Aliso Viejo Little League

Frequently Asked Questions:

GENERAL FAQs 

Who is Aliso Viejo Little League (AVLL)? 

• Aliso Viejo Little League (AVLL) (operated as a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Charity) is sanctioned by Little League, Inc. of Williamsport, PA, the largest youth affiliated program in the world.

What are the AVLL League boundaries?

• To confirm your address falls within the AVLL league boundary please visit the league finder found HERE.  

How do I access or Log-in to the Website?

• Although most of the information is public, as a previous member you probably already have an account to gain access to Member Only data, you just need to get your password. To do this, just click on the LOG-IN link in the top right corner of the screen and enter your EMAIL ADDRESS ONLY then click LOG IN again. Your password will be emailed to that address. If for some reason you’re still having trouble logging in Click here for more help.

How long is the Spring Season?

• Opening Day for our Spring 2022 Season is Saturday, February 26th.  Regular Season play runs through early June.  

What do I do if I am interested in coaching or managing a team this coming season?

• As you are registering your child you will be asked to specify a volunteer position.  There will be choices to be a team manager or a coach.  Please make your selection there.  All managers will be contacted, and interviews and background checks will be conducted, in addition to requests for approval by the AVLL Board of Directors.   Attendance at one of our managers/coaches training meetings is also required.

REGISTRATION FAQs

What is involved with registering my player(s) and what information or documents do I need for verification?

All players, regardless if they are new or returning, must register online, followed by participating in one of our in-person age and residency verification days.  All fees must be paid in full, age and residency must be verified, and your snackbar deposit check(s) received prior to your player being placed on a team.

Please bring the following to Verification Day:

• Original Birth Certificate (must have raised seal)

• $150 Snack Bar Volunteer Deposit check(s). Your snack bar deposit checks(s) will be collected and destroyed after you complete your snack bar obligation. The Spring 2022 snack bar deposit is $150 per player. One check per player please.

• Three (3) different proofs of residency, one from each of the following groups:

Documents MUST be dated February 1st or after of the year just prior to the current season. Any before February 1st of the prior year will not be accepted. For example, for the 2022 season, documents must be dated 2/1/21 or after. Any documents submitted prior to 2/1/21 will not be accepted. 

Why is AVLL collecting deposit checks for the Snack Bar?  What will be the process? 

Due to the increasing number of no-shows for assigned snack bar duty, AVLL has a snack bar deposit policy.   Your snack bar deposit check(s) will be collected (but not cashed) at one of our age/residency verification days. Your checks will be destroyed after your assigned snack bar volunteer assignment is completed. If you do not fulfill your snack bar duty, your check will then be cashed. Placement of your player on a team is not final until your snack bar deposit check(s) is received. The Spring 2022 Snack Bar deposit is $150/player. One check per player please. Check(s) need to be made out to AVLL and include in the note area: Snack Bar deposit for XXX (player name and division). 

What is the refund policy? 

Spring Refund Policy:  Prior to the draft, you will be refunded your registration fee less $25. No refunds will be issued after the AVLL has formed teams.

Fall Refund Policy:  No refunds will be issued after September 1st.

Please allow 30 days to process your refund.

EQUIPMENT FAQs

What type of equipment will my player need?

As a part of your registration fee, all AVLL players will be provided with a uniform that includes the following: 

• Non-Drafted/Sandlot Divisions (T-Ball, Rookie, and Single A) will receive a baseball hat, a baseball jersey, white baseball pants, socks and a belt.  

• Drafted Divisions (AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediate, Juniors) will receive a baseball hat, a baseball jersey, socks and a belt.  They will NOT receive baseball pants.  

Other equipment that is needed includes a baseball helmet, baseball cleats, a bat, a baseball glove and a protective cup (for boys).--

What kind of bat should I get?  

As of January 1, 2018, the new USA Baseball Bat Standard was implemented. USABat Standard bats must be used in the Little League Major Baseball Division and below. Either USABat Standard bats or BBCOR bats must be used at the Intermediate (50/70) Baseball and Junior League Baseball Divisions. At the Senior League Baseball Division, all bats must meet the BBCOR standard.

For more information on the USABat standard and a complete list of bats approved through the USABat Standard, visit usabat.com.

Are metal baseball cleats allowed?

Metal baseball cleats are NOT allowed in T-ball, Rookie, Minor (Single) A, Minor AA, Minor AAA, or Majors. Intermediate and Juniors can have them but they are not required. 

