ARTICLE I SRLL REGULAR SEASON MANAGER AND COACH SELECTIONPREAMBLE. The goal of manager and coach selection for SRLL, is to select the most highly qualified candidates as managers and coaches, in order to provide the highest chance of the players having a great Little League. Sometimes there are more candidates than positions available and this sometimes means that qualified, and even sometimes highly qualified candidates do not get a position. When this occurs, the managers and coaches selected should be those who best exemplify Little League philosophy, principles and values, who will strive to teach the game, while providing a fun Little League experience. Adherence to Little League and SRLL safety and playing rules, attendance at required league events such as clinics and field work days, as well as support for the league and Little League in general, are very important factors in manager and coach selections.
CONFIDENTIALITY. The Manager and Coach selection process is confidential. Much of the information regarding a candidate’s qualifications comes from confidential sources, such parent ratings of managers and coaches, de-selections made by parents during the registration process, and candid observations and information submitted by Board Representatives. In order to insure that information submitted will remain candid, the confidentiality, including the source of information and specific details, must be maintained.
STEP 1 Candidate Submissions. Candidates for Manager and/or Coach will be sought through a variety of methods, including but not limited to the registration process, and solicitations of Board and Division Representatives.
STEP 2 Compilation of Candidate Lists and Volunteer Applications. Information received through the registration process, communications with league officials and any other means regarding manager and coach candidates, will be forwarded to the Division Representative for the appropriate Division. The Division Representative will then compile a list of all manager and coach candidates in alphabetical order. If the Division Representative ascertains that a known qualified person has not submitted their name (i.e., someone who managed or coached the prior year, or in the past) the Division Representative should contact the person(s) to ascertain if they are interested in managing or coaching.
STEP 3 Obtaining Completed Volunteer Applications. The Division Representative is responsible for obtaining a completed Volunteer Application and a copy of the Candidate’s Driver’s License. No person will be considered a Candidate for manager or coach until they have submitted their Volunteer Application and a copy of their driver’s license. The Division Representative shall forward all Volunteer Applications and copies of Driver’s Licenses to the Vice President of Baseball for the required background check.
STEP 4 Submission of Candidate List to President, V.P. Baseball & Player Agent. Once the list of candidates is completed, the Division Representative shall submit this list to the League President, V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent. If one or more of these Board Members is a candidate for manager or coach in this division, a substitute should be appointed by the President for the affected Board Member(s) for the duration of the manager and coach selection process, and the list should be sent to the designated substitute instead of the Board Member/Manager/Coach candidate. The Division Representative should include any requested pairing on the list and arrange the list in alphabetical order so as to not suggest a ranking. These lists should be completed and submitted to the President, V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent as soon as possible, preferably in early to mid-December, prior to the December Board meeting.
STEP 5 Manager and Coach Selection Meetings. The President, the applicable Division Representative, the V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent should meet in December prior to the December Board meeting, for the purpose of discussing the candidates. The Division Representative must be prepared to provide his or her observations, feedback and recommendations regarding candidates, the V.P. of Baseball must be prepared to discuss manager and/or coach ratings for candidates (keeping identities confidential) as well as any feedback he or she has received regarding candidates, and the Player Agent must be prepared to discuss de-selections (numbers and reasons, whether the person was a former team member or not, but not identities) and any other feedback he or she has regarding candidates. Typically, the Division Representative will submit his or her recommended slate of candidates, and the group will discuss the fitness for the position, the pairings and preferability of candidates. Anything discussed during this meeting, including but not limited to de-selections, parent ratings, Div. Representative and Board feedback, is confidential and should not be disseminated to others. Discussions of de-selections and parent ratings should be kept generalized (i.e., specific identities of parents should not be disclosed, just whether they were on the same team as the candidate and what their feedback was.)
STEP 6 Board Approval. The president will submit a list of potential qualified candidates, acceptable to the President, for Board approval. At this stage, the exact number of managers and coaches may not be known. Thus the President may include more names on this list than necessary at the time, and should the need for managers increase, the President can appoint from amongst this Board approved list. This will avoid the hardship of wait until the next regularly scheduled Board meeting (January) to seek Board approval of additional candidates. Anything discussed during this Board meeting including but not limited to names of candidates approved or not approved, de-selections, parent ratings, Div. Rep and Board feedback, is confidential and should not be disseminated to others. If discussion of de-selections and parent ratings are necessary, they should be kept generalized (i.e., specific identities of parents should not be disclosed, just whether they were on the same team as the candidate and what their feedback was, etc.)
STEP 7 Appointment by League President. The President, at his discretion, either personally, or communicated through the applicable Division Representative will then “appoint” those candidates as managers or coaches, which he or she chooses from the list of Board approved candidates. At his or her discretion, the President may assign managers to a particular league (i.e., American or National), where this serves the best interests of Scripps Ranch Little League.
STEP 8 Additional Appointments and Board Approval. In the event that one or more additional appointments of a manager and/or coach is necessary between Board Meetings, and that candidate has not yet been approved by the Board, the President may “Provisionally Appoint” the candidate(s) of his or her choosing, notify the candidate that he or she has been provisionally appointed pending board approval, and that Board approval will be sought at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.
ARTICLE II SRLL REGULAR SEASON PLAYER SELECTION PREAMBLE This Section contains the rules and procedures used by Scripps Ranch Little League (SRLL) for assessing and drafting players. The purpose of this document is to formalize and facilitate the process used to select players to SRLL teams. It is required reading for all Division Reps, managers, and coaches participating in a draft. SRLL’s draft process is designed to meet the following goals:
A. Select teams which are as fairly balanced as possible;
B. Draft players into the division which is appropriate for their skill and experience; and
C. Provide for the greatest degree of safety and enjoyment for all the children.
OVERVIEW
First, the number of teams for each division must be determined. This should occur as early as possible, preferably to be completed by mid to late December, in order that managers can be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.
