Shetland is an instructional league to teach players in kindergarten the fundamentals of baseball and softball by the simplest method possible - letting them play the game. If this purpose is kept paramount, Shetland can be a valuable addition to the more formally organized leagues for older players. Emphasis must be on instruction, not on the league championship. 

Shetland coaches are allowed on the field to offer instruction during the game. The rules require that players be given the opportunity to try different positions, and that all of them get to play in every game. 

Players in this age range have a short attention span in any single activity and games must move rapidly. Only the basic fundamentals of the game should be brought out. It is not uncommon for players of this age, initially, to be unfamiliar with which is first base, which is third base, and which field is left and which is right. Lack of knowledge indicates merely that the player has not yet been introduced to the game and has no relationship to the player's potential athletic ability. 

Shetland players are coached on a path to learn the necessary tools to move forward with Pinto or 8U Softball in their upcoming season.

Shetland provides an excellent opportunity to teach basic catching, throwing, batting and fielding, and a love of the game of baseball without making the experience a course of intensified instruction. The best approach is to let the teams play with little thought to victory or defeat, but merely for the joy of participation while, at the same time, learning the fundamentals of teamwork, group discipline and sportsmanship.

Mustang baseball begins the belief that rather than change the rules of baseball to make it possible for young people to play the game, it is more logical to change the size of the diamonds, to adjust them to the physical potential of the players.

Use of diamonds matched to their capabilities permits younger players to play in the same proportionate position as the Major Leaguers and to make the same plays as a Major Leaguer. The double play, the squeeze play, the force play, etc. all become probabilities instead of remote possibilities.

Beginning with Mustang baseball, the players are playing real baseball in accordance with The Rules of Major League Baseball as well as specific PONY rules that are in place to supersede the MLB rules where appropriate such as pitching, substitution, re-entry, etc.

With scaled down bases and pitching distances, players react quite favorably to the greater challenge of the game and have little difficulty mastering the transition.

Pony is the transition league that takes players from the "kid" leagues to "young adult" status. It permits a player to play on a diamond tailored to his size and capability rather than being moved to one with twice the playing area in a single year. Pony is specifically designed for the player in those very formative early-teen years. 

The vast majority of players of league age 13 simply do not belong on a full-size diamond. At the same time, they have outgrown the dimensions of the "kids baseball" diamonds used in Bronco and other "12-and-under" programs.

Pony was founded for this very apparent reason. After becoming skillful players in the younger leagues, players in their early teens found themselves unable to compete, to play the game of baseball as it was intended to be played, on the regulation size diamond. 

With bases set 80 feet apart and pitchers throwing from 54 feet, Pony players play one of the most fascinating games in all of youth baseball. Well beyond the beginners stage, they have mastered all but the finest points of technique and strategy and can play the game with a skill comparable to that of older players, if you let them play it on a field specifically designed to match their physical limitations.

Colt enables the high school player to fine tune their skills before advancing into open competition. 

Colt introduce the players to the regulation Baseball diamonds and pitching distances. Colt players are subject to pitching limitations designed to protect their arms. 

Local Baseball leagues have the opportunity to divide players into Colt and Palomino play, or to combine those age groups into a single local league subject to the approval of the Division Director.

Colt games are exciting, top notch sporting events that provide a fitting showcase for the talent developed in our community.