Littleleagueparents
February 2026
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06 Feb '26
Hi All,
We at District 13 Little League are so excited for the upcoming year! We are looking forward to increased numbers in our registration cycle (it's looking pretty good!) and wanted to talk to parents about the upcoming season and processes in Little League. This all good info and is going to be put up on the District website within a couple of days. Read the whole email, it's good! AND DON'T FORGET - NOW IS THE TIME TO GET ALL YOUR FRIENDS TO REGISTER TOO!!!
First is Registration
This year is the first year that there is a complete end-to-end registration process that is centralized and online for Little League. This makes it easy to sign up your players and the registration system Little League International has implemented is set up so leagues can manage their players, resources, and provide the families better service and clarity in their Little League careers.
Little League registrations usually go on through the end of February, sometimes into March, and several in our area begin as early as last December!
Check the district website if you don't know who to talk to in your area about teams, coaching, costs, etc. All the leagues are listed there. Get registered early AND pitch in and VOLUNTEER WITH YOUR LEAGUE. Little League is a community that bands together to teach life lessons through baseball. Be a part of it. You have valuable skills and input even if you don't know the first thing about baseball...
Additionally a couple years ago, Little League changed the rules on what you can do within and outside of boundaries as far as which league you can affiliate with. If you are league age 7 or under, you can choose any league you like to play in, not necessarily the one whose boundaries you live in or go to school in. When you turn league age 8 you need to pick a league to stay in, but before that you can technically sample them all! Also siblings can follow a younger player. So if you have an older sibling player and they want to play in the same league a younger player is playing in, they can!
Next is the "Tryout" System in Little League
Tryouts are usually reserved for those going into the "Major" and above division. It is MANDATORY for all Major's players. Majors are usually ages 11-12, but sometimes 10 year olds have been played "up". Either way, every manager in Little League that is in the Major's division has the opportunity to see each player being added to the major's roster go through a tryout. The way it is typically set up is that all players are assembled on a given day or days, and they run through a series of skills and drills with the managers and coaches grading their performance. These scores are kept confidential and managers and coaches are not supposed to share their evaluations with anyone other than the Player Agent, or the Board of Directors. After draft, all these records should be collected by the Player Agent and destroyed.
Some leagues also have tryouts for the next level down which is the 8-10 year olds. These are not mandatory by Little League International, but are sometimes required by the local leagues, and they have the right to implement that rule.
The Big Step is the Draft
Many leagues draft players as young as age 6 but most draft the 8-10 division (sometimes called "Minors") and ALL Leagues have to "Draft" the Majors and above divisions. The "Draft" is done when players are selected on to a team. This is supposed to be done in secret, with no details of the draft provided other than who was selected to a team. This process is managed by a Board Member called the "Player Agent". The Player Agent's job is to make sure the draft is fair, and the Player Agent is there as a represented of the player. Not the league, not the Manager, not the Board, but the Player's interests are in the hands of the Player Agent. The Player Agent Role in a league may be divided up by different Board Members tso there is one for Baseball and another for Softball. That's completely OK. But the Player Agent's job is to know EVERY Player and help them get into a situation where they can have the best Little League experience possible.
Next is the style of the draft. There are "Three Styles" in the Little League manual for draft selection type. One we nicknamed "Fresh Draft", another is "Legacy Draft", and the third is "Blind Draft". All are allowed in the rule book. In the "Fresh Pick" style all teams each year are disbanded, and redrafted with no players on the roster when the draft starts. That means each team gets shuffled each year. This has some really good points to this method.
The Legacy Draft is also a good way to do things. It allows players from "Last year's team" to be brought forward to the new year and they are placed on the roster automatically. These players are placed at the BOTTOM of the roster thus forcing the manager to have their first few rounds where they pick players but then the later rounds they cannot because that pick slot is full with last year's player. This builds "legacy" teams, and allows managers to coach the same kids that they worked with the year before and provides some consistency in their player development.
The "Blind Draft" is exactly that... all the players are randomly just picked from a hat.