Second, Manager’s and if applicable Coaches, must attend player assessments. Player assessments are held in early January to mid-January.
Third, Managers and if applicable, Coaches’ children must be rated and assigned their proper draft position (i.e., their round and/or selection) in the draft. This step typically occurs after player assessments and prior to the time of the pre-draft meeting.
Fourth, adjustments, handicaps, sibling options must be determined. This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting as well.
Fifth, managers must either be assigned a draft position or draw for draft order. Typically, managers draw for draft order in lower divisions and are assigned a draft order through mathematical determination and discussion in higher divisions where more data is available regarding managers and coaches’ children. This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting.
Sixth, managers draw for team name (in divisions where teams draw for draft order, they may pick team names in the opposite order of their draft position.) This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting. Otherwise, managers can draw from a hat for team name.
Seventh, managers and if applicable coaches, attend the draft and mandatory draft night meetings, one division per night, beginning with Juniors or Majors and select their team, with each of the teams taking turns drafting players. Because SRLL is in fact two Leagues, SR American and SR National, we draft American and National alternately using the “Common Pool Draft Method” set forth in little league rules. This occurs at the Division’s Draft night.
Eighth, managers draw for and/or discuss practice days/times. This typically occurs at the Division’s Draft night, or whenever practice field slots become known.
STEP 1 Determining the Number of Teams & Players Per Team. In order to start the Player selection process, it must be determined how many teams each division is expected to have and how many players each team is expected to have on it. This is usually done based upon prior year’s number of players, typical attrition and appreciation of players, current registration numbers, this is generally determined by appropriate board members (i.e. Player Agent, Registrar, President, V.P of Baseball, and Division Reps.) Based upon this number, Managers and if appropriate coaches can be approved by the Board and Appointed by the President (see above.)
STEP 2 Preparing for and Attending Player Assessments. The Registrar will distribute to Division Representatives and/or directly to managers, the prior season’s ratings for players. This information is to be kept confidential. Managers and coaches are encouraged to review this data. In upper Divisions, Division Representatives may ask that managers and coaches share additional knowledge regarding players with the other managers and coaches, in order that the division will obtain parity. In particular, pitching skill, and knowledge of the top players may be shared in order that managers and coaches who were not in the same division, will not be at a disadvantage, and parity will be more likely to be obtained. On the assigned player assessment day (for some divisions, managers and if applicable coaches, may be required to attend two separate days), managers should observe and record their observations and ratings regarding players.
STEP 3 Ranking Manager, Coach, Siblings & Special Circumstance Players. Following the observance of players at player assessment, all managers must identify the draft position for all managers’ and coaches’ children, as well as any children who potentially fall under a sibling option rule (where both siblings are appropriate for the particular Division) and any special circumstance players. At the Division Representative’s discretion, Managers will be required to rank each manager and coaches’ child to either: 1) a specific draft selection (i.e., 24th selection of the Major’s draft); 2) a round and selection (i.e., 4th pick of the 1st round); 3) a round including early or late (i.e., early in the third round); or 4) the round (i.e., 6th round.) Managers and coaches are required to honest and fair about their ratings. The Division Representative is to solicit this information in the form they prefer and as soon as reasonably possible, collate and publish the information for all managers to review.
For ranking of children of managers and coaches, the player’s parent’s rating, the high, and the low are thrown out. The remaining ratings are then averaged to determine each player’s draft position. The information should be provided to the other managers with full transparency as to each manager’s votes as early as possible and before the pre-draft meeting. At the pre-draft meeting or before, siblings and other special circumstance players will need to be ranked in an appropriate manner. As a final check and balance, the Division Rep should review this information and lead the manager group in discussion regarding the resulting draft position assignments for the manager’s and coach’s children at the pre-draft meeting, and allow discussion, to address any perceived anomalies and make any adjustments if necessary with the goal of forming consensus. The Division Rep should point out that the goal is to create balance in the divisions. In the event consensus cannot be reached, the Division Representative will assign the player’s draft position, taking care to heavily weight the average draft position assigned the player by the division’s managers. Note that while this meeting/step is expected to take place after assessments, in rare cases it may need to take place prior to assessments due to unforeseen circumstances such as rain outs and/or the timing of the draft in relation to the scheduled assessments.
STEP 4 Determine any required handicaps. Based upon the ratings for manager’s and if applicable coach’s children, the Division Rep leads the manager group in discussion regarding any handicaps to be applied to: Children of Managers and if applicable Coaches, sibling option situations and any special situation.
The most common handicap situations involve manager and coaches’ player(s) on the same team being ranked in the same round or so close so as to create an advantage and sibling options. Typical handicaps are pick order restrictions/reassignment and/or delayed round selections. Some considerations to determine if a handicap is necessary include: Are a team’s managers and coaches children, or siblings, in the same round? Are they in the same half of the same round? Greatest care must be taken for the first two rounds. First round players are most crucial, second round players a little less crucial, third round players even less crucial, etc. The following are some guidelines and examples which should be considered include:
A) Ranking Children of Managers & Coaches. If the Division is not already utilizing exact round and pick for placement, then where a manager/coaches’ child is rated in the first half of the first round, then a draft pick order restriction should probably be considered. In this specific case, the pick order for this team should be limited to draft positions falling in the first half of the round. If an exact draft location method is being utilized, then the foregoing should not be an issue, as the player will be placed in an exact draft slot. If the team’s other coach/manager’s child falls within the first two or three rounds, additional handicapping may be necessary as outlined below.
