Antioch Little League: FAQ

Sunday, October 12

What are the various programs that Little League offers?
What ages does Little League have programs for?
Does it have programs for girls as well as boys?

When is the season?
Is it true that Little League is just for serious players that want to play competitively?
How much does it cost?
Does Little League have any programs for those that are mentally and physically disadvantaged?
Where are the games played at?
Does everyone get equal playing time?
What Happened to Antioch East and Antioch West?
Can I play in East County Little League or Pittsburg Little League?
Can girls play baseball?
Can boys play softball?
Can girls that play for their high school team play Little League?
Why do some parents move their kids to Little League from other leagues?
What is the mission statement for AELL?

What are the various programs that Little League offers?ALL BASEBALL DIVISIONS FOR 2009 SEASON

The Challenger Division  is for boys and girls ages 5–18 yrs old.  It is a division of Little League Baseball to enable boys and girls with physical and mental disabilities to enjoy tee ball or coach pitched baseball.  Play is adaptive & the rules are very flexible with the focus of providing kids with a positive and rewarding recreational experience. The League assigns players to a team, but parents may request assignment preference at registration. There are approximately 8-10 games in the season. This division may inter-league with other little league Challenger Divisions. Home games are played at the Antioch Little League fields near the Fairgrounds.  It is completely free.

Tee Ball Baseball is for boys and girls ages 5-6 yrs old.  It is an instructional, non-competitive league for players who want to learn the fundamentals of hitting and fielding; with an opportunity to experience the value of teamwork.  In Tee Ball, players hit a soft  ‘Incrediball’ off a batting tee.  However as soon as they can hit a pitch from the coach the tee is taken away.  Some never even use the tee.  The diamond used is a 60 feet, just like everyone else uses.  There are no tryouts & scores are not kept. The League assigns players to a team, but parents may request assignment preference at registration. There are approximately 12 games in the season.  For the last two years almost all t-ball games have been played at Women’s Auxiliary at the Little League Fields.  We pride ourselves that our youngest players play on a real ball field just like all of the other players. 

Minor League ‘A’ division is for boys and girls ages 6-8 yrs old.  A player who is league age 6 and has played a year in Tee Ball may be “moved up” to this division.  Coach-pitch.   The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and pitching distance is 46 feet.  There are no tryouts.  The league assigns players to a team, but parents may request assignment preference at registration.  Approximately 16 games are played at the Little League Fields at the fairgrounds and at AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.

Minor League ‘AA’ division is for boys and girls ages 7–10 yrs old.  A player who is league age 8 and has played a year in ‘A’ Division may tryout for this division on the understanding that failure to be drafted will result in automatic placement onto an ‘A’ Division team.  ‘AA” division is the first level of hardball with umpire and players pitching.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and pitching distance is 46 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft.  Parental assignment preferences are no longer available from this level upward.  9 or 10 year olds who fail to attend tryouts will be placed on a waiting list for ‘AA’ Division.  There are approximately 20 games in the season.  Games are played at the Little League fields at the fairgrounds or at AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.

Minor League ‘AAA’ division  is for boys and girls ages 8-11 yrs old.  ‘AAA” division is the level directly below the Major League.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and pitching distance is 46 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft.  11 or 12 year olds who fail to attend tryouts will be placed on a waiting list for ‘AAA’ Division. There are approximately 20 games in the season.  Games are played at the Antioch Little League Fields near the Fairgrounds or at AYSC on Wilbur Avenue. 

Major League division (aka Little League Baseball Division) is for boys and girls ages 9-12 yrs old.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft. Once drafted to a team, the player becomes a property player.  Returning property players on a team do not tryout.  All 12 year old must play in the majors except for rare circumstances. There are approximately 20 games in the season.  Games are played at the Antioch Little League Fields near the Fairgrounds. 

