Registration for our 40th Spring Season continues online and at our assessments Saturday, January 21 at Camino Ruiz Park. Please see our 2012 Spring Flyer for details.
Youth Baseball vs. Little League???
At registration the question is often asked: "What is the difference between Youth Baseball and Little League?" We believe both programs are led by parent volunteers wishing to provide a positive experience for the children of the community. But there are some significant differences in rules and philosophy:
- Kid pitch vs. Machine Pitch: In most Little League programs, kids pitch as early as 7-8 years old. We believe most kids at this age do not yet have the gross motor skills development to pitch correctly (to avoid future injury) and to throw strikes consistently. Games are often slow due to excessive walks, causing kids to lose attention and interest. When kids do not have the gross motor skills needed to learn proper pitching mechanics, bad habits are usually formed at this age that often lead to injuries which do not show up until later (high school) years. Youth Baseball plays "machine pitch" through 8 years of age to provide a more consistent and engaging game experience and to protect the arms of the kids.
- Full Baseball vs. Limited Running: In Youth Baseball, kid pitch starts at 9 years old -- as does leading off and stealing. This allows the pitcher to learn the balk rule, holding runners on and throwing over to bases. Catchers learn why good footwork is important and how to lead the defense. Infielders and outfielders alike learn how to work together to defend against the running game. Most Little League players, through "Majors" (12 years old) cannot leave a base until after the ball crosses the plate. Pitchers thus do not have to "hold runners on," pick-off plays are not taught and good footwork on the part of the catcher is less important. Little League is experimenting with a "Pilot" division where 11-12 year olds play full baseball rules. This is a move in the right direction, but is an experience we believe should begin as soon as kids are able to pitch.
- Progressive Field Dimension: Most Little League games are played on a diamond with 60' base paths and 46' from mound to plate. There is much in the news about composite bats being considered dangerous, but we believe the danger is less in the bat and more with having 12 year olds pitching and hitting a mere 46' feet from each others. In Youth Baseball, 9-10 year olds play on a 60' base path/44' from mound to plate. 11-12 year olds move up to 70'/48'; 13-14 year olds to 80'/54' and 15 and up to the regulation 90'/60' 6" dimensions. This progresses players up to dimensions which are more consistent with their age and eases the transition to the regulation field in high school.
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Mira Mesa Youth Baseball is located in San Diego CA. MMYB provides a safe atmosphere while teaching the game of baseball to boys and girls, ages 4-17, in Mira Mesa and other communities surrounding Black Mountain in San Diego.
2012 SPRING REGISTRATION CONTINUES ONLINE!
Mira Mesa Youth Baseball is celebrating 40 years! We have completed our on-site registration at the Mira Mesa Recreation Center, but will be accepting late registrations online and at our assessments this coming Saturday at Camino Ruiz Park starting at 8am. If you would like to register, please Register Online. You will be contacted with an assessment time for Saturday, and can pay and complete all other paperwork at the assessments.
SATURDAY ASSESSMENTS & RAIN FORECAST
All...
(January 21, 6:19 AM) Just watched the KUSI weather forecast and it has rain starting within the hour. While we might have been able to squeeze things in with rain on and off, we also have some key people on the Board who are quite sick. They have offered to come help anyway, but with the cold, wet weather and the fact that next weekend is forecast to be very nice, I'd rather have us push things back a week and have everyone healthy. Additionally, we are still looking for managers in Shetland Upper, so this extra week will give us an opportunity to fill out our manager volunteers.
Please mark your calendar for assessments next Saturday. We realize this may require time slots to be changed for your player, so if that is needed, please contact us at registration@mmyb.org if you need your player's assessment schedule changed.
John Horst
President, Mira Mesa Youth Baseball
INTER-LEAGUE GAMES WITH RAMONA YOUTH BASEBALL
This season we will be playing inter-league games with Ramona Youth Baseball in Mustang, Bronco and Pony. The final schedule will be determined by the number of teams we are able to field. As of January 14th, we are very close to having three full Mustang teams and two Bronco teams, as well as one (and maybe two) Pony teams. Each year quite a few players register late, so we are hoping to go into our inter-league season with four Mustang teams and two Bronco teams. The Bronco program may play intramural games with the travel program in addition to inter-league games with Ramona.
ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS
Mira Mesa Youth Baseball offers baseball programs for children 4-16 years old in the following divisions:
- Shetland Lower (T-Ball) for 4-5 year old players.
- Shetland Upper (Machine Pitch) for 5-6 year old players. Parents may register 5 year old players in either the lower (T-Ball) or upper division at their discretion. There is no leading off or stealing and half innings are limited to 5 runs.
- Pinto for 7-8 year old players: Machine pitch at slightly faster speed than Shetland. There is no leading off or stealing and half innings are limited to 5 runs.
- Mustang for 9-10 year old players: Kid pitch begins and full baseball rules are implemented (except for collisions at the plate, which must be avoided). The "little boy" (or girl) learns to play baseball as a "young man" (or lady).
- Bronco for 11-12 year old players: Metal cleats may be worn, and players are expected to play as young men (and ladies). We begin playing "high school prep" baseball at this level to prepare the players for the high school game.
- Pony for 13-14 year old players. We continue the preparation for the high school game.
- Colt for 15-16 year old players. Where a player does not make the cut on his (or her) high school squad, but wants to continue working on their game, the Colt division plays on the full regulation field.
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