On Draft Day (or night) all the managers for the division (as an example "Majors") are gathered in one room with their tryout evaluations and a master roster of players. In some leagues, they let the manager with the worst record from the previous year go first, in others, it's a coin toss, or pick a number out of a hat to determine who gets first pick. Then each manager selects a name to their team that they want.
There are Specific Rules for picking players!
The Player Agent and Board are responsible for enforcing the Draft Rules. Here are SOME of the Draft Rules (As delineated in the Little League Rule Book) :
1. There may be only 8 - 12 year olds on a Major's team (unless it's All-Stars). If a Legacy team has 8 already from the previous year, any remaining openings in the roster must be filled with players younger than 12 unless none exist in the league. Thus a manager of a Legacy team must take his first picks with 11 year olds if they already have 8 - 12 year olds on a team.
2. No one may take 2 picks in a row. You may only pick one player per round, and no one may take 2 players in a row during a single round, unless all slots for other managers have been filled.
3. Coaches and Managers Children are protected until later rounds. If a Manager or coach has a player in the draft that is their child, those players are taken in specific rounds by age. A 12 year old goes in the 3rd round, an 11 year old in the 4th, and 9-10 year old in the 5th. If the Manager does not select their child (!) by these rounds they become available for any manager to draft.
4. Sibling, and Relatives picks. In many cases siblings either enter the draft as younger players to a Legacy team, or as similarly skilled siblings. There are specific rules for placement in the draft of these types of picks. First, the Manager must notify the Player Agent IN WRITING 48 hours prior to the draft they intend to pick siblings. This includes Manager's children. Once the first sibling is picked, the Manager must pick the sibling in the next round or they become eliigible for anyone to pick. Cousins, step-siblings, etc are included in this rule. Also the first sibling identified by the manager to the Player Agent MUST be picked in the first three rounds to be able to get the second sibling. The Board may also step in on this rule as well. If the Board determines the skill level of the second sibling is to be considered, they MAY REQUIRE the sibling be picked in an earlier round. This will be determined in the 48 hour period between when the manager notifies the Player Agent they intend to select siblings in an upcoming draft.
5. Manadatory Majors Draft. Any player who is league age 12 must be drafted to the Majors division, with the exception of a safety or experience exemption (which is provided by the Board). A 12 year MUST try out, and MUST be drafted on to a MAJORS team unless for safety reason they play down a division.
6. Restricted Attendance. Only the Player Agent, the Manager of the team, and the President of the league are allowed into the draft. Coaches, parents, players, and other Board members are not allowed in the Draft Meeting Room. All materials and pick order must be destroyed once the draft is complete as are all managers/coaches notes on the draft and evaluations. The draft is actually supposed to be confidential.
7. A Bonus pick is allowed. At the Fourth Round ONLY and in Legacy drafts, a 4th round extra pick is allowed for teams that need to "catch up" to legacy teams that have lots of players. This is so that better parity is achieved among newer or teams with fewer numbers as compared to legacy teams that may have more returning players. This is the ONLY case where two sequential picks by the same team in the same round are allowed.
8. Team Player Rosters. Each team should have at least 12 players on it with a maximum of 15 per team. They should be even across the league. For example if your league has 8 majors teams, there should be 12 on each team. If one team has 10, then players should be moved from another team to get it to 11. Other strategies include playing players "up" or move up a division if they can safely play in the older division. Teams with less than 12 on them technically have to have approval from the Board.
If you care to look the Little League Draft rules up online, there are plenty of examples of how leagues do it. Why does Little League do this? After more than 85 years of running the largest youth sports program in the world, Little League International has learned that by created lots of teams with parity in playing skills, the entire league or program improves. It's human nature to try to put all the best players on a single team and beat the snot out of all the other teams in the division. But that doesn't help. It only creates a transient "super team" that may be good for a year or two, but when that manager, team or coach moves on, then the league slumps. If players are spread around, and the teams made "even", then more players get to play, the experience is better, and as it is said, "A rising tide floats all boats". By lesser skilled players playing with better skilled players, everyone improves. Kids share tips, tricks, and when left to their own devices, they encourage and teach one another.
