LINK FOR EVALUATION SIGNUPS >>>>  Coming soon!

Assessments will be held at North Rockford Middle School on FebruaryXXXXXXX. It is imperative that every player signed up to play Minors AA through Majors come for an evaluation. Assessments allow us to grade each player on their abilities and rank them appropriately for the drafting process. The drafting process allows us to create balanced teams.

Players will be evaluated at 5 different stations:
Infield
Outfield
Hitting
Pitching
Running

Players will be placed in groups by age and advance through each station together. A player should arrive on time for their slot. We anticipate it taking no more than 40 minutes to sign in and run through all 5 stations. Players should bring a glove. Bats and helmets will be available for use, or a player can bring their own equipment. NO CLEATS, tennis shoes only, please!

When signing up for a slot…….

·        Each child will need their own time slot. Please leave your child's name in the comment box upon signup!

·        Try to signup within your child's age group. We understand everyone has a busy Saturday and this may not be possible! If you have more than one child attending Evaluations, they can sign up for the same time frame. No need to come back twice...unless you want to.

·        Each player should bring their own glove. If they have their own bat and batting helmet, bring those, too! RLL will have some bats and helmets available for players to use.

Baseball Evals will run from XXXXXX

There will be no make-up date for Evaluations. It takes a lot of money, time and effort, and volunteers to put this on. If your child is unable to attend, no need to let us know. During the draft process, our coaches will work together to come up with a brief evaluation of your child.

If you would like to volunteer to work at the Evaluations, please contact at [email protected].

All questions should be directed to [email protected]

Does my child really need to attend?
All players in kid pitch ball divisions (softball and baseball) ages 8-12 should plan on attending evaluations. Kid pitch divisions are drafted divisions and it’s imperative that each child attends and is ranked among their peers. This helps us to create balanced and competitive teams within Rockford Little League.

What if we cannot make Evals? Is there a make-up date?
We know families are busy and have a life outside of baseball. If you cannot make evaluations because of other plans, you’re going to be out of town, another sport, whatever…it’s not the end of the world! If your child has played RLL in previous years, we’ll ask last years coach for a quick assessment of your child’s skills, or you can shoot us a quick email giving us a snapshot of your child’s baseball skills. Unfortunately, there will not be a make-up date. It’s very costly for RLL to rent the school gym and it also takes a lot of time and effort for our volunteer board to put together and run.

What happens at Evaluations?
Your child will get signed in and he/she will proceed to the warm-up area for 5-10 minutes. We’ll be running everyone through in groups of 15. Each player will run through drills in the following categories: running, hitting, pitching, infield and outfield. Each player will be assessed on their skills so we can rank them within their age group for division drafts.

How long will it take for my child to finish his/her evaluation from start to finish?
The latest newsletter that went out stated plan on 90 minutes from start to finish. This was a typo! Please plan on 40 minutes.

When can we sign up for an evaluation slot?
We expect to have a signup available via signup genius the night of February 19. The link will be posted on Rockfordll.com under REGISTRATION and the appropriate tab BASEBALL or SOFTBALL ASSESSMENTS.

What do we need to bring to Evals?
Bring a glove and water bottle. Your child can use their own helmet and bat, or RLL will have some available for use.

Do you need volunteers?
We will be looking for MANY volunteers to make this event a success. If you are a coach this season, this is a great opportunity to help us and scout players at the same time (wink, wink)!

What nights are practices and games?
The practice schedule for most divisions will come out mid to late March (tee ball and juniors schedules typically come out a week later).  Teams will have one weeknight (M-Th) and one Saturday practice.  Practices run until games begin; once games begin, there are no further scheduled practices.  Games for tee ball, coach pitch, and player pitch (minors) consist of one weeknight (M-Th) and one Saturday game.  The weeknight game could vary from week to week.  Majors games will be held M-F (two per week) with no Saturday games.  Schedules are still to be determined for Intermediates and Juniors, but most likely will consist of two games per week also.

Can I request specific days of the week for practices or games?
Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee a specific day for practices or games.  Practice days will be consistent each week for your child's team, but game days can vary week to week.

What equipment does my child need?
Your child will need to have his or her own ball glove, baseball/softball pants (traditionally white, black or grey, but a coach may specify one as the primary color for your team), rubber soled cleats (Intermediates and above can wear metal cleats), batting gloves (if desired), and an equipment bag/backpack (if desired).  Rockford Little League will provide jerseys and hats for baseball players and jerseys and headbands for softball players.  There will also be team helmets, bats, and catching equipment although players are welcome to bring their own if preferred.

Do I really need to submit a birth certificate?
Yes! We are required to verify the age of each player.  Birth certificates are removed after verification. You may also show a copy of a birth certificate at Walk Up Sign-ups or make other arrangements by emailing [email protected]

Can my child play a division other than what Sports Connect automatically pulls up for my player?
T-ball ages 4-6

Baseball:
Coach Pitch: ages 6-8
AA Minors: ages 8-10
AAA Minors: age 11, roster filled with drafted players
Majors: age 12, roster filled with drafted players
Intermediates: age 13 (parents can request their 11-12 yo in this division)
Juniors: age 14
Seniors: ages 15-16

Softball:
Coach Pitch: ages 6-8
Minors: ages 8-10
Majors: ages 11-12
Juniors: ages 13-14
Seniors: ages 15-16
There are some age overlaps which allow you to decide whether your child should play up or down a division based on ability and family needs. If age allows, we require one season of T-ball before your child advances to the coach pitch division. We follow Little League International's age chart to determine age. Other factors may come into play and can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

When does registration close?
Registration closes for everyone except Tball, Juniors, and Seniors on February 22, and we'll take late registrations until our rosters are full.

Registration closes on March 21 for Tball, Juniors, and Seniors with late registrations continuing until rosters are full.