2023 A/AA Evaluation Schedule

Location: The Sports Mill in Manchester (159 Frontage Rd, Manchester, NH 03103)

*Please arrive 15 minutes early to check-in (parking can be tight)

Note : reference to baseball ages is based on a child's "Cal Ripken League Age", which is their age as of April 30th during the League year.  A kid that turns 10 on April 30th is League Age 10.  A kid that turns 10 on May 1st is League Age 9.

This year (2023) 11-12 year-olds will NOT need attend evaluations.

If you can't make the tryout time posted then please email evpbaseball@lafa.info

Disregard this section (I don't want to delete it and lose it for future years)

It is recommended that all the 9-12 year old Cal Ripken kids attend the evaluation if possible in order for coaches and League Coordinators to be able to create the most balanced teams.  At the tryouts/evaluations, the kids will field some ground balls, field some pop-ups, throw some pitches, and take some swings.  Coaches will evaluate the kids on their fielding, throwing, pitching and hitting.

All LAFA Cal Ripken teams are rostered with the intent of balancing out the teams as much as possible.  The AA (9-10) and Majors (11-12) leagues are 'drafted' where the coaches pick their teams based on what they see at tryouts/evaluations.  A 9-10 year-old that is not chosen for AA will be placed on a A team, while in Majors all 11-12 year-olds are picked for a team (since we do not have numbers for a AAA league anymore).  In order to be considered for a AA team, the player must attend the tryout or if they cannot make it they must let the League know that they still want to be considered for AA, and the coaches along with the League Coordinator will discuss these kids prior to the team selections.

Depending on numbers in the 9-10 year-old age group, we may hold an 8 year-old tryout in order to invite a number of 8 year-olds to move up to Single-A to fill out the rosters.  This is a year-by-year decision and is done solely based on the registration numbers that year.  8 year-olds must register for Farm League and after the League Coordinators determine need based on registrations we'll announce the intentions for that year.  Historically we have a need to call up a handful of 8 year-olds each year.  We will call up as many 8 year-olds as we can based on roster needs and who the League believes is ready to play in Single-A.

The tryout/evaluation schedule will be posted and emailed out roughly a week prior.  The rough schedule of the day is as follows: we will start with 9 year-olds at 8:30 AM followed by 10 year-olds at roughly 10:00 AM then 8 year-olds just before noon.  After a lunch break 11 year-olds will start up again at 1:00 PM, followed the the 12 year-olds at roughly 2:15 PM.   Each age group is ordered alphabetical based on last name, and broken up in groups of 5-6 kids every 15 minutes.

If you cannot make your scheduled time, the LAFA EVP of Baseball will let you know your options when the tryout/evaluation schedule email is sent out, but in general each 15 minute time window will have 2 open first-come, first-serve walk-in spots.  We can accomodate 8-10 year-olds in the 8:00-12:00 timeframe, and 11-12 year-olds in the 1:00-3:30 timeframe.  

In order for this process to work, we need the AA coaches to evaluate the 8-10 year-olds in the morning, and the Majors coaches to evauluate the 11-12 year-olds in the afternoon.   Coach selection is a different process and League Coordinators will be in touch with them in early-mid March.

FAQ

Q: Why are Babe Ruth times not listed?
A: At this time we are not doing Babe Ruth (13-16) evaluations.  The folks involved know enough about these teenage kids to build well-balanced teams without seeing them throw a few baseballs.

Q: What should my child bring/wear to tryouts?
A: Your child will need a glove, baseball or athletic pants and a hat.  Bats and helmets are optional, we will have several for them to use.

Q: Who needs to tryout or attend evaluations?
A: We encourage all children age 9 through 12 to attend tryouts/evaluations.  Anyone 9 or 10 years-old who would like to be selected in the draft on an AA team should attend tryouts. Any 8 year-old that would like to play up in Single-A also must attend tryouts.  

Q: What if I cannot make my designated time slot?
A: If you cannot make your time slot, you can utilize one of the standby spots within your age group.  There are 2 standby spots in each 15 minute time slot. Just show up to the middle school gym and put your name on the list.   Any further issues please reach-out to the LAFA EVP of Baseball.  If you must use standby, it is preferred that you arrive during your age group evaluations since that’s when the league appropriate evaluators are present.  The times are listed above.  If you cannot attend during that time, it’s ok to show up at another time as it’s better than not showing up at all.

Q: What if my child just can’t make it at all?
A: Coaches will have an open discussion about all other players that couldn’t attend tryouts and usually at least 1 coach will know every kid.  However, attending tryouts is the best way for your 9 or 10 year-old to get drafted into Double-A or your 8 year-old placed in Single-A.

Q: Is it a tryout or evaluation?
A: Evaluation may be a better way to describe it.  This is Recreational baseball, all kids will be on a team in the spring.  The evaluations are used for coaches in 'drafted' leagues to assess the kids, but also for the League Administrators to try to build balanced teams.

Q: What are the coaches looking for?
A: The coaches will be watching basic athletic ability, baseball mechanics (throwing/hitting), hustle as well as looking for the children to follow instructions.

Q: When will I find out if my kid made AA?
Q: When will I find out what League my kid is in?
Q: When will I find out what team my kid is on?
A: After the tryouts/evaluations we try to have our AA and Majors drafts as quickly thereafter as possible.  Once the AA draft is done we have to then build the single-A teams.  After all this is complete we'll announce the teams.  

Q: When will I find out if my 8 year-old made Single-A?
A: As mentioned above, the process starts with the AA draft, and we then build the Single-A teams.  We *always* have late signups, so in order to keep the Single-A teams from getting too large, we may call up a smaller number of 8 year-old initially, and then shortly before the season before the Farm rosters are made, we may call up a few more.  So if your child is not called up initially, they may still get called up a little later.

If you have further questions please email me.

Thank you,
LAFA EVP Baseball
evpbaseball@lafa.info