All conduct for the Novato South Little League (NSLL) will be prescribed by rules and policies contained in the Official Little League Rule Book and Operating Manual, except for the modifications provided by these Local Rules. Changes, additions and/or deletions to the Local Rules may only be made by a majority vote of the NSLL Board of Directors.

ADMINISTRATIVE RULES

AR-1 Majors Tryouts, Draft Structure, Practices,

1. Contact with Players Before and After Tryouts
NSLL recognizes Novato is a small town, and Managers frequently know players. While the league understands Managers have occasion to speak to players before tryouts, Managers are forbidden from contacting a player and discussing tryouts or possible selection. If a player asks about tryouts, the Manager should answer questions about procedure only. If NSLL discovers a Manager contacted a player directly, it will be considered tampering and referred to the Board of Directors for potential grounds for dismissal.

2. Redraft
Beginning 2014, all NSLL Majors teams will be redrafted each season.

3. Number of Teams / Draft Order
NSLL will pre-determine the number of teams each year. The order in which each team selects players will be randomly assigned. Once the order is established via random draw, the draft shall proceed in a serpentine order, thereby allowing for reverse order selection in even rounds (i.e., the team with first pick shall also have the last).

4. Draftee Classes
The Majors draft will be comprised of three distinct classes of players:

a. Returning Majors Players – All returning Majors players, rostered on a Majors team during the prior season and registered to play the current season (prior to the end of the second day of tryouts) are guaranteed a roster spot on a Majors team. All returning Majors players must participate at tryouts (unless their parent contacts the Player Agent or President with a reasonable excuse - as determined by the Player Agent or President). Player evaluations help assure fairness and balance. Any returning Majors player who does not tryout must be included in the pool of Hat Picks.

b. Non-Returning 12-Year Old Players – All league age 12 players registered before the end of the second day of tryouts, is guaranteed a roster spot on a Majors team. All non-returning 12 year olds must participate at tryouts (unless their parent contacts the Player Agent or President with a reasonable excuse - as determined by the Player Agent or President) Player evaluations help assure fairness and balance. Any 12 year old who does not tryout must be included in the pool of Hat Picks.

c. Waive Down: Non-Returning 12 year olds may waive down to play at the AAA level provided they have completed the waiver form prior to the Majors draft. Note: Players may tryout then prior to the draft, complete the waive down process.

d. Non-Returning 10 and 11-Year Old Players – Age 10 and 11-year old players must attend one try out to be considered for the Majors level. This includes the Majors Draft or as a “Call Up” during the season. A non-Returning Majors player age 10 to 11 may opt out of the Majors.

5. Player Selection
During the draft, Managers may opt to select a player from any of the three Draftee Classes defined above (including Hat Picks, if desired, as defined in AR-1.5 below). However, once the number of remaining draft picks available in the draft equates to the number of Mandatory Draftees (returning Majors players & 12 year olds who have not waived down), only Mandatory Draftees may be selected. If the number of Mandatory Draftees exceeds the number of remaining draft positions available, the draft will be unwound until the number of remaining picks equates to the number of Mandatory Draftees remaining.

6. Hat Pick Method
Any Returning Majors player or League age 12 (as defined in AR-1.3-b above) who does not attend tryouts will be assigned to a Majors roster via the hat pick method. The player’s name is placed in a hat and managers have the option of selecting hat picks at any time during the Majors Mandatory Draft. (NOTE: injured returning players who attended tryouts but could not physically tryout are part of the group eligible to be drafted and are not part of the Hat Pick group.)

7. Major Rosters Constraints
Each NSLL Majors team will be limited to the following Local Rule roster constraints.
a. No more than 12 players may be assigned to a single Majors Roster
b. No players younger than league age 10 Years Old

8. Trades
All trades are subject to Major commissioner and Player Agent approval.

a. Player Trades – All trades will take place BEFORE players or parents are notified of the team they’ve been been drafted to. For this reason, it is required that no trade take place outside the draft room. Once managers depart from the draft room, their respective rosters are locked for the remainder of the season (assuming no change due to injury).

b. Draft Pick Trades – During the draft, Managers may trade individual draft picks, but may not trade a draft pick for a player. Draft trades must be one to one, ensuring each team retains 12 picks.

