Lacombe Minor Baseball Association
- 2016 Rookie Round Robin Thanks for registering your child in baseball this season and giving them the opportunity to be involved in a team
sport. As each community in Alberta varies in regards to the rules, modifications, etc. that they utilize at the Rookie
level, the information below provides you with format that the LMBA Rookie program has utilized this season and the
one the teams will follow for the Rookie Round Robin.
Teams / # of Games / Time Slot
There are 7 teams that committed to this event. Each team will play 2 games. The time slots will be one hour (10
minute warm-up, 5 minutes for the teams to get organized and 45 minutes of game time).
Diamonds & Playgrounds
Rookie has 2 designated green spaces that have a backstop but no shale. These 2 locations also have a playground
for siblings and for entertainment between games. The diamonds are a 5 minute drive from each other. Please see
the attached schedule for the specific location / address of each diamond and game.
Blue Jays In 30 Analogy and Game Modifications
There has been great success in other communities with modifications to the “traditional” game format in order to
ensure the players are engaged more and having fun. Baseball traditionalists may not agree with the modifications,
but the number one reason children stop playing a sport is because it’s not fun and / or they’re bored. There can
tend to be a lot of standing around both offensively and defensively in baseball, so for young players it’s necessary to
modify the game while still teaching them the fundamentals to ensure they are ready to move up to the Mosquito
division.
There is a show called Blue Jays in 30 that shows you the highlights / action only from a Blue Jays game earlier that
day. To emphasize the amount of downtime in the game of baseball, consider the fact that most Blue Jays games last
3 hours (180 minutes) yet they’re able to summarize the actual action from a 3 hour game to just 30 minutes. Now
take out the commercial breaks during the 30 minute episode and you’ll probably only watch about 20 minutes of
action from a 3 hour game.............that’s 160 minutes (89%) of waiting / downtime. Using this same ratio for a 30
minute Rookie ball game without any modifications, that means there is only about 3 - 4 minutes of total player
engagement as most action lasts 5 – 10 seconds within the game (eg. players hits a ground ball and runs to first base
= approx. 5 seconds).
Rules / Modifications
1. Home / Visitor & Scorekeeping:
Please see the schedule on page 2 for the Home / Visitor designation. Score will not be kept, this is introduced in the
Mosquito division.
2. Base Distances & Defensive Positions
Throw down bases will be placed approximately 15 regular walking steps apart from each other. Players will be
placed in the following defensive positions RF, CF, LF, 3rd, SS, 2nd, 1st and Catcher (optional) for a total of 8 positions.
If teams have more than 8 players they are encouraged to place the extra players in the infield and outfield. Catchers
equipment is required if a team chooses to place a player in this position.
3. Rotate Defensive Positions:
Players will rotate clockwise one defensive position (except the catcher) after every 2 batters. The clockwise rotation
will be: RF to 1st to 2nd to SS to 3rd to LF to CF to RF.
4. Bases Start Loaded:
The team that is batting will start with the bases loaded (one runner on each base).
5. Everyone Bats:
The offensive team will bat every player, there are no 3 “outs”. Once each participant has batted the
teams will switch.
Lacombe Minor Baseball Association
- 2016 Rookie Round Robin Rules / Modifications (continued)
6. “Outs”:
“Outs” will be called (eg. thrown ball beats the runner to first base, runner is tagged when not on a base, caught
flyball, etc.). The participant that is “out” will just return to bench.
7. Helmets:
Helmets are mandatory for the hitter, on-deck batter and base runners
8. Maximum # of Pitches Per Batter:
In order to keep the game moving along, each batter will receive a maximum of 5 pitches from their coach, either
underhand or overhand at the coaches discretion based on the participant’s ability. If they have not made contact
after 5 swings, a ball will be placed on a batting T for them to hit.
9. Stealing / Advancing on Overthrows / Lead-offs:
Participants are not allowed to steal bases, advance on overthrows or lead-off. Players can only leave their base once
the batter has made contact with the ball.
10. Extra Base Hits:
If a player hits the ball far enough and is able to get a double, triple or homerun they are encouraged / allowed to,
with the base runners in front of them also advancing. Once the play stops, celebrate / acknowledge the great hit by
the batter and reload the bases with the batter that just hit going to first and the 2 base runners in front of them
returning to 2nd and 3rd. This will also result in all 3 of them getting additional base running experience and keeps
more players engaged.
11. Tennis Balls:
Tennis balls will be used during games and will be supplied by the Lacombe Rookie team that’s on the field. As the
coaches pitch to their batters from such a close proximity, using a tennis ball provides a safety factor in cases where
coaches get hit with a line drive. This also encourages players to get in front of the ball and not just hold their glove
out to the side of their body in an attempt to field or catch a ball.
Diamond Locations & Game Schedule – Sunday, June 26th
Essex Park – intersection of 58th Street and Northstar Drive.
Wilsons Park – turn north off of HWY 12 / 50th Avenue onto 56th Street and go one block north, the diamond will be
on your right-hand side.
1:00 – 2:00pm Home
Red Dodgers
Blue Dodgers
Visitor
Location
Hockey Central Cannons (Sylvan Lake) Essex Park
Eckville Rookies
Wilsons Park
2:00 – 3:00pm Home
Green Dodgers
Yellow Dodgers
Visitor
Red Dodgers
Blackfalds Pirates
Location
Essex Park
Wilsons Park
3:00 – 4:00pm Home
Visitor
Hockey Central Cannons (Sylvan Lake) Blue Dodgers
Eckville Rookies
Yellow Dodgers
Location
Essex Park
Wilsons Park
4:00 – 5:00pm Home
Blackfalds Pirates
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Location
Essex Park
Wilson’s Park
Visitor
Green Dodgers
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