All,

This email is in regards to the Boundary rules and implementation for Little League, what the rule is, and how to implement it… and how to take advantage of it NOW.

The rule to be OFFICIALLY implemented in 2025 is this --- “Any player age 4-7 can register in ANY LEAGUE they choose (even across state lines), regardless of boundary. This becomes their official league of record. There is NO boundary enforcement for this age group. Players 8 -16 must follow the boundary rules currently in place and qualify to play in a league either by RESIDENCE or SCHOOL Attendance (same as it is now).”

Players may stay in this league they register in (at ages 4-7) for as long as they like and so long as they don’t “break service” they can be qualified to play All-Stars (or the “International TOurament” ) regardless of their residence or school attendance. IF they “break service” and are ages 8 or older they must then register in the league whose boundary they live within or attend school in.

So what effect will this have on Registrations, League Growth, and attracting OR LOSING players?

First, this rule will make leagues “up their game”. Poorly run leagues will see parents choose to register their younger players in other stronger leagues…. So LEAGUES MUST CONSTANTLY IMPROVE, offer more, and increase divisions to remain relevant to parents. If the league is poorly ran, they will eventually see their new players go elsewhere. Boards will have to be better to keep players. Coaching will need to be better, playing opportunities rich and abundant, league administration transparent and inclusive of all players, and communication to parents top notch. TO this end Little League is offering more training and certification for volunteers including coaching, team parents, league administration, and umpires.

The next thing this will do is give parents choices. Especially when you see what the plan is with “Central Registration”… In the future, when someone goes to Little League’s “League Finder” function it is going to give the requester the information on not only the league boundary in which the home address of the interested player is in, but also ALL LEAGUES within 25-50 miles depending on the saturation of leagues in the geographical region and the age of the player. Parents will be given choices.

How many leagues can a parent “try” before the player turns 8 years old? As many as they like! So if they register a player at age 4 in one league, they can switch to a different league at age 5, and 6, and 7. So they could be in 4 different leagues before the age of 8. At age 8 they either have to stay in the league they are registered in, OR their residence/school qualified boundary. This makes it interesting… Leagues that FOCUS on T-BALL and/or players under age 8 (t-ball and some coach pitch) will thrive if they have good younger player (t-ball) programs/divisions… which is where league growth comes from!

Here is another thing that is possible with this new rule… Say a 4 year old registers in a league where they don’t live… this is OK according to the new rule… THEN what about an older brother or sister? Sibling waivers could be issued to get the older sibling in the same league as the younger sibling, which means players could move into a different league AND qualify for All-Stars… this would allow an older sibling player to “back in to” a different league and still qualify for All-Stars in a league they do not live within the boundary of! Combine that with the feature of the rule in the above paragraph and an older player could actually qualify to play in different All-Star divisions in different leagues for up to 4-5 years, depending on the makeup of the family and the ages of the players. So, this REALLY makes Boards have to get BETTER!

IF service is broken or the player is older than 8, then the traditional rule sets in… so this implementation of the rule gives parents options, AND enforces boundaries at the same time… I like this implementation of the rule… it incentivizes leagues to offer more divisions of play, and to focus on the parent/player experience. TO keep your league healthy boards will have to operate to the benefit of EVERY player, or they simply go elsewhere.

Officially the rule is in effect in 2025…. But … 😊

This rule enforces quality of operation, gives options, and builds community (but in a different way), and enforces the boundary system where it matters… I’m for this rule and the way it’s implemented.

We will have a zoom call to further discuss how this rule can be taken advantage of by leagues… keep an eye out on your email for the invitation to the call.

Regards