Age:
Grades 1-2, typically ages 6 - 8
Philosophy:
This program is instructional in nature and is organized to teach the basics of the game. The Coach Pitch Program has no state or national affiliation. The program starts with two weekend sessions while school is still in session of general instruction on hitting, fielding, and throwing before actual game situations are implemented. These sessions are focused on the basics of how coaches can run practices and teach skills. The coaches do the pitching in this league. The league does not keep win/loss records.
Season:
The season begins the first Tuesday after school is completed. The season will run for 7 weeks. Games are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and begin at either 6pm or 8pm. Practices for individual teams are scheduled by the coach of each team. It is anticipated that there would be 3 to 4 practices prior to the first game. Once games begin, any additional practices would be up to the coach for each team to schedule. Coaches can work with the league director to schedule those practices. Games are held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and begin at either 6pm or 8pm. Games will have a 1-½ hour time limit. Time and locations of games will be determined and scheduled by MBSC. Each team will play 14 regular league games.
NEW FOR THE 2024 SEASON: The season culminates with a league wide round robin tournament. The tournament will be played in early August on a Friday night and Saturday morning. The Friday night games will be followed by hot dogs and soda for all players in the program. The tournament will conclude with 2 games on Saturday morning. It is meant to be a fun event, no trophies or ribbons will be provided.
Team Composition:
The league director without consideration to talent level organizes teams. The main goal is to keep the teams as even as possible based on player age/experience. Player friend requests are honored as best as possible. There are typically 7 or 8 teams in the league, however this is dependent on the number of players to sign up. Ideally there would be approximately 10 players per team.
Majors & Minors:
If the number of registered players allows, two "divisions" within the Coach Pitch league will be created. Player safety and baseball development are of the utmost importance within MBSC, and having these two "divisions" will help to ensure that the younger and less experienced players have a more enjoyable introduction to the sport.
Majors Division:
The Majors division will be comprised of the older and more experienced players. This will likely be 8 year olds as well as 7 year olds who have played baseball for more than one year.
Minors Division:
The Minors division will be comprised of the younger and less experienced players. This will be 7 year olds who are entering their first year of baseball and 6 year olds.