At the December Board Meeting, the all-volunteer Board of Directors for Lacamas Little League officially voted to change the organizations name to Camas Little League. 

The board decided to implement the name change after listening to input from league parents, the Camas community, and to resolve confusion of the Lacamas name expressed by other leagues in the region and statewide. This change will be gradually implemented through the rest of 2013 and will include updated logos, branding, and signage. 

Doug Vaughan, President of the Camas Little League board stated, "We wanted to align our name with the community spirit and pride that makes Camas such a special place.  The support from local businesses, the city, the schools and thousands of community volunteers over the years has been overwhelming and made our local little league a tremendous experience for tens of thousands of little leaguers and their families over the years.  We wanted to embrace that community spirit and have it reflected in everything we do.”

The Board would like to thank everyone for their support and extend a big welcome to Camas Little League! 

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Lacamas Little League was organized and chartered by Little League Baseball International in 1958 and is one of the largest non-profit youth sports programs in our area with over 500 children participating on 50 teams. Staffed completely by volunteers, the league operates baseball and softball programs for boys and girls in the spring, summer and fall. The league is funded through player registration fees, fundraising, concessions and sponsors. Fee schedules for the season are based on projected budget expenses for the league year. Click Here for a pie chart that illustrates where our funds are spent during a typical season. It is important to note that unlike other sports leagues in the area (which normally have at least one full-time (pay+benefits) director and often several other paid positions, including stipends for the registrars and some coaching positions), there are no paid positions at Lacamas Little League. In additiona, our policy is that no child will be turned away due to financial considerations.

Boys and Girls who are "league age" 5 through 14 can register for LLL Baseball and Fastpitch Softball. We also offer a Challenger Division for mentally/physically disabled children ages 5 to 18. All Participants must reside within the LLL Boundaries, unless they qualify for a boundary exception. By Little League rules, only players who live within the league boundary may register with LLL. Click Here to review the map and determine if you live within the boundary. There are two exceptions to this requirement: (1) If a player resided within the league boundary the previous season and participated in the league that previous season, but has now moved outside the league boundary, they may be granted a waiver to be allowed to play in LLL by filling out Form II(d). (2) If a player's parent previously resided within the league boundary for at least 2 years while serving as a manager, coach or member of the LLL Board, a waiver may be granted to be allowed to play in LLL by filling out Form IV(h).

The regular season for baseball and softball runs from April through June with practices beginning in March. Post-season play begins in mid-June and runs through Mid-August. Games are played at various fields in the Camas area, primarily Forest Home Park and the Liberty Softball Fields.

In 2010, Lacamas Little League is celebrating its 52nd anniversary of providing an outstanding program of youth sports instruction to children in our community. The success of our program over the years has been the direct result of the extremely strong dedication and support of the parents, sponsors and members of the community.

For more information about Little League International, please visit www.littleleague.org

T-Ball Baseball

T-Ball baseball is for boys and girls ages 5-6 years old, who want to learn the fundamentals of hitting and fielding. In T-Ball, players hit a ball off a batting tee. Rules of the game are varied to accommodate the need for teaching. The primary goals of T-Ball are to instruct the children in the fundamentals of baseball and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork. Rosters are composed of 10-14 players. No “live” pitching is permitted in this division. The baseball field used is a 60 foot diamond.

Minor (A)

Minor(A) baseball and softball programs are for boys and girls ages 6-8 years old. In the A Division, players are “pitched to” by their Manager/Coach. By rule, players who are league age 6 and who have played at least one year of T-Ball may move up to the Pee Wee Division. The primary goals of Minor (A) are to instruct the children in the fundamentals of baseball and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork as well as prepare them to advance to the Minor Division. Rosters are composed of 10-14 players. “Live” Player pitching is permitted during the second half of the season. The baseball field used is a 60 foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet.

Minor Division (AA)

The Minor (AA)baseball and softball programs are for usually for boys and girls age 9. A 10 year old may only be approved to play down at this level with president approval. This is for the developing player ready to move up from Minor (A) to the next level. Standings and score will not be kept. This is primarily a player pitch league with some coach pitch. It is recommended that a player wishing to play in this division have completed at least one year at the Minor (A) level. Rosters are composed of 12 players. The baseball field used is a 60 foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet.

