FAQ

Every season, we will have a player evaluation day. Some may call player evaluation day “tryouts”, but because no one gets cut from our league, we call them “evaluations”. On evaluation day, each age group will be assigned a 1-2 hour time slot depending on the number of kids signed up for that age. During that time slot, coaches & league officials will take each player through a series of basic baseball fundamentals. The format may change from year-to-year, but in general, the following categories will be evaluated: throwing, catching, hitting, ground balls & fly balls. It is not supposed to be stressful at all for the kids, but rather a way to try to ensure fair teams across the league every season. 

After player evaluation day, the coaches for each league will get together sometime in the week after and draft their teams. The draft format can change from year-to-year, but this year it is a complete redraft in the snake draft format. 

After the draft takes place for your league, each coach is expected to reach out to all of their players within a week. Sometimes, the league may post team rosters on our website or Facebook as well. Another way you may be able to tell earlier is by logging into your GameChanger app with the same email address that you provided for registration. You may see your team there depending on how quickly things get done after the draft. 

Casey-Westfield Youth Baseball will provide each player with a team hat and a team jersey. Coaches will provide baseballs for team practices & pregame warmups. All other clothing and equipment will need to be provided by the player. Below is a list of clothing/equipment that each player may need for the season. 

• Baseball Glove
• Batting Helmet
• Cleats
• Baseball Pants
• Baseball Bat 

• Baseball Belt
• Heart Guard Undershirt 

The glove should be between 11 and 12.5 inches. A glove that is too big or too small can be very difficult for kids to catch with and can be discouraging and/or unsafe. It should be worn on the opposite of their dominant hand. (Right handed kids will wear their gloves on their left hand).

Helmet should cover BOTH ears. Face guards on helmets are optional.

While bats are not technically “provided”, a personal bat would be the last thing on our list to buy for a new Little Leaguer. Most often, coaches will have team bats and kids can usually share bats with other kids that have their own. Just please be sure to make sure that you or your Little Leaguer asks permission to use any bat that is not considered a team bat. If you choose to buy a bat for your Little Leaguer please be sure that you get the correct size for their height & strength. If you need help finding the right size of bat for your Little Leaguer, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your coach, our league Facebook page, or any member of our board. There are also a fairly strict set of rules for what bats are legal for use in Little League. Here are a few of the major requirements: It must have a USA Baseball stamp on it. (Junior division can also use BBCOR) No more than 33” long (Junior league can have up to 34”) Full list of bat rules can be found here: https://www.littleleague.org/playing-rules/bat-rules/#baseball 

Most running in baseball takes place in the dirt part of the field. Cleats provide traction that most other types of shoes cannot. The additional traction provided helps improve performance and most importantly helps prevent injury. Metal cleats may only be worn in the Junior division (13/14yo) of our league. All other divisions must have molded/plastic cleats. 

As is tradition, we ask that all players in the league wear baseball pants to games & practices unless otherwise noted by a coach or league official. They help to increase team camaraderie and performance. Your coach will give you more details on color & style preferences once the draft has taken place. Color of pants only matters for games. Practices allow for any color of baseball pants. 

While not required at the Little League level, it will become standard as they get older to wear a belt as part of the uniform. Your coach will give you more details on color & style preferences once the draft has taken place. 

Heart Guards are required to be worn by all pitchers. The kids seem to like the kind that you wear as an undershirt rather than the kind that you strap on over your chest.