What is Post Season Play?
Post Season play is one of the most fun aspects of Little League because Willow Creek Little League forms teams that play against other Little Leagues in our District and, for All Star teams that win the District tournament, they can move on to State and beyond! Plus, Post Season play takes place in June and July which is real softball weather EVEN in Oregon. It is the desire of Willow Creek Little League that the memories of post season tournament play be a positive one for both the players and their parents. Willow Creek Little League is a member of District 4, which conducts post-season tournaments each year for softball. This summary highlights some of the features of this exciting opportunity.
Types of Post Season Teams: All Stars
All Star teams are created by selecting the best players at a particular age group within the league. These teams are designed to be as competitive as possible as the intent of these teams are to win against other Little League All Star teams. All Stars are played by different rules than the regular season. Free substitution and roster batting are not used in tournament play. Other rules restrict substitutions, pitching availability, and player utilization. The result of these rules is that some players will play very little and players, as well as parents, must learn to cooperate with the manager who makes the playing time decisions.
Levels of Play:
8-10 All Stars
9-11 All Stars
10-12 Majors - plays for the chance to be in the Little League World Series at Alpenrose. Players must have played 60% of their games at the Majors level.
Post Season Commitment
The most influential people in All Stars are the parents of the players. By their attitude, effort, cooperation, and contributions, the team is able to succeed. There is a significant commitment required to participate in post-season play as teams usually practice 3 - 4 days per week from early June until their tournament begins in order to prepare for the level of play that will be seen in the tournaments. Families that want to be considered for post-season play should schedule summer vacations accordingly.