For information on how All-Star Teams are selected, click here.

ARTICLE I - SRLL REGULAR SEASON MANAGER AND COACH SELECTION

PREAMBLE. The goal of manager and coach selection for SRLL, is to select the most highly qualified candidates as managers and coaches, in order to provide the highest chance of the players having a great Little League. Sometimes there are more candidates than positions available and this sometimes means that qualified, and even sometimes highly qualified candidates do not get a position. When this occurs, the managers and coaches selected should be those who best exemplify Little League philosophy, principles and values, who will strive to teach the game, while providing a fun Little League experience. Adherence to Little League and SRLL safety and playing rules, attendance at required league events such as clinics and field work days, as well as support for the league and Little League in general, are very important factors in manager and coach selections.

CONFIDENTIALITY. The Manager and Coach selection process is confidential. Much of the information regarding a candidate’s qualifications comes from confidential sources, such parent ratings of managers and coaches, de-selections made by parents during the registration process, and candid observations and information submitted by Board Representatives. In order to insure that information submitted will remain candid, the confidentiality, including the source of information and specific details, must be maintained.

STEP 1 Candidate Submissions. Candidates for Manager and/or Coach will be sought through a variety of methods, including but not limited to the registration process, and solicitations of Board and Division Representatives.

STEP 2 Compilation of Candidate Lists and Volunteer Applications. Information received through the registration process, communications with league officials and any other means regarding manager and coach candidates, will be forwarded to the Division Representative for the appropriate Division. The Division Representative will then compile a list of all manager and coach candidates in alphabetical order. If the Division Representative ascertains that a known qualified person has not submitted their name (i.e., someone who managed or coached the prior year, or in the past) the Division Representative should contact the person(s) to ascertain if they are interested in managing or coaching.

STEP 3 Obtaining Completed Volunteer Applications. The Division Representative is responsible for obtaining a completed Volunteer Application and a copy of the Candidate’s Driver’s License. No person will be considered a Candidate for manager or coach until they have submitted their Volunteer Application and a copy of their driver’s license. The Division Representative shall forward all Volunteer Applications and copies of Driver’s Licenses to the Vice President of Baseball for the required background check.

STEP 4 Submission of Candidate List to President, V.P. Baseball & Player Agent. Once the list of candidates is completed, the Division Representative shall submit this list to the League President, V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent. If one or more of these Board Members is a candidate for manager or coach in this division, a substitute should be appointed by the President for the affected Board Member(s) for the duration of the manager and coach selection process, and the list should be sent to the designated substitute instead of the Board Member/Manager/Coach candidate. The Division Representative should include any requested pairing on the list and arrange the list in alphabetical order so as to not suggest a ranking. These lists should be completed and submitted to the President, V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent as soon as possible, preferably in early to mid-December, prior to the December Board meeting.

STEP 5 Manager and Coach Selection Meetings. The President, the applicable Division Representative, the V.P. of Baseball and Player Agent should meet in December prior to the December Board meeting, for the purpose of discussing the candidates. The Division Representative must be prepared to provide his or her observations, feedback and recommendations regarding candidates, the V.P. of Baseball must be prepared to discuss manager and/or coach ratings for candidates (keeping identities confidential) as well as any feedback he or she has received regarding candidates, and the Player Agent must be prepared to discuss de-selections (numbers and reasons, whether the person was a former team member or not, but not identities) and any other feedback he or she has regarding candidates. Typically, the Division Representative will submit his or her recommended slate of candidates, and the group will discuss the fitness for the position, the pairings and preferability of candidates. Anything discussed during this meeting, including but not limited to de-selections, parent ratings, Div. Representative and Board feedback, is confidential and should not be disseminated to others. Discussions of de-selections and parent ratings should be kept generalized (i.e., specific identities of parents should not be disclosed, just whether they were on the same team as the candidate and what their feedback was.)

