Southeast Texas Fall Ball League 2010 (7U-12U)

[BMTbball09]

Yes, it is a little bit early to talk fall 2010.  However, with all the little leagues having meetings, we wanted to begin planning.  The Southeast Texas Baseball Academy will be hosting the 1st Southeast Texas Fall Ball League, fall 2010.  Because of competition from other sports (mainly football), most little leagues don't have enough kids to have a fall program.  Those that do, are forced to have 9 & 10 year olds, playing against 11 & 12's.  We will still have fall select tournaments, but [b]this WILL NOT be select teams in this league.[/b]  We are still in the brainstorming phase of this thing, but here is where we are now:

Kids will sign up with their respective little leagues.  Little leagues will divide up their signups into teams.  There will be 3 age groups (7 & 8's, 9 & 10's, 11 & 12's).  Kids that don't have a participating little league, will be allowed to sign up at the baseball academy.  They will be added to another team or a new team will be formed.  All games will be Sunday afternoon doubleheaders, this will allow kids that play football to participate.  We will provide uniforms, insurance (in case of an injury), game balls, professional umpires, etc.

All games will be played at Ford Fields.  We will play a 8 game regular season, concluding with a 2 game end of the season tournament.

League presidents & coaches: Please feel free to send me ideas or contact me for more information, [email protected] .

Thanks.
Jason Tyner

[Bulldog Dad]

I think this is a GREAT idea JT!!

[PNG NDN]

So you will set registration fees and all the money will go to Ford Park?  Will the parents have to pay to get in like select tournaments?  Since these games are only on Sundays could the fall league play during the week?

[BMTbball09]

There will be a one time registration fee per player.  There will not be a gate fee.

[Horns89]

Will we play with little league rules or real baseball rules?

[BMTbball09]

We will play with real baseball rules.  I believe the kids get a lot more out of playing that way.  The 7/8 division will be coach pitch, which i also believe is more beneficial.  There is not enough kids that throw strikes at that age for the kids to improve the way the will in coach pitch.

We will have a preseason coaching clinic after we organize all the teams to make sure all coaches & interested parents, know the basics.

[BMTbball09]

Initial discussions with several of the little league presidents have been very positive for this league.  I'm still in the process of collecting all the leagues contact info.  I would appreciate anyone interested in their league being affiliated with the fall league, to pass along their league presidents contact info (Little League, Pony, etc).  Rather than post it, please email it to me at [email protected] .

Thanks.
Jason Tyner

[braves24]

No 13-15 yr olds?

[BMTbball09]

As of now, no.  One day soon, we hope that the county will approve larger fields.

[BMTbball09]

Just wanted to address the number 1 concern with the league that keeps coming up from coaches and parents.  How are you going to balance the teams?  Several parents have said that in their previous fall leagues, the teams were always very unbalanced.  There is no perfect solution to this problem, but the more balanced the teams are, the more fun the kids will have & the more they will all improve.  Nobody benefits from a 15-0 game, not the kid striking everyone out or the team getting steam rolled.  This league is not going to be select teams.

Again there is no perfect solution, some teams are going to be better than others.  However, i will work with every league president & their coaches to make sure every team is divided up as fairly as possible.  Assuming we have enough teams, each team will only play each other once.  We will play an 8 game (4 Sunday DH's) regular season.  Teams will be seeded for the end of season tournament based on their records.  Rather than have one big end of season tournament, teams will split into mini 4 team championships.

For example in a 12 team division:

Seeds 1-4 will play for a championship; 1 vs. 4 and 2 vs. 3
Seeds 5-8 will play for a championship; 5 vs. 8 and 6 vs. 7
Seeds 9-12 will play for a championship; 9 vs. 12 and 10 vs. 11

Winners will play for 1st place trophy, losers will play for 3rd place

This guarantees everyone the opportunity to play for a championship, guarantees two more games vs. even competition & it doesn't penalize the kids that have never played with big league rules (leading off, etc.).

Again, we are still in the brainstorming phases & nothing is set in stone.  Any feedback or ideas to improve what we have come up with are greatly welcomed.