Overview:

This division is a natural evolution from T-Ball. The game is still played with a soft baseball on diamonds with 50' baselines but involves more aspects of a true baseball game. Pitching is done by a coach/parent from a distance of 23 feet. It is still very much a beginning division for our younger players, and the focus remains on teaching the fundamentals of hitting and throwing, with a little more emphasis on base-running and positional play. Really, the idea is to have lots of hitting, lots of running, and lots of fun. The game is played in adherence to Rocky Mountain Little League House Rules, written and modified by coaches and parents over years of experience. All parents are expected to contribute in some way on the field during the season (field prep, assisting on the bench, or on the Diamond working with the kids).

Parents Need to Provide:

Participants are supplied with a colourful, numbered T-shirt style jersey, baseball pants, a ball cap, a belt and baseball socks (all of which they keep).

Parents must supply players with:

• Batting helmet
• Running shoes or cleats
• Baseball glove
• Athletic supporter or compression shorts (mandatory in Little League).

All major glove manufacturers make moderately priced ($25 - $40) leather gloves (avoid plastic) for these little hands.

Please make sure your player's helmet fits properly, is NOCSAE approved, and mark it (masking tape works well) to identify it as your child’s.

RMLL provides each team with several USA Baseball certified bats. All bats used in Rookie Ball Junior must display the "USA Baseball" logo on the handle.

Player Age and Ability:

This division is designed for skilled 6 year-olds with at least one year of T-Ball experience and novice or returning 7 year-olds (age as at August 31, 2024). 

Any 6 year-olds playing Rookie Ball Junior should have been among the best players on their team in T-Ball, and all 6 year-olds who have not played organized baseball before must register for T-Ball. “Younger” 8 year-olds may also participate at this level with prior approval from the league. Link to Little League age chart:  Age Chart

Players must have a date of birth between September 1, 2016 and August 31, 2018. Exceptions must be approved by the league in advance. 

Cost:

Cost is $250 for the regular season. Players registering after March 15, 2024 must pay a $50 late registration fee, so please register before this date. Cost for the Summer Development Program is $150 and requires a separate registration. 

Schedule Information:

The regular season generally runs from the first week of May until the last week of June. Practices/games are usually held twice per week from Monday through Thursday on various evenings, and some coaches may hold weekend practices.

Practices/games start at 6:30 pm and are over by approximately 8:00 pm. The schedule will be published after enough parents have volunteered to coach and teams can be finalized, usually in mid-April.

The Summer Development Program runs during July and August, and requires a separate registration that will open in early June.

Where Games Are Played:

• Rookie Ball Junior games/practices are played on Diamonds in Braeside, Elboya, Fairview, Ogden/Lynnwood and Woodlands.
• The diamonds for the league can be found here, with links to maps - Diamonds