Recreational Leagues: Overview

Summer Sandlot - Ages 5-6

The Summer Sandlot program is a non-competitive, highly instructional program geared toward our younger players, in the T-Ball to A Ball. This program focuses heavily on skills development and non-competitive scrimmaging.

Ashland Summer Baseball League - Ages 7-8

Ashland Summer Baseball is for players who played A and AA baseball in the Spring. The Ashland Summer Baseball League is a recreational and instructional league with rules similar to AA. 

Competitive Tournaments: Overview

AYBS participates in four different tournaments during the summer. These tournaments are as follows:

 

• Ashland Sparkler (One Team, Age 8)
• Hopkinton Sizzler (One team being selected for each of the 9-12 year-old Divisions, if we have enough registrations for each age group).
• Medway Tondorf (One team being selected for each of the 9-12 year-old Divisions)
• Little League District Team (One team being selected for the 11-12 year-old Division)

More details for each tournament are found at the bottom of this page.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for our Summer baseball tournament teams (Tondorf, Sizzler, Sparkler), a player would need to be present for a minimum of 50% of the games which their Spring team has played, as measured at the time of the Summer team selection meeting. Where extenuating circumstances arise (e.g. injury, illness, family emergencies), exceptions to this policy may be requested, and will be reviewed on a case by case basis by the AYBS Board.

Tournament Team Selection Process

Our goal is to always provide opportunities for players to participate on summer teams while also balancing the level of competitiveness that is associated with different tournaments. To that end, we’ve outlined the selection process below that we will be using as we believe it is the most equitable approach.

 

Coaches are asked to evaluate players on their spring teams across the following categories: Hitting, Fielding (both infield and outfield), Pitching, Catching, Baseball IQ (e.g. does the player know the game), and Overall Team Rank. Coaches will provide a score for all of these areas based on what they have observed during practices and games throughout the season.

 

Additionally, we will hold an Evaluation session for all players that are interested in playing on a summer tournament team. During the evaluation, players will be grouped by age and then evaluated across the following categories: Hitting, Fielding (both infield and outfield), and Pitching.

 

Please note that during the evaluation session we make our best attempt to ensure the evaluators are fair and objective. This includes not allowing evaluators to score their own children, and numbers (not players’ names) are used while players are being evaluated.

 

All evaluation scores are then consolidated by the Player Agent and then a summer selection meeting is held in-person that includes head coaches from the appropriate divisions along with division coordinators and AYBS Board representatives (President, Player Agent, VP Baseball). During this meeting the coaches will have an open discussion about the players to determine final age-level rankings based on consolidated evaluation scores, spring rankings, intangibles (attitude, effort and commitment), and positional needs across tournament teams.

 

Head coaches are not allowed to be present when their child is being discussed and are asked to leave the room. 

 

Once final rankings are set, teams will be created for each age level as follows:

 

Players ranked 1 through 11 will be offered a spot on the Tondorf team. If one of these players declines a spot on the team, the 12th ranked player will be offered a spot, and we will follow this format until we have a roster of 11 players.

 

Once the Tondorf team is set, the next 10 to 12 players in order of rank may be invited to play on the Sizzler team as long as we have enough players registered to field a team of no less than 10 players at a certain age level. If we do not have the requisite number of players to field a team at a certain age level, the AYBS Board will evaluate alternative solutions to fielding a Sizzler team. This could include combining age groups, combining with other towns, and/or attempting to place Ashland players on other teams.

Please note: Team composition and final roster sizes are at the discretion of the AYBS Summer Committee and may vary from year-to-year.

 

Our goal is to make every effort to find a spot for any player interested in participating on a summer tournament team but there are scenarios that will be out of our control (e.g. we do not have enough players to field a team or enough volunteers registered to coach teams). In these scenarios the AYBS Board may ultimately decide that we will be unable to field a team at a given level.

 

District Team Selection

The District Team will be comprised of the top 12 ranked players from the 11- and 12-year-old classes. The District Team selection will follow the same process as above with the addition of a separate evaluation session. Those participating in the evaluation will be based on current Spring Season rankings, with the top 14 ranked 12-year-olds and top 4 ranked 11-year-olds being offered an opportunity to join the evaluation session.  This will allow coaches to evaluate 11 and 12-year-old players side-by-side to determine the appropriate consolidated rank order across these ages. This consolidated ranking will then be used to field a team of 12 players.

 

Tournament Commitment

All players who play on a tournament team are expected to commit to attend all practices and games. Consideration should be given to family vacations and other sports. Players participating in the Sparkler Tournament have additional commitments. Since Ashland hosts this tournament, parents of all Sparkler players will be expected to help with field preparation and other duties related to hosting this tournament, such as running the Snack Shack. These commitments are in addition to those expected for the other tournaments described above.

Tournament Descriptions

 

Ashland Sparkler 

Sparkler is for players aged 8 years old. Sparkler is a competitive tournament hosted by Ashland. Players pitch, outs are recorded, and umpires are provided. The tournament provides an introduction to tournament play and the rules are modified for this younger age group. It’s a fun atmosphere that gives the players a chance to compete against players from surrounding towns. A regulation “hard” baseball is used and games are played on a standard Little League diamond (60-foot base paths). During the five-week period, teams will play 8 regular season games followed by single elimination playoffs. Games consist of 6 innings with a time limit of 1 hour and 45 minutes. All games are held in Ashland at Gryncel Park.

Hopkinton Sizzler 

Sizzler is typically for players’ aged 9‐12 years old. Sizzler is a competitive “B” level baseball tournament hosted by Hopkinton. Players pitch, outs are recorded, and umpires are provided. A regulation “hard” baseball is used, and games are played on a standard Little League diamond (60-foot base paths). During the five-week period, teams will play 10 regular season games followed by single elimination playoffs. Games consist of 6 innings with a time limit of 1 hour and 45 minutes. All games are held in Hopkinton at EMC, Carrigan Park and Pyne Field. 

Medway Tondorf 

Tondrof is typically for players’ age 9‐12 years old. Tondorf is a competitive “A” level baseball tournament organized by Medway. Players pitch, outs are recorded, and umpires are provided. A regulation “hard” baseball is used and games are played on a standard Little League diamond (60-foot base paths). During the five week period, teams will play 10 regular season games followed by single elimination playoffs. Games consist of 6 innings and will be scheduled for two-hour completion. Games are held in Medway at the Cassidy Field Complex as well fields for the communities participating in the Tondorf Tournament. 

Little League District Team

This is the competitive “A” level baseball tournament organized by Little League that culminates with the Little League World Series in Willamsport. Players pitch, outs are recorded, and umpires are provided. A regulation “hard” baseball is used and games are played on a standard Little League diamond (60-foot base paths). Tournament play begins in June with District games and continues through the summer depending on how far teams advance (e.g. Districts, Sectionals, States, Regionals, and World Series).  Games consist of 6 innings and will be scheduled for two-hour completion. Games are held in various locations at District  host sites.