FAQ's - General

Frequently Asked Questions

 

Q: What ages can play?

A: Players with a "Little League” age of 5-12 can play. A player's Little League age is determined by his or her age on *August 31st each year.

 

Q: When is registration?

A: Registration begins in December and ends in early February. After February, late registration is followed by a waitlist.

 

Q: What documents are required for registration?

A: Proof of age and residency are required.  An original birth certificate is required for proof of age.  Passports are not allowed.  Proof of residency requires the following:  drivers license, vehicle registration, a utility bill.

 

Q: Why do we need to provide so much proof of age and residency every year?

A: Sadly, many people have cheated in Little League. A team even made it to the World Series by fielding a 14 year old, 2 years older than allowed. Consequently, Little League International has established strict rules on the subject that we must follow.

 

Q: How do I sign up?

A: Registration is online here. www.WALLBB.org or come to a scheduled walk-in registration day.

 

Q: My child has never played before. What skill level is required? At what level should I register?
A: Baseball experience is not required. For a new player, you should consider the following guidelines:

·        5-6 yrs - T-Ball or A-ball

·        7-8 yrs - AA or Farm

·        9-10 yrs - AAA or Minors

·        11-12 - Majors and or Intermediates

Skill evaluations help to place players in the appropriate division.  Although we like to encourage kids to pick up baseball at any age, players at the higher levels have more strength and experience. If you have any questions, you should discuss your child's prospects with the player agent prior to tryouts.

 

Q: How long is the season?

A: In general, practices start around mid-February, with games starting in early March. The season usually ends around the first Saturday in June. Allstars continue through July 5th.

 

Q: Once I'm registered, what's next?

A: You will be notified which team your child is on in mid- February. Your manager will hold a team meeting where you will find out more information about the season

Q: When and how often are games?

A: Once the season begins, there are games usually twice per week. The day of week will change from week to week, but the start times will be around 5:00 (although the schedule is not yet set). The other game will be on Saturday, starting at different times each week.

Minors and Majors play at 5:00pm early in the season and 5:15pm later.

Tball and Farm start at 5:30pm

 

Majors/Tball game days are M,W,F,S.

Minors/Farm game days are T,TH,S.

 

Q: What experience is required for coaches and managers?
A: This depends on level of play.  At the lowest levels, no coaching experience is required. You will attend a Coaches Clinic to learn how to teach baseball skills, and a First Aid Training course. If you are good with kids, know something about baseball you should consider coaching.

As you advance through the divisions, more knowledge and experience are required.

 

Q: How are teams formed?
A: Teams at all levels are created through processes that are intended to balance teams and create the best environment for the players. The specific process differs depending on the level.
Teams in AA through Majors are formed through a draft process.  T-ball teams are formed with the following considerations:

1.     Each team must have a manager and a coach

2.     Teammate requests

3.     Grouping players by school

Constructing teams is very difficult and time consuming. There are many competing goals that must be balanced. We do our best to accommodate all requests, but that is not always possible.

 

Q: Could you provide more detail about the volunteer positions?
A: The league is run by volunteers, starting with the Board. It takes roughly 30,000 volunteer hours to conduct a season. Your help is greatly appreciated. Being a board member is rewarding and you meet new people and have some fun. It's not all work all of the time.

·        Manager: Typically, you will be at every practice and game. You will also communicate with the parents with the help of a Team Parent. You also communicate with the Player Agent.

·        Coach: You will spend as much time on the field as a manager, but without some other responsibilities.  Very often a team will have multiple coaches, some of whom are only available at certain times. The "team" approach to coaching works well, especially at the T-ball level.

·        Team Parent: Helps the manager communicate with the parents (e.g., last-minute rained out practice), creates snack schedule, organizes team events and anything else that comes up. This can take some time, but very often you can make your own schedule.

·        Team Field Set-up / Take-down: Field preparation is an important activity for all divisions.  Having reliable volunteers is a tremendous help for the Managers and Coaches, enabling them to focus on the children rather than the fields.  Depending on the division, volunteers arrive at the field 15 – 30 minutes before practices and 30 to 60 minutes before games. 

·        Team Hit-A-Thon Coordinator: The Coordinator communicates with parents to promote the festivities and encourage participation, distributes pledge envelopes, arranges the required teaml volunteers, coordinates the teams turn at the Hit-A-Thon and collects pledge envelopes.

·        Board of Directors: Elections are held annually for the Board of Directors.  Please contact any Director if you are interested in participating on the Board.  There will be several vacancies for the 2015 season as many current Board members children will be aging out.  Please Help!

·        Concessions Manager: The snack shack is the social hub of the league, a very important place!  Not only is it an important gathering spot, it is also an important contributor to the league budget.  The Concessions Manager is not responsible for the day to day activity of the snack shack but rather manages a team of volunteers, each with a specific responsibility.  The team includes schedulers, procurement and operations people.

·        Field Maintenance Coordinators: These volunteers are responsible for the maintenance and improvements to all fields and the surrounding areas.  They ensure that the playing field, particularly the pitching mound and bull pen mounds, are in good shape, all equipment to drag and line the inflields are in good working order and replenish the equipment sheds as necessary with paint, chalk and supplies.  They also periodically inspect dugout and equipment areas for organization and cleanliness.

 

Q: Do I need to submit a Volunteer Application?
A: If you have a position that will require interacting with the players (manager, coach, umpire, etc.), you must submit a volunteer application prior to commencing your duties. This is a Little League International rule designed to protect the safety of the kids. The form can be found here under our download section on this website.   Background checks are required of all volunteers, social security numbers are required for the background check.