Frequently Asked Baseball Questions

Some frequently asked baseball questions are below with answers as well as some links to help you find more information on this website:

Does a participant need to have played baseball before?

Glebe Little League does not require any previous baseball experience at any level. All of our baseball programs are designed to accommodate players of all levels, including beginners.

What kinds of baseball programs does Glebe Little League offer?

Depending on the level, we offer one or more of the following baseball programs: a spring “house league” program, a summer competitive program, a fall ball program, and winter skills. Please see the Our Programs section and our Age Groups & Divisions page for more information.

Which Ottawa neighbourhoods does the Glebe Little League cover?

We are proud to serve the communities of the Glebe, Little Italy, Centretown, Lowertown, Sandy Hill, Ottawa East, Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East, New Edinburgh, Lindenlea, Rockliffe, Manor Park, Vanier, and Gloucester. Please check the maps on the Where We Play page if you are not sure if your player can play in the GLL. Players must live or go to school in our catchment to be eligible.

What baseball equipment/gear is needed?

•  A baseball glove is required.
•  For summer, some apparel will be provided (details TBD) and team jersey will be loaned (which must be returned at the end of the season).
•  For spring, a team t-shirt and baseball cap are included in your fees
•  GLL provides catching equipment for each team.
•  GLL provides a batting helmets to each team. Again, if players have their own, they are encouraged to bring them.
•  GLL provides bats to each team. But if players have their own, they are encouraged to bring them.
•  Athletic support (“cup”) is only required for players interested in playing catcher
•  Running shoes are fine; some kids wear baseball cleats but they are definitely not required.

What type of baseball glove should I get for my child?

This very good article, Everything You Need To Know About Buying a Baseball Glove, provides Little Leaguers and their parents with information on what to look for when buying a baseball glove. As with baseball bats, new glove technology has delivered baseball gloves that not only enhance performance but also are tailored to an individual player’s strengths and their parents budget.

What type of baseball bat should I get for my child?

As of January 1, 2018, the new USA Baseball Bat Standard was implemented. This means that most bats players have from previous seasons are not “legal”. Glebe Little League has purchased new team bats for all divisions, but if your player plans to play Travel Ball or Summer Competitive Ball you may want to consider getting him or her a new bat.

USABat Standard bats must be used in the Little League Major Baseball Division and below. Either USABat Standard bats or BBCOR bats must be used at the Intermediate (50/70) Baseball and Junior League Baseball Divisions. At the Senior League Baseball Division, all bats must be meet the BBCOR standard. Little League-approved baseball bats that were approved for use for the 2017 season will no longer be acceptable for use in any Little League game or activity as of January 1, 2018. For more information on the USABat standard and a complete list of bats approved through the USABat Standard, visit usabat.com.

Where are the baseball fields located?

See the “Where We Play” page.

Where can I park at baseball fields?

See the “Where We Play” page.

 

What is included in baseball registration fees?

In addition to the playing time outlined for the program:

• For spring baseball, a team t-shirt, and baseball cap are included in your fees
• For winter skills baseball training, no gear is provided
• For fall baseball, a baseball cap will be provided (if needed), and a team jersey will be loaned
• For summer baseball, apparel is purchased by the player as part of the team fee

Additional information regarding fees is on the baseball program pages.

Are there subsidized fee options?

Yes, GLL will ensure that any player that wishes to play baseball, regardless of personal or family financial circumstances, be able to play. Please contact our  President, David Pierce, president@glebelittleleague.ca for more information about our GLL Reach Out program.

My child wants to try baseball  – is it too late for them to start?

It’s never too late to start playing.  All divisions are based on development and new players are welcome.  Starting at Rookie all divisions are structured in two tiers to allow for similarly skilled players to be grouped together.  All players attend spring sort outs where their skill level is assessed in order to place them in the appropriate grouping.

How do I figure out which division applies to my child?

Little League uses August 31 as the cut off for age determination.  Our spring program tab has a chart showing date of birth ranges.  You can also access Little League’s age determination chart to see where your child falls.

