2010 FALL BALL

This league is open to travel, club, all-star, recreation teams and players. Open to any players who can't get enough baseball during the summer.  There is no requirement to live within the boundaries of the Hilliard School District for fall ball.

Registration
Format
Cost
Ages
Rules
League Start Date
Contact Information

Registration
We will be using online registration for fall ball this year. Registrations must be received August 12th in order to avoid late fees.

Entire teams can be registered at one time or you can request a specific coach during the registration process.  Any player completing an individual application not affiliated with a team/coach will be placed into an open pool and all attempts will be made to create a team to ensure all players have an opportunity to play this fall.

For those that choose to not pay electronically, we will still accept paper checks but the registration MUST be completed online and followed up with a check.

For specific information/questions, please review our General Questions area and if you can not find an answer to your specific question then please contact Jim Bibler.

FORMAT
Fall Ball teams will play a round robin schedule that guarantees at least one game against every team in the appropriate age group.

COST
The cost will for residents of the Hilliard City School District is $110 for an individual or $1300 per team.  The cost for non-residents is $130 per individual or $1540 per team.  HBA will provide shirts and hats for each team. No more than twelve players per roster and we will place free agents as needed. Total approximate games: 10 league games plus tournament play.

If baseball equipment is needed you will be required to provide an additional deposit of $100.00 that will be returned to you upon receipt of the equipment at the end of the season.

AGES
We will offer five different age /ability classifications.  U10, U12, and U15 based on the age of the player on May 1, 2009.  This will ensure that travel teams are able to keep their teams together for fall ball.

 The birthdate cut-off for each of the divisions is as follows:

• u10: April 30, 2003 (ages 6 to 10)
• u12: April 30, 1999
• u15: April 30, 1997
  

In addition to the age groups, we will offer either "select" or "elite" groups at the u10 and u12 ages.  The "select" group is meant primarily for intramural players and the "elite" group is intended for travel players or intramural players that would like to play primarily against travel players.

Note that the u10 group will accept players as young as six years old (as of May 1, 2010).  Parents of players that are six or seven must realize that their child will be playing against other children that can be up to ten years old.  It is our intention that most players be eight to ten years old unless the player has exceptional ability.  

Be prepared to provide birth certificates if questioned.

Rules
We will be playing high school rules with the following major exceptions:

• Free player substitution on all positions EXCEPT the pitching position. Once a player leaves the pitching position he may not return to the pitching position.
• The batting lineup has to include all team members present.
• Games will be six innings but no new innings will start after 1 hour and 45 minutes.
• The full rules for fall ball can be found here.

LEAGUE START DATES
The league meeting will be held at the concession stand shelter at Hilliard Municipal Park between the two four diamond complexes on Thursday, August 26th at 6:30 PM.  A representative of each team must be present at this meeting.  Rosters will be set and schedules will be completed.  No switching of players is allowed after teams are set. 

The HBA will not be scheduling or guaranteeing any field availability for practices.  Fields can be used on a first come, first served basis beginning Thursday, August 18th.  Please be reasonable if more teams show up than diamond space allows.  You are free to schedule scrimmages if you wish. 

Games will start Tuesday, September 1st. We will play Tuesdays and Saturdays. Teams will play from one to three games per week.  Unlike other leagues, we will provide rain out games if possible - these will usually be scheduled on Thursdays or Sundays. Awards will be given to at least two different teams per age group. All games are scheduled to be played at Hilliard Municipal Park.

Contact Information:
Jim Bibler