ALL SOFTBALL DIVISIONS FOR 2009 SEASON

Mini - Minor League is for girls ages 6-9 years old.  It is primarily for girls ages 7-8 yrs old, but a player who is league age 6 and has played a year in Tee Ball may be “moved up” to this division.  Any 9 year olds that are not drafted onto a minor team will play in this league.  Coach-pitch.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and pitching distance is 35 feet.  There are no tryouts.  The league assigns players to a team, but parents may request assignment preference at registration.  This division may inter-league with other local little leagues.  Home games are played at the AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.  Approximately 16 games are played.

Minor League is for girls ages 8-11 yrs old.  A player who is league age 8 may tryout for this division on the understanding that failure to be drafted will result in automatic placement onto Mini-Minor Division team.  Minor division is the level directly below the Major League. The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and pitching distance is 35 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft.  Parental assignment preferences are no longer available from this level upward.  Players who fail to attend tryouts will be placed on a waiting list for the Minor Division.  This division may inter-league with other local little leagues.  Home games are played at the AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.  Approximately 20 games are played.

Major League division (aka Little League Softball Division) is for girls ages 9-12 yrs old.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 40 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft. Once drafted to a team, the player becomes a property player.  Returning property players of a team do not tryout.  Players not drafted to Major League are automatically considered in Minor Division draft. 12 year olds must play on a major team except for rare circumstances.  This division may inter-league with other local little leagues.  Home games are played at the AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.  Approximately 20 games are played.

Senior League division  is for girls ages 13-16 yrs old who DO NOT play JV or varsity high school softball. Girls that play on the freshman high school team can play senior league.  The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 40 feet.  Players must attend tryouts & teams are chosen by draft. Once drafted to a team, the player becomes a property player.  Returning property players of a team do not tryout.  This division may inter-league with other local little leagues.  Home games are played at the AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.  Approximately 20 games are played.

Big League Softball is for ages 14-18 and starts after the normal Little League season is over and after the high school season is over, so that high school players can participate.  Player candidates must attend tryouts and teams are chosen by draft.  This division will inter league with other little leagues.  Home games are played at the AYSC on Wilbur Avenue.  The exact number of games will depend on the number of teams formed.

 

 

What ages does Little League have programs for?Boys from 5-12 and girls from 5-18.  Age is determined for baseball on April 30th and for softball on Dec 31st of the previous year.
Does it have programs for girls as well as boys?Yes.  Girls can play in either the baseball divisions or the softball divisions.  Click here to see the baseball divisions or click here to see the softball divisions.
When is the season?Little League has two seasons: spring and fall.  The spring season starts with practices in mid February and games start in mid March.  The regular season ends around the first week of June.  In February practices will start around 4:30 to 5 and end when it gets dark, which is about 6pm.  Normally practices will either be Monday, Wednesday and Saturday morning or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoon, but occasional this is modified to fit the work schedule of a manager.  T-ball teams usually only practice once on weekdays and only play on Saturdays.  Most other teams will play two games a week.  One on a weekday and one on Saturday.  Around the third week of June those teams that qualify will play in the District Tournament of Champions, where they will play against the best teams in the other leagues.  Around the end of June all-star play will commence and can go through July and potentially into August if the team keeps winning.Fall Ball starts in September and ends mid October.  It is very low key and is considered sandlot play.
Is it true that Little League is just for serious players that want to play competitively?No. Little League has programs for every type of player.  Play for the very young is purely instructional and designed for the players to have the most fun possible while learning the game.  No scores are kept.  As the players get older then they move to divisions that start to keep score and standings are kept.  However for the players with ages 9-12 there is more than one division where a player can play.  Each division has its own balance of recreational vs competitive play.  The more serious players tend to gravitate toward the more competitive divisions.  The divisions are primarily determined by ability and secondarily by age.
How much does it cost?The following are the prices for the 2009 season and include the registration fee and the fee for raffle ticketsT-ball  $55.00 and $50 for raffle ticketsFarm baseball  $65.00 and $50 for raffle ticketsMini-minor softball   $65.00 and $50 for raffle ticketsCompetitive baseball AA-majors    $135.00 and $50 for raffle ticketsCompetitive softball minors – seniors  $135.00 and $50 for raffle ticketsChallenger – Free as always
Does Little League have any programs for those that are mentally and physically disadvantaged?Yes.  Little League has a very strong challenger program.  Click here for more details.
Where are the games played at?We try to have all of the softball games played at the Antioch Youth Sports Complex off of Wilbur Avenue.  Major and “AAA” baseball play at the ball fields with grass infields adjacent to the Contra Costa County fairgrounds.  “AA” and “A” play the Little League fields or at the Sports Complex on the fields with grass infields.  Tee-ball plays at the LL fields.  However depending upon field availability games could be played at other locations.  Sometimes softball plays games with East County Little League and some of those games are played in Oakley.  Click on “Locations” to access a map to the field.
Does everyone get equal playing time?