I think my child is a weak player at this stage in his/her development.  Can s/he play down a divison?  

We are open to a discussion about this situation.  You should register your child in the appropriate age category and take them to that sort out session.  Please contact the division convenor in advance and let them know so that the assessors can watch your child specifically to see if placement in a lower division is appropriate.  Most of the time the child is just fine where they are.  Keep in mind that our programs are tiered from rookie up so similarly skilled players are together.

My child is very athletic and good at baseball.  I feel s/he should play up a level.  Is this possible?

No. It is rare that a child’s skill level is so great that it makes it appropriate for them to move up.  Unless they pose a significant safety issue to other players we would not accommodate this request.  Just about all our levels are tiered which means that highly skilled players are grouped together and are not playing with beginners, therefore a safety issue is unlikely.

Can my child play in a different baseball division than he is supposed to (from his age group)?

In a very few, exceptional situations, players may play down a level if they are brand new to baseball or for some other safety-related reason. But this is allowed only rarely, and only at the discretion of the conveners and coaches, once they have evaluated the player’s strength, size and ability and assessed how it affects the overall balancing of teams. Again, safety is our number one priority and always takes precedence over other factors.

My child would like to be on the same team as their friend.  Do you accept friend requests?

Note that in all divisions, siblings are automatically placed on the same team unless otherwise requested.

We do not accept friend requests in senior, junior or major divisions.  We will accept RECIPROCAL friend REQUESTS in T-Ball, rookie and minor – and in the all girls league where we have the highest number of new, young participants.  Please note that it is ONE request per player. The registrar must receive an email from a parent of BOTH players.

In Rookie and Minor team balancing is the priority so there are no guarantees.

There are times when friend requests cannot be honoured if the alignment will negatively impact balanced teams. We hope that most players will enjoy meeting new friends and that parents will not find it necessary to make friend requests.    Also, players must be assessed at the same level.  The player in Canadians (A) will be given a chance to move into Nationals (B), but not the other way around.

Can my child be on a baseball team with his friends or siblings?

Siblings participating in the Spring Program who are in the same age division, often request to play on the same baseball team as their friend(s).  The GLL will make every reasonable effort to accommodate such requests but baseball team balancing and other related factors mean that we cannot guarantee that any such request can be accommodated. We are particularly sensitive to car pooling requests from single parents and we make special efforts to accommodate this type of request, but again, no guarantees.

With respect to friends participating in the Spring Program, safety, fairness and the balancing of baseball teams will be considered first. We understand that it is easier for families to carpool, so a request can be made for friends to be together. To access our Glebe Little League 2024 Player Placement Request Form, click here. Only requests made via this form will be reviewed (i.e., requests from previous years or verbal requests, etc. will not be considered).

Please note, however, that because we have to ensure we have balanced baseball teams in terms of both skills and numbers, and because several baseball divisions also have tiers for players with different levels of experience, it is often not possible to accommodate friend requests.

In the Summer Competitive baseball leagues, teams are created based on experience and ability, and for the safety of the players and to abide by Little League International rules. As a result, it is very difficult to arrange for friends or siblings to be together. A request can be made to the baseball division convener at the time of registration.

My children are twins (or were born really close together) and are in the same division  – can they be on the same team?

Siblings in the same age category are always placed on the same team unless the parents request otherwise. In a tiered program both players have to qualify for the same division.  For example, if one sibling qualifies for Canadian (A) and the other for National (B) we will move the A player to B but not the other way around.

The age categories used by your league (August) are different from other sports like hockey (January). This means my child can’t always play with the same group of friends. Can you change your dates?

No.  Age determination for all Little League programs in the world is standardized and uses August 31 as the cutoff.  This date is in line with school age cutoff dates in the U.S.A where high school baseball programs are huge and where this date aligns to their use of August 31 as school age determination date.   Some GLL parents say that this difference gives their child a chance to find more best friends in baseball.

