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General Little League Information
About the Little League Season
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How are teams formed?
Information for Managers,
Coaches, and Umpires
Financial
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General Little League Information
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- There are currently two different Little
League's in San Ramon. Depending on where
you live, your child will have to register
in San Ramon or Canyon Creek.
Recently, San Ramon American and San Ramon
National have merged in to San Ramon Little
League. Refer to the
new boundary map to determine
what league your are in.
- San Ramon Little League
includes T-Ball, Minors, Majors, Juniors, Seniors, and
Big League Divisions for ages 5 to 18, and is divided
into the following levels of play.
- T-Ball and A-Ball Programs: This is
instructional baseball and game scores are not recorded. Players in this division are
typically league age 5 and 6, although SRLL allows
players of this skill level up to age 7. At this
level the ball is hit from a tee.
- A-Ball: Players in this division are
typically league age 7 and 8. SRLL allows players that
are league age 6 to play A-Ball with completion of 1
full year of T-Ball, and the passing of a competency
evaluation by the A-Ball division director. At this
level, the ball is pitched by a pitching machine or
possibly a coach.
- AA: This is the first division that teams play
competitively, with players pitching, umpires, game
scoring, team standings and playoffs. Players in this
division are league age 7 to 11, and are selected for
teams based on player evaluations by team managers in a
player draft.
- AAA: Players in this division are
league age 8 to 12, and are selected for teams based on
player evaluations by team managers in a player draft
and by the Minors player agent. Typically, San Ramon places players that are more skilled than those at the
AA level.
- Majors Program: Players in this
division are League Age 11 and 12, although 10 year olds
with exceptional skills may also play in the Majors
division. All players are selected for teams based on
player evaluations by team Managers in a player draft.
Majors is the highest level of play in Little League for
ages 12 and under. Players in this
division are league age 11 and 12 although 10 year olds
with exceptional skills may also play in the Majors
division. All players are selected for teams based on
player evaluations by team managers in a player draft
and the Majors Player Agent. Majors is the highest level
of play for Little League ages 12 and under.
- Juniors, Seniors, and Big League
Program: Players at the Juniors division must be league
age 13 and 14, the Seniors level division must be league
age 15 and 16, and the Big League division player must
be league age 17 and 18. The Juniors play on
80' and 90' diamonds while the Seniors and Big League
play
on a 90' diamond. Players are selected by team
managers based on a tryout. The most common situation is
that 13 year olds coming from Majors will be drafted in
to the Junior 80's program while 2nd year 14
year olds will be drafter in to the Junior 90's program.
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- Little League baseball is for children ages 5-18
and is based on how old the child is as of April
30th of the year they will be playing, known as
"League Age". See the
Age Chart to figure our your child's
"League Age"
- There are plenty of volunteer
opportunities you can do for both your team and for the
league. At the team level, you can volunteer to coach,
assistant coach, team parent, field prep, or be the scorekeeper for
your team. At the league level there are also many
committees that you can participate in including, Fiesta
Night, opening day ceremonies, field maintenance,
fundraising, league publicity, picture day, year book,
team/league sponsorship, newsletter, fall ball, team
parent orientation, tournaments, or assisting with the
league's communications efforts. By participating in
these positions, you are helping the Little League
Organization to provide the best possible playing
opportunities for your child! So please sign up for a
League committee or a team position at registration. The
SRLL Volunteer Participation Form can be found in your
registration packet, or you can pick one up at walk-in
registration.
- The roster of board members is posted
on this website. Each board member can answer the
questions pertinent to their area of responsibility.
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This depends on the nature of the
problem or issue, as follows:
For issues regarding your Childs selection to a
particular team, please contact the Player Agent for
your division. If this does not solve the issue, please
contact the SRLL President, Tim Cabral. For issues
regarding your Childs team, please consult with your
manager first. Your next option is to consult with the
particular Division Director. If there are questions
regarding league rules and more specifically, San Ramon
rules, please read through the house rules posted on the
website. We will post all of the information on this
website so as to avoid any misunderstanding or
confusion. For any umpire issues, please contact
Jeff Ernst, Umpire in Chief. For any field issues,
please contact Leann Roy, VP of League Support.