DIVISION AND TEAM FAQs

Little League divisions are based on the League Age of the player.   Below are the divisions:

For our AA and up divisions, all players must participate in Evaluations and teams are formed by a draft.  You will receive notification from the league regarding player Evaluation Day and reporting time. For further questions, please contact your Player Agent and/or Commissioner. 

How do I determine my child’s League Age? 

Click link below:

2024 LEAGUE AGE CHART

What divisions are considered Sandlot? 

Sandlot is considered to be the Non-Drafted Divisions which include T-Ball, Rookie, and Single A.  Players must be League Age 4 in order to play; there are no exceptions.  

My player is League Age 5 and this will be his/her second year of T-Ball.  Can I request to move him/her to the Rookie Division?

Yes, thanks to a rule change from Little League International, participants League Age 5 and 6 are permitted to advance to Minor League Coach Pitch or Machine Pitch (Rookie Division)  after participation in T-Ball for one year.

What are the “drafted” divisions and what does that mean?

AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediate, and Juniors are included in the drafted divisions. This means players are evaluated on their baseball skills and drafted (selected) onto a team by the Managers. Friend requests are not permitted in the drafted divisions.

Does my player have to do a player evaluation? 

Yes, per Little League, to ensure fair and balanced development across all drafted divisions, player evaluations are mandatory for all League Ages 8-12 players. 

What is expected during player evaluations?

Players will be evaluated on their baseball skills during player evaluations. Please visit the website after January 1st for specific evaluation times.  All players in our drafted divisions (AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediate and Juniors), in order to be eligible to be drafted to a team, must participate in player evaluations.  Evaluations are conducted by the Player Agents, Division Commissioners, and team Managers.  In general, players will be evaluated on their hitting, throwing/catching, fielding, and running ability.  For the upcoming Spring 2022 season, AVLL plans to hold player evaluations on Saturday, January 15th.  

Can a League Age 7 player participate in evaluations to be eligible for drafting onto a AA team? 

Yes, a League Age 7 player can participate in the player evaluations.  Please contact the AA Player Agent ([email protected]) so they can inform the AA Commissioner.  

Can a child play in AAA for 2-years? 

There is no rule against playing AAA for 2-years.  In our local rules, the age range for AAA is 9-11 years old, but 9s must be drafted in the top 4 rounds in order to be placed onto a AAA team. 

How many players are placed on a team?

Our goal each year is to have no more than 12 players on a team at the 4-12 year old level so that we can maximize participation and development opportunities. However, all teams are based on the availability of Managers/Coaches and the appropriate interest levels of players. Some teams may have more or less than 12 players, but our goal is 12.

Can I make friend requests or request a specific Manager/Coach?

AVLL allows for the following for our Non-Drafted/Sandlot Divisions (T-Ball, Rookie, Single A): 

• T-Ball – Unlimited friend requests

• Rookie and Single A  – Limited friend requests

• Drafted Divisions (AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediates, Juniors) - No friend requests allowed.

We do our best to accommodate requests, however, given the number of requests we receive, requests are not guaranteed. You will be able to indicate a friend request during the registration process.  AVLL does not accept Manager/Coach requests.

Can I make a request for a team that practices on certain days?

Unfortunately, we do not assign team practice times/days or finalize our game schedules until after teams are formed. There is no way to know this information ahead of time.  We encourage all members to work with their Managers/Coaches.  

When are practices held? When are games scheduled?

Practices are scheduled and conducted based on field availability.  Practice times are assigned after teams have been formed in January and you’ll be notified by your team Manager of your team’s assigned days/times.  We will not have team practice days/times prior to player placements.  Typically, we have a temporary practice schedule from late January until Opening Day.  After Opening Day, the season’s regular practice schedule days/times commence.

In the Sandlot Divisions (T-Ball, Rookie and Single A), there is typically 1-practice and 1-game per week.  Games are typically scheduled on Saturdays or Sundays.  Your assigned practice day, however, could be any day of the week.  

In the Drafted Divisions (AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediates, Juniors), there are typically 2-games each week (1-weekday and 1-weekend game) and a couple of practices.  Based on the number of fields available, team practices could be scheduled any day of the week, including Sundays. 

What's the Challenger division?  