STEP 6 Board Approval. The president will submit a list of potential qualified candidates, acceptable to the President, for Board approval. At this stage, the exact number of managers and coaches may not be known. Thus the President may include more names on this list than necessary at the time, and should the need for managers increase, the President can appoint from amongst this Board approved list. This will avoid the hardship of wait until the next regularly scheduled Board meeting (January) to seek Board approval of additional candidates. Anything discussed during this Board meeting including but not limited to names of candidates approved or not approved, de-selections, parent ratings, Div. Rep and Board feedback, is confidential and should not be disseminated to others. If discussion of de-selections and parent ratings are necessary, they should be kept generalized (i.e., specific identities of parents should not be disclosed, just whether they were on the same team as the candidate and what their feedback was, etc.)

STEP 7 Appointment by League President. The President, at his discretion, either personally, or communicated through the applicable Division Representative will then “appoint” those candidates as managers or coaches, which he or she chooses from the list of Board approved candidates. At his or her discretion, the President may assign managers to a particular league (i.e., American or National), where this serves the best interests of Scripps Ranch Little League.

STEP 8 Additional Appointments and Board Approval. In the event that one or more additional appointments of a manager and/or coach is necessary between Board Meetings, and that candidate has not yet been approved by the Board, the President may “Provisionally Appoint” the candidate(s) of his or her choosing, notify the candidate that he or she has been provisionally appointed pending board approval, and that Board approval will be sought at the next regularly scheduled Board meeting.

ARTICLE II - SRLL REGULAR SEASON PLAYER SELECTION

PREAMBLE This Section contains the rules and procedures used by Scripps Ranch Little League (SRLL) for assessing and drafting players. The purpose of this document is to formalize and facilitate the process used to select players to SRLL teams. It is required reading for all Division Reps, managers, and coaches participating in a draft. SRLL’s draft process is designed to meet the following goals:
A. Select teams which are as fairly balanced as possible;
B. Draft players into the division which is appropriate for their skill and experience; and
C. Provide for the greatest degree of safety and enjoyment for all the children.

OVERVIEW
First, the number of teams for each division must be determined. This should occur as early as possible, preferably to be completed by mid to late December, in order that managers can be appointed by the President and approved by the Board.

Second, Manager’s and if applicable Coaches, must attend player assessments. Player assessments are held in early January to mid-January.

Third, Managers and if applicable, Coaches’ children must be rated and assigned their proper draft position (i.e., their round and/or selection) in the draft. This step typically occurs after player assessments and prior to the time of the pre-draft meeting.

Fourth, adjustments, handicaps, sibling options must be determined. This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting as well.

Fifth, managers must either be assigned a draft position or draw for draft order. Typically, managers draw for draft order in lower divisions and are assigned a draft order through mathematical determination and discussion in higher divisions where more data is available regarding managers and coaches’ children. This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting.

Sixth, managers draw for team name (in divisions where teams draw for draft order, they may pick team names in the opposite order of their draft position.) This step occurs at the pre-draft meeting. Otherwise, managers can draw from a hat for team name.

Seventh, managers and if applicable coaches, attend the draft and mandatory draft night meetings, one division per night, beginning with Juniors or Majors and select their team, with each of the teams taking turns drafting players. This occurs at the Division’s Draft night.

Eighth, managers draw for and/or discuss practice days/times. This typically occurs at the Division’s Draft night, or whenever practice field slots become known.

STEP 1 Determining the Number of Teams & Players Per Team. In order to start the Player selection process, it must be determined how many teams each division is expected to have and how many players each team is expected to have on it. This is usually done based upon prior year’s number of players, typical attrition and appreciation of players, current registration numbers, this is generally determined by appropriate board members (i.e. Player Agent, Registrar, President, V.P of Baseball, and Division Reps.) Based upon this number, Managers and if appropriate coaches can be approved by the Board and Appointed by the President (see above.)

