REGISTRATION

Registration FAQ’s

Who can play in Mill Valley Little League?

Boys and girls living in Mill Valley (West of Highway 101) and/or attending a Mill Valley school (public or private) who are between League Age 5 and League Age 15.  Kids who attend Strawberry Point School must live on the west side of the freeway to be eligible to play Mill Valley Little League.

We strongly encourage girls to join MVLL.  We have seen a steady increase over the years in girls playing baseball.  The very first girl to ever legally play Little League in the United States played right here in Mill Valley!  Girls in the competitive divisions have made All Stars; women hold positions of senior leadership on the Board.  Please encourage your daughters to play!

What level do I sign my child up for?

As a starting point, MVLL follows Little League International “league age” to determine the level your child ought to register for.  “League Age” for Spring 2024 is your child’s age on August 31, 2024.  Don’t want to do that math?  Check our League Age Chart to find your child’s “league age”.  The divisions are there too, and below:

Rookies:  League Age 5 and 6

Star:  League Age 7

Farm:  League Age 8 and 9

Triple-A:  League Age 9 and 10

Minors:  League Age 10 and 11

Majors:  League Age 10*, some 11’s, and all 12’s

Juniors:  League Age 13-14

Hey! Wait a minute!  There’s more than one division for some of those ages!

Kids develop baseball skills at varying rates.  Some League Age 9’s may benefit from a second year of Farm, and some are ready to move on to AAA.  Some League Age 10’s may benefit from a second year of AAA, while others are ready for Minors.  And so on.  Not sure which division is the one for your player?  Talk to your child’s coach, or call the Player Agent for guidance.

Why is there an “*” next to League Age 10 for Majors?

By age 10, there may be 1 or 2 kids across the entire program who demonstrated a skill level so exceptional that we might allow them to try out for Majors a year earlier than is standard.  We require two things:  prior approval of the Majors Commissioner and the Player Agent; and the player must be drafted within the first four rounds of the Majors draft.  If the player is undrafted by the end of the fourth round, the player will automatically be placed into the Minors draft pool.

My child is the next Brandon Crawford.  I’m ready to jump him or her up a division!  Who do I talk to?

If your child is League Age 9 or younger, there is no jumping divisions.  It is our experience that children stay with the sport longer and have more fun when they play with their friends their own age.  Furthermore, each division within MVLL is designed to introduce a new set of skills for your player to develop.  Accordingly, we do not allow playing up for League Age 9’s or younger.  See above re League Age 10.

My child has a summer birthday, so we started him/her in school a year later, and he/she is a year older than his/her classmates.  I think he/she would have more fun with his/her classmates.  Can he/she play down?

Almost 100% of the time, the answer to that question will be “yes”.  Contact the Player Agent to make that happen.

My child played Rookie at Age 5 in Pre-K and is now League Age 6 in Kindergarten.  Can we move up to Star a year early?

While we are delighted your player joined us in Pre-K, we require that all League Age 6-year-olds play in Rookie, regardless of prior experience.

Money’s a little tight.  Do you have scholarships, and how do I apply for one?

We can help.  Email us at [email protected] for more information about MVLL scholarships.

Whoops!  I missed the registration deadline.  Now what?

For the non-competitive divisions (Rookie, Star, Farm), if we have any open spots, we’ll do our best to accommodate your player on a space-available basis.  For the competitive divisions (AAA, Minors, Majors), once we have held our tryouts and drafted teams, our teams are usually set.  Juniors are similar to the non-competitive divisions in that we have no tryouts, but once teams are formed, we are only able to take players on a space-available basis.  However, we want your child to play baseball!  Contact the Commissioner of the appropriate division (go to the division you're interested in here for contact information) to find out what your options are.

We would like BOTH parents to be on our child’s registration so that we can both be notified of MVLL updates.  How do we do this?

The primary account holder will be the parent who registers the child.  This parent needs to do the following:  Go to “Account Holder Settings”, and “Add Additional Account Holder”, and when prompted to do so, send an invitation to the “Additional Account Holder”.  This individual must accept the invitation in order to be linked to the child’s account.  Alternatively, once the data is entered, MVLL can link the accounts from our end – contact us at [email protected].

Alternatively, a second parent can create an account on his or her own and MVLL can link the accounts from our end.

How long is the baseball season?  When does it start and finish?

Practices begin in late February, after the Mill Valley public schools’ Mid-Winter Recess.  The season ends in early June, about the same time as the end of the public school year.  If your player is selected for All Stars, the season could go through the end of June or beyond. More detailed information about All Stars can be found here.

What is the time commitment at each division?

* two-games a week (one on a weeknight, and one on a Saturday)

^^ Often practice hours and game will be back-to-back or overlap by pairing cage and field. 

** games in majors often move more quickly as pitching improves.

Where does all the action happen?

MVLL uses Boyle, Friends Field, the small diamond at Edna Maguire School (Rookie and Star only), Bell Ropers, and Alto Field.  Boyle Buena Vista (aka “Boyle Majors”) is located at the Buena Vista Street side of Boyle Park.  Boyle Thalia (aka “Boyle Minors”) is located at the Thalia Street side of Boyle Park.  Friends Field is adjacent to the Mill Valley Community Center.  “Friends North” is the northern end of the field – the side closest to the Community Center.  “Friends South” is the southern end of the field – the side closest to the Middle School.  Bell Ropers is the grassy field north of the dog park along side the Multi-Use Path (Bayfront is the northernmost field, Bell Ropers is in the middle, and the dog park is the southernmost field).

How do you form the teams?

For our Rookie, Star and Farm divisions, the Commissioner of each division forms the teams.  You will have the opportunity to make friend requests during the registration process; please use the first AND last name of the children with whom your child wishes to play. There are no guarantees, but we do our best.

For our Triple-A, Minors, Majors and Juniors divisions, managers draft their teams from the pool of available players based on prior seasons’ evaluations, tryouts, and their personal knowledge of the players.

I see I can sign myself up to volunteer as well!  What are the available positions?

A “manager” is baseball-speak for “head coach” (just like the big leagues).  A coach or assistant coach is a member of the coaching staff led by the manager.  If you want to manage or coach a team, three cheers for you!  You need to register yourself as a volunteer and contact the Commissioner of the division in which you want to be a manager or coach.  It is very important that you contact the Commissioner directly.  Contact information for each division’s Commissioner is here - go to the division you're interested in to find the correct Commissioner to contact.  Commissioners have the final say in slating managers for their divisions, and then the Board votes to approve the coaching staffs before the season begins. Be aware any and all adults on the field with our players must pass a Little League background check first.

MVLL has other volunteer opportunities as well. You can find a list of these opportunities when you register your child to play little league; you can also check here for current opportunities.

Can my child play other sports/pursue other activities while playing baseball?

Yes, but we caution parents to remember that baseball is a team sport.  If your child is regularly absent, it affects the rest of the team.  If two or three children are regularly absent, the team may find itself forfeiting games if it does not have enough players. Every season, we have parents asking if the team’s practice schedule can be changed to accommodate their child’s schedule; be aware that this is virtually impossible.  We are also not able to switch your child to a different team to accommodate schedule issues.