As many leagues get ready for their spring seasons around the country, we know there are new board members struggling with creating the frameworks for their various age divisions. Below are the Coach-Pitch rules in place in one of our customer’s leagues:

• Games last no longer than 90 minutes. No new inning should be started after 1:15.
• Bases are 50 feet
• Both teams of the day’s last games must put away bases and tees
• You may have a player wear the catcher’s gear but he/she is only involved in plays once the ball is hit. Each team should have an adult coach catching the pitched ball and rapidly returning to the pitcher to speed up the game.
• Adult pitchers should pitch overhand. Exceptions can be made for very weak hitters, but every effort should be made for your players to be able to hit overhand pitching.
• The entire lineup bats each inning, regardless of outs made.
• Three inning games are the norm so expectation is that all kids will play infield no more than two innings.
• Coaches call fair/foul and safe/out. No arguments will be tolerated. Use good judgment.
• No score or standings are kept.
• All players play in the field every inning. You will play have a first, second and third baseman as well as a shortstop. You may have a catcher if you have plenty of players. Another player will field the pitcher’s position. The remaining players will be dispersed into the outfield.
• Outfielders must play back a minimum of 10 feet behind infield dirt and are not allowed to make plays on the bases.
• Runners may advance one base only on a ball hit to the infield.
• A ball hit to the outfield is live until it is thrown into the infield. Once the ball is in the infield runners must stop running, even if no fielder has controlled it.
• One base on any overthrow (out of play).
• Inning ends when every player in the lineup has batted.
• If a player misses on five pitches he goes to the tee. Don’t keep pitching to one kid in hopes he’ll hit it at the expense of twenty-three other kids standing around.
• Batted ball must travel out of seven foot arc to be fair ball