STEP 2 Preparing for and Attending Player Assessments. The Registrar will distribute to Division Representatives and/or directly to managers, the prior season’s ratings for players. This information is to be kept confidential. Managers and coaches are encouraged to review this data. In upper Divisions, Division Representatives may ask that managers and coaches share additional knowledge regarding players with the other managers and coaches, in order that the division will obtain parity. In particular, pitching skill, and knowledge of the top players may be shared in order that managers and coaches who were not in the same division, will not be at a disadvantage, and parity will be more likely to be obtained. On the assigned player assessment day (for some divisions, managers and if applicable coaches, may be required to attend two separate days), managers should observe and record their observations and ratings regarding players.

STEP 3 Ranking Manager, Coach, Siblings & Special Circumstance Players. Following the observance of players at player assessment, all managers must identify the draft position for all managers’ and coaches’ children, as well as any children who potentially fall under a sibling option rule (where both siblings are appropriate for the particular Division) and any special circumstance players. At the Division Representative’s discretion, Managers will be required to rank each manager and coaches’ child to either: 1) a specific draft selection (i.e., 24th selection of the Major’s draft); 2) a round and selection (i.e., 4th pick of the 1st round); 3) a round including early or late (i.e., early in the third round); or 4) the round (i.e., 6th round.) Managers and coaches are required to honest and fair about their ratings. The Division Representative is to solicit this information in the form they prefer and as soon as reasonably possible, collate and publish the information for all managers to review.

For ranking of children of managers and coaches, the player’s parent’s rating, the high, and the low are thrown out. The remaining ratings are then averaged to determine each player’s draft position. The information should be provided to the other managers with full transparency as to each manager’s votes as early as possible and before the pre-draft meeting. At the pre-draft meeting or before, siblings and other special circumstance players will need to be ranked in an appropriate manner. As a final check and balance, the Division Rep should review this information and lead the manager group in discussion regarding the resulting draft position assignments for the manager’s and coach’s children at the pre-draft meeting, and allow discussion, to address any perceived anomalies and make any adjustments if necessary with the goal of forming consensus. The Division Rep should point out that the goal is to create balance in the divisions. In the event consensus cannot be reached, the Division Representative will assign the player’s draft position, taking care to heavily weight the average draft position assigned the player by the division’s managers. Note that while this meeting/step is expected to take place after assessments, in rare cases it may need to take place prior to assessments due to unforeseen circumstances such as rain outs and/or the timing of the draft in relation to the scheduled assessments.

STEP 4 Determine any required handicaps. Based upon the ratings for manager’s and if applicable coach’s children, the Division Rep leads the manager group in discussion regarding any handicaps to be applied to: Children of Managers and if applicable Coaches, sibling option situations and any special situation.

The most common handicap situations involve manager and coaches’ player(s) on the same team being ranked in the same round or so close so as to create an advantage and sibling options. Typical handicaps are pick order restrictions/reassignment and/or delayed round selections. Some considerations to determine if a handicap is necessary include: Are a team’s managers and coaches children, or siblings, in the same round? Are they in the same half of the same round? Greatest care must be taken for the first two rounds. First round players are most crucial, second round players a little less crucial, third round players even less crucial, etc. The following are some guidelines and examples which should be considered include:

A) Ranking Children of Managers & Coaches. If the Division is not already utilizing exact round and pick for placement, then where a manager/coaches’ child is rated in the first half of the first round, then a draft pick order restriction should probably be considered. In this specific case, the pick order for this team should be limited to draft positions falling in the first half of the round. If an exact draft location method is being utilized, then the foregoing should not be an issue, as the player will be placed in an exact draft slot. If the team’s other coach/manager’s child falls within the first two or three rounds, additional handicapping may be necessary as outlined below.

B) Applying Handicaps - Two First Rounders. If both coach and manager’s children fall within the first round, if the coach and manager are still allowed to be paired, then a very significant draft handicap should be considered in addition to a draft pick order restriction. In this specific case, the 3rd and 4th round picks would likely be delayed to later designated rounds (such as 6th and 8th rounds) and the draft position of this pair is early in the first round.

C) Applying Handicaps - Late First and Early Second Rounder’s. If one coach/manager’s child is rated in the first half of the first round and the other coach/manager’s child falls within the first half of the second round, then a moderate draft handicap should be considered in addition to a draft pick order restriction. In this specific case, the 3rd round pick, and possibly 4th round pick would likely be delayed to a later designated round (4th, 5th or later).

