ROOKIEBALL (LITTLE LEAGUE MINORS)

Rookieball players play a modified form of baseball where a Zooka (pitching machine) is used to pitch to the batter. There are no strikes or balls and after three unsuccessful pitches the batter can hit the ball off a tee. In the second half of the season some children will be able to pitch to their own team as preparation for moving to Little League in the following season. The emphasis is on skill development while introducing baseball concepts such as “Force Play” and “Tag Up”.

A modified ball is used that is softer and slightly smaller than a normal baseball to reduce the risk of injury and build confidence. Team size is aimed at a max of 8 to 9 players to increase participation and skill development with players being rotated through different fielding positions in each innings.

Age

Baseball uses a “baseball age” matrix to determine which age group applies. Players who have a baseball age of  8 or 9 will play Rookieball (Little League Minors) – the matrix makes this easy to determine.

Training:

Training will commence in September with times to be confirmed. New players are welcome to join after that date – teams are not finalised until closer to the start of the season in October.

Games:

Generally Saturday mornings at 8:30am or 10:15am for a 1hr 15m game. (There may be occasional Friday night games).

Matches are played against the other three Clubs in the Metro Region being Pine Hills, Windsor and Allstars. Home games are generally played at the club’s Preston Road (Carina) fields. There are no competition points or official score recorded.

The season usually consists of 9 to 10 Saturdays in School Term 4 with another 6 to 7 Saturdays in Term 1 after school returns from the Christmas break. There are no games or training during school holidays.

Equipment Required:

Junior Gameday shirt, club cap, white baseball pants, baseball glove, protective cup, sneakers or moulded cleat shoes. Click here for more information about uniforms.

TEAM ALLOCATION:

Teeball and rookieball teams are selected as evenly as possible.

Little League to U20 are selected on players’ ability. This will remain the responsibility of the Junior Development Officer and coaching staff. Teams will consist of no more than 12 players.

If you have any questions about playing Junior baseball with the Carina Leagues Redsox, please feel free to contact our Junior Vice President .