Tryouts (also known as Player Evaluations) for our competitive divisions (AA, AAA, Majors, Intermediates and Juniors) usually occur on a weekend during the first half of January, weather permitting. Check our online calendar for dates, and all registered players will also receive an email before tryouts with their designated time slot.

All players league-age 9-13 years old, including coaches’ kids, are required to attend the tryouts for their age group.

Tryout times are organized by age group, to make it as efficient as possible for coaches to see all the kids in their age group. Your player’s tryout will start promptly at the time indicated in your email; please show up 20 minutes before your scheduled time to check in and warm up. Your tryout should last 30-45 minutes from the start time.

 

What to Expect:

• Tryouts will consist of batting, fielding (grounders and flies) and throwing
• At the batting station, balls will be delivered to players via coach pitch.
• Players may also be asked to run the bases.
• Players should bring their glove, bat and batting helmet. (Some bats and helmets will be available if you don’t have one.)
• Players should wear baseball pants (or other athletic pants) and shoes with rubber/plastic cleats. Metal cleats are only allowed for Intermediate and Juniors players but are not required or necessary.
• Coaches from multiple divisions will attend and watch each tryout slot based on the players’ age and experience

 

What Happens Afterwards?

• Drafts will occur after the tryouts are complete (dates will be listed on the calendar)
• Players will be contacted by their coach or the league shortly after the draft.
• For a visual graph of where players normally get drafted see this page – for each age group there is a range of 3 divisions they will end up in.
• Not all players move up to a higher division each year. Most players will repeat a division at least once during their NOLL/SOLL career.
• Some 9s will not be drafted, in which case they will be placed on a Farm B team.
• 9s may be drafted into either AA or AAA, but not lower than the division you played in last year.
• 10s must be drafted into AA or higher.
• 11s must be drafted into AAA or higher.
• 12s must be drafted into Majors or higher.
• 13s must be drafted into Intermediates or higher.
• 14s must be drafted into Juniors.

 

FAQ

I missed registration – can I just show up to tryouts?

Only registered players should attend tryouts. If you aren’t yet registered, please join the waitlist and we’ll notify you if we have additional space.

I can’t make my scheduled tryout time – what do I do?

Reply to your tryout email from NOLL/SOLL and let us know and we’ll do our best to reschedule you.

Is there a makeup date?

We usually have a makeup tryout date the weekend after tryouts. Email us for details if you’re unable to attend the scheduled weekend.

What if I’m injured and can’t try out?

If you’re unable to make any of the tryout dates due to injury or illness, please let us know and we may be able to get a scouting report from a previous coach.

What if it’s raining?

If weather makes the field unplayable, we may move tryouts to another surface (like indoors or on asphalt) or location, or postpone them. If there are any changes, we’ll do our best to contact players before their tryout time. If you haven’t heard anything and aren’t sure, please check our Facebook page [LINK] for updates.

Wait, what’s my “league age” again?

For Little League purposes, your age is the age you are on August 31 of the current year. You can use the tools on this page to calculate your LL age: https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/determine-league-age/

What if I want to skip a division?

If you’re interested in skipping a division you must notify us before tryouts at info@nollsoll.com. We do not allow players to skip a division unless requested in advance.

I’m not sure what division I belong in – can I try out in front of more than one group of coaches?

If you aren’t sure which division you belong in, feel free to ask questions.  Generally speaking, we will assign you to try out in front of the age group above the one you most recently played in and, if you are still age-eligible, also the age group you most recently played in.  So if you are an 11yr old who played in AAA last year, you will try out in front of Majors and AAA coaches.  If you are a 12yr old who played in AAA last year, you will try out only in front of Majors coaches, as you are no longer eligible for AAA.

Why do I have to try out?

Tryouts give our coaches a sense of players’ relative skill level before the draft, so we can make sure kids are placed in the correct division for their skills and build balanced teams.

Does everyone get drafted?

There is no guarantee that you will be placed on a team in a specific division – but everyone will be placed on a team; there are no “cuts” in NOLL/SOLL. Eight- and nine-year-olds who don’t get drafted into AA will be placed on a Farm B team. Not getting drafted into AA isn’t necessarily a reflection of your child’s skill, but rather a reflection of the relative skill of other players trying out in the same division.

Do T-ball and Farm players attend tryouts?

No, only players who wish to play in one of our competitive divisions must attend tryouts.

What about Seniors?

The Seniors season does not start until the local high school baseball season ends, usually at the Memorial Day weekend.  Since those players are busy (playing HS baseball), our coaches get together and divide the teams up just prior to the season.  There may be tryouts, but it is not strictly required.