Bonney Lake Sumner Little League Frequently Asked Questions
1) When can I register?
Online registration for BLSLL typically opens in late October to early November for the following spring season. Registration typically closes in February for upper divisions and late March for lower divisions.
2) How do I determine what League I should register for?
Go to: http://www.littleleaguewa.org/ and enter your address in the “Find My League” section and click the “Find My League” button.
Any player who:
-does not reside in the league boundaries -OR-
- the school where they attend classes is not WITHIN the league’s boundaries must have an approved waiver issued by the Charter Committee at Little League International.
3) How do I register for BLSLL?
First, refer to FAQ #2 to determine if your address is in the BLSLL boundaries. Once confirmed, you can register for your program on the Registration Page - if your address is not within BLSLL boundaries, but the school your child attends is in the boundaries, you can still register for BLSLL by requesting that the league president process II(d) form and a “residency or school enrollment/attendance” form.
4) How are team rosters formed for Minors, Majors, 50/70, Juniors divisions?
Rosters for baseball and softball minors divisions and above (Minors, Majors, 50/70, Juniors) are established via a tryout and draft process. There are no “pre-designated” coaches or assistant coaches for these divisions (refer to FAQ #9).
5) Should my player attend evaluations/try-outs?
Any Softball or Baseball player who was drafted to Majors the previous season does not attend evaluations and will be placed back in the majors division.
Baseball: Saturday, February 24th & Monday, February 26th
Players League Age 10 and up need to attend an evaluation.
Players League Age 9 who have played at least one year of kid-pitch baseball should attend evaluations.
No players League age 9&10 who do not attend evaluations will be drafted into minors/majors and will be placed in AA.
Softball: Saturday, February 10th & Monday, February 12th
All players registered for player pitch divisions (Majors and Minors A) must attend an evaluation.
Learn more about League Age on Little League International.
6) How do I find my child’s “League Age”?
Go to: http://www.littleleaguewa.org/ and follow the prompts in the “League Age Calculator” section.
7) How does “League Age” map to BLSLL divisions?
With few exceptions the typical League Age to division mapping is:
Tee Ball – ages 4 and 5
Coach Pitch – ages 6 and 7
AA – ages 8 and 9
Minors – ages 9 through 11
Majors – ages 11 and 12
50/70 – ages 12 and 13
Juniors – ages 13 and 14
8) How are team rosters formed for AA, Coach Pitch and Tee Ball divisions?
Rosters for AA division and below (AA, Coach Pitch, Tee Ball) are formed as follows: a) First criteria is by school attended b) Second criteria is an equitable division of players to each team by age c) Managers can be assured that their child(ren) will be placed on their roster. d) Managers may request one (1) assistant coach whose child(ren) will also be placed on their roster. Only managers can request a specific assistant, not the other way around. Rule III.(e) note 2 in the Little League Baseball rule book specifically states “Minor League and T-Ball teams must be dissolved at the end of the current season, with all players being returned to a player pool” What this means is that there is no guarantee that any player will remain with a given coach, player or team from one year to the next. The only exceptions are as noted in items c) and d) above.
9) How are team managers and coaches selected?
Per rule I.(b) in the Little League Baseball rule book, “The President, with the approval of the Board of Directors, shall appoint managers, coaches and umpires annually.” All Star managers and coaches are appointed by the league president.
10) How are All Star teams selected?
The method used to select All Star teams is typically via the Managers in each division (Majors and Minors) ranking the All Star candidates from 1 to 15 for each age group (league age 10, 11 and 12). The individual manager rankings are consolidated and the top 10 ranked players in each age group are selected for the All Star roster. The designated All Star manager for each age group has discretion for selecting the final roster spots from players ranked 11 to 15. Selection of any player not ranked in the top 15 must be approved by the player agent and league president. Players will participate on the All Star team according to their league age. Each year the board will adopt its current year plan by January 31st.
11) Can I request to be a coach or assistant coach for a particular manager?
No. For Minors, Majors, 50/70 and Juniors, a Manager secures his preferred coaches and assistant coaches via drafting that persons child(ren) during the draft. In draft divisions, there is no provision for a manager to request coaches or assistant coaches.
For AA, Coach Pitch and Tee Ball divisions, Managers may request one (1) assistant coach whose child(ren) will be placed on their roster. Only managers can request a specific assistant, not the other way around.
12) If a manager, coach or umpire is returning from previous years, do they automatically get the same position in the next year?
From page 21 of the Little League rule book: “Volunteers in the local Little League program DO NOT HAVE TENURE, regardless of the years of service. In order to serve, a manager, coach or umpire must be appointed by the league president and approved by the local league board of directors annually. Prior service DOES NOT guarantee re-appointment.”
13) Can I request placement of my child on a specific team because of carpooling?
No. Carpool arrangements should be made with other parents/guardians AFTER the rosters are announced. In general, carpool requests will not be considered as a part of roster formation (refer to FAQ #4 and FAQ #7).
FOR AA, Coach Pitch and Tee Ball divisions: If the ONLY way your child can participate is by carpooling with another family, both families are required to secure the approval of the carpool request from the League President prior to registration. If the carpool request is approved by the President, the Player Agent will make every attempt to place your child on the same roster as the family you identify as your carpool partner. If approved, this does not mean your child will be on a specific managers’ team - only that the identified children will be on the same roster. No carpool requests will be considered without prior approval of the League President. No refunds will be issued for carpool requests that could not be accommodated unless approved by the League President.
14) When will I hear what team my child is on?
For draft divisions (Minors, Majors, 50/70, Juniors), you should be contacted within a day or two after the draft is completed (usually late February to early March). For non-draft divisions (AA, Coach Pitch, Tee Ball) you should typically be contacted mid to late March of each season.
15) What is the time commitment?
Games and practices are typically scheduled for 3 events per week. Each event varies from approximately 1.5 to 3 hours depending on division. Upper division events are generally longer (and potentially more frequent) than lower division events.
16) When does the season start and end?
Draft formed teams can start practices as early as mid to late February and ends by Memorial day Weekend
Non Draft division Practices and games typically commence mid-March to early April. The regular season typically concludes late May to early June depending on rain outs
17) Are there scholarships available?
Those experiencing financial hardship can request scholarship support by submitting an application to [email protected]. T-Mobile Little League® also offers a call up grant program; Learn more at https://www.littleleague.org/call-up-grant-program/
18) Are the volunteer opportunities with Bonney Lake-Sumner Little League?
Absolutely! To volunteer, you must register on the BLS website and fill out the volunteer application and complete a background check. Please email [email protected] when you've done these things to learn about current needs and openings.
189) Where can I get additional information on Little League?
Refer to the Little League International web site at: http://www.littleleague.org/parents.htm or the Washington State Little League web page at: http://www.littleleaguewa.org/ or the Washington District 10 web page at: http://www.d10littleleague.org/