B) Applying Handicaps - Two First Rounders. If both coach and manager’s children fall within the first round, if the coach and manager are still allowed to be paired, then a very significant draft handicap should be considered in addition to a draft pick order restriction. In this specific case, the 3rd and 4th round picks would likely be delayed to later designated rounds (such as 6th and 8th rounds) and the draft position of this pair is early in the first round.
C) Applying Handicaps - Late First and Early Second Rounder’s. If one coach/manager’s child is rated in the first half of the first round and the other coach/manager’s child falls within the first half of the second round, then a moderate draft handicap should be considered in addition to a draft pick order restriction. In this specific case, the 3rd round pick, and possibly 4th round pick would likely be delayed to a later designated round (4th, 5th or later).
D) Applying Handicaps - Two Second Rounder’s. If both coach/manager children are rated in 2nd round, then a moderate draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, the 4th round pick, and possibly 5th round pick, would likely be delayed to a later designated round (6th or later).
E) Applying Handicaps - Two Third Rounders. If both coach/manager’s children are rated in 3rd round, then a mild draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, the 5th round pick would likely be delayed to a later designated round (6th or later).
F) Applying Handicaps - Other Same Round Situations. If both coach/manager’s children are rated in the same round after the third round, then a very mild draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, a single round draft delay handicap is utilized. For example, if both coaches’ players are rated for round 5, then the team’s 7th round pick would typically be delayed until the 8th round.
G) Applying Handicaps - Siblings. If siblings fall within the first four rounds, they are to be treated just as coach/manager’s children. Thus, if both are first round players, then a handicap similar to example “B” above. In any event, it must be pre-determined how many rounds after the first sibling is drafted, the second sibling must be drafted. For example, the division managers can agree to assign a draft round offset of 2 because Sib1 is believed to be 2 rounds better than Sib2. In this example, if Team A drafts Sib1 in round 5, then Team A automatically drafts Sib2 with their round 7 pick as well because of the agreed upon draft round offset. If the Siblings are rated to fall within the same round within the first four rounds, a handicap should be applied.
STEP 5 Determine Draft Pick Order. If managers’, and if applicable coaches’ are not slotted into a particular draft position due to the above procedures, then Managers are to draw a draft position from a “hat” containing slips of paper numbered 1 to the max number of teams in the division. If managers have been assigned to a League (i.e., American or National), they would draw slips with only their league numbers (odd for American and even for National). All managers and coaches’ players’ draft handicaps must be decided prior to drawing for pick order in order that Managers whose team has a draft pick order selection handicap (i.e. particular draft pick order restriction) can pick first amongst the appropriate choices. Once all managers with draft pick order selection handicaps have their assigned pick order, the remainder of the managers can select from the “hat” in any order determined at the discretion of the Division Rep. Any swapping of draft order selections must be approved by the Division Rep., Player Agent, and President.
STEP 6 Designation of League Age Budgets per Team. In Majors no more than 8 “league age 12” players can be on a team. The requisite number of Majors teams must be created to allow all properly registered twelve year olds who have tried out and for which no waivers (Petitions to play in AAA) have been approved by the league, the District and parents, to play Majors. Thus, given 64 twelve year olds, this will result in an 8 team division, and a 64 twelve-year old budget will be created, and each team will be required to have a team budget of 8 “league age 12” players per team and 4 “non-league age 12” players per team (i.e., 10 or 11 year olds.) If the number of “league age 12” players is not equally divisible amongst the number of teams in majors, then only a single count differential between the two league age groups is permitted for any team. As an example, if only 62 “league age 12” year olds are available for Majors selection in an 8 team division, then the following must be true: 6 teams must have 8 “league age 12” players and 4 “non-league age 12” players, 2 teams must have 7 “league age 12” players and 5 “non-league age 12” players.
In the Minors divisions, there are no absolute rules requiring League Age budgets. However, most have agreed to implement budgets in the past. When this is done, the budget enforcement is such that only a single count differential between the league age groups is permitted for any team. This decision to implement league age budgets is left to the Division Rep and his managers and must be documented and be approved by the Player Agent prior to the draft. For example, under certain situations, the Division Rep may determine that League age budgets will create a situation that would produce an unfair draft. Irrespective of whether divisions in minor leagues and below utilize league age budgets, several other rules must be followed, and room in the division must be set aside to accommodate the following:
A) Guaranteed Placement. Unless a petition for Special Consideration is granted, the following guaranteed placements exist for a player:
League Age Guaranteed Division Placement
LA 17 or above Big League
LA 15 or 16 Seniors
LA 13 or 14 Juniors
LA 12 AAA or higher
LA 11 AAA or higher
LA 10 AA or higher
LA 9 A or higher
LA 8 MAPS or higher
B) No Player Demotion. In addition, except where a Petition for Special Consideration has been approved, no player will be drafted to a lower division than they played in during the prior season.
C) Special Permission Required for a Two Division Jump. Players are allowed to be drafted to any division equal to or greater to the division they played the previous year within SRLL. However, a player may not be drafted into a division which is two divisions higher than that which the player participated in the prior season, and in the event that a manager is considering drafting a player into a division which is two or more divisions greater than played the previous year, the drafting manager must first notify the Player Agent prior to the draft of his/her intention, in order that the Player Agent can confirm with the parents that “playing up” is acceptable to the parents. For example, a player which played MAPS last year would require pre-approval from the Player Agent if a manager intended to draft that player to AA this year. Likewise, a player who played in AA in the prior season would require pre-approval from the Player Agent if a manager intended to draft that player to Majors this year.
