Rookie and T Ball
When you first start a sport, or decide to play with a new league, it can be a bit overwhelming figuring out how everything works. Here's a run down so you can familiarize yourself with Putnam Youth Baseball's Rookie and T Ball programs.
Age Range
The Rookie and T Ball levels are for 5-8 year old players.
Assessments
There are no assessments at this age level. The teams at this age are not formed based on skill level. The emphasis in Rookie and T Ball is to have a fun, engaging environment for the children to begin to learn the fundamentals of the game.
What You Need
The league supplies a baseball cap and Putnam shirt for each player.
Players will need to provide their own baseball mitt, all black baseball pants, bat, helmet, and athletic shoes. They may choose to wear baseball cleats at this level but it is not required.
Practices and Games
Unfortunately, we can not tell you what days and times your child will practice. That is determined after all the teams are formed and coaches are selected. The coach then makes a practice schedule based on his or her availability. At the Rookie and T Ball levels, there will be no more than 3 mandatory days of baseball each week. At the beginning of the season, this may look like 3 days of practice, then when games start it may transition to 2 days of mandatory practice and 1 game. We want to clarify however that coaches have discretion over practice frequency. Based on varying circumstances, a coach may chose to cancel a mandatory practice or offer an optional practice in addition to the mandatory practices. Games are typically on Saturdays.
Tournaments
There is typically a relaxed tournament for the Rookie and T Ball players towards the beginning of the season. This happens if enough JBO leagues in the area have Rookie and T Ball teams and want to participate. This is a great opportunity for the kids to have a few games over a weekend to help familiarize them to a game quickly. This comes at no additional cost to the parents.
Fundraising
Registration fees only cover 40% of the operating costs every spring. As a league, we place importance on children from all socioeconomic situations having the opportunity to play baseball, so we purposely keep fees low. Fundraising makes up the difference. Some fundraisers we've done in the past are... Christmas Tree Recycling, Pancake Breakfast, Spaghetti Feed, Raffle Tickets, etc. If you do not wish to fundraise, there is an opt out fee. Children that have been given league scholarships for the registration fees are required to fundraise. Fundraisers vary every year, but one that is consistent is each player selling 20 raffle tickets. Info about other fundraisers will be distributed as they are determined.