D) Applying Handicaps - Two Second Rounder’s. If both coach/manager children are rated in 2nd round, then a moderate draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, the 4th round pick, and possibly 5th round pick, would likely be delayed to a later designated round (6th or later).

E) Applying Handicaps - Two Third Rounders. If both coach/manager’s children are rated in 3rd round, then a mild draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, the 5th round pick would likely be delayed to a later designated round (6th or later).

F) Applying Handicaps - Other Same Round Situations. If both coach/manager’s children are rated in the same round after the third round, then a very mild draft handicap should be considered. In this specific case, a single round draft delay handicap is utilized. For example, if both coaches’ players are rated for round 5, then the team’s 7th round pick would typically be delayed until the 8th round.

G) Applying Handicaps - Siblings. If siblings fall within the first four rounds, they are to be treated just as coach/manager’s children. Thus, if both are first round players, then a handicap similar to example “B” above. In any event, it must be pre-determined how many rounds after the first sibling is drafted, the second sibling must be drafted. For example, the division managers can agree to assign a draft round offset of 2 because Sib1 is believed to be 2 rounds better than Sib2. In this example, if Team A drafts Sib1 in round 5, then Team A automatically drafts Sib2 with their round 7 pick as well because of the agreed upon draft round offset. If the Siblings are rated to fall within the same round within the first four rounds, a handicap should be applied.

STEP 5 Determine Draft Pick Order. If managers’, and if applicable coaches’ are not slotted into a particular draft position due to the above procedures, then Managers are to draw a draft position from a “hat” containing slips of paper numbered 1 to the max number of teams in the division. If managers have been assigned to a League (i.e., American or National), they would draw slips with only their league numbers (odd for American and even for National). All managers and coaches’ players’ draft handicaps must be decided prior to drawing for pick order in order that Managers whose team has a draft pick order selection handicap (i.e. particular draft pick order restriction) can pick first amongst the appropriate choices. Once all managers with draft pick order selection handicaps have their assigned pick order, the remainder of the managers can select from the “hat” in any order determined at the discretion of the Division Rep. Any swapping of draft order selections must be approved by the Division Rep., Player Agent, and President.

STEP 6 Designation of League Age Budgets per Team. In Majors it is recommended that no more than 8 “league age 12” players can be on a team. The requisite number of Majors teams must be created to allow all properly registered twelve year olds who have tried out and for which no waivers (Petitions to play in AAA) have been approved by the league, the District and parents, to play Majors. Thus, given 64 twelve year olds, this will result in an 8 team division, and a 64 twelve-year old budget will be created, and each team will be required to have a team budget of 8 “league age 12” players per team and 4 “non-league age 12” players per team (i.e., 10 or 11 year olds.) If the number of “league age 12” players is not equally divisible amongst the number of teams in majors, then only a single count differential between the two league age groups is permitted for any team. As an example, if only 62 “league age 12” year olds are available for Majors selection in an 8 team division, then the following must be true: 6 teams must have 8 “league age 12” players and 4 “non-league age 12” players, 2 teams must have 7 “league age 12” players and 5 “non-league age 12” players.  The ultimate League Age Budgets are at the discretion of the Player Agent.

In the Minors divisions, there are no absolute rules requiring League Age budgets. When this is done, the budget enforcement is such that only a single count differential between the league age groups is permitted for any team. This decision to implement league age budgets is left to the Division Rep and his managers and must be documented and be approved by the Player Agent prior to the draft. For example, under certain situations, the Division Rep may determine that League age budgets will create a situation that would produce an unfair draft. Irrespective of whether divisions in minor leagues and below utilize league age budgets, several other rules must be followed, and room in the division must be set aside to accommodate the following:

A) Guaranteed Placement. Unless a petition for Special Consideration is granted, the following guaranteed placements exist for a player:

League Age Guaranteed Division Placement

LA 15 or 16 Seniors
LA 14 Juniors
LA 13 Intermediate or higher
LA 12 Majors or higher
LA 11 Upper Minors or higher
LA 9 or 10 Lower Minors or higher
LA 8 MAPS or higher

B) No Player Demotion. In addition, except where a Petition for Special Consideration has been approved, no player will be drafted to a lower division than they played in during the prior season.

