HGRA Major League is intended for player children with dates of birth between 9-1-2011 and 8-31-2015. Although the league is competitive and scores are kept, we emphasize participation and fun over winning.
HGRA Baseball Major League is real baseball and parents of 9 year olds must evaluate their child's skills very carefully and honestly to decide whether to move them up to the Major League. Those kids who may not be ready to play at this level are welcomed to remain in the Minor League for one more year to further refine their game.
GAME PLAY:
In the Major League, kids pitch, score is kept and the games are competitive but the experience is positive, encouraging and fun. This is youth baseball the way it is supposed to be played - for fun, on beautiful summer evenings and with friends and neighbors on every team. Everyone gets to play in our league - nobody gets stuck out in right field the whole game. With a little practice and effort, anyone can feel the thrill of standing on the pitcher's mound getting ready to throw that third strike by the batter.
SCHEDULE:
The season is typically from mid-May through mid-July. Practices may begin a week or two before the first game, depending upon the preference of the team coaches. We play 10 spirited games during the season, followed by a day-long tournament to crown the season's champs. All games are on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. at various fields within the Highland and Macalester-Groveland neighborhoods. One practice is held each week on a day and time determined by the team coaches.
EQUIPMENT:
All participants will receive a full game uniform, and are expected wear them for each game. Tennis shoes or rubber or plastic cleats required - metal cleats are not permitted.
TEAM FORMATION:
Team assignment is random, except that we will grant requests made in precise compliance with our HGRA Buddy Rule reprinted below. The age limits are strictly observed – requests to move up will not be granted.
COACHING:
We need coaches! Coaching is fun and rewarding, and you will be paired with an experienced coach if this is your first season "in the dugout."
All teams play games on their designated nights and also practice once a week on a day and time selected by the coach. We can not accommodate requests to change teams because the practice time is not convenient so please try your best to avoid making other commitments until you learn when your team practices. All players will be advised of their practice date and time by May 1.
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PLAYING UP:
HGRA Baseball has created overlapping ages to permit players at the top of a league's age range to opt into the next highest league ("play up"). Parents of children who fit within the overlapping ages are asked to carefully evaluate their child's playing abilities and social skills to determine iif the child is ready to play up. Please do not make this choice based on non-baseball factors such as convenience, the desire to avoid scheduling conflicts, etc. HGRA reserves the right in its sole discretion to move children who are playing up back to the lower league if the child is not able to safely or effectively participate at the higher level of play.
PLAYING DOWN:
Playing down to a lower age group is permitted only to accommodate a disability. No exceptions are made to this.
HGRA BUDDY RULE:
A child may request to play on the same team as one friend. The child's name must be properly requested on the friend's registration form also. Multiple or sequential requests (child A with child B, child B with child C, etc.) are never granted.
Siblings are always buddied unless a specific request not to do so is made. Please make sure to place the sibling's name in the buddy request box in the registration area to help us make sure we spot the sibling pairs.
Each sibling paired together may also request another buddy. Those requests must be mutual, as with all other buddy requests.
Two adults may ask to coach together. Their kids are automatically buddied and no other buddy request will be considered.
Our buddy policy is not about friends playing together. It just lets every child have at least one familiar face on the team, and it streamlines team formation. Requests that do not follow this policy are not granted
Please don’t call to ask us to waive this rule for your child. We’re busy registering over 2,300 players and will not respond. Remember - the majority of our players don’t sign up with buddies and they still all have a great time.
HGRA reserves the right to deny any buddy request if we determine, in our sole discretion, that granting the request will unduly impair the competitive balance of teams in the Major League.