Depends upon the level of play.  In the lower levels everyone bats.  In the upper levels only the nine players in the current line-up bat.  At all levels every player is required to have at least one at bat and to play three defensive innings or ½ of the game if the game is less than 6 innings.  At the lower levels managers try to even out the playing time.  However in the competitive divisions playing time is often determined by the ability of the player, the age of the player, the players attitude and other various factors.  These competitive divisions are the stepping stone between recreational ball and high school and traveling ball where it is not uncommon for a player to sit on the bench the entire game.

 

What Happened to Antioch East and Antioch West?

In 1998 they were split apart and had separate boards.  After a couple of years it was determined that move did not make them more efficient and they have been actively trying to merge for the last five years.  Finally Little League International decided that it was acceptable.

 

Can I play in East County Little League or Pittsburg Little League?

The simple answer is that you have to play in the league that you live in.  However there are some special exceptions to this rule and it is best to talk to an officer of the league that you wish to play in.

Can girls play baseball?

 

Yes and some do.  There are pros and cons to having a girl play baseball so be sure to study the situation fully.

Can boys play softball?

Yes, but none do.

Can girls that play for their high school team play Little League?

Yes and no.  Girls that play JV and Varsity can  play Senior Little League, but rarely do they do it because the school season ends just before the Little League season ends and they only get to play a couple of games.  They can play Big League because that season starts after the high school season ends.  Girls that play on a freshman team can join a Little League team after their season ends. In 2007 they only missed 5 games out of a 20 game season.

Why do some parents move their kids to Little League from other leagues?I wanted my kids to get the same high caliber of baseball instruction they would receive on a traveling team, but I just couldn’t drive them to Concord three times a week to practice.  J.G.In life, winning matters.  In the real world, my son will grow up competing in high school, in college and then in the workplace.  I wanted him to learn the ability to compete with confidence, and win or lose, know he gave his 100%.  Along with having a great time with his teammates, he’s learned some important life skills he couldn’t learn in those non-competitive leagues.  D.S.My son played his first year in a non-competitive league.  However after his first year, I was sure he is a good enough athlete to play in a competitive league.  That’s why we moved to AELL.. and I’m really glad we did!  R.S.My daughter has always had so much fun playing in AELL.  She really looks forward to practice and cheering on her teammates during a game.  However, it’s been more than just fun for her.  She’s learned some important life lessons.  She’s had the opportunity to improve her skills in an atmosphere where winning matters.  She’s learned to focus when the cards are down, and not crumble under pressure.  She’s learned to accept defeat with dignity, knowing she gave it her best and she’s learned to graciously accept victory. G.R
.What is the mission statement for AELL?

The following is the official mission statement for Little League:

Little League Baseball, Incorporated is a non-profit organization whose mission is to "to promote, develop, supervise, and voluntarily assist in all lawful ways, the interest of those who will participate in Little League Baseball and Softball." Through proper guidance and exemplary leadership, the Little League program assists youth in developing the qualities of citizenship, discipline, teamwork and physical well-being. By espousing the virtues of character, courage and loyalty, the Little League Baseball and Softball program is designed to develop superior citizens rather than superior athletes.Founded in 1939; granted Federal Charter July 16, 1964, by unanimous act of the Senate and House of Representatives of the Congress of the United States of America and signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson as Public Law 88-378, 88th Congress H.R. 9234, and amended December 26, 1974, Public Law 93-551, 93rd Congress, H.R. 8864. Little League is tax exempt.