STEP 7 Selecting Team Names. The standard procedure for selecting team names, when draft positions have been drawn from a hat, is by inverse draft pick position. Odd numbers are American League teams. Even numbers are National League teams. It is extremely important to alternate American and National League team names, especially in AA, AAA, and Majors as this affects the equality of All Star team selection. Team names are generally selected in reverse order of draft pick order (i.e. in an 8 team division, 8th round draft position selects a team first, 1st round selects last). In divisions not drawing draft position from a hat, the selecting of team names will typically be drawn from a hat, with National League teams drawing from a hat with even numbers, and American League teams drawing from a hat with odd numbers.
STEP 8 The Draft. The draft is the process for managers to select players to their teams. A representative (typically the manager) from each team in the drafting division must participate. In some lower divisions, both a manager and one coach may participate in the draft (jointly). In Majors and Juniors only the manager participates in the draft. The draft starts (round 1) with pick order #1 and proceeds to the last pick order (number of teams in division). The next round starts (round 2) with the last pick order and proceeds to pick order #1. The 3rd round starts with pick order #1 again. For example, in an 8 team division with 12 players per team, selections are made in a “serpentine” format (i.e. positions 1 through 8, then 8 through 1, repeat) until all 12 rounds are completed.
A) Draft Responsibility. The Player Agent, Registrar, President and applicable Division Representative are the persons who typically run the draft, with the Player Agent taking the leading role.
B) Time Limits. At the beginning of the draft, the Player Agent will assign time limits for each team’s selection, budgeting for the number of selections that must be made and factoring in some breaks to allow for rest and to confirm that the draft is on target with all age budgets.
C) Manager/Coach De-Selections. SRLL permits parents to de-select a single manager or coach for their child. This information is confidential. During the draft, if a team with the assigned manager or coach selects a player which has de-selected the manager or coach, the player agent will announce that the pick cannot be made and will direct the selecting team to pick again.
D) Trades. SRLL permits trades upon the completion of the draft selection process. Before the registrar finalizes the draft a period of 15 minutes or more if need be, will be provided to consider any player trade proposals. This process will be moderated and facilitated by the Player Agent. Upon the completion of the trade period, the draft will be finalized. At that point, no other trades are permitted. In general, trades are discouraged as it may be perceived as defeating the fairness of the draft process. On occasion, a trade may make sense given a particular manager’s wish to coach a particular player or coach with a player’s parent. As a rule, a trade can only be approved if all managers in the division approve and the player agent approves it.
As a rule, no one may participate in trade collusion (i.e. the agreement between two teams to perform a trade of players prior to the completion of the draft selection process to create an advantage for one or more teams at the expense of other teams). As a guideline, trades should be limited as much as possible to 1 for 1 swaps and the offset in draft pick between the two players should not exceed the maximum number of teams in the division (i.e. one draft round). For example, in an 8 team division, it would be considered reasonable to allow a swap of a player picked 40th and one picked 47th, while a swap of 40th and 52nd would be discouraged.
E) Special Restriction for Divisions with a Sibling Option. SRLL has a mandatory rule honoring all “same age” sibling options (thus same age siblings will be on the same team.) In this situation, the drafting team of one sibling automatically drafts the other sibling, thus a single pick guarantees the selection of two players. However, SRLL makes it optional whether the Division will require a manager honor a “different age” sibling option (thus, the Division will decide before the draft, whether a manager must also select a younger sibling where he or she selected the older sibling.) If a different age sibling option is agreed to, the drafting of one sibling automatically drafts the other sibling, thus a single pick guarantees the selection of two players. As a rule, if any sibling options are guaranteed to play in the division due to age (see the rule on Guaranteed League Age Placement), then the sibling option must be honored and the first sibling must be selected by the end of the penultimate round. For example, if a sibling option exists in an 8 team division with a 12 round draft, the first sibling must be drafted by the 88th pick, essentially granting the 88th and 89th pick to the team with pick order 8. Divisions should agree upon a sibling handicap prior to the draft (see above.) Thus, if siblings fall within the first four rounds, a handicap is applied. Further, it must be pre-determined how many rounds after the first sibling is drafted, the second sibling must be drafted. For example, the division managers can agree to assign a draft round offset of 2 because Sib1 is believed to be 2 rounds better than Sib2. In this example, if Team A drafts Sib1 in round 5, then Team A automatically drafts Sib2 with their round 7 pick as well because of the agreed upon draft round offset. If the Siblings are rated to fall within the same round within the first four rounds, a handicap should be applied.
F) Special Process for Divisions with an uneven # of players per team. This special rule situation only applies to a division where the pool of players to be selected will not guarantee that every team has an equal number of players. This rule does not apply to Majors, AAA, or AA as SRLL’s current process requires that all of these division’s teams must be filled to capacity. On occasion, Minors A and MAPs may have an uneven number of players per team depending on the number of players registered for Minors/Majors and MAPs respectively. In addition, this rule situation only applies when the last, incomplete round, is even. For example, this rule applies given an 8 team division with a player selection pool of 92 (i.e. 11 complete rounds plus an incomplete round 12 only having 4 selections).
The Player Agent and Registrar are responsible for identifying this special situation to the Division Rep at the beginning of Draft Night (or earlier if possible). The Player Agent and Registrar are also responsible for explaining the special selection process for the last round to all managers in the division prior to the beginning of the draft. Given this special situation, during the final round of draft as each manager is asked to identify their draft pick, the manager may elect to pass rather than draft if spaces allow and assuming the team has met all other draft requirements per team. For example, given an 8 team division with a player selection pool of 92, in round 12, pick orders 8 through 5 may choose to pass on a draft selection. If pick orders 8 through 5 pass, then pick order 4 would be required to make a selection since exactly 4 players are left and only 4 draft picks remain.
