Welcome to LTJBSA!

Lawrence Township Junior Baseball & Softball Association

Welcome to LTJBSA!

Draft & Roster Creation

Our goal is 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 players not be placed on an Intermediate 50/70 team, they will be assigned to a 46/60 roster automatically.

Softball and Baseball Majors/Minors Division uses 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. Note that we use a player's Little League Age which may be different from their current age. 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 olds first. Age ranges:

Softball

Majors (40;): League Age 12-11-10
Minors (35'): League Age 10-9-8

Baseball

Majors 46/60: League Age 12^-11-10-9
Minors AAA: League Age 11-10-9-8
Minors AA: League Age 10-9-8^-7

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).

^All players in this age group not already drafted must play in this division (all 12s in Majors 46/60, all 8s in Minors AA).

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

Placement Requests

The use of a draft means that Coaches make the final determination of your player's placement within a specific division or on a roster. This means that although you will be asked to select a Division during the checkout process, the final determination of your player’s placement within a specific division will be during the draft. Your online selection during checkout is used only as a guide during our draft process. However, at the conclusion of the draft, your player may end up in another division than you originally selected.

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

In short: Your player will be drafted onto a team by a coach. Appeals to League officials to place a player or to change draft results will not be accommodated.

But I need a carpool! All teams in a division practice and play on the same nights, at the same facility, just on different fields (which are very close to each other). Most parents tell us this allows them to plan a rideshare, since its similar to carpooling to school with a friend who is in the same grade but has a different teacher.

In some instances a player's Little League Age and their calendar age are different. As such, they may be drafted in a different division than their classmates. Lawrence Little League must follow Little League International age guidelines in order to keep our charter and insurance, and cannot accommodate requests to keep a player together with classmates.

Fall Ball programs are more informal and while not guaranteed, we have more latitude to accommodate placement requests. Summer Tournament and Competitive Travel Teams utilize a tryout process for roster selection, not a draft.

Player Assessment Day Overview

As part of our roster creation process, we may hold a Player Assessment Day. This short workout allows our coaches to meet your player and understand 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 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 tee ball player on their first day, and "5" being a High School freshman on their first day of tryouts.

🔴 When is Player Assessment Day held?
Typically Assessment Day is held in late Feb/early March, just prior to our draft.

🔴 How does the day work?
Players are assigned into small groups and parents are emailed 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. Returning 12 year old's are exempt from Assessment Day, as 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 directed 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.

🔴 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 thread-the-needle 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.

The draft uses observations from Assessment Dayto 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 cannot place your player on any team. Please review the Placement Requests section of this webpage.