South Snohomish Little League: 2009 Baseball & Softball Divisions

Softball - Rookie (ages 7-8)
Recreational Level. Rookie Softball is for girls ages 7-8. Teams typically have 12-13 players ages and teams are organized according to the school each child attends.
The goal of the Rookie softball program is for kids to continue to build the skills they learned in the T-Ball program. A pitching machine and a reduced impact force (RIF) softball is used. The base distances are 60 feet and the pitching machine distance is set at 35 feet. Base stealing is not allowed. No score is kept. There are approximately 10-12 games in a season. Practice starts in March and games begin in April.

Softball - Minors (ages 9-11)
Recreational Level. The Minors Fastpitch Softball Division is for girls ages 9-12. Teams typically have 12-13 players and the teams are organized by draft. All girls ages 9 and above must attend tryouts. Minors Softball is predominately 9-11 year olds. 12 year olds are eligible to participate however they are ineligible to pitch.

At the Minors Softball level girls will be introduced to pitching using the fastpitch technique. The base distances are 60 feet and the pitching distance is 35 feet. Base stealing is allowed. Score is kept but no standings are kept. There are approximately 16-20 games in a season. Practice starts in March and games begin in April. Games are scheduled for 6 innings. Following the regular season girls ages 9-10 are eligible to tryout for the All-Star team.

Softball - Majors (ages 10-12)
Competitive Level. The Majors Fastpitch Softball Division (sometimes known as the Little League Division) is for girls ages 10-12, with no more than two 10 year olds per team. All players must tryout and be drafted onto a Majors team. Once drafted, a player is then a property player of that team and will not need to try out again unless re-entering the draft.

The base distances are 60 feet and the pitching distance is 40 feet. Scores and recorded and standings are maintained. Games are six innings in length. Season consists of approximately 18-24 games. Majors teams are eligible for season ending tournaments. Players are eligible to try out for their respective age all-star team.

Tee-Ball (Ages 5-6)
T-ball (Ages 5–6, baseball and softball): T-ball is your child's introduction to baseball and South Snohomish Little League. No prior experience is expected or required. The T-ball program is focused on teaching basic baseball skills such as fielding and batting in a casual environment. No live pitching is permitted in this division as all players hit off a tee. There are no playoffs at this level. Outs are not recorded (five runs per inning), and every player bats even when not playing a defensive position. T-ball teams will typically practice once a week for about an hour and will play 8 "games" during the regular season. There are no try-outs for Tee Ball and players can request playing with their friends on the same team. Every attempt is made to build teams by grouping players based on their elementary school. Rosters may be composed of between 12 and 14 players. Players get a cap and shirt. Players need only bring a baseball glove and cleats (soccer cleats are fine). Parents are encouraged to help out.

Baseball - Rookie (ages 7-8)
Recreational Level. Rookie (Ages 7–8, baseball and softball):   The Rookie program is focused on teaching basic baseball skills such as fielding and batting and building on skills learned in t-ball. Rookie is where the players face live pitching for the first time, from a coach or parent and from other players (3 innings coach pitch, 3 innings kid pitch). Play is limited to three outs per inning or no more than five runs per inning. If one team is ahead by more than 10 runs after four complete innings of play, the game may be called (mercy rule). Every player bats even when not playing a defensive position. There are no playoffs at this level. There are no try-outs for Rookie Ball and players can request playing with their friends on the same team. Every attempt is made to build teams by grouping players based on their elementary school. Rosters may be composed of between 12 and 14 players. Players get a cap and shirt. Parents are encouraged to help out.

Baseball - Minors (ages 9-11)
Recreational Level. Players aged 9-11 continue to build on the skills they learned in the Rookies (7-8).

Baseball - Majors (ages 10-12)
Competitive Level. Majors & Majors All Stars compete in district wide tournaments including "The Little League World Series". Players show advanced ability and experience. This level is also known as the "Little League" level.

Baseball - Juniors (ages 13-14)
Competitive Level. This division jumps to the full sized "major league" field; 90 foot bases, 300 foot outfield fences, 60 foot pitching mound. Also, big league rules are introduced such as stealing, pickoff plays, stealing first on a dropped third strike, etc. This division plays 20-23 games.

Softball - Juniors (ages 13-14)
Competitive Level. The Juniors Fastpitch Softball Division is for girls ages 13-14. Juniors teams typically have 12-14 players and may have players form other area Little Leagues.
There are approximately 18-24 games in a season. Practice starts in March and games start in April. Games are 6 innings in length with three outs per inning. Base stealing is allowed. Score is kept and standings are kept.

Baseball - Seniors (ages 15-16)
Competitive Level. Players aged 15-16 continue to build on the skills they learned in the Juniors (13-14).