G) Draft Eligibility Rules. The following are special SRLL draft rules:
1) Players 9 and Older are Subject to the Draft. Except for children who submitted approved Petitions for Special Consideration, all players league age 9 or older, will be evaluated and selected to a Minors/Majors team based upon the draft.
2) 8 Year Olds who Have Played MAPS Subject to Draft. Any player who is league age 8, or lower, who has already played MAPs is eligible to be drafted into Minors, but is not necessarily guaranteed selection to Minors. The number of 8 year olds drafted to Minors is determined by the number of spaces available for players less than 9-years old as required by the league to meet the targeted number of players per team in Minors.
3) 8 Year Olds Not having Played MAPS Guaranteed MAPS. Any League Age 8 player who has never played MAPS is guaranteed to play MAPS, unless specifically requesting to be considered for the Minors draft.
4) New Players. In cases of players which did not play in SRLL the previous year and the player is a year or more younger than the age group(s) targeted for that division, the drafting manager must notify the Player Agent prior to the draft of his/her intention so that the Player Agent can confirm with the parents that “playing up” is acceptable to the parents. For example, given a player league age 10 new to SRLL, a Majors manager would be first required to seek pre-approval from the Player Agent before selecting this player.
H) Rookies and T-Ball Player Selection. T-Ball and CAPs Divisions do not have a formal draft process. Players are placed on teams by the President, Player Agent, Division Rep., and Registrar, doing our best to (in order of priority): 1) Balance the teams by age and skill; 2) accommodate requests indicated on registration forms; and 3) place players on teams with children in their neighborhood and classmates. After all, playing with their friends is what it's all about! This process will be completed by the Player Agent, President, appropriate Division Rep. and the Registrar.
ARTICLE III SRLL ALL STAR MANAGER AND COACH SELECTIONSTEP 1 Solicitation of Nominations. On or about May 1st, the President, either directly or through Division Representatives, will notify all current managers and coaches in the appropriate Divisions, of the opportunity to apply to manage an All Star Team, and the process for nominating themselves.
STEP 2 Eligibility to Manage in All Stars. Managers interested in Managing an All Star Team, may nominate themselves for the position of All Star Manager. To Manage an All-Star team, the candidate must be a Manager or Coach during the regular season in the same league as the All Star team they are interested in managing. Thus, Scripps Ranch American Managers can only manage a Scripps Ranch American team, and a Scripps Ranch National League Manager can only manage a Scripps Ranch National League All Star Team.
All Star Managers should realize that they are making a significant commitment. They will be required to know and understand Little League International’s Rules pertaining to tournament play, substitutions, etc. In addition, they may likely be required to attend mandatory District, Sectional, Sub-Divisional, Regional and higher meetings. Finally, they will be expected to invest a significant amount of time and energy into making the All Star experience of the All Star players a great experience. This includes frequent practices, turning a group of players into a team, and a sometimes concentrated game schedules.
STEP 3 Nominations for All Star Manager. Manager candidates will submit, to the SRLL President, their name, the All Star team they wish to manage, the team and division they are currently Managing or Coaching, a synopsis of their experience coaching baseball and other youth sports, along with any other information they feel is pertinent and an assurance of their willingness to make the commitment necessary to manage All Stars.
STEP 4 Selection of All Star Managers. The President will evaluate All Star Manager candidates and select that candidate, who he or she believes will best represent SRLL, and who will provide the best experience for the All Star players. Criteria which will be considered, includes but is not limited to:
- Whether the Manager’s conduct and attitude show clear support for Little League principals;
- Compliance with SRLL Rules and Regulations, particularly safety rules;
- Whether the Manager has evidenced they are dynamic leader and know baseball;
- Whether the Manager treats players and others fairly and with respect;
- The Manager’s organizational skills and professionalism at the field;
- Parent and player feedback;
- De-selections and Manager ratings;
- Personal observations of the Manager by the President during the regular season;
- Feedback from the Division Representative, as well as other Managers and Coaches in the division;
- Attendance at coaching clinics;
- Number of years and experience in Managing and Coaching in SRLL;
- Previous experience in Managing/Coaching All-Stars, T.O.C.;
- Special skills, other coaching experience, background or experience; and
- Manager’s ability to commit the time needed to manage All-Stars.
STEP 5 Announcement of All Star Managers. At, before, or shortly after the All-Star Player selection meetings, the President shall announce his or her selection for the All Star Managers. After the All Star Managers have been selected, they are free to choose up to two coaches to assist them. In selecting persons to coach the All Star Team, All Star Managers are encouraged to select amongst the Managers and/or coaches from other teams in the Division.
ARTICLE IV SRLL ALL STAR PLAYER SELECTIONSTEP 1 Nomination Process. On or before May 1, the President either directly or through Division Representatives, will contact all Managers in the AA through Big League divisions via e-mail and/or other similarly effective means to request that these managers submit their All Star Nominees to their respective Division Representative, no later than May 8th. The president shall instruct the foregoing managers that they are to submit a list containing their nominees in the form of an Excel spread sheet, MSWord table, or similar format, and will include columns for:
Player’s Name Parent’s Name Parent’s E-Mail Parent’s ph. # Player’s League Age Player’s Date of Birth Player’s Division Player’s
Team Name
A) Number of Players to Nominate. The President shall instruct managers that they are to nominate an appropriate number of players per age group. The exact number of players nominated by each team per age group may vary from year-to-year due to such factors as team numbers of teams, thus it is within the President’s discretion to set the number of players per team, per age group each season. The following are general guidelines which have been used in the past:
All Star Team/Age Typical Number of All Star Teams Typical Total Number of Total Nominees Sought per All Star Team Typical Number of All Star Nominees from each team sorted by Division
Big League All-Star Team 1 Team Approximately a total of 18 Big League All Star nominees per Big League All Star Team will be sought. 18 ÷ the number of teams = number of nominees from each team. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. If there is only one regular season team, this group of players will be the All Star team.