Minor Division (AAA)

This division is usually for 10 year olds. An 11 year old may play down at this level with president approval. 7, 8, and 9 year olds who wish to play up to AAA must attend a tryout (it is not guaranteed they will be drafted to a AAA team). Players are selected to teams through a tryout and draft system conducted by the Managers and the Player Agent. This level is all player pitching.

Major Division

The Major baseball and softball programs are for boys and girls ages 10-12 years old. All players are required to participate in an evaluation (try-out) session. Players are selected to teams through a draft system conducted by the Managers and the Player Agent. The primary goals of the Major Division are to instruct the children in the fundamentals of baseball and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork as well as prepare them to advance to the Junior Level of baseball. Rosters are composed of 12 players. Player pitching is used exclusively in this division. The baseball field used is a 60 foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet. Umpires are provided for each game.

Junior Division

The Junior baseball and softball programs are for boys and girls ages 13-14 years old. All players are required to participate in an evaluation (try-out) session. Players are selected to teams through a draft system conducted by the Managers and the Player Agent. The primary goals of the Junior Division are to instruct the children in the fundamentals of baseball and to allow them to experience the value of teamwork as well as prepare them to advance to "High School Level" baseball. Rosters are composed of 12 players. Player pitching is used exclusively in this division. The baseball field used is an 80 foot diamond and the pitching distance is 55 feet. Umpires are provided for each game.

Fall Ball Program

LLL also provides a Fall Ball Program that emphasizes fundamental skills and provides kids with an opportunity to enhance their skill level for next year's competitive season. The program runs from August through October and the number of teams is dependent upon the level of interest in the various age groups as well as field availability. Information about the program is distributed prior to the end of the Spring season.

The concept of “Honoring the Game” describes the behavior we, at Little League, want to model. To help our ball players, coaches, managers and parents remember the concept, we say that Honoring the Game gets to the ROOT of positive competition, where ROOTS is the acronym for respecting:

RULES
Honoring the Game means we refuse to bend the rules to win a game or field a better team. Getting away with illegal behavior, just because nobody knows about it, doesn’t change the fact that it is against the rules of the game IF YOU WIN BY IGNORING OR VIOLATING THE RULES, OF WHAT VALUE IS YOUR VICTORY?

OPPONENTS
Without opponents, competitive sports make no sense. We aren’t challenged to do our best unless we have a worthy opponent, one who challenges us to do our best. A worthy opponent is a gift and should be treated with respect. A phrase that sums up how sports competitors should treat each other is “Fierce and Friendly.” We savor fierce competition when the game is on and friendly relations when the play is over and in between innings.

OFFICIALS
Honoring the Game means you respect the umpires, even when you disagree. Umpires have been selected and trained to enforce rules to keep the ball game from becoming chaotic. Umpires, like athletes, coaches, managers and parents are not perfect and make mistakes. However there is no excuse for treating umpires with disrespect when you disagree with them. Little League leaders on the field from managers to umpires are trying to make the game safe, fun and fair for all competitors. Our ability to recruit and retain umpires over the course of the season much less recruit the next generation of umpires, depends upon our ability to respect officials even when we disagree.

TEAMMATES
To truly Honor the Game, athletes must be willing to make a commitment to one’s teammates to never do anything, on or off the field that would embarrass them or compromise their efforts to be the best they can be. Just as the strongest chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a team’s morale, reputation and success is dependant upon the standards of conduct, which any single player holds himself or herself to. For example, if just one player on your team has a habit of questioning the home plate umpire’s calls, this could define the reputation of the entire team.

SELF
A question we all hear frequently from coaches is “How can I expect my players to set high standards and Honor the Game when our opponents do not?” At Little League we want everyone to Honor the Game no matter what other teams, coaches or fans do. Little League wants you to be the kind of team and player that Honors the Game even when others do not. You have respect for yourself and would never do anything to dishonor the game.

So as we approach this season lets all remember to go back to our ROOTS and Honor the Game.