure you come back really early. You don’t want your kid waiting for an hour for you if they finish early.