C) Special Permission Required for a Two Division Jump. Players are allowed to be drafted to any division equal to or greater to the division they played the previous year within SRLL. However, a player may not be drafted into a division which is two divisions higher than that which the player participated in the prior season, and in the event that a manager is considering drafting a player into a division which is two or more divisions greater than played the previous year, the drafting manager must first notify the Player Agent prior to the draft of his/her intention, in order that the Player Agent can confirm with the parents that “playing up” is acceptable to the parents. For example, a player which played MAPS last year would require pre-approval from the Player Agent if a manager intended to draft that player to Upper Minors this year. Likewise, a player who played in Upper Minors in the prior season would require pre-approval from the Player Agent if a manager intended to draft that player to Majors this year.

STEP 7 The Draft. The draft is the process for managers to select players to their teams. A representative (typically the manager) from each team in the drafting division must participate. In some lower divisions, both a manager and one coach may participate in the draft (jointly). In Majors and Juniors only the manager participates in the draft. The draft starts (round 1) with pick order #1 and proceeds to the last pick order (number of teams in division). The next round starts (round 2) with the last pick order and proceeds to pick order #1. The 3rd round starts with pick order #1 again. For example, in an 8 team division with 12 players per team, selections are made in a “serpentine” format (i.e. positions 1 through 8, then 8 through 1, repeat) until all 12 rounds are completed.

A) Draft Responsibility. The Player Agent, Registrar, President and applicable Division Representative are the persons who typically run the draft, with the Player Agent taking the leading role.

B) Time Limits. At the beginning of the draft, the Player Agent will assign time limits for each team’s selection, budgeting for the number of selections that must be made and factoring in some breaks to allow for rest and to confirm that the draft is on target with all age budgets.

C) Manager/Coach De-Selections. SRLL permits parents to de-select a single manager or coach for their child. This information is confidential. During the draft, if a team with the assigned manager or coach selects a player which has de-selected the manager or coach, the player agent will announce that the pick cannot be made and will direct the selecting team to pick again.

D) Trades. SRLL permits trades upon the completion of the draft selection process. Before the registrar finalizes the draft a period of 15 minutes or more if need be, will be provided to consider any player trade proposals. This process will be moderated and facilitated by the Player Agent. Upon the completion of the trade period, the draft will be finalized. At that point, no other trades are permitted. In general, trades are discouraged as it may be perceived as defeating the fairness of the draft process. On occasion, a trade may make sense given a particular manager’s wish to coach a particular player or coach with a player’s parent. As a rule, a trade can only be approved if all managers in the division approve and the player agent approves it.

As a rule, no one may participate in trade collusion (i.e. the agreement between two teams to perform a trade of players prior to the completion of the draft selection process to create an advantage for one or more teams at the expense of other teams). As a guideline, trades should be limited as much as possible to 1 for 1 swaps and the offset in draft pick between the two players should not exceed the maximum number of teams in the division (i.e. one draft round). For example, in an 8 team division, it would be considered reasonable to allow a swap of a player picked 40th and one picked 47th, while a swap of 40th and 52nd would be discouraged.