9. Waive Down Process
Players age 10-12 may opt out of the Majors draft.

a. Players who opt out of the Majors draft are ineligible to play Majors at any time.
b. A non-returning 12-yr old opting to waive down to the AAA minors must:
i. Complete the 12-Year Old Participation in Minor Division Waiver
ii. NSLL Board of Director Approval
iii. District 3 Administrator Approval

10. Manager Options
A manager with a child eligible for Majors may exercise a draft option to select their child (Green Book). A Manager Option must be exercised no later than the
a. 3rd round --12 year old
b. 4th round -- 11 year old
c. 5th round -- 10 year old

The round a Manager option is exercised is determined by the League President, with potential help from an evaluation committee (one or more persons) selected by the President and concurrence of the Board. The committee will evaluate and rank all players eligible for Majors (through 4 rounds) for the purpose of slotting all Manager Options. The ranking will be shared with all Majors Managers for the purpose of the draft and will have no bearing on other decisions (such as All-Stars). The Manager Option selection will be the closest pick that corresponds with the child’s ranking. For example, with 7 Majors teams, and a player ranking of 16, the Manager Option pick will be in the third round. The evaluation committee may also adjust the overall slotting in light of the randomly assigned draft order for purposes of assuring as much fairness and parity as possible.

11. Late Registrants
Any Returning Player or Non-Returning 12-Year Old Player who registers later than the second day of tryouts will be placed on the waiting list for Majors. Any Non-Returning 10 or 11-Year Old Player who registers late will be placed on the waiting list for either AAA or AA, as determined by the Player Agent.

12. Notification
The Manager must delay communicating with newly drafted players until the day AFTER the conclusion of the AAA MINOR League draft, to allow notifications for BOTH Majors and AAA Minors to take place simultaneously.

13. Practice Slots
During the Majors Draft, the Commissioner will administer a process to select practice slots for preseason & regular season.

a. Confirm Days/Fields Available - Prior to the Majors Draft, the League Scheduler will confirm practice days and sites to be available to teams before and during the season and then forward this information to the Majors Commissioner.
b. Poll the Managers for Method To Be Used - At the opening of the Majors draft, the Majors Commissioner will poll the Majors managers to determine their preferred method for assigning practice slots for Majors team during the preseason & regular season. Two separate votes will be taken, one for the preseason and one for the regular season. The vote will simply ask the Managers to select from one of the two methods below:
i. Reverse Order of Draft / Permanent Slot – Each Manager selects specific weekly slots (i.e., fixed days, times and locations) in turn until all slots are taken. There must be an equal number of practice slots for each team.
ii. Assigned / Floating Slots – The Majors Commissioner will prepare a schedule that periodically rotates teams to different days of the week, times and/or fields to balance timing and field assignments for each Majors team.

AR-2 Returning Player Sanctions
A player dropping from a Majors team after the draft for any reason is ineligible for Majors for the remainder of the season. Players may not be dropped from a Majors team for any reason without Board approval. A player dropping from Majors to Minors may be subject to minimum play and position (e.g. pitching) restrictions at the Board's discretion.

AR-3 Team Parents Meeting
Each Major League manager will hold a meeting of the team's parents prior to the team's first practice. A member of the BOD should attend this meeting.

AR-4 All Star Team Formation Process

1. Player Availability – Prior to June 1st, the Player Agent will distribute & collect Player Availability forms for every eligible Major League and Minor League player to assess availability for the upcoming All-Star season. Any player that cannot commit to 80% of the practices and games will not be allowed to play on an All-Star team. Planned vacations are not considered a justifiable reason.

2. All-Star Managers - Will be vetted by an All-Star Manager Selection Committee selected by the President and approved by the Board. Members of the Committee may not apply to be an All-Star Manager and may not vet in the age group of their child. After vetting, the Board will vote to approve the All-Star Managers.

● All-Star Manager Applicants - May be Majors or AAA managers or coaches. They must specifically apply to be considered. The All-Star Manager Application consists of the NSLL Managers Application and Volunteer Form and additional questions the Committee may ask; in writing or in person during interviews. The Committee may ask for applicant references. The child of an All-Star Manager is not guaranteed a spot on the team and should only be selected based on merit.

● Timing - The application process and vetting must be completed in time for the Board to approve the three All-Star Managers during the April or May board meeting.

● Coaches - All-Star Managers may select two coaches from among the Majors and AAA managers and coaches. Coach selections to be approved by the Board during a May board meeting. The child of an All-Star Coach is not guaranteed a spot on the team and should only be selected based on merit.

