Newcastle Baseball FAQ
What programs do you have available for various age groups?
What are the league registration fees?
How long does the season last?
Does Newcastle offer girls Softball?
Does my child need to tryout?
Can my child request to play for a specific coach or with a specific player?
Can you describe the level of commitment for Shetland/T-ball?
What days of the week will teams practice and play?
My child played last year, and they are returning to the same division. Do they need to try out again?
What happens if my child tries out but does not make a team?
If my child plays down a level, are they allowed to pitch?
Does my child need to live within a specific boundary to be eligible?
At the end of the season, are there any All-star teams?
How can I volunteer?
Where do the teams play?
Can my child "play up" a division?
What is your refund policy?
Q: What programs do you have available for various age groups?
A: Newcastle Baseball has programs from ages 4-14. For details about division rules see Divisions. Check out the
official PONY Baseball League Age
Key here.
- Shetland Division (T-Ball) ages 4-6 (age as of April 30th)
- Pinto Division (Coach Pitch) ages 7-8 (age as of April 30th)
- Mustang Division (Kid pitch) ages 9-10 (age as of April 30th)
- Bronco Division ages 11-12 (age as of April 30th)
- Pony Division ages 13-14 (age as of April 30th)
Q: What are the registration fees?
A: The registration fees increase as the player gets older mostly due to costs associated with field rentals and umpires.
See Registration Information page for current fees.
Q: How long does the season last by division?
A:
- Shetland: about 10 weeks, from late March to early June
- Pinto: about 15 weeks, from early March to mid-June
- Mustang: about 15 weeks, from early March to mid-June
- Bronco: about 15 weeks, from early March to mid-June
- Pony: about 15 weeks, from early March to mid-June
- All-Star teams (age 7+): about 6 weeks, from mid-June to end of July
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Q: Does Newcastle offer girls softball?
A: No, we don’t. Girls are encouraged to play baseball with Newcastle Baseball or choose a local league that has a softball program.
Q: Does my child need to tryout?
A: Player skills assessments are mandatory for players in the Pinto, Mustang, Bronco and Pony divisions and are essentially "skill evaluations". The purpose is to try, as much as possible, to get evenly matched teams by evenly distributing talent within each division. Shetland division (T-ball) does not have player skills assessments. See Assessment Policies for details.
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Q: Can my child request to play for a specific coach or with a specific player?
A: You can make a coach or player request during the registration process. While we do our best to accommodate such requests, they are not guaranteed, especially if it affects the overall balance of teams.
Q: Can you describe the level of commitment for Shetland/T-Ball?
A: Typically, the T-Ball season lasts about 10 weeks. It includes around 10 practices and 10 games, each lasting approximately 75 minutes. T-Ball practices start in late March at two per week. Practices and games are often on one weeknight plus Saturday. The focus is on exposure to fundamental skills: throwing, hitting, and fielding.
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Q: What days of the week will teams practice and play?Shetland (T-Ball) plays/practices one weekday night and on Saturday. The weekday night varies by team depending on coach and field availability, this will be confirmed by the coach once the team is formed. We will consider trading a player amongst teams if the recurring weekday night game/practice is a conflict.
Pinto plays and practices generally Tue, Thu and Sat (3 / days week), Mustang plays and practices generally Mon, Wed and Sat (3 / days week). There may be occasional extra practices or make up games (due to rain outs) on other week day nights but coaches will communicate that in advance. Bronco and Pony plays and practices various week day nights and Saturday (3 / days week) and weekday schedule will vary based on availability of coaches, opponents, and field.
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Q: My child played last year, and they are returning to the same division. Do they need to tryout again?
A: Player skills assessments are mandatory for players in the Pinto, Mustang, Bronco, and Pony divisions to aid in building balanced teams. Shetland division (T-ball) does not have player skills assessments. See Assessment Policies for details.
Q: What happens if my child tries out but does not make a team?
A: Newcastle Baseball will do its best to enable all kids who want to play baseball the opportunity to do so. In divisions such as Pony (ages 13-14), there is commonly only one team. If there are not enough players to form a team or too many players for just one team, the board will make decisions to address team rosters. Additional coach volunteers may be needed to operate a 2nd team or to lead the first team. This situation may apply to other divisions but is not very common.
