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About HOYB Baseball Leagues
 The
Herndon Optimists Youth Baseball (HOYB) League in Herndon, Virginia,
provides boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 12 an opportunity
to play in an organized baseball program. The HOYB program is a part
of the Cal Ripken division of the Babe Ruth organization.
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The Herndon Optimists also sponsors the
Babe Ruth League for youth 13 - 15 and Senior Babe Ruth for
ages 16 - 18. Babe Ruth information and forms can be
obtained by visiting the
Herndon Babe Ruth
website.
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Our leagues are safe, fun and very instructional. No experience
necessary! If your child has never played before or if your child is
a "seasoned vet", baseball in Herndon has lots to offer.
Why Play Baseball in Herndon?
Our league is designed to serve the kids of our community. We have
rules that our players and families love-- it keeps them coming back
every season. Here are a few things to consider about our leagues:
- Continuous batting order. All 12-players are in
the batting order and we rotate 1-thru-12, as opposed to a typical
9-player lineup where your child may only get one at-bat per game.
In our leagues players don't "ride the pine" when it comes to
hitting.
- All Kids get a chance to play "fun" positions. Most
kids don't like to get stuck playing in the outfield all of the
time. In our leagues we have requirements that kids get to play
infield positions every game. In the Rookie League any player that
wants to pitch will be given the opportunity to pitch in at least
one game.
- No "Curve Balls" for pitchers. In order to
protect our kids and their arms, we do not allow them to throw
pitches that involve a "twisting motion" in their arm. Further, we
have strict pitching limits to protect children from throwing more
pitches than is prudent.
- Bottom Line is that we build lasting memories.
Our leagues are about fun, teaching, participating, learning,
winning and losing, and occasionally being the team hero with that
timely hit or great play. When our children are grown, we
want them to remember their baseball days with fond memories.
League Boundaries. Our leagues cover the areas of:
Herndon, Reston, Chantilly, Oak Hill (including surrounding western
Fairfax County areas), plus all of Loudoun County. All games and
practices will still be on our regular Herndon baseball fields.
League Structure
for Spring 2008
Our baseball leagues are more skill
based as opposed to strictly age based. The benefit of this is that it allows kids to be placed
(drafted) into a league that best suit their abilities. If our kids
are not "over or under matched" with the competition, then they are
more likely to enjoy the baseball experience and are likely to
return the following season. The below table outlines our
leagues:
|
League |
Ages / Grade |
Notes |
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Major 50/70 |
10, 11, 12 year olds, OR
Grades 4, 5, 6. |
All games played on 50/70 diamond. Only 4 teams; includes
weekend games with local 50/70 teams. Tuesday
& Saturday games. |
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Major
46/60 |
10, 11, 12 year olds OR
Grades 4, 5, 6. |
All games played on 46/60 diamond. 8 teams in league.
All remaining 12-year olds not drafted into 50/70. Wednesday
& Saturday games. |
|
Minor |
9, 10, 11 year olds OR
Grades 3, 4, 5. |
All remaining 11-year olds not drafted into the Major
League. Selected 9 and 10-year olds drafted into the Minor
League. Tuesday & Saturday games. |
|
Rookie |
8, 9, 10 year olds OR
Grades 2, 3, 4. |
All remaining 10-year olds not drafted into the Minor League.
Players 8 & 9-years old selected during the Rookie League draft.
Thursday & Saturday games. |
|
Machine Pitch |
7, 8, 9 year olds OR
Grades 1, 2, 3. |
All remaining 8 & 9-year olds not drafted
into the Rookie League. Players 7-years old who requested to
play up. Monday & Saturday games. |
|
Coach Pitch |
5, 6, 7 year olds OR
Grades K, 1, 2. |
Four pitches then use Tee if needed.
Remaining 7-year olds and players 5 & 6-years old who requested
to play up. Saturday games. |
|
T-Ball |
4, 5, 6 year olds OR Grades Pre-K, K, 1. |
First time players and players who would like to continue to hit
from the Tee. Saturday games. |
|
Buddy Ball |
6
thru 13 year olds |
Children with special needs and/or disabilities. Players paired
with at least one older buddy. Sunday games (no
practices). No $$ Fee. |
Manager & commissioner contact information including league standings (for our
competitive leagues) are online: Major League,
Minor League,
Rookie League, Machine Pitch League,
Coach Pitch League,
T-Ball
League, Buddy Ball.
2008 League Rules
Hey it wouldn't be baseball if we didn't have rules! The
following link contains the official rules that govern play for all
of our leagues from T-Ball thru the Major Leagues. Click on the link
below to download the rules. You may save the rules to your local
hard disk or print them from your web browser.
All team managers are responsible for
ensuring that they know and play all games according to our 2008
House League Rules.
 The
free Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view and print the
league rules and coaches & parents forms. If you do not have the Acrobat software click on
the graphic to download and install.
Important Coaches &
Parents Forms
The following forms may be downloaded and printed. Please contact your league
commissioner with any comments or concerns.
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The
Herndon Braves were founded to bring the thrill of
summer baseball to the Herndon community. Their goal is to
provide an atmosphere of family fun, while providing a sense
of community around their team.
We hope you'll
join
us at a game! We are also looking for Host Families to
provide a summer home for our players who travel to Herndon
from all over the country.
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Links to
Other League & Baseball Websites
The links below are to other League websites that provide additional
information regarding the Babe Ruth League that we are organized
under.
Here are links to other baseball related
websites.
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