Seniors All-Star Team 1 Team Approximately a total of 18 Seniors All Star nominees per Seniors League All Star Team will be sought. 18 ÷ the number of teams = approximate number of nominees from each team. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. If there is only one regular season team, this group of players will be the All Star team.
Juniors All-Star Team 1 Team Approximately a total of 18 Juniors All Star nominees per Juniors League All Star Team will be sought. 18 ÷ the number of teams = approximate number of nominees from each team. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. If there is only one regular season team, this group of players will be the All Star team. If there are more than four Juniors teams, consideration should be given prior to the draft, to form two Juniors leagues (American and National) and to form two All Star teams.
Majors All Star Team (11 & 12 Year Old Players) 2 Teams (1 Team per League) Approximately a total of 36 twelve year old (Majors) All Star nominees will be solicited (approximately 18 twelve year olds per Majors All Star Team) In both the National and American league, 18 ÷ the number of Majors teams in that league. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. Though there should not be any 12 year old All Star nominees in AAA, should an unusual situation occur where a qualified all star caliber player is playing in AAA, this player should be nominated.
10-11 All Star Team (10 & 11 Year Old Players) 2 Teams (1 Team per League) Approximately a total of 36 eleven year old All Star nominees will be solicited (approximately 18 eleven year olds per 11-Year Old All Star Team) In both the National and American league, 18 ÷ the number of Majors teams in that league. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. If there are appropriate AAA eleven year old All Star nominees, AAA managers may with consent of the AAA Div. Rep. nominate these candidates as well.
9-10 All Star Team (9 & 10 Year Old Players) 2 Teams (1 Team per League) Approximately a total of 36 ten year old All Star nominees will be solicited (approximately 18 ten year olds per 10-Year Old All Star Team) In both the National and American league, all Majors 10 year olds, plus 18 ÷ the number of AAA teams in that league. With permission from the Div. Rep., teams may nominate more or less than this number depending on the number of All Star caliber players on this team. If there are appropriate AA ten year old All Star nominees, AA managers may with the permission of the AA Div. Rep. nominate these candidates as well.
B) Guidelines for Which Players to Nominate. Managers may arrive at their list of candidates in any manner which is fair, including a poll of the team’s players, discussions with coaches, etc. Candidates should possess a combination of skills and attitude, which make this player someone appropriate to have the honor of playing All Stars. Some factors which should be considered, include, offensive skills, defensive skills, a player’s skills at key positions such as pitcher or catcher, a player’s attitude, a player’s speed, a player’s availability and level of commitment for All Stars. Managers should consider whether a player on their team has a realistic chance to make the all star team before nominating him. A manager is advised not to nominate a player simply because he is allowed to nominate 3-4 players in a certain age category; the player must be viewed as suitably skilled to be considered. If a manager does not have the suggested number of qualified candidates, then he should nominate only those he feels meets the criteria.
C) Discussing the Commitment with Parents. All Stars is a significant commitment. Managers should feel free to speak to potential candidates’ parents to ensure they are able to commit to the All Star games and practices, through July. However, it is not the manager’s responsibility to determine each player’s availability. Players will be required to detail the dates they are unavailable in their commitment letter. If All Star Candidates have a commitment, which will take them away from All Star games or practices for a brief period, then this will simply be a factor in determining who is selected to the team, and the player can still be a candidate. However, if All Star candidates will miss the entire period, or perhaps even a significant period of All Star games, due to a long vacation, or travel ball commitments, they may not be eligible for All Stars or at a minimum, this will be a significant factor in the selection process. Again this is not the responsibility of the manager to determine when nominating.
STEP 2 Creation of Master Lists of All Star Player Candidates. The Division Representatives for Big League, Seniors, Juniors, Majors AAA and AA will review the lists of nominees in his or her division, looking for any anomalies, such as players who may have been mistakenly omitted (players sufficiently skilled, who were left off the list). If players have been omitted, the Division Rep. will speak to the player’s Manager and/or add this player to the list, depending upon the reason the player was left off the list (unavailability, ineligibility, attitude, oversight, etc.). The Division Rep. will then compile a single list for each All Star team in which players were nominated for their respective division, and submit this to the Player Agent. The Player Agent will then promptly combine these lists, and compile a single master list for each of the All Star Teams, including all the above-referenced information. These lists will be sent to the President and Vice President of Baseball, and all three will review the lists to ensure fairness and thoroughness. Once the lists are finalized and approved by all three, the Player agent will send these lists to appropriate Division Rep.’s and copy the President and VP of Baseball. The Division Rep.’s will then forward these lists to the Managers in his or her division, who will be voting (see below) for players to be selected to a particular All Star Team(s) (i.e., National League vs. American League), with instructions that the Managers should take time to observe the other players in their division, as well as players nominated from lower divisions. Managers should observe each nominee during the remainder of the season.
STEP 3 All Star Commitment and Verification of Age & Residency.