We live just outside your boundaries and none of my children go to school in your boundary.  Can we sign up in Glebe Little League?

No.  Unless you live inside our boundary or have a child (player or sibling) who goes to school in the boundary you cannot play in our league. Check our boundary tab for a full list of details and to determine which league you should be part of.  If the league where you live does not have a program for your child  please let us know and we will request permission from them.  This sometimes happens in younger divisions where other leagues might not have programs for very young children.  In this case you will have to go back to your home league  programs become available to your child.

The only place where boundary restrictions do not apply is in 19U – this is a district level program so players from anywhere in the city are eleigible to join teams outside of the boundary where they live.  Not all leagues have enough players to have their own team, so it is common to combine players to form teams.  (South Ottawa gives SOLL returning players exclusive sign up initially – usually until late February at which time they will accept outside players.   For questions on this level please email the convenor or the President.  )

We live in Glebe Central boundaries and my children played here last season.  We are moving. Can we still register in your league?

Yes.  As long as you register your child each year (and don’t skip a year of playing) you can continue in Glebe and are considered grandfathered. This includes playing on our all star teams.  Please inform the registrar – a waiver form is required and we’ll get it done for you.

What if I’d like to help coach baseball?

Visit our Coaches’ Corner page for more information.  Please note that all our baseball coaches are required to have a Vulnerable Sector Check. Visit our Coaches’ Corner page and scroll down to “Vulnerable Sector Check” for instructions on the VSC process.

Are there other non-coach volunteering opportunities with Glebe Little League?

There certainly are! Please contact us to find out the many ways in which you could help operate our baseball programs.
 

Summer Ball Program

Please visit the summer ball information page under “programs” for a full description of summer ball at each level.   

My child did not play in the spring program. Can s/he register for summer ball?

Only spring players are eligible for the summer program however if we have spots available we can offer non spring players a chance to play.  They are ineligible for summer all-star teams but can be eligible for spots on non all-star teams. That said we strongly encourage everyone to play spring ball as it is considered preparation for summer ball.  Anyone interested should contact the registrar in mid-May.

Is the summer program intended for highly skilled players?

No. The summer program is open to all players.  Spring national players are welcome to tryout for all-star / Canadian level summer teams.

What happens if my child cannot attend the tryout dates? 

GLL usually holds tryouts for All-Star / Canadian teams on the first weekend in April and posts the information early in the year so that families can plan accordingly. Attendance is considered mandatory for anyone wanting a spot on an All-Star team.   Reasons for not attending must be significant and unavoidable, and the league must be notified as soon as the conflict is known and in advance of the tryout.  If the reasons are considered acceptable, the player will be assessed according to the direction of the selection committee.  No player is automatically assigned to an All-Star team regardless of skill.

Players self-selecting to the National (B) program are usually not required to attend the AllStar/Canadian tryout sessions. Depending on registration numbers for Nationals a tryout session may be necessary.

My child played in the spring Canadian level program.  For the summer program, s/he has been placed in the national program – is there an error in assessing?

In most spring programs there is a Canadian (A) level and a Nationals (B) level.  The summer format has fewer teams at the All-Star and Canadian level. Inevitably some spring Canadian players will play in the summer national division.  Due to this factor, the summer national program is often a higher level of play than spring.

example: Spring Majors – 80-90 total registrants formed into 4 Canadian teams (approx 44 players) + 4 National teams (approx 44 players).
Summer Majors format will have 1 All Star team (13 players) + 1 Canadian team (13 players) — therefore except for those 26 players all other players will be in the summer national division.  Summer nationals teams will generally be stronger than spring nationals teams.

REFUND POLICY

• Registration until six weeks before program start: 100% refund
• Between four and six weeks before program start: 100% refund, less $25.00 administration fee
• Between one month and one week before program start: 50% refund
• Less than one week before program start: 0% refund

Exceptions to this policy may be granted by the GLL Board based on additional information submitted by the parent.