The Little League Challenger Division® (founded in 1989) is Little League’s adaptive baseball program for individuals with physical and intellectual challenges. More info can be found here:

https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/challenger/  

Who can I contact to see if the Challenger division is a good fit for my child?   

Email [email protected] 

Are there any volunteer opportunities to help with the Challenger division?   

Yes, the Challenger division loves their "buddies" who help out at practices and games.   Challenger "buddies" provide support and encouragement to our Challenger players and may give guidance and direction to the players.  It is not necessary for Challenger "buddies" to have any direct contact with Challenger players.   Typically players from our Majors division and up will serve as Challenger "buddies".   Please contact [email protected] for more information.  

How do I register for the Challengers division?    

There is a separate registration for the Challenger division located here:   https://www.leagueathletics.com/Registration/Restrictions.asp?RegID=308212&n=&org=avll.org

What is the Challenger schedule?   

Our Challenger teams practice on Fridays at 5:00 PM at Woodfield and have games on Saturdays (both away or at Woodfield for home games.)  

General Terms & Definitions

Western Region - The District Administrators report to the Regional Director, of which there are five in the United States. As part of the staff of Little League Baseball, Incorporated, the Regional Directors work out of Regional Centers at Warner Robins, Georgia; San Bernardino, California; Indianapolis, Indiana, Bristol, Connecticut, and Waco, Texas. Representatives for the International regions of Little League maintain offices in Puerto Rico, Canada, Japan and Poland. As part of the Western Region, Southern California alone contains 40 districts.

District 55 - For administrative and tournament purposes, roughly 10 to 20 leagues in a given area usually comprise a district. The District Administrator is an experienced volunteer elected by the constituent leagues to counsel, direct, and provide leadership in the policies and rules of the Little League program and to serve as liaison between the leagues and the Regional Director. The District Administrator organizes the district tournament and attends the periodic International Congress where Little League rules and regulations are democratically reviewed and revised for the betterment of the program. There are more than 600 District Administrators worldwide, each with a staff of assistants to help more effectively serve their leagues.  More information on District 55 is located here: http://district55.org/

Majors (46/60) - The Little League Baseball Division (sometimes known as the Major Division) is for boys and girls League Ages 8–12. A local league may choose to limit its Major Division to 10-, 11-, and 12-year-olds, or 11-12-year-olds. The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet. The local league has an option to choose a Tournament Team (or "All Stars") of 11-12-year-olds from within this division, and the team may enter the International Tournament. The culmination of the International Tournament is the Little League Baseball World Series, featuring teams from around the globe. All expenses for the teams advancing to the World Series (travel, meals, and housing) are paid by Little League Baseball." A standard Little League field has base paths of 60 feet, and a pitching distance of 46 feet (measured from the back point of home plate to the front edge of the pitcher’s plate).

Intermediate (50/70) - In 2012, Little League announced plans to add a new division of play for the 2013 season, the Little League Intermediate Division. This Division is played on a field with a 50-foot (15 m) pitching distance and 70-foot (21 m) base paths. It is open to players ages 11–13, but may be limited to ages 11–12 or 12–13 or 13 by a local league. Players in this division will be able to lead off and steal. Rules will follow rules similar to those of the Junior, Senior, and Big League Divisions of play. Little League holds a World Series in this level of play, officially called the Intermediate Little League World Series, in Livermore, California.

Tournament of Champions (TOC) - The tournament of champions is typically played as a single elimination tournament between the top teams in each competitive division from leagues within the district. District 55 often allows leagues the ability to send their two top teams from each competitive division beginning in AA. 

All Stars – Different from TOC, in that each league will take their top players in each age division and form a special “All-Star” team of the top 13 ranked kids from within their league and divisions. These teams will then play against other “All-Star” teams from other leagues in the District, and then if successful, move on to Sectional, Regional, and hopefully the World Series for that division.

Little League Pledge                                                                                                                      

I trust in God.

I love my country

And will respect its laws.

I will play fair and strive to win.

But win or lose

I will always do my best.

Parent/Volunteer Pledge

I will teach all children to play fair

and do their best.

I will positively support all managers,

coaches and players.

I will respect the decisions of the umpires.

I will praise a good effort despite the

outcome of the game.

AVLL Zero Tolerance/Code of Conduct 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yDdSvNw88_j4WcQZVz_F_Lju6XHo4nh0RR7azAjU_m4/edit?usp=sharing