Tee Ball is our foundational level of the Little League Program
First time players, who are league age 4 or 5, must have participated in Tee Ball before moving to the Coach Pitch Division.
*The focus will be on FUN, fundamentals, & teamwork
*All games are 3 innings, with every player batting each inning
*Score is not kept and outs are not recorded
*The goal is to have players practicing hitting and fielding and developing awareness of general baseball rules
Tee Ball games are played on Saturday mornings. |
West Tampa Little League Tee Ball Rules
• Players must be between league age 4 and 7 to play in the tee ball division. The League will decide if players league age 5-7 should be in tee ball or a higher level. Please see the official Little League rules for how to calculate league age for baseball divisions.
• Team size will not exceed 12 players.
• Player safety should be the number one goal. Coaches are responsible for ensuring proper safety protocols are being followed.
• There is no on-deck batter. Players should not have a bat in their hands if they are not up to bat.
• All batters and runners must wear a helmet. Protective facemasks are optional.
• Official Tee Ball Baseballs must be used. No hard balls.
• There must always be a coach or parent in the dugout when a team is batting. The coach or parent must have completed the mandatory background check required by The City of Tampa.
• All players are on the field during the team’s defensive half inning. No one sits the bench.
• All players on the team will bat during the team’s offensive half inning. The batting order should be the same for each inning.
• All players will hit off a tee. No coach pitching is allowed in tee ball. There are no strikeouts. Batters will be permitted to swing until they are able to strike the ball into fair territory, at which point they should run to first base.
• Runners may advance 1 base at a time. During the final at-bat of the inning, all runners including the final batter will advance around the bases until they have touched home plate.
• Players should be taught how to touch home plate, however runs will not count. No score is kept in Tee Ball.
• There are no outs recorded in Tee Ball. Runners will remain on the base even if a defensive successfully able to put the runner out wither by tag or force play. However:
o Players should be taught and encouraged to try and make outs (i.e. throwing to first base, how to safely and properly apply a tag).
o Players should be properly positioned with regard to their skill and their throwing ability so that they may safely attempt throws without hitting other players. Also, players should not be positioned too close to the bater to avoid injury from a batted ball.
o All defensive players must be in fair territory. Players may be positioned anywhere in the infield and/or outfield, as long as proper spacing is maintained between players.
• Players should be encouraged to hustle on and off the field.
• There are no umpires in Tee Ball.
• Coaches will be responsible for placing the ball on the tee and instructing players on the field.
Coaches should never touch the ball while it is in play.
• Good sportsmanship should be exhibited by all players, coaches and parents.
• Time limit is 1 hour.
• At the conclusion of the game, both teams will line up at first and third base respectively, and give the traditional “good game” salute (handshake/fist bump/tip of the cap) to the opposing team.