Rookie Ball

 

 

 

Ages: 7-9

Game Nights: Mondays (some Wednesdays for

Sr. Rookie ball teams) 6pm

Location: Birchwood and Dean Henderson parks

Practices: 1 per week as selected by the coach

 

 

 

Rookie Ball is a form of baseball which uses a pitching machine as the pitcher. It is played between two teams of 10 players (generally played with 4 outfielders or three outfielders and a rover and a standard infield) using special Rookie Ball playing rules. The purpose of Rookie Ball baseball is to introduce the batter to the pitched ball in a controlled and safe environment via the use of the pitching machine. Thus, Rookie Ball baseball is the ideal "stepping stone" between T-ball and baseball. While many of the official rules of baseball start to be introduced, there are some rules specific to the “pitching machine.”

We divide rookie ball into a junior and a senior division. All 7 yr olds play in the junior division, while all 9 yr olds play in the senior division. 8 year olds may be placed in the Senior or Junior divisions.

In the spring, all registered Rookie Ball players are invited to a "player assessment" where the kids are put through a number of drills in order to measure their abilities. The teams can then be properly balanced to ensure fair and fun competition for all. Boys and girls play approximately 15 games per season.

 

 

Junior Rookie Ball games are played every Monday night at Birchwood Park.

 

Senior Rookie Ball games are played every Monday night at Birchwood Park and some Wednesday nights at Dean Henderson (approximately 5 or 6 Wednesday night games throughout the summer)

 

Practices (1 per week) are chosen by the coach.

 

Typically the season begins the first Monday after the May long weekend and finishes with a finals tournament on the third weekend in August.