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The Little League Season
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- At minimum, your child will need a
baseball glove and boys also will need to wear an
athletic supporter with a hard cup. The league will
supply a team shirt and hat. Most children will also
require uniform pants, belt, bat, and (non-metal)
cleats, which the league does not provide. The league
provides each team with several batting helmets
and catcher gear. Players can bring their own helmets and catchers equipment if they choose, but are
not required to furnish these items themselves. We are
working on establishing an equipment recycling program
that will allow families to utilize cleats and gloves
that have been outgrown and donated by other families
(this will be on a first-come, first-served basis).
- Little League season begins around
the first of March, and lasts until about the middle of
June. Teams begin to practice around the beginning of
February. Some teams may qualify for post-season play
that would extend until the end of June, and some
players may qualify for all-star or tournament teams
that would play during July. A-ball and T-ball will start somewhat
later than the other divisions. When are practices?
Practices begin in early February and are scheduled 3
days per week until the start of game play in March.
Teams generally practice either Monday, Wednesday, and
Saturday, or Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Formal
practices are not generally scheduled on Friday or
Sunday. The number of weekly practices is reduced in
early March to accommodate game play. T-ball teams will
practice less frequently.
- Practices begin in early February and
are scheduled 3 days per week until the start of game
play in March. Teams generally practice either Monday,
Wednesday, and Saturday, or Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday. Formal practices are not generally scheduled
on Friday or Sunday. The number of weekly practices is
reduced in early March to accommodate game play. T-ball
teams will practice less frequently.
- Games begin in early March and are
generally scheduled 2 times per week; however, there may
be weeks where 1 or 3 games are scheduled. Games may be
scheduled on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and
Saturday, but generally not on consecutive days. In
general, no games are scheduled on Friday or Sunday,
although there may be occasional exceptions to this
rule. Game play continues until the season ends in
mid-June.
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- Games and practices are conducted on
local fields here in San Ramon. SRLL works with the City
of San Ramon to secure field usage rights, and the exact
fields we are assigned may vary from year to year.
- Little League rules are those rules
to which we are strictly bound. Little League rules are strictly adhered to at
the Majors level of play. Each year Little League
publishes updated rules that are well founded in history
and are focused at every kid getting a chance to play
Little League. House Rules are those rules adopted by
the San Ramon Little League Board to enhance the game
for the players. The house rules generally apply to the
AAA and below levels. An example of house rules is a
continuous batting order where all the kids attending
the game bat in succession until all have batted. After
all have batted the batting order reverts to the top of
the batting order. House rules are posted on the SRLL
website and are voted on each year.
- Yes, there are time limits on all
T-ball and A-ball games, and on Minors games when it is
necessary to clear the field for another game. Time
limits are detailed in the house rules for each
Division. Any game can also be called due to darkness
(by the home plate umpire) in the interest of safety for
the players.
- Yes and yes. The must-play rules
become less stringent at higher levels, but all players
must play in every game, regardless of ability. In
general, SRLL house rules require more play for each
child than the standard Little League rules do.
- Little League rules allow SRLL to
schedule games with adjoining leagues if this is
mutually agreeable. In general SRLL will pursue
inter-league play opportunities when possible in the
upper divisions. At lower levels, where the number of
teams is greater, we will probably not actively pursue
inter-league play. The extent of inter-league play may
vary from year to year.
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How teams are formed?
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- The majors level can redraft if
approved by the SRLL Board. The redraft can occur when
there are sufficient players available at the majors
level to increase or decrease the number of
teams. Additionally, if it is felt by the board that the
teams are no longer equal in skill level that a redraft
can occur. Yearly the board will make the decision based
upon number of players available at each level of play
and or number of players registering. It should be the
expectation of all players at the majors level of play
that a redraft could occur each year.