A) SRLL Commitment Policy. It is the policy of SRLL, that in order to be eligible for All Stars, players must commit to SRLL All Stars, both in terms of the time commitment, and placing their SRLL All Star team commitment first over other sports. Nominees must be available for a significant, if not the entire amount of time required for All Star practices and games. This includes the All Star pre-tournament practice period from June 15th through approximately July 1, and the All Star Tournament games, which typically run from approximately July 1, through (at a minimum) August 1. As a minimum standard, candidates must commit to being available for nearly all of the All Star games from District through Sub-Divisional (approximately July 1st through approximately August 1st.) A player can miss a game or two, and they will not be deemed ineligible. However, a player who is going to miss significant games (defined as more than one week of games), or if they will effectuate an abandonment of their All Star team during this period (i.e. prolonged vacation, summer camps, leaving to play on another team and such) will be factors to consider as to whether or not they will be deemed ineligible. Thus, a player who will miss significant time during All Star games and practice time, or will effectuate an abandonment, will be ineligible, while a player who is going to only miss one week or less, will not be deemed ineligible (however, this may be a factor considered by managers in selecting the All Star team). Likewise, All Star nominees must agree to make SRLL All Stars their first priority over other sports, travel ball etc. As an example, choosing to play in a soccer or travel ball tournament the day of, or in the 24 hours leading up to a SRLL All Star game, would not be consistent with the level of commitment required to play SRLL All Stars.
Any questions regarding All Star nominee commitments should be addressed by parents to the Player Agent. However, the ultimate decision as to whether the player’s commitment is sufficient for selection will rest with the managers selecting the All Star players.
B) Commitment Letter/district 32 Verification of Age/residency. Once lists of all candidates have been compiled, the President & Player Agent, in conjunction with District 32, will schedule a day in May for parents and players to sign a SRLL All Star commitment letter, and for parents to submit originals and one copy of their proof of age (Birth Certificate) and three proofs of residency.
It is an honor to be nominated for All Stars, but playing All Stars takes a commitment of time and effort. Players and Parents will be required to sign a commitment letter verifying they understand and agree to this commitment. In addition, the commitment letter requires parents and players describe any dates or period of time they will not be available for All Stars, such as vacations, travel ball tournaments, or other commitments. Should a parent and/or player not list unavailability in order to increase the player’s chance to be selected to an All Star team, the player will automatically, and immediately be removed from the All Star team upon discovery of this, and will forfeit next season’s All Star eligibility. The commitment letter will indicate the above described minimum requirements for All Stars, and will indicate that players not meeting the minimum requirements are not eligible for SRLL All Stars. Players who meet the minimum requirements, but will be absent during some portion of practices or games, will be advised in this letter, that these absences will be considered factors in determining whether the candidate will be selected to the All Star team.
In addition to a signed commitment letter, parents must submit an original birth certificate, as well as a copy of this original. While SRLL will only keep the copy, the original must be presented in order to verify the authenticity of the copy.
In addition, parents must submit copies of three separate proofs of residency. For acceptable proofs of residency, please refer to Residency Eligibility Requirements found on page 15 of the Little League Baseball Official Regulations and Playing Rules (the green book given to all Managers) and the commitment letter itself. Please note, each proof of residency must be from a different one of the categories found at page 15 of the Rule book (i.e., three proofs of residency from the same category will not work).
A representative from District 32 will be on hand to sign off on proofs of age and residency at the May verification day event. No candidate may be selected to an All Star team until he or she has been pre-verified by District 32.
STEP 4 Player Selection - Overview. Opinions vary widely regarding who should, and who should not be selected to All Stars. Often parents, believing their child is more skilled than a player (particularly a Manager or coaches’ child), selected to the team, complain and/or do not believe the process is fair. Thus, it is most important that the All Star Player selection process be fair, and be designed to select the most qualified candidates, and that everyone understand how it works, and why it is set up the way it is.
A common assertion regarding All Star voting is to let the kids vote. However, when this has been done in the past, it has simply resulted in a popularity contest, with friends voting for friends, regardless of skill or attitude, and deserving players would thus be excluded because they are quiet or not as popular socially. Likewise, parents would be hard pressed to set aside their bias towards their own child. We do not utilize an umpiring force which would be likely to be knowledgeable regarding specific players’ skills, and since Board members are typically most knowledgeable only about the players in their own child’s division, having the Board vote on All Star player selections would not be the best way to assure that the most deserving players are selected. Thus, we have the people who know the players, and their skills the best, the team Managers in the player’s division, make the decision. We believe this process results in the most accurate and fair results.
Since Managers are entrusted with the decision regarding who is selected to the All Star team, they must be careful to be scrupulously fair, not to advocate too strongly for players simply because the player is his or her own son, or was on the Manager’s regular season team. Likewise, Managers should be sure to make sure all qualified players are given proper consideration. When selecting players for All Stars, criteria that should be considered, including, but is not limited to: Offensive skills, defensive skills, a player’s skills at key positions such as pitcher and catcher, a player’s attitude, a player’s speed, and a player’s availability and level of commitment for All Stars.
Wherever possible, blind voting should be utilized, to avoid any bias towards voting for children of Managers present at the selection meeting. It is important, that at no time, will the Managers know how many votes a nominee receives, unless the nominee receives the number of votes necessary to be selected. For instance, early on, only nominees receiving unanimous support will be announced. Later, nominees receiving one vote less than unanimous approval may be announced, and so on, until the team is selected. The goal here, is to allow the voting to be blind, thus insuring Manager’s choices, and reducing the pressure on Managers to vote for the children of other Managers present in the room.
It will be the role of the Player Agent and President, to insure that the process is fair, that all nominated and eligible players are being considered, and that the most managers are genuinely seeking to select the most deserving players.