Q: If my child plays down a level, are they allowed to pitch?
A: Yes, if the board approves a player to play down a division for the season, that player may play any position. The player’s pitch counts are based on the player’s age and not the division they are playing in.
Q: Does my child need to live within a specific boundary to be eligible?
A: PONY Baseball does NOT have any hard boundaries like Little League does. Friends from varied communities and school districts can play with and against each other in Newcastle PONY Baseball. Most Newcastle players live in Newcastle, Bellevue, Renton, and Issaquah, but eligibility is NOT limited to these areas. The ability of the parent to get your child to practices and games on time is important to your decision to choose Newcastle Baseball:
- Weekday practices - March/April (5 pm start), May/June (6 pm start)
- Weekday games - April (5 pm start, arrive 30-60 minutes early); May/June (6 pm start, arrive 30-60 minutes early)
- Saturday practices/games - 10 am or later (arrive 30-60 minutes early for games)
If you have questions, please email [email protected].
Q: Are there any All-Star teams that play in the summer?
A: In mid-May, there will be tryouts for the All-Star teams. Coaches will nominate their best players by age to participate in the tryouts. Following the tryouts, the Board, with assistance from the coaches in the related division, will select the members of each All-Star team. Based on the All-Star team roster, the coaching staff of each team will be determined.
All-Star teams are possible for 7U, 8U, 9U, 10U, 11U, 12U, 13U, and 14U in any given year. In a typical year, there will only be All-Star teams for a certain number of age groups based on the total population of nominated players in that age group.
The Newcastle All-Stars will play a mixture of games and tournaments against All-Star teams from other baseball programs and select teams that have been playing together all year. Expect that the level of competition will be much higher than regular-season baseball.
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Q: How can I volunteer?
A: As a 100% volunteer-based league, we depend on volunteers to assist at every level, including managers, coaches, board members, event organizers, scorekeepers, field maintenance, etc.
If you are interested in being a coach or volunteer to help your child's team in a non-coaching volunteer role, you can sign up here. Once teams are set, the team manager will reach out to parents with additional volunteer roles needed on the team, such as Scorekeeper.
Q: Where do the teams play?
A
: We're excited to again host most of our Shetland, Pinto, and Mustang practices and games at Risdon Middle School this year. Other practices and games at these ages are held at Sierra Heights Elementary and Coalfield Park. Older teams will have practices and home games at Kennydale Lions Park, Highlands Park, Coalfield Park, or Petrovitsky Park, depending on the division.
Q: Can my child "play up" a division?
We generally discourage playing up - safety, maturity, leadership, etc. - but it is not prohibited. If a parent and player desire to “play up” (that is, trying out for a division higher than would be age correct for your player) there is a process to follow outlined below.
To be considered to “play up”, first register for your age-appropriate division, select “play up” field within registration process, and then plan to attend the play-up division assessment. Coaches and staff running that session will determine whether playing up would make sense for your player. If there is a difference in the division fee you paid vs the “play up” division you will receive an invoice for the difference once a decision is made if the player is able to play up.
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Q: What is your refund policy?
In the event a player from Pinto, Mustang, Bronco or Pony divisions needs to withdraw from our program after registration, refunds will be provided as follows:
• Player withdrawal prior to Player Assessments: 100% of registration fee less a $25 administrative fee
• Player withdrawal after Player Assessments: 50% of the registration fee
• Player withdrawal after Player Draft: No refund
Refunds for Shetland (T-Ball) division players (not subject to Player Assessments) will be provided as follows:
• Player withdrawal prior to Final Registration Date: 100% of registration fee less a $25 administrative fee
• Player withdrawal from Final Registration Date to Start of Season: 50% of the registration fee
• Player withdrawal after Start of Season: No refund
Refund(s) for player withdrawal due to unforeseen circumstance (injury, moving) will be considered by the Newcastle Baseball Board on an individual basis. Requests for refund can be sent to the Registrar at [email protected] Please include parent name, player name, division and reason for refund.
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