- Upon completion of the registration
process the league will determine the number of teams to
be formed within each division. This typically occurs
prior to the tryouts in December. The draft typically
occurs around the end of January.
- Teams are selected, based on the
criteria of their official Little League age and their
individual skills. The manager and coaches evaluate the
players abilities during the tryout process. This is an
objective evaluation of the Childs baseball skills. Four
basic skills are evaluated during the tryout: throwing,
fielding, hitting and running. Throwing and fielding
evaluations occur by having each player field 3 fly
balls and 3 grounders all thrown back to specific
bases. Managers will then evaluate and grade each child
on basic form, ability to track the ball and arm
strength. Next, the player is given 5 balls to hit; on
the fifth ball, hit or miss, the player is instructed to
run from home to 2nd base. Managers again will evaluate
the player on bat speed, swing mechanics and ability to
run the bases. Lastly, all players will be lined up for
short sprint to evaluate their overall speed.
- All Manager scores are captured and an average
tryout score for each child is created by the Player
Agent. The Player Agent will use this average scoring
with the managers to create a draft structure that
promotes parody among the teams at each level. The
basic objective of tryouts is to rank all the players
based upon their age and abilities so that when the
teams are drafted, teams can be equally balanced.
- SRLL encourages all parents to allow
their children to play at a level of baseball that
compliments their age and ability levels. As such,
parents request to keep their children at a specific
level will only be considered up to the A-ball level.
- At the lower division levels (e.g.
T-ball, A-ball), age, experience and Official Little
League rules factor into the decision of where a child
can play. SRLL's T-ball division is typically for
children of Little League age 5 and 6. However, children
who are Little League age 6 and have played 1 year of
T-Ball are welcome to attend a Safety Evaluation if they
would like to be considered for the A-Ball program. This
Safety Evaluation will be used as a means of determining
whether the child can safely participate at this level.
Once a child reaches Little League age eligibility for
the Minors division (AA/AAA) a tryout process is in
place to determine their ability level and a draft is in
place for the purposes of distributing the talent evenly
to all teams at that level.
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- The league will do its best to
accommodate requests at the A-ball and T-ball levels. As
the skill level increases the draft selection process
does not allow this to happen (Majors, AAA and AA). When
filling out the San Ramon Little League sign up
form please note the friend's name on the sheet and the
league will do the best it can.
- The basic objective of having a
player draft is for all teams at a given level to be
relatively equally balanced.
- Drafting begins for players who are
age eligible and have the ability to play in the Minors
(AA/AAA) division. Tryouts are held for all players in
the Minors AA/AAA (Little League age 7-12) and
Majors (Little League age 9-12) programs.
- This year there will be 2 separate
tryouts, one for the Minors division and one for the
Majors. Only those players attending tryouts for the
applicable divisions will be eligible to participate in
that division's draft. Any player, not making a Majors
team roster will automatically become eligible for the
Minors. All players who are Little League age 9 and
above are guaranteed a position on a Minors team as
well.
- In the event any Major's team during
the regular seasons requires a player to be added to
their roster, those children who attended the Majors
tryout are to be given first choice to move up. Only
after every child in the Player Pool who attended this
tryout is offered the opportunity to move up, but
declines will a team be able to select within the
Minor's Player Pool.
- All parents must understand that
attending the Major's tryout is declaring your child's
eligibility for the Major's Division. It is to be
understood that any player who is drafted initially or
as the result of a player call up later in the season
will be expected to accept their opportunity to join a
Major's team. If a player who is drafted by a Major's
team and declines, they will immediately be placed on
the Minor's waiting list. Player will then be placed on
a team only following the need for an additional player
within the Minor's Division.
- The number of teams in each division
may vary from year to year, as this is a function of how
many children register, their ages, and their skill
level.
