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Reading Little League Baseball

Reading Little League Baseball

Team Selection Process

Our program documentation for Spring, Summer, and Fall baseball explains the divisions of play available in each season. Please see those documents for background information on available programs, age limits, and competitiveness.

Our frequently asked questions document covers topics like player ratings and coach/teammate concerns.

How is my player assigned to a division?

League placement is done primarily according to the Little League age chart. In the Spring, all 5-8 year olds slot into a division based solely on their Little League age. Double A (9s and 10s), Triple A (10s and 11s), and Majors (11s and 12s) have multiple age groups. These leagues are filled from Majors down.

Assuming 60 12 year olds register to play in the Spring and the Board of Directors targets 8 Majors teams of 11 players each (88 total players), then there are 28 spots available in Majors for 11 year olds. Members of the Board of Directors familiar with the 11 year old age group will review player ratings based on coach evaluations from the previous Spring to decide which 28 11 year olds should play majors.

This process repeats similarly for the Triple A and Double A divisions.

How does the board decide how many teams each division will have?

This is driven by the number of registrants at each age level, though it is generally keyed on the number of 12 year olds that are registered. We are unlikely to ever have more than 10 Majors teams due to available field space and the minimum number of games required by Little League to have players eligible to play in summer district tournaments.

How are teams formed in each division?

Single A and Above

Once players are assigned to a division a master list of available players is created with their associated player rankings. Head Coaches are selected from volunteers and a player draft is scheduled.

Draft order is determined by pulling numbers out of a hat and progresses in a snake fashion, meaning the order of the picks reverses each round.

Parent coaches must pick their player in the round that corresponds to their player rating. For example, in an 8 team league if a coach's player is rated as the 5th best player, they will be that coach's first round pick. If the coach's player is rated as the 30th best player, they will be that coach's fourth round pick.

Tee Ball and Rookie Coach Pitch

These teams are formed by their respective league directors, aiming for balance and to keep cohorts of schoolmates together where possible while also providing players the opportunity to meet children from other schools.

How are District, Bay State, and other tournament teams selected?

This process is covered in greater detail in our Summer program documentation, but tournament teams are generally selected based on evaluations of players that are nominated by coaches from across a division. Coaches nominate players from their own team and also those from other teams in their division. If you have concerns about this process, please contact your league director, the player agent, or President.

Please note that Summer tournament teams require a commitment of multiple months and encourage 100% player participation in all activities, which can be as many as 5-7 days each week. The level of play is high and playing time is not necessarily balanced.

From time to time the league may receive invitations to play in other tournaments throughout the year (e.g. Woburn's Memorial Day Tournament). These invitations are often time sensitive and teams need to come together quickly. These teams are formed by the league director with input from coaches as there is not sufficient time to hold dedicated evaluations.

Contact

Reading Little League
PO Box 614 
Reading, Massachusetts 01867

Email: [email protected]

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