3. Three Teams – NSLL will field three All-Star teams. 10-12 Year Old Teams.

i. Age Pure - Each year NSLL will determine whether All Star teams are age pure. If yes, teams will be formed with players in each age group relative to their respective age-based team, thereby creating “age pure” teams.
ii. 9-Year Old team – Each year NSLL will determine whether to form a team of primarily 9-Year Olds (with the option of selecting up to three 8-Year Olds).

4. Players Voted In – The Majors Managers voting process will result in the selection of the first 10 players of each of the three All-Star Teams.

5. Roster Sizes - Each All-Star team will have either 12, 13, or 14 players. Decided at the discretion of the appointed All-Star Manager.

6. Selection of remaining Players - The remaining spots will be selected by the All-Star Manager. The All-Star Manager may consult with other Managers or set up a player evaluation Scrimmage or Clinic. Remaining selections should be based on position or skill need for the team to be complete and well-rounded.

AR-5 All Star Selection Process – 11 & 12-year old All-Star Teams
The voting process is the same but held independently for these two age groups.

1. At a meeting convened by the Majors Commissioner and the President, each manager will vote for 10 players on the list of eligible players compiled by the Player Agent under AR-4.1.

a. A manager may not vote for a player on his team. All players receiving unanimous votes will be placed on the All-Star Team.
b. If there are less than 10 unanimous selections:
i. Voting will continue for the number of remaining available slots until 10 spots are filled or up to 4 rounds whichever comes first.
ii. If 10 spots are not filled with unanimous votes, players with the highest vote counts during the fourth round of voting will then be selected to the team until 10 spots are filled. Ties will be broken with a head-to-head vote.
iii. During discussions/evaluations of players, Managers are not permitted to discuss, evaluate, or campaign for their own sons/daughters.

 

AR-6 All Star Selection Process – The 10 Year Old All-Star Team
1. If there are 12 (twelve) or more 10 year-olds in the Major League:
At a meeting convened by the Majors Commissioner and the President, each manager will vote for 10 players on the list of eligible players compiled by the Player Agent under AR-4.1.
a. A manager may not vote for a player on his/her team. All players receiving unanimous votes will be placed on the All-Star Team.
b. If there are less than 10 unanimous selections:
i. Voting will continue for the number of remaining available slots on the team until 10 spots are filled or up to 4 rounds whichever comes first, with all unanimous selections making the team.
ii. If 10 spots are not filled with unanimous selections, players with the highest vote counts during the fourth round of voting will then be selected to the team until 10 spots are filled. Ties will be broken with a head-to-head vote.
iii. During discussions/evaluations of players, Managers are not permitted to discuss, evaluate, or campaign for their own sons/daughters.

2. Selection of Players From the Major and Minor League (if needed) – The 10 Year Old All-Star Manager will select the players for the 10 Year Old All-Star Team from a list of 9 and 10 Year old players nominated by the Major and Minor League Managers. All such selections will be subject to the approval of the Major and Minor League Commissioner(s).

AR-7 All Star Selection Process – The 9 Year Old All-Star Team
1. The 9-Year Old All-Star Manager will select the players for the 9 Year Old All-Star Team from a list of available 9 Year old players nominated by the Minor League Managers. All selections will be subject to the approval of the Minor League Commissioner(s).

AR-8 Post Season Play
1. NSLL Playoffs
a. All Major League teams will participate in the Novato South Little League Playoffs.
b. Seeding for the double elimination playoffs is based on the following criteria:
i. Regular season record (intra-league and interleague games)
ii. Tie Breaker1: Head to head record
iii. Tie Breaker2: NSLL intra-league record only
iv. Tie Breaker3: Lowest number of total runs allowed (all games)
v. Tie Breaker4: Coin Flip by League Commissioner.

2. City Championship - The 1st place Majors team from regular season will meet a team selected by Novato North in a Championship series for the City Championship. It will be comprised of (1) to (3) games pending agreement from Novato North Little League. In absence of a TOC, the regular season champion will represent NSLL in the City Championship.

3. Tournament of Champions - The Novato South Majors Playoff Champion will advance to the Marin County TOC.

AR-9 Hamann Sportsmanship Award Trophy
The Hamann Sportsmanship Trophy is awarded to the Majors player who displays the most sportsmanship and leadership throughout the season. The nomination and voting process shall be conducted as follows:

1. The Hamann Award voting process will be overseen the Majors Commissioner and another Board member designated by the President.

