The official home of Raccoon Valley Little League and Bandits

RVLL follows all rules of Little League International with some additional house rules to make play more fun and balanced. We encourage all parents to be familiar with the basics of Little League baseball, which can be very different from USSSA rules. We have rule books available to anyone who wants one and the rulebook is also now available as a mobile app for a one-time purchase of $1.99. You can get more information here, https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/little-league-rulebook-app/

Detailed information on our COVID-19 mitigation and guidelines for all who visit and play at our fields can be downloaded here.

Below are details for all of our divisions with ages and the type of play that occurs. We are making some changes with our younger divisions to help with player development so players are ready for our more competitive divisions. Players are always welcome to play up or down depending on their skill and experience.

Please note that RVLL Home dugout is along 3rd base. If your team is first to arrive and you are not the home team, please be sure to take the dugout along 1st base.


House Rules

TeeBall Rules
TeeBall is for boys and girls 4-6 years old based on skill, experience and development. If your child has never played baseball, one year of TeeBall is required. Team requests are allowed. We try to roster kids from the same school.

Little League offers a 10-week TeeBall program that all teams should follow. It allows for one practice and one game a week. Depending on how many teams we have, we may schedule two games a week with the weekday game being half drills and half scrimmage. You can download the TeeBall program here. There are resources available for both coaches and parents.

Parents are needed as volunteers to help direct the kids to stay safe and have fun. This is the most fun of being a coach, because you don't need to know a lot and everything is spelled out for you in the 10-week program.

Games are 50 minutes long. A tee is used for all batters. All players bat through the roster. Each batter advances one base at a time. Last batter is called and everyone on base runs home. All batters must wear a helmet. If a player doesn't have a helmet, RVLL has some they can lend to the team. Players rotate playing defensive positions. There is no pitcher and we do suggest a coach is behind the tee to assist the batter as needed.

Coach Pitch Rules
Coach Pitch is for boys and girls 5-7 years old based on skill, experience and development. Most players will play at least two years in this division. If a player is 7 years and has already played a year of Coach Pitch, they can advance up to Kid/Coach Pitch. If a player is 7 years old and has not played baseball, they can either play TeeBall or Coach Pitch. Team requests are allowed. We try to roster kids from the same school.

Little League offers a 12-week Coach Pitch program that we encourage all teams to follow. It provides substantial information on drills and rules of the game to help with player development. You can download the program here. The program assumes that the volunteers who have accepted the responsibility of coaching children in this age group have a limited background in baseball and the leadership and teaching acumen that is inherent with coaching Little Leaguers® at this level of the program.

Games are 60 minutes long. A tee may be used at the beginning of the season (and anytime for practice) for those players who cannot hit off a coach's pitch after attempting 5 pitches. All players bat through the roster. Batters can advance multiple bases on a hit; but must pause at third due to no player in catcher position. Parent volunteers (coaches) are required for pitching and catching. All batters must wear a helmet. If a player doesn't have a helmet, RVLL has some they can lend to the team. All players rotate playing defensive positions. Coaches pitch and catch.

A -Kid Pitch/Coach Assist Rules
 
Kid/Coach Pitch is for boys and girls 7-8 years old and is a two year program designed to develop players to enter our AA division which is more advanced and competitive. If a 7 year old has played at least one year of Coach Pitch, they can play in this division.

All positions are played in this division and are rotated through the roster. Catcher's equipment is required and can either be purchased from a sporting goods store or borrowed from RVLL. In order for a player to pitch, they must be able to get most pitches across the plate by standing on the pitcher's mound.

Games are 1 hour 15 min. Batting order goes through the roster unless 3 outs are acquired. An out can be acquired by three strikes or a play on the field/at a plate. Player pitches until three strikes or four balls are reached. Strikes are counted for a missed swing or a pitch across the plate. The pitcher's coach plays umpire, the batter's coach pitches after four balls. The count starts over with strikes and balls being called, for a total seven pitches by the coach. The batter either makes a hit, walks to first or strikes out.

AA
 
AA is for boys and girls 9-10 years old, is a two year program and is completely kid pitch with official umpires. At this stage, the game is very competitive with a deeper understanding of the rules and strategy being taught during practice and at games. This division is the first year players are eligible for All Stars. Depending on the number of teams and players, this division may be split out by recreational and competitive. Player evaluations are required at this division.

Games are 1 hour 30 min. Players may rotate defensive positions but some may play specific positions more often based on skill. Batting order goes through roster until 3 outs are acquired. There is a 5-run limit per team per inning. Bases may be advanced on overthrown balls. Batter may attempt to take first base on a passed third strike. Runners must be on base while the pitcher has possession of the ball. Ball is in play until the pitcher has the ball and is on the pitching rubber.

AAA
 
AAA is for boys and girls 11-13 years old and is a three year program. This division is split out recreations (Intermediate) and competitive (Majors). Players evaluations are required at this division, unless you played the previous year in this division.

Jrs/Srs
 
All players 14 years old and over can play in this division. 

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