HOW IS PONY DIFFERENT FROM LITTLE LEAGUE?
PONY plays a more complete form of baseball at an earlier age. Players with the ability to pitch can do so from age 7. Leading off, stealing, holding runners, dropped third strike etc. are played as early as 9 years old.
WHEN AND WHAT IS A PLAYER TRYOUT EVALUATION SESSION?
Any player NOT FROZEN (Pinto- Pony) must attend an evaluation session to be drafted onto a team. These sessions typically last about 1.5 to 2 hours. The evaluation sessions give the managers within the league an opportunity to evaluate each player on a variety of skills prior to the draft. All players are then placed on a team. Our goal is to create balanced teams and competitive games. Shetland division players do not attend evaluation sessions they will be assigned to a team.
HOW OFTEN ARE PRACTICES AND GAMES SCHEDULED?
Each team arranges their own practice schedules. On average teams practice one to two times per week. When the season officially starts, teams will have one game during the week and one game on Saturday. Your child's manager will provide you with a game schedule and game times. If you cannot make it to a practice or game for any reason you should inform your child's manager, coach, or other team representative.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DOES MY CHILD NEED?
Your son/daughter will need their own glove, cleats and recommended helmet and bat (however, there are team helmets and bats)
HOW LONG DO GAMES LAST?
Games last from 75 minutes to about 2 hours, depending on the age group. There is a time limit, but we try to play complete innings, so game times vary.
WHEN DOES THE SEASON START AND END?
Teams are formed for the Spring season in February. We are pushing to start the season sooner to beat the heat and have more time for All-Stars. The season, including playoffs, and is concluded before Memorial Day weekend.
WHAT DOES MY LEAGUE REGISTRATION FEE PAY FOR?
Field upkeep and maintenance supplies, uniforms, balls, field equipment, portable field lights, insurance, team equipment (helmets and catcher’s gear), trophies, picture packages, umpires and more.
AM I REQUIRED TO VOLUNTEER?
Yes, absolutely! Volunteer participation is an essential part of being a Pony Baseball parent. Parents are required to staff the “Snack Shack” (the revenue from which helps support the league), typically for one shift at some point during the season. The home team is also required to put away field equipment (bases and pitching mounds) for the last game of the DAY.
WHAT ELSE DO YOU DO TO KEEP GAMES BALANCED?
In the Shetland, Pinto, and Mustang divisions there is a limit on the number of runs that can be scored per inning. In addition to pitch count limits, we also limit each pitcher to a small number of innings per game. This prevents a single dominant pitcher from having too great an effect.
WHAT DOES A PLAYER LEARN IN FALL BALL?
In general, what a child learns in fall ball depends on the level at which he or she will be playing. Here are some examples of how rules differ in PONY Youth Baseball from one level to the next:
Moving up from the Shetland division (ages 5-6) to the Pinto division (ages 7-8):
Shetland is the age in PONY Youth Baseball where the child hits off of a pitching machine during games. When a child moves up from the Shetland division to the Pinto Division (ages 7-8), they now pitch competitively to each other. This means that they must learn how to hit off of a live pitcher. Moving from Shetland to Pinto may be the most-important year to play fall ball. In Pinto, pitchers are now trying to get batters out as opposed to a pitching machine which is meant to teach kids how to hit. In other words, a pitching machine throws strikes that are meant to be hit, but a pitcher throws pitches that are meant to be missed.
Along with learning how to hit a ball off of live pitchers who throw at different speeds and in different locations, the kids also need to learn how to pitch. This is, perhaps, the most-specialized skill in all of baseball, and the Pinto division is the first level at which the kids get to learn how to do it.
Another change in Pinto rules is that players are now allowed to steal bases. In Pinto, players are allowed to leave the base to try to steal as soon as the ball leaves the pitcher's hand (at least at Oxnard Youth Baseball - check your league's official rules as they may differ). Furthermore, a runner on third base is allowed to steal home on a wild pitch or a passed ball (past the catcher). These are all new skills that are vital for baseball success as players develop, and they all start in the Pinto division.
NOTE: if your child has already excelled at age 7 in Pinto, it may be best to move up to Mustang. In Pinto - especially in fall ball - there are a lot of kids who have never seen live pitching before, and there are a lot of kids who have never pitched before. With a season of Pinto under your belt, it is frequently less-challenging for experienced and more-talented players to play against players who are completely new to the world of live pitching. By moving up to Mustang for fall ball, your 8-year-old will be challenged more and will learn the next level of baseball ahead of time.
Moving up from the Pinto division (ages 7-8) to the Mustang division (ages 9-10)
The biggest rule difference when moving up from Pinto to Mustang is that a baserunner can take a lead off of any base at any time, just like you see in Major League Baseball. Not only do the kids need to learn how to take a proper lead, but they also need to learn how to retreat back to the base the right (and safe) way if a pitcher tries a pick-off move. The new base-running rules also mean that pitchers have more development in store for them...
In the Mustang division, pitchers will learn how to pitch from the windup and the stretch, and they also need to learn the proper way to attempt a pick-off move to each base. This also means that they have more to learn about what is and what is not a balk as this rule will be enforced from here on out in their playing career.
Aside from the runner taking leads and the pitcher learning to hold them on, the field also gets bigger. The mound is further away, the bases are further apart, and the outfield fence is also further away from home plate. Mustang is the level that kids play where they can finally equate just about everything, they do on the field with the games they watch on TV.
Moving up from the Mustang division (ages 9-10) to the Bronco division (ages 11-12)
Moving from the Mustang division to the Bronco division doesn't offer much in the way of rule changes, but the field gets even bigger. The bases, the mound and the fence all get further away making it even more challenging for the kids. If your child is already excelling at the Mustang level and is eligible for another regular season in the Mustang division, you may want to consider moving up to the Bronco division for fall ball. This will provide an added challenge and will also allow him or her to see what the next year will be like. And who knows you may just find out that your child is ready for the Bronco division ahead of schedule.
Moving up from the Bronco division (ages 11-12) to the Pony division (ages 13-14)
This is where baseball gets even more real. At this age, you're playing on a field that is very near to Major League Baseball dimensions. This is where the field may get "too big" for some players, and it also gets a lot more competitive as the age bracket goes up. The Pony division is very often the last preparation level the kids have before deciding to try out for a high school team, so fall ball is a great time to gauge the skill level and potential of players who want to play high school baseball and beyond.