CYBSL AGE GUIDELINES
CYBSL is providing the guidance below to help parents decide which league to sign up their child for when registering for baseball and softball.
Please note, your child’s Little League age may differ from their current age, or the age they will be during the season.
If you are unsure of their Little League age, please use the link below to the Little League website to determine their baseball age for the season: http://www.littleleague.org/leagueofficers/determine_league_age/league_age_calculator.htm
The path for most children starts in Instructional (Baseball at 6 and softball at 5 or 6 ); after one season of Instructional the child will move up to Farm. Farm is where your child will continue to build on the skills and concepts introduced in Instructional. After two years of Farm, many children are ready to try-out to move up to the Minors. Players usually spend two years in Minors before moving up to Majors. When trying to decide if your son/daughter should try out for Majors or Minors/AAA divisions, please consider:
Minors: The Minors Division (AAA) is the natural progression from Farm. It is a player pitch only league with walks, strike-outs, wins/losses and playoffs at the end of the season. Players are taught and expected to hit a line drive ball, field both ground and fly-balls and throw straight balls with the proper technique. The season is longer than Farm and you can expect 2 games/week and a practice. The division is made up primarily of Little League ages 9 and 10, with some 11’s.
Majors: The Majors Division is the most competitive division in the 9-12-year-old age bracket of Little League. It is made up primarily of Little League ages 11 and 12 and a few advanced 10’s. The tryout therefore is more difficult and could negatively affect the players score for the Minor division if the player is not drafted to the Majors. If your child is not drafted for the Majors division, they will automatically be placed into the Minor’s draft. Please avoid trying out for the majors just 'to see'.
Additionally, CYBSL offers competitive leagues for players from Little League 13 to 16-year-old through our Junior and Senior Divisions.
Junior and Senior: The Junior and Senior leagues begin after a player ages out of the Majors Division and are made up of players from 13-16-year-olds. Both leagues run from April through June, and are played on a larger field. Junior and Senior teams play against teams from District 4: Burrillville, Lincoln, North Smithfield, Smithfield, Situate, Glocester and Woonsocket. Please note, the Junior and Senior Divisions may be combined at the discretion of the Division Commissioner depending on player registration.
Division | Softball | Baseball |
Instructional | Softball ages 5 and 6 Age 7 if never played before | Baseball age 6 Age 7 if never played before
|
Farm (Machine/Player Pitch-baseball) | Softball ages 7 and 8 Age 9 if never played, or not ready for Minors
| Baseball ages 7 and 8 Age 9 if never played, or not ready for Minors
|
Majors/Minors | Tryouts: All players must attend a tryout to be drafted on a team | Tryouts: Only players registering for a new division must attend tryout to be drafted on a team. Players registering for the same division do not need to tryout. |
Minors | Softball ages 9 and 10 Exceptions (Try-out): 8 (Farm manager recommendation only) & Age 11 if not ready for Majors, 2 years of play in Minors recommended | Baseball ages 9 and 10 Exceptions (Try-out): 8 (Farm manager recommendation only) & Age 11 if not ready for Majors, 2 years of play in Minors recommended |
Majors | Softball ages 11 and 12 Exceptions: Age 10 Minors manager recommendation only | Baseball ages 11 and 12 Exceptions: Age 10 Minors manager recommendation only
|
Junior/Seniors |
|
|
Juniors | Primary age 13 and 14 | Primary baseball age: 13 & 14
|
Seniors | Primary age 15 and 16 | Primary baseball age: 15 & 16 |
Exceptions Farm: Minors/Majors: Softball/Baseball 8 - A player needs their prior season’s Farm manager’s recommendation to try out for Minors at Baseball 8. If a baseball 8 is not selected to Minors Division, they will be placed in Farm. Softball/Baseball 11 – Players may be placed in minors if not selected to Majors Division.
|
Respective contact information can be found on CYBSL.net.