Registration

2021 SMLL Spring Baseball

Welcome to Santa Monica Little League Registration!

The past year has been hard for youth sports, but Santa Monica Little League is dedicated to the cause of getting boys and girls out to play ball.

On behalf of the players, coaches, current families, Board of Directors, and volunteers we want to welcome you back to baseball. After hosting over 225 players during our Fall 2020 Clinic season, we believe baseball can be a safe option for all kids when protocols are in play. We are proud to say that there were no reported transmissions of the virus after ten weeks of outdoor baseball clinics- a relief and some real data to build on.

This registration process for the Spring 2021 season is unlike any other. While our goal is to return to a traditional team/game format, we will comply with LA County guidelines for youth sports. Whatever the guidelines, we will focus all of our volunteer resources to providing meaningful, consistent baseball programming from February through June. We know that our supporters are the best in Santa Monica, and we appreciate your flexibility!

Little League is open to anyone within the boundaries of Santa Monica Little League from ages 4-16, as defined by Little League Baseball; these limits stretch all the way from the southern border of Santa Monica all the way north through the Pacific Palisades! Share this registration with your friends.

COVID SEASON CHANGES

This year, Santa Monica Little League has made the decision to alter the spring season to better correspond with the guidelines of the county of Los Angeles. These guidelines restrict games from being played between different teams until the county has been recognized as being "in the RED." See county public health guidelines for outdoor sports here.

To that end, SMLL has split the season into two halves: SANDLOT SCRIMMAGE, and REGULAR SEASON. Scrimmages are allowed for baseball within these guidelines, so until we are free to resume competitive play, we will offer scrimmages within larger "sandlot" teams, led by SMLL selected coaches.

The Sandlot Scrimmage season will begin the week of March 1, and divide players into larger than normal teams that will be split into smaller practice "pods." These pods and coaching staffs will practice once per week, and then scrimmage the other half of their team on the weekends until Spring Break, March 28. There will be no Skills Evaluations until Spring Break for any player age 8 and up. These teams will be based on age, coach requests, and affinity groups (school, grade, etc).

The Regular Season will begin no earlier than April 12, or as late as the when current restrictions for LA county youth sports are lifted. During the Regular Season, competitive divisions (Juniors, Majors, AAA) will redistribute teams based on league parity and skill into re-drafted teams, and play a game schedule consisting of up to 12-20 games through June against the other teams in their division.

Because of the no-games policy, the SMLL Board felt this outside of the box solution solved two problems: getting as many players out on the fields as possible quickly and safely and within guidelines (Sandlot Season), and the ability to play a regular schedule of competitive games against as many opponents as possible once the county ordinances allowed (Regular Season).

Please email League President Michael Balsley with questions about this special 2021 Spring Season at [email protected]

Thank you for registering for baseball. We look forward to seeing you at Memorial Park soon!

Registration Fees

Registration for Santa Monica Little League requires you to register your child based on their "league age". For players age 8 and above, Santa Monica Little League will determine team and division placement based on skill evaluations held in January.

Fees for this season are as follows:

Prior to December 12, 2020:

$240

December 13th and after:

$275

For many of you who registered for the 2020 season, the league has offered to provide you with a $90 credit for a future season. Should you choose to exercise this credit, look for the check box in the application process. We ask that for those who can afford it, skipping this credit is a tremendous financial boost to our not for profit organization. Please consider it as a donation to the league, and we will recognize all families who choose not to exercise this credit as donors.

Little League is available to all families, and scholarships allow us to provide this opportunity to every child who wants to play, thanks to our generous supporters like you.

Division Play

Lower divisions are organized differently than older divisions, with an emphasis on playing with friends, familiar coaches, and developing a love for the game. Upper division teams are determined by a draft conducted by coaches for AAA, Majors, and Juniors. All teams are determined with your player's best interest and safety in mind! If you have any questions about team placement, please email the Player Agent at [email protected].

There are nine divisions for the 2020 Spring Season, divided into Upper and Lower levels.

Lower level divisions include Tee Ball (ages 4-5), Coach Pitch (age 5-6), and Machine Pitch (age 7-8). All players who are league age 8 need to register as AGE 8 even if your hope is that they play Machine Pitch. Make sure to note your preferred division as "Machine Pitch" in the registration.

Upper-level divisions require a player evaluation for kids age 8 and above, with players placed into the appropriate divisions by Little League evaluators. These divisions include AA (kid pitch / age 8-9), AAA (age 9-10), Majors (age 10-12), Juniors (13-14), and Seniors (age 15-17).

If you are unsure of how to list your child's "Little League Age" please click through to the following link on Little League International website to determine: https://www.littleleague.org/downloads/2021-baseball-age-chart/. Ages are based on a players age as of September 1. For example, if your child was born on September 1, 2012, they are league age 8; if they were born on August 31, 2012, they would be league age 9.

Have a great season, and see you at the ballpark!

Michael Balsley

SMLL President

Michael Kadish

SMLL Registrar

Tamara Anderson

SMLL Communications