Each Majors team shall consist of 12 to 14 players. Team composition of each team shall be as follows:

• 12-Year Olds: Maximum of 8 players; minimum of 4 players. NCLL policy is for all 12-year olds to play in Majors except in cases where limited skill would present safety danger to player.
• 11-Year Olds: Maximum of 8 players; no minimum.
• 10-Year Olds: Maximum of 2 payers; must have participated in assessment process and scored appropriately in assessment to play at this level.
• 9-Year Olds: Allowed by unanimous agreement of Majors Player Agent, Majors Division Coordinator, League President, and League Coach Coordinator (if applicable).

The goal of the NCLL asessment and team formation process is to create parity in the division. All Managers, the Division Coordinator, and the Player's Agent agree at the outset of the process that they enter into team formation with the objective of creating the fairest teams possible and don't seek to gain competitive advantage during the team formation process.

The team selection process is a two-step process; player assessment and a calibrated assignment.

A)  Player Assessment

Majors players are first evaluated in a comprehensive skill evaluation ("Player Assessment") and then teams are formed based on the composite scores from this evaluation. Assessments includes hitting, fielding/throwing, speed/baseball IQ as well as stations for interested pitchers/catchers. In addition, context and consideration is also provided from end-of-year ratings/recommendations by Managers last year and All Star participation at 10s or 11s. In the event that the league introduces a "spring training" program prior to team formation, information and insights gained during this time will also be considered with assessment scores.

Minors and Majors Division Baseball will use the same skill evaluation scoring system for consistency. Separate Draft Meetings are held with the Player Agent, Division Coordinator and Managers for each division. The detailed format of assessment scoring will be at the discretion of the Player Agent(s) and Division Coordinator(s).

All data from the skill evaluations will be entered by skill and will end with a single composite numeric score for each player. Player scores will be placed in rank order from highest to lowest and separated by league age.

Player assessment information is strictly confidential and not shared with players or parents of players. The Division Player Agent is responsible for this information.

The Division Player Agent is responsible for confirming all players' eligibility (including opt-out families and play-up requests).

For more information on the player assessment process, please visit this page.

B)   Calibrated Team Assignment

1) Step One: League Player Assignment
Initial team formation is based on distribution of pitchers and catchers across teams. At the Majors level, this has typically resulted in at least two higher-end pitchers and one or two quality catchers per team. This creates the "pitchers/catchers pool." The remaining players will be placed on teams in a serpentine draft according to their league age and the rank order of their composite scores by the Player Agent and the Division Coordinator. Teams are referred to by number at this point in the player placement process, not team names. Player names and pitcher/catcher information, if any, will be listed on the team formation matrix. The result is the basis for a modular team formation of (a)pitcher/catchers and (b) remaining teams have with the understanding that ultimately groups (a) and (b) are paired together to form a team.

For clarification, remaining players (non pitcher/catcher pools) are distributed by aggregate assessment score in a serpentine method as follows:

Team 1, Team 2, Team 3, Team 4, Team 5, Team 5, Team 4, Team 3, Team 2, Team 1, Team 1, Team 2, etc.

2) Step Two: Player Agent & Division Coordinator Re-Alignment

• Modification 1: Manager's and 1 Assistant coach's child(ren) are identified so each team will have one Manager's child and one Assistant coach's child on the roster.
• Modification 2: Any siblings are put onto same roster.
• Modification 3: Any parental requests for their child to be put on a certain team - for a reason that ensures their ability to participate in the program (medical, transportation, or other hardship) - are considered, but not guaranteed.
• Modification 4: Player changes are made to balance teams for aggregate skill scoring, pitching, catching and any other factors the league officials believe best achieve the Parity Priority. Any player selected to an All-Star team the previous year shall be identified. Player Agent, Division VP and Managers should bear in mind that the first 4 rows of the oldest age group and the first two rows of the next age group are the most important in terms of ensuring balance among teams. Player changes within these rows should be limited if possible.

3) Step Three: Manager Input
The Managers, Player Agent, and Division Coordinator meet together to look at the teams and make further adjustments based on the Managers' knowledge of the players from recent assessments, previous seasons, and Manager feedback from the previous season. During that process the following will be entertained for team parity and balance:

• Adjusting teams to ensure each Manager has a committed, competent assistant coach.
• Adjusting teams based on knowledge of position play.
• Adjusting teams to create parity based on Managers knowledge of or relationships to players.

Intent: The idea with the addition of this step is that Managers review all the teams together looking for parity across the division regardless of which team they will be managing. This is not an opportunity to seek competitive advantage.

4) Step Four: Team
A manager returning to the same team in the same division may remain with the same team sponsor. Any new coaches in the division will draw their team from a hat in order as determined by the Division Coordinator.