Brookings Friends of Baseball sponsors three divisions of youth baseball: Minors (U7 & U8), Juniors (U9 & U10) and Majors (U11 & U12)

Majors (11U/12U)  - 5th and 6th grade

Teams - The number of teams will be determined by total players registered. Teams will generally include 10-13 players. Registration will occur from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15. Players may still register for in-house from April 1-15, but any travel team registrations must be done by Dec. 15.

Players are not eligible for travel teams unless they are registered for the in-house league and all players will remain with their respective grades.

Team Selection - A 2-3 day evaluation period will be held the first week of May. The evaluations will be held outside at Teener Field or the Southbrook Softball Complex. Coaches for each major team will be involved in the evaluation. A draft will then be held for the majors team.

Tentative evaluation days for 2024 are Monday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 8, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Your player may attend both evaluations, but certainly every effort should be made to attend at least one.

Any player who does attend the evaluation will still be placed on a team.

The Majors draft will be held Wednesday, May 15. Teams will be announced by the end of the week.

Draft rules include:

• Only the head coach of the in-house team can participate in the draft;
• The youth baseball director or an officer from FOB will serve as the draft official;
• The draft order will be determined by a blind draw;
• The coach’s player will be on the team they are coaching;
• The coach's player will be “slotted” into the draft in the position they would have been drafted. All coaches and the draft official must agree on the slotted position. The coach will then not draft a player in that spot.
• All players are placed on a team. There are no cuts.
• Teams will be posted on the FOB website.
• The draft is CONFIDENTIAL and will not be shared publicly. Any violation of this rule by a coach may result in the coach being removed from the team.

Games - Games in the majors division will take place on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 and 7 p.m. at the Teener Field next to the Brookings High School track. Scores will be recorded and standings will be updated.

All majors games are kid pitch. Games will be umpired by FOB players in the 14U age group and older. All kids will get to participate and will play multiple positions. Roster batting will be required and every attempt for equal number of innings in the field will be made.

2024 Tentative Majors Schedule

• May 6-8 - Evaluation Period
• May 15 - Draft
• May 17 - Teams Announced
• May 21, 23, 28, 30 - Practice
• June 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 - Games
• July 2, 9, 11 - Games
• July 16, 23 - Practice
• July 25, 29, 30 (if needed) - In-house championship tournament

Coaches - Majors teams will be coached by volunteer parents. Parents interested in coaching should contact the Youth Baseball Director or FOB President by March 15. Each team will include a head coach and two assistant coaches. Those three individuals will receive credit on their points requirement as noted in the FOB Bylaws. Coaches may also be subject to a background check.

The Youth Baseball Director will determine the head coach for each of the teams. Assistant coaches will only be placed following the draft and will be placed with the team their player was drafted on. Head coaches can not request certain individuals to be their assistants.

Minors (9U/10U)  - 3rd and 4th grade

Teams - The number of teams will be determined by total players registered. Teams will generally include 10-13 players. Registration will occur from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15. Players may still register for in-house from April 1-15, but any travel team registrations must be done by Dec. 15.

Players are not eligible for travel teams unless they are registered for the in-house league and all players will remain with their respective grades.

Team Selection - A 2-3 day evaluation period will be held the first week of May. The evaluations will be held outside at the Four Fields, Medary or the Southbrook Softball Complex. Coaches for each major team will be involved in the evaluation. A draft will then be held for the minors team.

Tentative evaluation days are Monday, May 6 and Wednesday, May 8, 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. Your player may attend both evaluations, but certainly every effort should be made to attend at least one.

Any player who does attend the evaluation will still be placed on a team.

The minors draft will be held Thursday, May 16. Teams will be announced by the end of the week.

Draft rules include:

• Only the head coach of the in-house team can participate in the draft;
• The youth baseball director or an officer from FOB will serve as the draft official;
• The draft order will be determined by a blind draw;
• The coach’s player will be on the team they are coaching;
• The coach's player will be “slotted” into the draft in the position they would have been drafted. All coaches and the draft official must agree on the slotted position. The coach will then not draft a player in that spot.
• All players are placed on a team. There are no cuts.
• Teams will be posted on the FOB website.
• The draft is CONFIDENTIAL and will not be shared publicly. Any violation of this rule by a coach may result in the coach being removed from the team.

Games - Games in the minors division will take place on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 and 7 p.m. at the Four Fields next to Bob Shelden Field. All kids will get to participate and will play multiple positions. Roster batting will be required and every attempt for an equal number of innings in the field will be made.

2024 Tentative Minors Schedule

• May 6-8 - Evaluation Period
• May 16 - Draft
• May 17 - Teams Announced
• May 21, 23, 28, 30 - Practice
• June 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 - Games
• July 2, 9, 11 - Games
• July 16 - Last Game

All minors games will include kid pitch, but walks will not be allowed. Any player after a fourth ball will hit from a tee. The Youth Baseball Director reserves the right to start the season with pitching machines in the event there are not enough kids ready to pitch.

Coaches - Minors teams will be coached by volunteer parents. Parents interested in coaching should contact the Youth Baseball Director or FOB President by March 15. Each team will include a head coach and two assistant coaches. Those three individuals will receive credit on their points requirement as noted in the FOB Bylaws. Coaches may also be subject to a background check.

The Youth Baseball Director will determine the head coach for each of the teams. Assistant coaches will only be placed following the draft and will be placed with the team their player was drafted on. Head coaches can not request certain individuals to be their assistants.

Juniors Division (7U & 8U) – 1st and 2nd grade

Teams - The number of teams will be determined by total players registered. Teams will generally include 10-13 players. Registration will occur from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15. Players may still register for juniors until April 25 with no penalty. Every attempt will be made to put a player on a roster that registers after April 25, but there is no guarantee of roster placement.

All players will remain with their respective grades. Players will not be allowed to “play up” to another age group.

Team Selection - Teams will be selected from a random draw of players who have registered by the Youth Baseball Director. There is no draft in the juniors division.

Season Schedule - A schedule for the minors season will be communicated by early May following any late registrations. Practice and games will begin after May 15.

2024 Tentative Minors Schedule

• May 1 - Teams Announced/Schedule completed
• May 21, 23, 27, 30 - Practice
• June 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, 27 - Games
• July 2, 9, 11, 16 - Games

Games - Games in the juniors division will take place on Tuesday and Thursday at 5:30 and 7 p.m. at the Four Fields next to Bob Shelden Field. 

All junior games will include the use of a tee for batting. All kids will get to participate and will play multiple positions. Roster batting will be required and every attempt for an equal number of innings in the field will be made.

Coaches - Juniors teams will be coached by volunteer parents. Parents interested in coaching should contact the Youth Baseball Director by March 15. Each team will include a head coach and two assistant coaches. Those three individuals will receive credit on their points requirement as noted in the FOB Bylaws. Coaches may also be subject to a background check.

The Youth Baseball Director will determine the head coach for each of the teams. Assistant coaches will only be placed following the selection of the teams. Head coaches can request certain individuals to be their assistants, but the request is not guaranteed