Thus, the Little League draft is trying to foster better playing experiences for everyone.
The Season
Most leagues in District 13 start their seasons around the first April for regular play. March, some of February is usually used for practice and getting the teams organized. Each team has it's own schedule. The District goal is to get 15-20 games per team in Majors each season, and at least 12 for Minors. Farm and T-Ball will have somewhat less usually. T-Ball typicall starts later in the year too so the "littles" don't have to play too much in the cold and rain of the earlier part of the season. Your league has fields, equipment, and hopefully YOU to help volunteer to execute the season.
Our "regular season" officially ends at the start of the District All-Star Tournament. This year it's currently set during the last week of June, BUT, we are talking about putting some of it later in the first part of July. More on that later if it develops. District 13 allows for "special games" in a season which can include:
1. Special "Little League" mid-season tournaments
2. Games with other districts and other leagues
3. Games with baseball programs outside of Little League
Special game waivers are issued by the District Administrator and in some cases have to be approved by Western Region or Williamsport (LL HQ) as they may require special insurance. Little League does allow traveling to other parts of the state to play other Little League Teams, and you can play Little League teams in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Canada as examples of where Little League teams from Eastern WA have played besides teams in their own league.
District Tournament
Each year we start the All-Star team process near the end of the regular season. The All-Star selection process takes many forms. What is supposed to happen is that the best players from across the league in each division are elgible to play in the "International Tournament". This tournament culminates in "A World Series" for both baseball and softball from divisions Majors and up (Lower divisions stop play after the "State" level - more on that in a second). Little League has 4 Baseball World Series, one of which you see each year on ESPN, the "Majors". They also have softball World Series for Majors' Softball and up. Below Majors (8-10, 10-11) have District, Sectional (if the state is big enough) and State Level tournaments. The "All-Star" teams play in that tournament. All Star teams cannot be picked until the division minimum number of games have been played. In Little League that is 12. So until the league has all teams in a division having completed 12 games, they cannot do the All-Star stuff.
The beginning of the official International Tournament is "Districts". This year 2026, District 13 will play it's tournament at the end of June in Deer Park. There is some talk of maybe splitting the tournament into two chunks and play at different times and different locations, but for now it's set to be at Deer Park in the end of June. District Tournament in District 13 normally takes about a week to play. We play all divisions, including softball. The winner of District advances to State in Washington state because we have no "Sectional" breaks in our division structure.
There are several "Formats" for Districts, they can be double elimination tournaments, pool play, or hybrid or modified double elimination. All the acceptable formats for the tournament are in the Little League Rule book.
How players are selected to the All-Star team is varied by the League itself. There is a recommended method, and then some leagues apply for variations with the District when picking their players. The goal of the League and the Board of Directors is to field the BEST TEAM the league can put together. It needs to be at least 12 players, and no more than 15. The players need to be able to complete the entire Tournament cycle and stay with the team as far as it can go. This is a big commitment on parents. But it's important to stick with the team, support your teammates and see something through to the end.
The way I recommend as District Adminstrator recommend players be selected to an All-Star team is by a combination of Player Vote, and Board/Manager selection. The Board will select the manager for the team prior to the announcement of All-Stars. Then the manager selects his assistant coaches and the Board is supposed to approve them. Then the players, before the end of the regular season vote on who they think should represent the league on the All-Star team. In 35 years of doing Little League, I have never seen the kids get this one wrong. They always know who will make the best players - from every aspect - on a team. Many think it will be a popularity contest, or a "best friends" thing... but when charged properly with instructions to put the best players on the list - they do.
I would suggest letting the kids pick the first 5 players by top vote-getter. Then let the Manager and the Board pick the remaining 7-10 players. This shows the kids they get the chance to participate in creating representation for the team, and it gives them goals for next year.
