Lakeland Little League: Regular Season Divisions
Instructional Baseball Class AThe Instructional Baseball Division is a non-competitive/instructional division with player ages ranging from 6 to 7 years of age. Players coming into the Instructional Baseball Division are not required to go through tryouts and draft processes. Coaches pitch at this instructional level.
There are approximately 6 teams based on the number of new players coming into the division. This division usually starts play in early May and plays 12-14 games (weather permitting). Games will be played on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings. Based on scheduling and rain make-ups, teams could play as little as once a week or as many as 3-4 times within a given week.
Criteria to play -
1) A player must be within the ages of 6 and 7 years old.
2) Must be willing to have a lot of fun!
Minor Baseball AA
The Minor AA Division is an instructional (competitive) division for players ranging from 7 to 8 years of age. Scores and standings are kept. The coaches pitch for the first third of the season and players begin pitching the last two innings of the season to begin developing pitchers for the Minor AAA Division. The defensive team fields 10 players. A catcher, pitcher (next to coach), 4 infielders and 4 outfielders. During the course of the season, each player should have the opportunity to play every position on the field. The offensive team will utilize the continuous batting order for all players. Each batter will be pitched a maximum of 5 balls for their at-bat. When the coach is pitching, no balls or strikes are called and a strike out is recorded if the batter does not bat one of the 5 pitched balls into the field of play. When the player is pitching, balls and strikes will be called and a strike out will be recorded.
Games are Saturday mornings and Wednesday Evenings.
Criteria to play -
1) A player must be 7-8 years old.
2) All 7 year olds must try out for the Minor AA Division. If the player is not drafted he will return to his existing Instructional team. If the player is new to LLL, he will be placed on a team.
3) Once a player is placed on a team, he will stay with that team throughout his Minor AA Division Career.
Minor Baseball AAA
The Minor AAA division is an upper tier instructional division with players ages ranging from 8 to 10 years of age. Scores and standings are kept. The number of teams in the minor AAA fluctuates from year to year, depending on the number of new players who sign up, number of players moving up from the Minor AA level and returning Minor AAA players. The Minor AAA division is divided into two divisions, National and American.
During the course of the season each player should have the opportunity to play all positions in the field. The offensive team will use the continuous batting order for all players. The defensive team will field 9 players (pitcher, catcher, 4 infielders and 3 outfielders).
This division usually starts at the end of April and runs through the end of June. The division plays approximately 16 games (weather permitting). Games are played on Tuesdays and Saturday mornings. Teams could play as few as one game per week or as many as 3-4 times with-in a given week.
There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.
Criteria to play -
1) All players must at least be 8 years old and no older then 10 years of age.
2) All 8 year olds can try out (they can also elect to stay on minor AA team from last year) for the Minor AAA Division. If the player is not drafted he will return to his existing Minor AA team. If the player is new to LLL, he will be placed on a team.
3) All 9 yr olds coming from Minor AA must tryout for Minor AAA
4) Once a player is placed on a team, he will stay with that team throughout his Minor AAA Division Career.
5) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
Major Baseball
This division is designed to introduce the players to a more competitive brand of baseball and put to use the skills they have learned from the instructional leagues, such as the Minor and Instructional divisions. Major League players range from 11 to 12 years of age.
The number of teams in the Majors fluctuates from year to year, depending on the number of new players who sign up, returning Major League players and the number of players moving up from the Minors. There are typically 10 teams in the Majors and are divided into two divisions, the National League and the American League. At the end of the season there is a World Series game played between the winners of each division.
This division usually starts at the end of April/early May and play approximately 16 games, weather permitting. All games are played throughout the week and weekends.
Criteria to play -
1) All players must be at least 10 years of age and no older than 12 years of age.
2) All 10 year-olds can try out (they can also elect to stay on the Minor AAA team they were on last year) prior to the season. There is no guarantee a player will be drafted into the Majors. If a player is un-drafted, he will play in the Minors that season. All other players who have never played in the Major Division (11 & 12 years of age) must try-out prior to the season. Returning players do not have to try-out.
3) Once you are drafted to a team, you will stay with that team throughout your Major Division career.
4) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
5) There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the first week of July.
Junior Baseball
The Junior Division is a competitive division with player ages ranging from 13 to 15 years of age. All games are played on diamonds with 90' bases. Players coming into the Junior Division are required to go through tryouts and draft processes. Once you are drafted onto a team you will remain on that team until you enter the Senior or Big League Division. The season will start after high school baseball is finished and run through the end of June.
