Tournament Team Overview & Guidelines

Moon Little League Baseball (MLLB) will coordinate a youth Tournament Baseball program for players who have advanced skills and abilities to provide them with the opportunity to participate in competitive baseball.

Overview:

The Travel program’s goal is to be able to provide a spot to every kid possible. In that goal, we must put together competitive teams for each level of play. We will have one top level team (Red) for each age group from ages 7 – 12. A Second tier team (Black) and Third tier team (White) will be made available if possible in order for all kids to have the opportunity to compete.

Player Eligibility:

• In order to be selected to an “A” or “B” level team, the player must have participated in the MLLB in-house spring program AND played in a minimum of 60% of regular season in-house games scheduled during the spring season. If a player meets this criterion at the time the travel team is selected and subsequently fails to meet the eligibility criteria by the end of the in-house regular season (playoff games excluded), that player may be removed from the team.
  
  
• In addition, a player not currently meeting the minimum eligibility rule that could achieve the minimum eligibility rule prior to the end of the in-house season should be considered for selection. The decision to remove and/or add another player will be addressed at that time by the MLLB Board of Directors. Extraordinary circumstances (i.e., injuries, family emergencies, etc.) will be reviewed by the MLLB Board of Directors, which can make an exception to the eligibility criteria stated above.
  
  
• A player selected to a travel team must be committed to play in tournament games during the travel baseball season, which typically runs from mid-June through the end of early August. Age coordinators may choose to attend tournaments outside of these months, however, the age coordinator will need to communicate with the commissioners to find weekends that would eliminate any conflicts with in-house games.
  
  
• The MLLB Board of Directors does recognize that this same period may also be the only time available for family vacations. Players may miss up to one tournament for family vacations. (Emergencies, injuries, illness, etc., will be excused)
  
  
• Players who are playing on another travel team outside of MLLB, are eligible to play for the MLLB tournament team at their given age, however they must commit to make all of the travel tournaments scheduled for the MLLB team. (as per above, a player can miss 1 tournament and still be eligible to continue with the team)
  
  
• Any player who is committed to another travel team outside of our organization cannot miss games in more than 1 tournament between the dates of June 21st - August 10th, due to their commitment to another team. Any player who misses games in more than 1 tournament due to commitments to other teams are not eligible to participate in the MLLB Tournament Baseball program the following season and are subject to removal from the team in the current season of record.
  
  
• Age cutoff - April 30th is the age cut-off for each age. Example: Timmy turns 8 on April 29th, Timmy then would be considered an 8U player. John however turns 8 on May 1st, John would be considered a 7U player.

Players are not eligible to play try out for an age group that they do not qualify for based on the April 30th cut-off date.

Example: Jeremy is a talented 8U eligible player, the parents want him to try out for the 9U team, this would not be permitted.

Travel Team Tenure 

The travel team(s) for ages 8U to 12U will be selected each Fall and remain the travel team for each respective age group until the team is re-evaluated and selected the following year. Tryouts are organized but the age level Coordinator. The tryouts for the 8U -12U teams can be anytime after September 15th - and prior to October 30th in each calendar year.

The teams picked in the fall will remain together until the following fall tryout for the next year.

Teams are permitted to play in tournaments, coordinate training, and plan for tournaments immediately following the rosters being set.

The travel team(s) for age 7U will be selected each Spring. Tryouts are organized but the age level Coordinator. The tryouts for the 7U teams can be anytime after April 1st - and prior to April 30th.

Travel Team Training & Off Season: 

Age group coordinators are encouraged to work with their age group team coaches to offer training throughout the winter months.

Tournament Player Call-Up Rules:

Tournaments - The roster for the tournament must be the roster that was set in the fall. MLLB acknowledges that players play on other teams and participate in several sports. If a team needs more players in order to play it should first try to find available players from a lower team within its age group.

Example: Red team (A team) tries to find players from the Black team (B Team). In certain situations players on the Black team may not have the skill level to compete in an A tournament. At that point the age group coordinator can grant permission for the manager to explore the possibility of calling up players from the next age level down.

Player Evaluations:

Any player that has expressed interest in playing travel baseball will be evaluated to determine the player’s ability.

Travel tryouts will be scheduled, and advanced notification will be given to all rec. participants and players.

Participation in at least one of the tryouts is mandatory for consideration on a travel team.

Evaluations will be conducted by the Age Group Coordinator as well as MLLB Board Members.

Coordinator, Player, Manager Selection Timing & Roster Size:

Players and managers will be picked within 10 days of the second tryout. Rosters for all ages will have a minimum of 10 players.

• Age Coordinator’s will be selected by the MLLB board in August.

Travel Team Selection Process

Our goal is to form the most competitive and developmentally appropriate roster while being fair and thorough in our evaluations. Travel team selections are based on multiple factors, not a single tryout moment. The following areas are considered:

Tryout Performance

Players are evaluated during formal tryouts on skills such as hitting, fielding, throwing, pitching/catching (when applicable), athleticism, effort, and coachability. Tryouts provide an important current snapshot of each player’s abilities.

Past Tournament Performance

For returning players, we review prior tournament play to assess how skills translate into game situations. This includes performance under pressure, game awareness, consistency, and overall contribution to team success.

In-House Play

Performance during the in-house season is considered to evaluate player development, work ethic, and game habits over time. This helps provide a fuller picture beyond a single evaluation.

Positional Considerations

Roster construction matters. While talent is the primary driver, we must also ensure proper positional coverage (pitching, catching, infield, outfield) to build a balanced and functional team.

Final Notes

Team selection is the result of evaluating all of the above factors collectively. No single metric guarantees placement. Our objective is to place players where they will best contribute, develop, and have a positive experience.

Parent Responsibilities:

Cost- Parents are responsible for the cost of the travel uniforms as well as tournament fees. Tournament fees are divided among the team. Typical travel teams require between $500 - $750 to be a part of.

Tournament Items *Estimated Costs

Tournament Items	Estimated Cost
Travel Uniforms & Hat (Home/Away), Pants, Accessories	$150.00
Tournament Fees	$200.00
Off-Season Training	$150.00
**Other apparel can also be ordered for family members **Other costs include additional tournaments and workouts

For home tournaments hosted by MLLB parents will be required to volunteer working in the concession stand, announcing games, field maintenance, scorekeeping, etc.

* The costs above reflect the cost for the summer tournament season. Additional costs may occur should the team decide to participate in winter leagues, additional training resources, or spring tournaments.

Fundraising:

Each age level and team is permitted to do fundraising to help offset costs and/or provide more opportunities for their group. This can be done in a variety of ways such as sales, lottery calendars, super bowl pools, etc.

Groups are however not permitted to sell additional food items while hosting their home tournament. Any additions to the food/concessions for a home tournament must be discussed with the Board’s Director of Concessions prior to hosting.

Any additional items of any kind that are being sold at your home tournament needs to be approved by the Director of Concessions.

If families decide to have additional concessions that are approved by the Director of Concessions that are either purchased or donated from that age group, that age group will receive 50% of the profit with the other 50% going to MLLB.

MLLB Commitment:

MLLB is committed to the success of each and every age group. As such, MLLB will sponsor 1 tournament for every team that hosts a home tournament with a minimum of 3 other entrants.

If an age group hosts a 2nd tournament with a minimum of 3 teams, MLLB will sponsor a 2nd tournament.

Code of Conduct:

Each travel team player and parent will be asked to sign a Code of Conduct to ensure that we are representing Moon Little League Baseball in a positive manner. If any player or parent violates the Code of Conduct, the committee used to select the travel team will determine what level of discipline, if any, is applied.