Coach Pitch Division & Tee Ball Division Procedures

  • Volunteer coaches at this age level are highly encouraged to create teams by relying upon existing community relationships.  An evaluation is not required or performed at this age/division level.  The GLLBOD shall place players on teams within this division by utilizing a coach focused administrative process.  A prospective player that has been offered and has accepted a roster invitation from a Golden Little League head coach (assigned to the coach pitch division or the tee ball division) is considered an Assigned Player.  Assigned Players (within the coach pitch division or the tee ball division) have a guaranteed roster slot.  All remaining prospective players within these divisions are considered Unassigned Players.  
  • The GLLBOD shall administratively place Unassigned Players of League Age 8 or younger upon the rosters of new or existing teams using a 1st come, 1st serve space-available process, based partially upon parent-requested preferences and/or geographic elementary school areas, as indicated by parents during the registration process.  The GLLBOD makes no promises regarding team availability and/or team assignments, and therefore reserves the right to place players upon teams at their sole discretion.  However, the GLLBOD will of course endeavor to place all Unassigned Players upon an existing team, or create new teams as applicable based on player/coach interest and field availability.  New teams cannot be formed unless parents are willing to volunteer as a head coach or assistant coach - please reference coaching information.  Any remaining Unassigned Players not placed upon a coach pitch team or tee ball team will be provided a full refund, as well as references for neighboring youth baseball associations.
  • Team Roster Size
    • Coach Pitch Division &  Tee Ball Division
      • Number of Players Per Team - Total
        • Minimum Required = 10
        • Goal = 11
        • Maximum Allowed = 12
      • Maximum Allowable Difference
        • The number of players on any team roster in these particular divisions shall not vary by more than 1 player [Little League Regulation III].

Majors Division & Minors Division Procedures

Background  

  • The GLLBOD recognizes that the establishment of a team parity environment within these divisions greatly effects the overall experience of players, parents, coaches, spectators, and umpires.  Therefore, a player evaluation and draft process is utilized at this age group to purposely safeguard league parity conditions. 

Evaluation PROCESS 

  • Requirements  
    • All properly registered players for the Majors Division or the Minors Division are required to attend and fully participate in an Evaluation Day assessment.  Properly registered players that have attended an Evaluation Day assessment are then considered Draft Eligible.  
    • Waitlist registrations should plan to attend Evaluation Day unless notified otherwise.  Waitlist registrations will be accepted or canceled during the last moment timeframe just prior to Evaluation Day.  
    • Only players with accepted registration status may attend Evaluation Day.  Unregistered players shall not and may not participate in an Evaluation Day assessment.  
  • Not a Tryout  
    • Draft Eligible players are guaranteed a roster spot upon a Majors Division or Minors Division team.  Roster size cuts based on player’s evaluation day assessment scores or ability are not performed.
  • Drills  
    • The GLLBOD and GLL volunteer coaches will conduct typical baseball drills to evaluate and score a player’s ability with regards common skills such as running, throwing, fielding, and hitting.  Evaluation assessment scores will be collected for all players in a confidential manner.
  • Schedule  
  • Draft Eligible Player Status  
    • A properly registered player of League Age 9 or older that has attended an Evaluation Day assessment is considered a Draft Eligible player.  Draft Eligible players are guaranteed a roster spot upon a Majors Division or Minors Division team.  
  • Evaluation Confidentiality  
    • Evaluation assessment scores will be kept confidential by GLL coaches and board members.
  • Non-Participation (ZERO Score)  [Revised 01/18/2024]
    • A registered player that does not attend and participate in the Evaluation Day assessment for any reason whatsoever will receive a evaluation score of ZERO.
    • Also reference Pre-Draft Reconciliation.

