The following list contains some of the most commonly asked questions for our league. If you don't see your question here, please email us at [email protected] and we will answer you ASAP.
1. How old does my child have to be to play Little League?
Your child must be at least 4 years old on September 1, 2024 in order to be eligible for participation in league activities for the 2025 season. Please see the Age Chart in the site links section below for further information.
2. How do I register?
Click the 'Registration' tab at the top of the page to be taken to the registration portal. Please create an account, then add your children. You will be able to register each of them and then pay all at once. The system will save your information and it will be retained going forward, making the following year's registration a snap!
3. When will I get information from my team?
If your child is in the Minors, Majors, Juniors, Seniors, or Intermediate division the manager coaching your son or daughter this season will contact you after try-outs are complete and teams have been formed (usually a few days after the try-out event is held).
If your child is in Coach Pitch, Farm League or Tee Ball, registration will close on the date listed for each division in the registration section. It will take up to a week to get the teams formed and coaches assigned. Once the teams have been constructed the coaches will notify the parents of their team members as quickly as possible. This will allow for a couple of weeks of practice time prior to the start of the game schedule in mid-April.
4. What kind of schedule can I expect for the season?
Preseason activities and practices for children in the Minor, Major, Junior, Senior, and Intermediate divisions will begin for baseball and softball players following the try-outs in mid-March. The regular season games for these divisions are slated to begin in mid-April, and run through to mid- June.
Players from these divisions who participate in All-Star postseason activities can expect to play in the weeks following the completion of the regular season. Coaches for these All-Star teams will be able to share more solidified schedules for these activities once further details are made available on the state, regional, and national levels.
Children in the Farm League, Tee Ball, and Coach Pitch divisions will begin their practice and preseason activities in early-April, with regular season games being scheduled from mid-April until early June.
Details on other league activities, such as the annual park clean-up day, opening ceremonies and team photo sessions, and other important events will be prominently shared through our website, social media, and other available means. These details will also be communicated in a timely fashion by the coaches assigned to your child's team.
5. Why does my child have to try out?
Try-outs are a way for the coaches and NBLL League Officials to assess the skill level of the players. This allows the organization to create teams that have an even distribution of skill levels, ensuring competitive balance and an enhanced experience for all children involved in the program. The coaches and league administrators are also able to determine if there are players that are not quite ready to play up into the division for which they may be trying out. This is an important safety measure, and is in no way intended as a statement on a child's level of talent.
If you have additional questions on how this process works, please email us at [email protected] .
6. Can my child 'play up' or 'play down'?
Your child may 'play up' a division if they attend the required try-outs and are selected for a team within that division following the tryout scheduled for the division in question.
Your child may not play down. This is for safety reasons, is a part of the regulations set forth by Little League, and mandatory for compliance with our organization's insurance coverage policy.
7. Can my child play in multiple divisions at the same time?
Your child may play in more than one division, should they meet the age requirements for both, and after the skills assessment at the try-outs for each division, it is determined that it would not represent a safety hazard for your child to do so. You will need to register your child twice (once for each team) and pay the registration cost associated with registration in each division.
In the event that several Minor players play up into Majors and there are too many Majors players, the Minors players will be the first ones eliminated from the pool and returned to the Minors division.
8. Can we keep the uniforms at the end of the season?
Yes - the jersey and hat provided to your child as a part of their team uniform is kept by the child at the end of the season!
9. I have not heard from my coach yet - what's up?
This is the most asked question every year. We try very hard to have our coaches contact their team in a timely manner. We cannot forget that our coaches are an all-volunteer staff who are working hard in their private lives in addition to coaching your child. Please understand that it may take a couple of days for all teams to be contacted.
However, if you feel that you are not being contacted in a timely manner, please email us at [email protected]. There have been instances where an email or phone number was wrong on the registration form, and we don't want to assume that all is well if it isn't.
10. I don't know where any of the fields are.
On the main page of the website, there is a dropdown section titled Field Locations. There are links to online maps for the fields throughout Lolo, Missoula, and Frenchtown.
11. What are the details for each division?
Tee Ball: Introductory/Instructional Level - teams are formed by the NBLL board members and coaches within this division. Parent requests for team assignment are honored whenever possible.
Coach Pitch Baseball/Farm League Softball: This is a non-competitive/developmental division, in which teams are formed by the coaches and NBLL board members. Parent requests and coach requests will be taken into consideration whenever possible, however we cannot guarantee that all requests will be fulfilled.
Minor Baseball/Minor Softball: Players pitch, semi-competitive/developmental teams are formed AFTER tryouts and a subsequent player draft. Parent requests regarding teammates and coaches will be brought forward at the draft, however will not be guaranteed. All players will be drafted, BUT will not be guaranteed to be be on the team on which they played in the previous season.
Major Baseball/Major Softball: Player pitch, competitive teams will be formed AFTER tryouts and a subsequent player draft. Parent requests regarding teammates and coaches will be brought forward at the draft, however will not be guaranteed. All players will be drafted, BUT will not be guaranteed to be be on the team on which they played in the previous season.
Intermediate/Junior/Senior Baseball and Softball: Player pitch, competitive teams are formed based on the registration numbers.