Sackville Minor Baseball

ALL PLAYERS MUST HAVE A PARENT/ADULT PRESENT AT ALL TIMES. 

PLAYERS ARE NOT TO BE DROPPED OFF AND LEFT UNATTENDED.

This age group is instructional. Players will be taught basic baseball skills (such as throwing, catching, hitting), sportsmanship and self-esteem. There is no score kept so there are no winners or losers of games. No outs are called on the bases or at bat. Please remember that this age group consists of very young players who need constant praise and encouragement.

The scheduled times for these teams is broken into 20 minute sessions. This is only a guideline. Sessions could run a bit longer, especially at the beginning of the season. The full scheduled time is usually between an hour and an hour and a half long. 

Rained out games in this division are not made up during the season. When the schedule is done an extra week of games will be posted on the Home page of our website. As many as possible games will be made up depending on how many games teams were rained out.

Parent/guardian involvement at this age is very important. These young players thrive on the fact that their parent/guardian is showing interest and encouragement in what they are doing. Many helping hands are needed, whether it's monitoring players in the dugout, directing players on the field or helping with practice drills. Please let your coach know you are willing to help. This is a learning experience for coaches, players and parents/guardians.

Young children love to practice at home what they are learning elsewhere. Please take the time, even if it's only for ten minutes, to play catch or bat the ball with your child a few times a week.

Three teams are scheduled at the same time. Teams A and B have a game set up while team C is off to the side doing practice drills. When a session is over the teams rotate. The rotating continues until every team has had 2 turns each at bat, in the field defensively and doing practice drills. The following times are just a guideline.

6-6:20pm                Team A Batting     Team B Fielding     Team C Practicing

                               Team B Batting     Team A Fielding     Team C Practicing

6:20-6:40pm           Team C Batting     Team B Fielding     Team A Practicing

                               Team B Batting     Team C Fielding     Team A Practicing

6:40-7pm                Team C Batting     Team A Fielding     Team B Practicing

                               Team A Batting     Team C Fielding     Team B Practicing

Offensive (batting) Team   

When a team is at bat all players have a turn to bat. The coach/adult will pitch to the batters. Since some of these players are small the adult pitcher might find it easier to pitch underhand. If, after 5 pitches, the batter has not hit the ball then the tee is to be used. When a batter gets a hit they are to be directed toward first base. Runners are only allowed one base at a time on a hit. When the last batter gets a hit then he/she is allowed to run around all the bases and get a "Grand Slam". The batting order should be rotated for each game so all players have a chance to be the last batter and get a "Grand Slam". When the last batter is finished then teams will rotate.

Defensive (fielding) Team

No players sit in the dugout. Everyone is on the field. Three players are placed on the bases and the remaining players are positioned evenly between the bases just in front of and behind the baselines. Positions should be rotated for every game. Depending on where the ball is hit, players should be directed on where to throw the ball in order to make the play. Even if the ball is caught in the air, reaches a base before the runner or if a runner is tagged on the way to a base then the runner/batter is not called out. In this age group the emphasis is on learning where the play should be not on the out.

Practice Drills

The focus of the practice drills will be on catching, throwing and hitting. Players in this age group sometimes have very limited attention spans so drills should be kept simple but fun. Lots of ideas for practices can be found by Googling Baseball Drills for 4-6 year olds. Many of these drills can be modified to be made easier.