Intermediates (League Ages *11-13)

Overview: The Intermediate division of the Avon Grove Little League is for league-age 12 & 13 year-old players (or league age 11 if attempting to play up a division) with postseason tournament opportunities, including a Little League World Series.  This division offers a transition between the standard Little League field size (46-foot pitching distance and 60-foot base paths) and the Junior/Senior field size (60-foot, 6-inch pitching distance and 90-foot base paths). 

Note: League Age 13-year-old players who also play baseball for a middle school team or are planning to try out for their school team should register for the JUNIORS DIVISION to gain experience on a regulation 60/90 field.

Many Junior/Senior Division rules are used in the Intermediate Division, such as runners being permitted to lead off bases and stealing at any time.

The culmination of the season is the Intermediate (50/70) Baseball World Series, featuring teams competing from around the world.

PLAYER EVALUATIONS: All players who wish to try out for the Intermediate Division are required to attend player evaluations to be eligible to be drafted unless an alternate plan is approved by the Board due to extenuating circumstances.  Players are evaluated for the purpose of allocating players to teams by means of a draft conducted by the Division Managers.  Teams will ideally be comprised of 12 or 13 players depending on registration.

PLAYING UP: In the event a parent requests a league age 11-year-old player to play in the Intermediate Division, AGALL will hold evaluations to determine if the player possesses the baseball skills and maturity required to ‘play up’ in the next division.

• PLEASE NOTE – Players league age 11, and potentially some 12 year olds depending on registration volumes, who are attempting to play up in the intermediate division are not guaranteed a roster position just because your player was registered and evaluated with the division.  Players attempting to play up must ultimately be drafted to an intermediate division team.  League age 13 and then 12 year old players will be drafted first.  If roster positions remain, then younger age players who are attempting to play up will be considered for draft.  Undrafted players in the majors division who are league age 11 or 12 will be assigned and drafted to the majors division.

Minimum requirements include:

• At least two (2) years of experience in the Majors Division or equivalent.  This experience must be with Avon Grove Little League or an equivalent program from another little league as determined by the AGALL Board.
• Player must attend in-person evaluations.
• Player must demonstrate the ability to throw with relative accurately, catch a thrown baseball and field a baseball consistent with the division to which they are applying.
• Player must demonstrate the ability to consistently hit overhand pitched baseballs from 50 feet.
• Player must demonstrate the ability to throw from the pitcher’s mound (50’) with accuracy consistent with the age group of the division to which they are applying.
• Player must demonstrate an understanding the game and the maturity to take instruction from coaches at the level appropriate for division in which they are applying and participate as a teammate in that age group.

Provisions to playing up include:

• Approvals for these cases will be infrequent and limited to a small number of players each year.
• Eligibility to play up to the next division will also depend on the overall registration volume at the Intermediate Level to ensure adequate field space and playing time for all eligible league players.
• The final decision to allow a player to "play up" is at the sole discretion of the AGALL Board of Directors.

UNIFORMS: AGALL will provide jersey shirts, belts and hats.  Parents can expect to purchase a baseball glove, a USA or BBCOR certified baseball bat, baseball pants and plastic/rubber baseball cleats. 

BATS:  Players in the Intermediate Division may use bats certified to either the USA or BBCOR standard.  Additional information is available at LittleLeague.org/batinfo.  Bats must include an original & legible USA or BBCOR stamp.  Aftermarket certification stickers will not be accepted.

What is Expected from Players?

• Players will learn more advanced concepts related to pitching, hitting, throwing, fielding and baserunning – including leads and steals.
• Players learn more advanced aspects of hitting, including pitch selection, bunting, sacrifices and using the whole body properly throughout the swing.
• Players will learn defensive strategies to adjust to various in-game scenarios, with pitchers and first basemen learning pickoff techniques.
• Players will learn to mentally prepare themselves for what to do if the ball when it is hit to them depending on the scenario.  
• Players will learn signals and follow coaching instructions during game play.  
• Players will learn how to advance the base runner by putting the ball in play on the left or right side of the field. 
• Players will learn by practicing various hitting drills, throwing and ball handling drills, fielding ground balls and making plays to various bases, and pop-ups with cut-offs.  
• Players will develop a greater awareness of fielding positions and defensive strategies. They will learn how to block and knock down harder hit balls safely.
• Players will learn how to overcome the fear of the ball during pitching, hitting and fielding. 
• Players will learn positive mindsets and learn to overcome the anxiety of making errors.
• Players will learn to catch fly balls of greater depth and in gaps, as well as making accurate throws to cutoffs.

What is Expected from Volunteers and Parent Coaches?

• Parents need to complete a background check by mid-March.  Please check the Volunteer Page and utilize the Volunteer Form.  There is no cost for the background check. Parents on the field of play working with children, must have a background check.
• Parents Volunteers should participate in the League Safety Meeting and Coach preparation sessions.  Please check the League Calendar.
• Parent Managers and Coaches should learn how to run a good practice with various drill stations.   Resources are available on the AGALL website.
• Parent Managers and Coaches will be given a roster of players with contact information.  
• All player information is confidential and not to be given out to anyone or used for any other purpose than to afford team practices and games.

GAME RULES: The Official Little League Rule Book will be used for the Avon Grove LL programs, unless superseded by one of the following special Avon Grove League Rules:

• Pitching Counts per game are tracked by Managers and Coaches and will be recorded online or forwarded to the Division Directors as instructed.
• AGALL follows the strict guidelines of the number of pitches thrown and the number of innings played by catchers in accordance with Little League rules.

PLAYOFFS: 

At the completion of the Intermediate season, a post-season playoff will be held for each program if registration permits and enough teams at this level are formed.  The winning team will receive a trophy.

District Tournaments
In addition to AGALL Playoffs, Divisional playoff teams will be selected to represent Avon Grove in Little League district tournaments played against teams from other leagues within our district.

Players will be invited to participate in the tournament program after a nomination and selection process managed by the league.  If a player does not want to participate in tournament play, please inform your Manager by mid-season.  If after that, a player can pull their name from the roster and the next player in rank order will be invited to the team.

GAME RESULTS: Game scores and division standings are tracked. Managers and Directors report game results to the Division Director or as otherwise instructed.   

NUMBER OF GAMES: There will be approximately 10-12 regular season games, depending on the number of teams.  Games are played two to three times per week and parents/players can expect at least one practice per week. Practices will start in mid-March as soon as weather permits and regular season games will end in June when playoffs are held. Weekday games start at 6:00PM and various times on Saturday's.  Arrival time is usually about one hour before game time for warm-ups & field preparation.

COACHING: If you are interested in Managing or Coaching a team, please indicate as such when you register your player. AGALL strongly recommends attending coaching and umpiring clinics and informational sessions to learn Division-specific rules and how to hold effective practices.  Coaching at this age level requires patience, clear communications, establishing rules and good discipline.  Additional information is available on the Positive Coaching Alliance website: (https://positivecoach.org/)