Expert: Martin Hoover - 3/1/2008

Question
I am a parent of a 6 year old on a coach pitch team.  I found out that we have a fourth grader which is 9 years old also on our team. I dont understand why he cant be on a minors team.  My concern is for the 9 year olds self esteem and spirit. I cant imagine trying to explain this to my son if this were to happen to him.  I don't know any of the rules about the draft and honestly nothing could make this make sense to me. I was told that the rules state only 12 players to a team, which really doest make sense.  Why can't this child be put on a team with his age group, what does it matter if a team has 13 players. We should all be thinking about the children.

Answer
Codie,

Little League rules allow different leagues to arrange the ages for each division to their specific situations.  In some instances, there are specific reasons for why a player would play down a division.  These range from requests from the parents, requests from the manager of the team, or because of the decision of the Board of Directors.

If the parents have an issue with their son playing in a lower division, they need to address the league in writing and request to talk to the Board of Directors.  This might not be a draft issue, as it is a specific situation.

I hope this has answered your question.  Should you have any more, please don't hesitate to ask.

-Martin Hoover