2. Each team will be asked to submit a nomination. The nomination should be decided by secret ballot including all players, the 2 coaches and the manager. The manager will be responsible for overseeing the vote.

3. The award will be determined by a secret ballot from each eligible Major League player. No player may vote for a player on his/her team.

4. All nominees will be asked to attend the awards ceremony at Championship Saturday where the overall winner will be announced.

AR-10 League Supplied Uniforms
NSLL provides all team jerseys and hats. Each player is required to wear the league-provided jerseys and caps during all regular season and tournament games.

AR-11 Player Injuries
1. A league approved accident form shall be filed by the manager with the safety officer within 24-48 hours of any incident that involves a player injury during either a practice or a game.

2. If a player misses more than 7 continuous days of participation for an illness or injury, a physician or other accredited medical provider must give written permission for a return to full baseball activity (Little League Regulation III-d-2-Note 2).

3. If a doctor’s note cannot be provided for a player missing 14+ continuous days for an illness or injury, the player can be dropped from the roster and another player obtained through the player agent (per the Little League Official Regulations and Playing Rules).

a. If a team loses a player due to illness or injury (per AR-7.2) at any point during the season, unless the player provides a doctor note indicating the player will be authorized before the mid point of the season or end of regular season (depending on the point in the season, another player can be obtained through the player agent (per rules defined in the Little League Official Regulations and Playing Rules).

4. If a major league team loses a player during the last two weeks of the regular season, that player will not be replaced (Little League Regulation III-d-2-Note 1).

AR-12 Rescheduled Games (Make Up and Continued)
When need arises to reschedule a game to a later date (e.g. rain outs, field closures, darkness or upheld protests), the following guidance will be applied:

1. Double Headers will be a last resort, only considered by the Board of Directors if the end of the regular season is near and no other option remains.

2. Each rescheduled game shall be played on the next available Make-Up date available.

3. In order to allow practice slot assignments, the Majors Make-Up Days shall be defined prior to the draft each season by the League Scheduler.

4. If multiple games are queued for rescheduling, each game will be sequentially numbered and played in that order.

5. Rescheduled games take precedence over practice schedules for either league.

AR-13 Player Pool
Any Manager not following the Player Pool procedures or acting contrary to its purpose, shall be subject to discipline by Board of Directors.

The Board has adopted Little League Baseball Official Regulation V (c) Alternate method of operation (Player Pool) as written with the following exceptions and/or amplifications:

1. The Player Pool for Majors will be made up of Triple A players

2. The Player Agent will create, and run the pool.

3. The list will not be made public to any persons in the League or to players. For transparency the Player Agent will share the list with the League President and Commissioners so long as they do not have a child in that level. If both have player involvement, then a third unbiased party will be selected from the Board of Directors.

4. The players on the list will be numbered sequentially by order of registration.

5. League Managers/Coaches are forbidden from direct liaison with potential players and parents in solicitation of specific players as replacements for specific games and/or teams.

6. Managers with good reason to believe their team may not be able to field nine eligible players for any scheduled game shall contact the Player Agent as soon as possible and state the reason. Managers may not ask who is in the Pool or who may be next.

7. Upon finding the Manager has good reason, the Player Agent will randomly draw the name of a player in the Pool. Once a player has been drawn from the Pool, his/her name may not be drawn again until all other players in the Pool have been drawn.

8. The Player Agent will handle all contacts with players in the Pool, not the Managers.

9. Minimum play rule for Pool Players is amended to be the entire game regardless of how many players on the regular roster show up. The player is assisting the short team and will play the entire game in the field unless injured. Failing to abide by this rule may cause the Umpire to declare a forfeiture under Playing Rule 415 (5).

10. Assigned Pool Players may NOT pitch or catch.

11. Assigned Pool Players are limited to 2 innings in the infield.

12. Pool Players must bat at the end of the lineup behind any players on the regular roster.

 

2022 Administrative Majors/AAA – Summary of Proposal

1 NSLL Board Approved December ‘22 AR-8.2: In absence of a TOC tournament, winner of the regular season will represent NSLL in the City Championship
2 NSLL Board Approved December ‘22 AR-13: Player Pool for Majors will consist of Triple A players