Minors Division
Who plays in Minors?
Minors consist of players who are baseball age 9 and 10.
What is special about Minors Baseball?
The Minors division introduces batters to actual pitchers (no pitching machines) with regulation hard baseballs (vs. the slightly softer balls in Mini-Minors). This means that there will be strikeouts and walks with limited stealing of bases. The emphasis is on development of baseball skills and team play.
What is the time commitment in Minors?
The house season begins in April and runs through to the middle of June. Games are played on weekday evenings or on the weekend. There are usually 2 practices and 1 - 2 games per week. Plan for a 1.5 hour commitment for practices and 2.5 hours for games.
Where are Minors games played?
Games are played at the East diamond at Dunbar Memorial Park (33rd Avenue and Dunbar).
What is the format of Minors games?
Minors games are 5 innings long with limits on the runs per inning. 1st & 2nd innings allow a maximum of 2 runs. 3rd & 4th innings allow a maximum of 5 runs. The 5th inning allows unlimited runs. Pitching limits must be adhered to for the protection of pitchers. All players are rotated through the infield and outfield positions.
Why are their skills evaluations?
For safety reasons, all players registering in Minors must attend the Minors assessments. These independent evaluations are used to help balance the teams in this division. Balanced teams take precedence over teammate/friend requests.
What happens at skills evaluations?
Minors players will be independently evaluated by members of the UBC baseball training program. Players will be evaluated on skill and technique in throwing, fielding, batting and pitching. Note that evaluations are NOT a tryout. The results of evaluations are used to balance the teams so they are more even and season play is more fun. Evaluations usually take about 45 minutes.
What can I do to help my child prepare for evaluations?
Warm up your player before their session. There is limited space and time in the facility to warm kids up. At best, they will only get a few throws, catches, bats, and pitches in the session. Remind your child that this is not a tryout so there is no reason to be nervous. The evaluators want to see what skills your child already has to ensure balanced teams.
How are players assigned to teams?
While we will do our best to accommodate one mutual friend request, balanced teams take precedence over teammate/friend requests. Team formation is a time consuming and complex task for our volunteers and available coaches, assistant coaches and overall skills mix are taken into consideration.
What baseball gear is needed?
Players are required to have their own baseball pants (with belt loops), baseball glove, batting helmet, and mandatory protective cup. Players are strongly encouraged to have their own bats but teams will also supply bats, catcher's gear, caps, and socks.
How can I be a Minor A coach?
At the time you register your player in Minors, you will be asked to volunteer in some capacity with the League. Coach or Assistant Coach are volunteer options. All DLL coaches must complete a Criminal Record Check. The DLL Board will approve all coach selections.
What is expected of Parents in Minors
All parents are expected to take on a volunteer role in the league. If you are not coaching, team managing, or involved in league administration, there are many other important ways for you to contribute. All parents take turns as scorekeeper and doing field prep prior to each game. Many parents also choose to help out at Work Day where we prepare all the fields to be ready for play for the season.