MPAA Big News for 2015 Baseball Season!

MPAA Recreational League Changes

The Rookie League will be replaced with Tee Ball 4U. Tee Ball 4U will give our youngest athletes the opportunity to learn the game of baseball with kids of similar age while providing them a real game experience. Ages 3 and 4.

Our traditional Tee Ball program will become Tee Ball Coach Pitch. Although the league will have similar rules as in the past (the tee will still be available), the focus will be placed on hitting off the coach’s pitch and beginning to developing strong defensive skills. Ages 5 and 6.

Our Pee Wee League will split into two defined leagues. Pee Wee Coach Pitch and Pee Wee Kid Pitch.

The Pee Wee Coach Pitch League will have similar rules to our current Pee Wee program, but it will be designed for 7 year olds. The focus of this league will be on building stronger hitting skills, developing player pitchers for the first time, and continuing to build on the defensive skills developed at the Tee Ball Coach Pitch level. 7 year olds.

The Pee Wee Kid Pitch League will feature all kid pitch for the first time. Kids will pitch to kids the entire game. The league is designed for our 8 year olds. The focus of this league will be on developing our future pitchers in the program. It will also provide an opportunity for our young hitters to become confident at the plate against an opposing player pitcher. 8 year olds.

Developmental / Tournament Teams

For the first time, MPAA Baseball will offer developmental and tournament teams for 8U and above. These teams will be hybrid recreational / travel teams. Each of the athletes in the program must participate in the MPAA recreational league defined for their playing age group.

These teams will meet one to two times per week in addition to rec practices/games to learn advanced baseball fundamentals/skills and participate in a couple of travel tournaments each season.

· 8U Developmental Team – This team will consist of 30 players from the Pee Wee program. The goal is to have approximately 20 playing age 8 year olds and 10 playing age 7 year olds in the program. No playing age 6 year olds will be allowed to participate in this program. In order to be a member of this team, a player must play on a rec team in his/her playing age league. Playing age 7 must play in the 7U league. Playing age 8 must play in the 8U league. This group will meet 1 to 2 times per week, and will look to play in 2 tournaments during the spring season (weather/rec schedule permitting).

· 10U, 12U, 14U, 18U Tournament Teams – These teams will consist of 12 to 18 players depending on the team’s needs. Again, you must play in your recreational playing age group in order to participate on these teams. This group will meet 1 to 2 times per week, and will look to play in 3 tournaments during the spring season (weather/rec schedule permitting).

If you are interested in having your child tryout for one of these teams, you may sign up for the tryout on the day of player evaluations for the recreational program. There will be a sign up sheet located at the registration table. Tryout times and dates will be provided on that day.

If you are interested in being a member of the coaching staff for one of these teams, please contact your league commissioner right away. You may find your league commissioner’s contact information on the MPAA website under the baseball link. Coaches will be selected by the MPAA Baseball Board prior to recreational evaluations. The deadline for letting your league commissioner know you are interested in coaching in this program is January 15th, 2015.