Draft Process  

  • Requirements  
    • The GLLBOD shall ensure that draft eligible players are chosen by coaches and distributed to teams within each division based on team parity principles in accordance with Little League International rules, regulations, and policies.  
  • Team Roster Size  
    • Majors Division & Minors Division 
      • Number of Players Per Team - Total  
        • Minimum Required = 10  
        • Goal = 11  
        • Maximum Allowed = 12  
      • Maximum Allowable Difference  
        • The number of players on any team roster in a particular division shall not vary by more than 1 player [Little League Regulation III].
  • Schedule  
    • General Intent 
      • The player draft will occur ideally no more than a week after the Evaluation Day assessment, so that players/families are not made to wait for results.  
    • Date/Time/Location 
  • Draft Authority & Attendance  
    • A team’s Assigned Head Coach (aka the Team Manager) is required to attend the draft and is authorized to draft players.  The Assigned Head Coach may only designate that requirement and/or authority to an Assigned Assistant Coach.  The Assigned Head Coach may not designate that requirement and/or authority directly or indirectly to an unassigned assistant coach or any other individual not explicitly approved by the GLLBOD.
  • Before the Draft  [Revised 01/18/2024]
    • Pre-Draft Ranking List 
      • Creation
        • The GLL Player Agent (i.e. the Registration Director) will create a Pre-Draft Ranking List showing all Registered players, and the list will be shared with coaches prior to the draft so that coaches may become familiar with the list.
        • The Pre-Draft Ranking List will display data categories as applicable, including but not limited to the total assessment score and parent provided input.
        • Players will be ranked in order with the highest score at the top and the lowest score at the bottom. 
        • Players that received a ZERO score due to non-participation will be located at the bottom of the Pre-Draft Ranking List.
      • Reconciliation
        • Prior to the start of the draft, the GLL Player Agent shall solicit comments from coaches regarding the player positions shown in the Pre-Draft Ranking List.  The GLL Player Agent is authorized to make adjustments or not make adjustments to the Pre-Draft Ranking List at their sole discretion.
        • Regarding coach comments pertaining to the ranking of a player that...
          • ... DID NOT participate in the Evaluation Day assessment (and subsequently received a ZERO Score):
            • A coach may suggest adjustments to the position of individual player’s ranking based solely on direct firsthand knowledge of that player’s relative abilities compared to other known players.
          • ... DID participate in the Evaluation Day assessment (and subsequently received a NON-ZERO Score):
            • A coach may NOT suggest adjustments to the position of individual player’s ranking.
  • During the Draft  [Revised 01/18/2024]
    • Draft Order Method
      • Serpentine Draft Order per Little League Regulations  
        • For Example: First round: Coach A, Coach B, Coach C, Coach D, etc.; Second round: Coach D, Coach C, Coach B, Coach A, etc.; Third round: Coach A, Coach B, Coach C, Coach D, etc.
    • Draft Order By Division 
      • First Draft – Majors Division  
        • Head coaches draw straws to determine initial draft order and then choose players until compliance with team roster size regulations.  
        • Players of League Age 12 and 12T may not play within the Minors Division of GLL, and therefore must be chosen by a coach prior to end of Majors Division draft. 
        • Protected players associated with the Majors Division must be chosen prior to the end of the Majors Division draft.  
        • Players of League Age 11T and younger that are not drafted onto a Majors Division team will be available and selected in the Minors Division draft. 
      • Second Draft – Minors Division  
        • Head coaches draw straws to determine initial draft order and then choose players until compliance with team roster size regulations.  
        • All draft eligible players must be chosen by end of the Minors Draft.
    • Active Pick Zone Requirement (per division)
      • The Active Pick Zone requirement ensures parity amongst the teams in a particular division.  This draft constraint validates the integrity of the Evaluation Day assessment scores and the subsequent Pre-Draft Ranking List while still allowing individual coaches a minimum level of autonomy to choose players as they desire. 
      • The Active Pick Zone is defined as the number of players that any individual coach may choose from during any one draft round.  The actual size of the Active Pick Zone is defined as the number of players per draft round per division.  For example, if there’s 6 teams in the Majors Division, the size of the Active Pick Zone for the Majors Division Draft is 6 players in size.  In that example, a Majors Division coach has 6 eligible players to choose from during any one particular draft round.  Similarity, if there’s 7 teams in the Minors Division for example, the size of the Active Pick Zone for the Minors Division Draft is 7 players.
      • A coach is required to always choose a player from the Active Pick Zone, unless certain special conditions exist (see below). 
      • As players are chosen by coaches and removed from the remaining Pre-Draft Ranking List, the position of the Active Pick Zone adjusts, or slides downwards, to incorporate a new set of players in the Active Pick Zone.  The position of the Active Pick Zone changes/slides after each individual draft pick to incorporate one new player that wasn’t a part of the previous Active Pick Zone.
    • Protected Player Status 
      • A Protected Player is defined as either (1) the child of an Assigned Coach or (2) the sibling of a previously drafted player recognized as a Same Division Sibling, as identified and requested by the parent during the registration process. 
      • If a Protected Player is located within the Active Pick Zone, the coach is required to draft that player.  If any individual coach has multiple Protected Players within the Active Pick Zone, then the coach is required to draft players one at a time in subsequent rounds until all Protected Players have been exhausted from the Active Pick Zone. 
      • A coach cannot choose a draft eligible player from outside the Active Pick Zone unless any of the following special conditions exist: 
        • The end of the Division’s draft is near and draft eligible players of League Age 12 or 12T have not yet been chosen. 
        • The end of the Division’s draft is near and a Protected Player is located outside the Active Pick Zone.
  • After the Draft  
    • Player Trades 
      • The GLLBOD prohibits player trades between teams and/or coaches.  This constraint exists before, during, and after the draft process. 
      • Draft pick positions and coach discussions will be kept confidential and not shared with players or parents.  
    • Player Cancellations 
      • In response to an unforeseen player cancellation prior to the first game of the season, the GLLBOD retains the authority to move/add any player to any team as necessary to maintain team roster size requirements.


Regular Season Player Pool (Temporary Replacements) 

  • An on-call standby list of players that are willing to participate in extra games with minimal short notice during the regular season when other teams in the same Division face a shortage of rostered players.  
  • The list shall be created and maintained by the GLL Player agent in strict accordance with Little League regulations [Regulation V].
  • Generally speaking:  A coach may not request or choose a specific player, a player may not be borrowed from an opponent, and a player must be assigned temporarily by the GLL Player Agent.  A pool player may not enter the game as pitcher.  A player pool is not permitted for use in the postseason Little League Tournament.