A) Player Selection Meetings & Attendance at Same. The President and Player Agent will schedule All Star Selection Meetings, at a date, times, and location of his choosing. These meetings can take place on a single day, or over more than one day. All Star Player Selection Meetings will be held in the first week-to-10 days of June. The All Star Player selection meetings will be scheduled so that in each League, the oldest team is selected first, working down until the 9-10 year old team is selected (i.e., Juniors team, 12-year Old team, 11-Year Old team, and finally the 9-10-Year Old team). The participants of those meetings will include the President, the Player Agent, and the Vice President of Baseball, as well as the following:
Big League, Seniors & Junior’s All-Star selection: The Division Rep. for the particular Division and the appropriate Managers.
12-Year Old All Stars (Little League All-Stars) selection: The Majors Division Rep. and the appropriate Majors Managers. For selection of the National League All Star team, the National League Managers will be present, and for selection of the American League All Star team, the American League Managers will be present.
11-Year Old All-Star selection: Majors Division Rep., AAA Division Rep., and the appropriate Majors Managers. For selection of the National League All Star team, the National League Managers will be present, and for selection of the American League All Star team, the American League Managers will be present.
9/10 Year Old All-Star selection: AAA Division Rep., AA Division Rep., and the appropriate AAA Managers. For selection of the National League All Star team, the National League Managers will be present, and for selection of the American League All Star team, the American League Managers will be present.
In addition, if by the time of the foregoing meetings, the President has made his or her selection regarding the All Star Manager, and if this person is not a Manager present (i.e., is a Coach), the President at his option may also invite this person, in order that he or she can give input. However, this person would not vote if they were not a regular season Manager. The manager must make every effort to attend this meeting however, if a Manager cannot attend same, he or she may designate a substitute from amongst the coaches on his or her team to attend in place of the Manager. This substitute shall have all the Manager’s voting rights. If the President, Player Agent or Vice President of Baseball is a voting Manager (Or their child is being considered for a specific team), they will not be permitted to see/count the blind votes, and will not take part in deciding any deadlocks.
B) Player Selection - Procedures. Initially, the Managers should make a preliminary decision regarding how many players will be selected to a particular All Star team (this is non-binding, as circumstances could cause this to change, but this helps give everyone an idea of the ultimate goal).
Managers must also determine in advance, whether there are players, for whom a strongly compelling reason for their being considered for playing up on an older All Star team exists. It is the general policy of SRLL that players should play on their age appropriate All Star team (12 year olds on the 12-year old team, 11-year olds on the 11-year old team, and 9 &10 year olds playing on the 9-10 year old team), unless they are so skilled, that they present a strong likelihood they will impact the older team’s chance to win the District Level All Star tournament. To be considered for playing up, a player would have to be amongst the top players on the older All Star team, and would have to present a realistic chance of impacting the older team’s chances to win the District All Star tournament. The reason for this rule, is that we believe that there is insufficient justification to take strong younger player, who would start and play most every inning on the younger team, up to the older team, having weakened the younger team, only to merely play half the game on the older team, and not to have helped the older team have success at winning the District All Stars. If the foregoing criteria are not met, the player should play on his age appropriate team, to avoid injuring this team’s chances to win the District All Star tournament, when nothing is likely to be gained. Before a player will be allowed to play up, three-quarters of the voting Managers must all agree on this. If the Managers cannot do so, the player is a nominee only for his or her common age team (11-Year olds on the 11-Year Old team, and 9-10 Year Olds on the 9-10 Year Old Team).
Prior to any discussion of merits regarding players, through a blind vote, a 1st ballot vote will be taken, where all Managers vote for the number of players equal to the number determined will be on the team. Any players selected unanimously on this ballot will be deemed to have been selected to the team.
Thereafter, the Managers may, if they wish, discuss the remaining candidates from their own team, as well as other teams, who they feel should, or should not be selected to the All Star team at issue. Thereafter, a 2nd ballot will be taken, and any unanimously selected players, will be placed on the All Star team. This process will be continued until a team is selected, or progress is no longer being made. At the point progress is no longer being made, the President. Player Agent and Vice President of Baseball will determine whether to drop the number of votes necessary to elect, to a lesser majority or even 50% vote. In addition, the President, Player Agent and Vice President can determine whether to assign a cut-off (i.e., that any player on a particular ballot, not receiving a certain percentage of the vote, is eliminated from consideration), or other steps designed to break any deadlocks. Ultimately, if the Managers cannot decide in a reasonable period of time, the President, Player Agent and Vice President will select any remaining spots, from amongst the remaining top vote getters, by a blind vote, to be counted by the Division Rep. If a tie still remains, the Player Agent will decide who is selected. In the event the player agent is a manager within this division the decision will fall to the disinterested President or VP of Operations.
C) Supplying All Star Uniforms, Equipment, and Practice Fields. At or soon after the All Star Player Selection meeting, All Star Managers will be provided with the All Star uniforms for his or her team, practice shirts, two dozen tournament caliber baseballs, and Stars for hanging on player’s doors. These will be provided by the Equipment Manager and Uniform Coordinator, to the President, who will in turn provide same to the All Star Managers he or she selects. All Star Managers will utilize their regular season game bags and 1st aid kits. In addition, All Star Managers will be notified of any mandatory meetings or events they must attend.
D) Notifying Players of Their Selection. Under Little League Rules, Players chosen for an All Star team cannot be told or notified before June 15th. Doing so, is grounds for Little League disqualifying all the league’s All Star teams from post –season play. Typically, this happens when a disgruntled parent of a player who was not selected, report the early announcement to Little League International. Thus, all Players selected, will be notified by the relevant All-Star Manager, and their names posted on the website, on June 15th. Please note, District 32 has given SRLL permission to have the All Star Manager hang Stars on the selected player’s doors, on the evening of June 14th. All Star Managers are requested to continue this SRLL tradition.