The kids love this one. Start your regular 1st baseman and catcher in the field however. Each batter gets 5 pitches. On the 5th pitch, contact or not they have to run to first and the catcher has to throw to 1st to complete the out. This gives the runners and fielder's practice on the 'dropped 3rd strike'. Once you have a few players get out, let the 1st baseman and catcher rotate out and let them hit.
I like this. I get to meet the team Saturday, which is cool.
Here are a few more tidbits...
After the first year of "Rookie" ball (coach pitch), we move into the regular season/teams. There are 3 divisions; International, Minors, and Majors. All kids are evaluated when they start in the International league (or join the league in general). The draft starts with the International league (9-10), and the kids remain on the same team throughout their time in the League. Each kid will get 4 years in this system, and pending their skill level, they will stay in one of the 3 leagues for 2 years. This is great, as the kids get to learn to play together and bond over the course of their time there.
Now, some kids/parents request a re-draft, as they might have issues with a coach, another player, or some other reasons. it doesn't happen often. Any kid joining for the 1st time in an age group above International will be evaluated, and the teams have a supplemental draft.
I will be coaching the "Majors" team this season, so I have kids that have been together for a while. My middle guy took a year off from this league (worst mistake ever), and had to be re-evaluated. He had a killer eval (he rated better than he actually is, since he threw 10 pitches and 9 were strikes --- not normal for him
) He has a strong arm, and has thrown out kids trying to steal second (albeit, they were a tad slower, as it is impossible to catch the quick kids). During the season, if we are missing players, we can always "call up" kids from the lower teams in our system.
I love baseball. outside of my family, it is my first love. I'll be doing some research during some down time this week, for sure. I want to ensure our team is competitive, but has fun too. Its a tough balance for sure.
If anyone wants to see the details of our league, you can see them here.
https://bsbproduction.s3.amazonaws.com/portals/5550/docs/baseball/2018 documents/hcyp-rules-intl-min-major-pony_20180225.pdf