There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.
Criteria to play -
1) A player must be within the ages of 13 - 15 years old.
2) 13 year olds must participate in the tryouts and must enter the draft.
3) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
Senior Baseball
See Big League Baseball
Big League Baseball
This is a division that was set-up for players that plan on or are playing high school baseball. The Big League Division allows the players to continue playing competitively in the off season. Big League players age range from 16 to 18 years of age. This season will start after the completion of the high school baseball season.
This League will be offered only if there are an adequate number of players registered. If there is enough interest in the District, this league can be administered at the District level and teams will be a blend of players from throughout District 6. There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.
Instructional Softball
The Instructional Softball Division is a non-competitive/instructional division with player ages ranging from 6 to 8 years of age. Players coming into the Instructional Softball Division are not required to go through tryouts and draft processes. Coaches pitch at this instructional level.
There are approximately 6 teams based on the number of new players coming into the division. This division usually starts play in early May and plays 12-14 games (weather permitting). Games are played on Saturdays. Based on scheduling and rain make-ups, teams could play as little as once a week or as many as 3-4 times within a given week.
Criteria to play –
1) A player must be within the ages of 6 and 8 years old.
2) Must be willing to have a lot of fun!
Minor Softball
The Minor division is an upper tier instructional division with players ages ranging from 8 to 10 years of age. Scores and standings are kept. The number of teams in the minors fluctuates from year to year, depending on the number of new players who sign up, number of players moving up from the Instructional level and returning Minor players. The Minor division is divided into two divisions, National and American.
During the course of the season each player should have the opportunity to play all positions in the field. The offensive team will use the continuous batting order for all players. The defensive team will field 9 players (pitcher, catcher, 4 infielders and 3 outfielders).
This division usually starts at the end of April and runs through the end of June. The division plays approximately 16 games (weather permitting). All games are played on week nights and Saturdays. Teams could play as few as one game per week or as many as 3-4 times with-in a given week.
There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.
Criteria to play -
1) All players must at least be 8 years old and no older then 10 years of age.
2) All 8 year olds can try out (they also can elect to stay on their last years Instructional team) for the Minor Division. If the player is not drafted she will return to her existing Instructional team. If the player is new to LLL, she will be placed on a team.
3) All 9 year olds moving up from instructional league must tryout for the minors.
4) Once a player is placed on a team, she will stay with that team throughout his Minor Division Career.
5) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
Major Softball
The Major Softball Division is a fast-pitch softball league which welcomes girl softball players that are ages 10 to 12. The season begins in early May and ends in late June. It is through this eight week period that approximately 16 league games are played. Games are played on weekday evenings and some Saturdays (i.e. Super Saturday, makeup games, or Interleague Tournament play). All players new to the Major Softball Division must tryout and get evaluated for the player draft. There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.
Criteria to play -
1) All players must be at least 10 years of age and no older than 12 years of age.
2) All 10 year-olds can try out (they can also elect to stay on Minor team from last year) prior to the season. There is no guarantee a player will be drafted into the Majors. If a player is un-drafted, she will play in the Minors that season. All other players who have never played in the Major Division (11 & 12 years of age) must try-out prior to the season. Returning players do not have to try-out.
3) Once you are drafted to a team, you will stay with team throughout your Major Division career.
4) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
Junior Softball
The Junior Girl's Softball Division is a competitive division with player ages ranging from 13 to 14 years of age. All games are played on diamonds with dirt infields and 60' bases. Players coming into the Junior Girl's Softball Division are required to go through tryouts and draft processes. Once you are drafted onto a team you will remain on that team until you are no longer eligible to play. The season generally starts the beginning of June and runs until the beginning of July.
There is an All Star Tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually begin in early July.
Criteria to play -
1) A player must be within the ages of 13-14 years old.
2) 13 year olds and all new players to the Junior Girl's Softball Division must participate in tryouts and enter the draft.
3) To be considered for the All-Star team, each player must participate in 50% of the league games.
If enrollment numbers necessitate, this League will be combined with the Big League.
Senior Softball
See Big League Softball
Big League Softball
This is a division that was set-up for players that plan on or are playing high school softball. The Big League Division allows the players to continue playing competitively in the off season. Big League players ages range from 13 to 18 years of age. This season will start after the completion of the high school softball season. This league is administered at the District level and teams will be a blend of players from throughout District 6.
There is an All Star tournament that players can be selected to. These tournaments usually start around the 1st week of July.