- Invitational Tournaments for 9 to 12
year old players start the last week of June and run
through the first week of August. The process of
selecting the all-stars at each level varies by age
level. 10, 11, 12 year olds have 10 players selected by
regular season managers vote and the
last 2 to 3 are picked by the all- star manager. At the
9 year old level all of the managers from the minors
division collectively select 10 players, and the all
-star manager picks the last 2 or 3.
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Managers, Coaches, and Umpires.
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- Managers apply to manage/coach by using our On-line
registration system known as sPortability.
- At least 2 Board members (President, League Director
and /or Player Agent) interview each manager. The major
focuses in the interview are coaching background and
skills, communication ability to children and parents,
and commitment.
- All managers and coaches must pass a thorough
background check before managing.
- A Recommended List of Managers, based on the number
of teams needed for each division, is presented to the
Board for discussion and final approval.
- Little League rules allow for a
maximum of 3 managing/coaching personnel in the dugout
during games. Therefore, teams may have 1 Manager plus 2
Coaches of Record, all of whom must be approved by the
SRLL Board of Directors. Teams may request to have an
additional Coach of Record to serve as alternate in the
event that one of the primary coaching personnel is
unavailable for a given game.
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- At the AA, AAA, Majors, and Junior
level the games are umpired by anyone interested that is
12 years old or older, including adults. The umpires
are trained prior to league play and depending on years
of experience and skill are assigned to the various
levels. The umpires are paid a fee for this work. Fans
should not be communicating (good or bad) about umpire
calls. It is the responsibility of the managers on each
team to communicate with the umpires if there is an
issue. At the A-Ball and T-Ball levels, umpires are not needed since
the coaches are on the field and fill in as umpires.
Volunteers are a key in making this a successful
program. If you are 12 or older and interested in being
an umpire please contact the Umpire in Chief, Jeff Ernst
(information on the "About Us" page).
- Each team at the AA, AAA, Major, Junior,
Senior, and Bigs levels is to have a scorekeeper who is familiar
with keeping score. If possible (not mandated), the home
and visitor scorekeepers should sit together. The home
team scorebook is the official scorebook. If there are
any questions by the umpire or others on the status of
the game, the home scorebook is used. Score is not
tracked in T-ball or A-Ball and a scorekeeper is not
required from teams at these levels.
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Financial
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- SRLL's policy is that no child will
ever be turned away from our program due to a financial
hardship. Please see any SRLL board member for specific
needs. Is it possible to get a refund if we change our
mind about playing in SRLL? SRLL has a specific refund
policy, which is described in the registration packet.
The amount of the refund varies depending on the date of
the request. Are fundraisers needed? Fundraising is
vital to the success of the league. Registration fees
cover only about 60% of all cost associated with running
the league. The rest comes from fundraising in one form
or another.
- In general, your volunteer work will be validated by
either a board member (if associated with a board-level
activity such as picture day) or your team's manager
(for team-level roles such as Team Scorekeeper or
Coaches). Please direct any specific requests to our
Registrar. Once your volunteer hours have been
satisfied, you will be able to request a refund by
accessing the registration website.
- To request a refund for registration fees use the
same process as above. Access the appropriate
registration website for your division.
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- There are four levels of sponsorship
available, including Bronze which is at the $300.00
level, Silver at $500.00, Gold at $750.00, and Platinum
at the $1500.00 level. Please take the time to review
and consider one of these sponsorship opportunities that
is appropriate for you. Sponsors will be provided a team
plaque and their name placed on a banner placed at the
baseball field (dependant on the number of sponsors we
receive that are Gold level and above). The Sponsors names will also be posted
on the SRLL Leagues web site. You can obtain a form
listing levels of sponsorship, which can be completed
and mailed into SRLL headquarters along with your
donation. Additional sponsorship opportunities are
available too. For more information regarding these
opportunities, please contact the SRLL Director of
Fundraising via the contact information on the website,
or generally by directing inquiries to 828-9264 or via
email at
info@srbaseball.com. Thank you for helping to
maintain an outstanding baseball program to the youth of
San Ramon.
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