Each season, we strive to set up teams and divisions that are fair and balanced so we can provide a better learning experience for all players. We ask players that could potentially play in multiple divisions to participate in Player Assessment Day so the coaches can become familiar with them. 

🔴 Baseball Intermediate 50/70 teams require a try out. This tryout counts as the player assessment, and should a player not be placed on an Intermediate 50/70 team, they will be assigned to a 46/60 roster automatically. 

🔴 Softball and Baseball Majors/Minors Divisions use a modified "Plan A" draft that starts by selecting 12 year olds (Majors Division) and then from players from the acceptable age range for each division.   Draft process:

1. The League determines the number of teams and roster sizes for each division and assigns managers.
2. Team Managers' names are drawn out of a hat to determine draft order position. 
3. Managers select players from within the age range for their division using the Plan A format. Majors coaches must draft all available 12 year old's first.
4. Draft pick order is reversed each round (i.e., Round One 1-4, Round Two 4-1, Round Three 1-4, etc.) until all roster slots are full.
5. Head Coaches must draft their assistants. During the draft, we will note which players have parents that have volunteered as on-field assistants. We encourage managers to work together to distribute assistants equally across all teams in a division.

During the draft, managers will balance the competitiveness of the division by ensuring certain skill positions are equally distributed (i.e. we don’t allow one team to have 3 catchers while another team doesn’t have any). 

🔴 Age Ranges for Draft Divisions (using Little League age). 

• 🥎 Softball Program - Majors (40'): 12-10, Minors (35'): 10-8
• ⚾ Baseball Program - Majors 46/60: 12-9, Minors AAA: 11-8, Minors AA: 10-7 (all 8-year-olds must play in AA)
  

🔴 Rookies and Tee Ball Divisions are developmental, not competitive divisions, and so rosters are created using a "Plan C" draft. 

As part of the registration process, you are asked to acknowledge that we may not honor a request to place your player:

• On the same team as any other player (including their sibling)
• On any specific team (exception: players who have families that are team sponsors are automatically placed on that team)
• With a specific manager, or coach
• With a team that practices or plays (or doesn't practice or play) at a certain time or day of the week 
• Within a specific division or league

Player Assessment Day typically occurs in late February or early March, leading up to the player draft. This allows our coaches to evaluate players' skills and begin forming balanced teams.

During this short workout, our coaches will meet your player and assess their skill level prior to the draft. The one-hour session is not a tryout, as everyone who registers makes a team.

Coaches will assess players in the five areas of our Player Development Rubric: Throwing, Catching & Fielding, Hitting, Baserunning, and Pitching. The Rubric was developed by a panel of high school and college teachers and coaches, specifically for Lawrence Little League. It uses an absolute scale of 0-5, with "0" being a T-ball player on their first day and "5" being a high school freshman on their first day of tryouts.

🔴 How does the day work?

Players are assigned to small groups, and parents are emailed the times. Players are asked to participate in five short drills, where coaches will become familiar with their skill in throwing, catching & fielding, hitting, baserunning, and, in some instances, pitching. The whole process only takes 30-40 minutes. Returning 12-year-olds are exempt from Assessment Day because they are automatically placed in the Majors division.

🔴 Is this a tryout?

No! Every player that registers for Lawrence Little League makes a team. Division placement is guided by a combination of factors, including overall enrollment, the waterfall draft, a player's league age, and their skill level.

🔴 Why isn't my player in the same group as others their age?

Player Assessment groups are formed based on Little League Age, not calendar year age.

🔴 But I want my player to try out with the friends in their grade!

This is not a tryout. Every player makes a team. Assessment Day is a chance for coaches to meet and get to know players. School grade is not an organizing principle in Little League softball or baseball. We must organize the groupings according to Little League age, as that's how our governing body organizes. 

🔴 What if my player doesn't perform well during Assessment?

This is not a tryout. Every player makes a team. Assessment Day is a chance for coaches to meet and get to know players. Coaches are looking to build a rapport with players as much as they are looking to understand skill level.

🔴 My player can't attend Assessment Day. What happens? Will there be a makeup session?

Scheduling Assessment Day is a challenging process. We need good weather, the availability of a space big enough to accommodate 200+ players, a day when multiple coaches can attend, and timing early enough in late winter that we can draft teams, order and receive uniforms, and hold some practices before a mid-April Opening Day. As such, it is rare we are able to hold a makeup day, but we will definitely try.

The draft uses observations from Assessment Day to assist the coaches when selecting their teams. Generally, if coaches have not seen a player prior to the draft, they will default to drafting them "on age," meaning the lowest division for their league age, to avoid the player getting hurt.

If Assessment Day is not held due to weather, we use the first week of practices to assess players and level teams before finalizing rosters.

🔴 Can't the League just place my player in a higher division?

No, Lawrence Little League forms teams via a draft. Your player must be drafted by a coach onto a team. The League does not place your player on any team—they are drafted. Please review the Placement Requests section of this webpage.