E) Special Restriction for Divisions with a Sibling Option. SRLL has a mandatory rule honoring all “same age” sibling options (thus same age siblings will be on the same team.) In this situation, the drafting team of one sibling automatically drafts the other sibling, thus a single pick guarantees the selection of two players. However, SRLL makes it optional whether the Division will require a manager honor a “different age” sibling option (thus, the Division will decide before the draft, whether a manager must also select a younger sibling where he or she selected the older sibling.) If a different age sibling option is agreed to, the drafting of one sibling automatically drafts the other sibling, thus a single pick guarantees the selection of two players. As a rule, if any sibling options are guaranteed to play in the division due to age (see the rule on Guaranteed League Age Placement), then the sibling option must be honored and the first sibling must be selected by the end of the penultimate round. For example, if a sibling option exists in an 8 team division with a 12 round draft, the first sibling must be drafted by the 88th pick, essentially granting the 88th and 89th pick to the team with pick order 8. Divisions should agree upon a sibling handicap prior to the draft (see above.) Thus, if siblings fall within the first four rounds, a handicap is applied. Further, it must be pre-determined how many rounds after the first sibling is drafted, the second sibling must be drafted. For example, the division managers can agree to assign a draft round offset of 2 because Sib1 is believed to be 2 rounds better than Sib2. In this example, if Team A drafts Sib1 in round 5, then Team A automatically drafts Sib2 with their round 7 pick as well because of the agreed upon draft round offset. If the Siblings are rated to fall within the same round within the first four rounds, a handicap should be applied.

F) Special Process for Divisions with an uneven # of players per team. This special rule situation only applies to a division where the pool of players to be selected will not guarantee that every team has an equal number of players. This rule does not apply to Majors, Upper Minors, or Lower Minors as SRLL’s current process requires that all of these division’s teams must be filled to capacity. On occasion, Rookies and MAPs may have an uneven number of players per team depending on the number of players registered for Minors/Majors and MAPs respectively. In addition, this rule situation only applies when the last, incomplete round, is even. For example, this rule applies given an 8 team division with a player selection pool of 92 (i.e. 11 complete rounds plus an incomplete round 12 only having 4 selections).

The Player Agent and Registrar are responsible for identifying this special situation to the Division Rep at the beginning of Draft Night (or earlier if possible). The Player Agent and Registrar are also responsible for explaining the special selection process for the last round to all managers in the division prior to the beginning of the draft. Given this special situation, during the final round of draft as each manager is asked to identify their draft pick, the manager may elect to pass rather than draft if spaces allow and assuming the team has met all other draft requirements per team. For example, given an 8 team division with a player selection pool of 92, in round 12, pick orders 8 through 5 may choose to pass on a draft selection. If pick orders 8 through 5 pass, then pick order 4 would be required to make a selection since exactly 4 players are left and only 4 draft picks remain.

G) Draft Eligibility Rules. The following are special SRLL draft rules:

1) Players 9 and Older are Subject to the Draft. Except for children who submitted approved Petitions for Special Consideration, all players league age 9 or older, will be evaluated and selected to a Minors/Majors team based upon the draft.

2) 8 Year Olds who Have Played MAPS Subject to Draft. Any player who is league age 8, or lower, who has already played MAPs is eligible to be drafted into Minors, but is not necessarily guaranteed selection to Minors. The number of 8 year olds drafted to Minors is determined by the number of spaces available for players less than 9-years old as required by the league to meet the targeted number of players per team in Minors.

3) 8 Year Olds Not having Played MAPS Guaranteed MAPS. Any League Age 8 player who has never played MAPS is guaranteed to play MAPS, unless specifically requesting to be considered for the Minors draft.

4) New Players. In cases of players which did not play in SRLL the previous year and the player is a year or more younger than the age group(s) targeted for that division, the drafting manager must notify the Player Agent prior to the draft of his/her intention so that the Player Agent can confirm with the parents that “playing up” is acceptable to the parents. For example, given a player league age 10 new to SRLL, a Majors manager would be first required to seek pre-approval from the Player Agent before selecting this player.

H) Rookies and T-Ball Player Selection. T-Ball and Rookies Divisions do not have a formal draft process. Players are placed on teams by the President, Player Agent, Division Rep., and Registrar, doing our best to (in order of priority): 1) Balance the teams by age and skill; 2) accommodate requests indicated on registration forms; and 3) place players on teams with children in their neighborhood and classmates. After all, playing with their friends is what it's all about! This process will be completed by the Player Agent, President, appropriate Division Rep. and the Registrar.

All-Star Teams

For information on how All-Star Teams are selected, click here.