TRUCKEE LITTLE LEAGUE DIVISIONS AND PLAYER PLACEMENT

If a player registers by the registration deadline, he or she WILL be on a team. If a player registers after the deadline, he or she will be placed on a waiting list and may be put on a team if space is available. TO ENSURE YOUR CHILD IS PLACED ON A TEAM, REGISTER BEFORE THE DEADLINE!!!

Lower (Undrafted) Divisions
Players in Rookies, Tee Ball, AA, and AAA are placed on teams by members of the TLL Board. The goal of the board is to create teams that are balanced in terms of skill, experience and age. Slight variations in the placement process occur in the different divisions. Players may not skip divisions. Requests for specific teammates or coaches will NOT be considered. All ages discussed below refer to league age (please refer to the Little League age chart to determine your child’s league age, https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/determine-league-age/)

Rookies (Ages 4-5): Rookies is a division intended to introduce young children to the sport of baseball. All four-year-olds, regardless of experience, and five-year-olds with no previous Rookies experience, will be placed in Rookies. Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on getting players familiar with basic skills of throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning. All players will bat off a tee.

Tee Ball (Ages 5-7): Tee Ball division is a beginning division for players with little or no experience playing baseball. Six- and seven-year-olds with no baseball experience will be placed in Tee Ball. Five-year-olds with Rookies experience will be placed in Tee Ball. Unless requested by parents, players will play only one year in Tee Ball. Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on introducing and improving basic skills of throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning, as well as teaching basic rules of the game. All players will bat off a tee in games. Teams will have scheduled games against other teams in the Tee Ball division. Teams will usually have two or three games or practices each week.

AA (Ages 6-8): AA is a developmental and minimally competitive division for players with minimal baseball experience and skill level. Players may play for one or two years in AA division. Six- and seven-year-olds with one year of Tee Ball experience and eight-year-olds with no baseball experience will be placed in AA. Seven and eight-year-olds with at least one year of baseball experience who are not placed in AAA division will be placed in AA at the discretion of the player agent and other members of the board involved in creating teams. Not all players requesting to play in AA division will be placed there. Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on further developing throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning skills, as well as teaching the rules of the game at a more sophisticated level than in Tee Ball. Players will bat against coach pitching. Teams will have scheduled games against other teams in the AAA division. Teams will usually have two or three games or practices each week.

AAA (Ages 7-10): AAA division is designed to prepare players for independent play and player pitching in the upper divisions. AAA includes players ages seven to 10 years. Players that will be placed in AAA division include:

• All players with one year of AAA experience that are not drafted into the minors division
• All players with two years of AA experience
• Nine- and ten-year-olds with no baseball experience.

Players that may be placed in AAA division at the discretion of the player agent and other members of the board involved in creating teams include:

• Eight-year-olds, and rarely seven-year-olds, with one year of AA experience

Not all players requesting to play in AAA division will be placed there. Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on developing game awareness and application of throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning skills in game situations. Player development will address understanding of the more complex rules of the game and introducing game strategies as well as rules. Pitching is also introduced in AAA division, and all players interested in pitching will be able to begin learning to pitch. The focus at AAA level moves more from individual player skills to team development. Players will bat against coach pitching at the start of the season and transition to batting against player pitching in the second half of the season. Teams will have scheduled games against other teams in the AAA division. Teams will usually have two or three games or practices each week.

Upper (Drafted) Divisions
Minors, Majors, and Juniors are drafted divisions. This means that the team managers take turns selecting players from a pool of eligible players until their teams are full (usually 12 players per team). NOT EVERY PLAYER ELIGIBLE WILL BE DRAFTED INTO THE DIVISION HE OR SHE DESIRES. There are rules requiring mandatory placement of certain players in specific divisions. Otherwise, there are no guarantees of placement and there is no appeal process from the draft. The draft is confidential and final. Requests for specific teammates or managers will not be considered.

Minors (Ages 8-11): Minors division is the introductory level of “real” baseball. Players age 8-10 with at least one year in AAA division are eligible to play in the Minors division, as are all 11-year-olds, regardless of experience. Eight-year-olds are rarely drafted into the Minors division. The following categories of player will be placed in the Minors division, based on Truckee Little League’s mandatory placement by-laws:

• All 11-year-olds not drafted into the Majors division, unless a waiver requested by the family to play in a lower division is approved by the Board.
• All players aged 11 and under that played in Truckee Little League Minors division the previous spring will play in the Minors division if not drafted into Majors. (Playing in fall ball Minors does not guarantee placement in the Minors division the following spring.)
• All 10-year-olds that have played TWO years in Truckee Little League spring AAA division will be drafted into the Minors division IF they attend tryouts unless they choose to play again in AAA division.

Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on developing game awareness, teamwork, and application of throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning skills in game situations. Minors division players bat against player pitching only. Players are guaranteed minimum play time as laid out in the Little League rule book and Truckee Little League by-laws, but “equal play” as practiced in lower divisions is no longer required. Players will likely begin to play one or two specific positions, based on aptitude, skill level, and team needs, and will no longer play all over the field as in lower divisions. Players are not guaranteed the opportunity to play at any particular position, or in the outfield or infield.

Majors (Ages 10-12): Majors division is the final level of traditional Little League. Players age 10-11 with at least one year in Minors division are eligible to play in the Majors division, as are all 12-year-olds, regardless of experience. Ten-year-olds are rarely drafted into the Majors division. The following categories of player will be placed in the Majors division, based on Truckee Little League’s mandatory placement by-laws:

• All 12-year-olds, unless a waiver requested by the family to play in a lower division is approved by the Board and Nevada District 1.
• All players that played in Truckee Little League Majors division the previous spring (Playing in fall ball Majors does not guarantee placement in the Majors division the following spring spring.)
• All 11-year-olds that have played TWO years in Truckee Little League spring Minors division will be drafted into the Majors division IF they attend tryouts unless they choose to play again in AAA division. If the number of available spaces in Majors does not permit placing all such 11-yr-olds, the Board may modify the mandatory placement criteria to include only 6th graders or other categorization at its discretion.

Coaching, practice, and game play are focused on furth developing game awareness, teamwork, and application of throwing, catching, batting, and baserunning skills in game situations. Majors division players bat against player pitching only. Players are guaranteed minimum play time as laid out in the Little League rule book and Truckee Little League by-laws, but “equal play” as practiced in lower divisions is no longer required. Players will likely play one or two specific positions, based on aptitude, skill level, and team needs, and will not play all over the field. Players are not guaranteed the opportunity to play at any particular position, or in the outfield or infield.

Juniors (Ages 13-14): The Juniors division provides an opportunity for middle schoolers to continue to play competitive baseball after aging out of traditional Little League and before becoming eligible for high school baseball. All 13 and 14-year-olds that register on time will play in the Juniors division. The draft will determine which players are on which teams. Juniors games are played on a full-sized baseball field by the traditional rules of baseball.

TRYOUTS ARE MANDATORY FOR DRAFTED DIVISIONS.
A player will not be eligible for the draft if he or she does not attend tryouts, unless he or she is in a mandatory placement category described above. Players in mandatory placement categories are still expected to attend tryouts to ensure a fair draft. If your child absolutely CANNOT attend tryouts, you MUST contact the Player Agent ([email protected]) BEFORE tryouts to discuss if alternative arrangements can be made. If not in a mandatory category, your child WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT if he or she does not attend tryouts and you have not contacted the Player Agent.