I do want to caution everyone... be fair. I get calls EVERY YEAR from parents that raise the issue -" Our All-Star team didn't pick my player because it's the XXX Coach's Travel Team". First that is unfortunate. Second, sometimes it is legitimate. Sometimes the travel team has players in each team in the Little League division and they play the whole season with other teams and get "reassembled" at All-Star time. Sometimes the travel ball coach IS the best Manager for the team, and sometimes the kids DO pick all the travel ball players, because they are pretty good. So yes, while it does happen, I don't condone it, and yet if it is done by the rules and is above board then it's acceptable. Other times, it's just a domineering manager with 12 kids from their travel ball team and a blind board that want to try and win a Little League tournament among all their travel ball tournaments. And things do get turned when that happens... it is not good for anyone... I urge all the Boards each year to be fair, remember the community they are responsible for, and make the game about the kids, not the trophies. I like winning as much as the next person, and maybe more so, but not at the cost of fairness or the attitude of the players and families.
State Tournament
State tournaments are fed by the winners of District Tournaments. State tournaments rotate around the state of Washington being hosted by different districts for different divisions. Last year, D-13 hosted the 10-11 tournament in West Plains. (You can see video of it on our website). In Washington state Little League we have the following Tournaments at the State level:
* 8-10 Baseball
* 10-11 Baseball
* 11-12 Baseball
* Intermediate Baseball (11-13/50-70)
* Junior Baseball (12-14)
* Senior Baseball (14-16)
* 8-10 Softball
* 9-11 Softball
* 11-12 Softball (Majors)
* Junior Softball (13-14)
* Senior Softball (14-16)
The tournament cycle ends at "State" for anything league age 12. They do not go on to Regionals. There are usually 11-13 teams represented at State for each division. Play usually takes a week if your team does well in the tournament. This year state tournaments start July 4 and run through July 21. There are tournaments going on literally across the state during this time. Expect to travel for your state tournament.
Regional Tournament
The Regional Tournament for Softball and Baseball is held for Majors is held in San Bernardino California. Its usually a hybrid tournament with a modified double elimination bracket (modified). Little League International covers many of the expenses for the team to travel to San Bernardino, provides food and housing, and a secure place to train and house players, managers, and coaches. However, some expenses may not be covered. Set aside a little for that. This tournament is also televised on ESPN, but not to the extend the World Series games are. This tournament is usually held at the end of July or the beginning of August. Teams from each state (some states have two teams representing them such as Northern Cal and Southern Cal) come to this tournament. The tournament takes a week to play or thereabouts, and the winner goes to represent the West and Northwest regions at Williamsport at the Little League World Series.
The Little League World Series
Also called the "International Tournament" is held in the last half of August and is a triumph of sportsmanship, pageant, and just plain "feel good" baseball. Professional baseball players, celebrities, business leaders, politicians, and just plain folks stream to Williamsport each year for the Little League World Series. I occasionally work there, and have been to Williamsport many times. I can tell you there is no other feeling like it in the world. With thousands and thousands of people watching baseball in the famous Lamade and International stadium each year, the feeling is both electric, and ... right. Spend a couple of days in Williamsport at the World Series and you think that all is right with the world.
Little League pays all expenses for the team and coaching staff to attend the World Series. They also provide some new gear, jerseys and more. The players get to hobknob with great professional baseball players, fans, and they get to play on the World's biggest stage. It's a joy to watch, and be apart of . If you ever get the chance just to go and spend a day or two... do it. There is no admission fee, but bring your lawnchair and plan to be there all day. The stadiums fill up fast, and you'll need an umbrella for shade or rain...
And that's a rough outline of how your season should go. If you have questions, comments, etc... the contact info for the District is below. We'd love to hear from you.
Remember, your league needs YOU! They need volunteers, your input, time, talents, and money... it helps build your community if you do it right, but it all boils down to involvement from parents and the community!
Let's Play Ball!
Sincerely,
JP
District Administrator (DA)
Washington Little League - District 13
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