Most of the players in Rookies will be between 6 and 8 years old, although upon request, parents of advanced 5-year-olds with one year of T-ball experience may request to have their children play in Rookies. In Rookies, coaches teach fundamental skills: batting, throwing, catching, and base running, in a game environment. Players improve their understanding of how to play baseball. They learn more about baserunning, defensive situations, and rules-of-play.

Developmental Guidelines for Rookies

Players who register for Rookies should be able to demonstrate the following skills:

• Knowledge of batting stance and grip
• Knowledge of throwing motion
• Knowledge of Proper fielding stance
• Should be familiar with the basic rules-of-play
• Players should be able to make semi-accurate throws
• Players should be able to catch with a reasonable success rate

Players with little or no prior experience, or who don’t meet the developmental guidelines for Rookies, should remain in T-ball.

Rookies Division Details

• Nashua Cal Ripken forms teams with the purpose of ensuring an enjoyable experience for players. We use information such as players’ schools, and coach or teammate requests when forming teams. We cannot guarantee we will be able to honor all requests.
• Rookies games last a maximum of 4 innings or 75 minutes. Each inning, every player hits machine or coach-pitched baseballs (soft core) at 35-40 MPH. Coaches pitch while taking a knee, from 2 feet in front of the mound. Players do not strikeout, but are put on base if they have not hit after 5 pitches. Players who are “put-out” in the field return to the dugout.
• Players rotate through infield and outfield positions, although coaches may consider safety in assigning positions.  Ten defensive players take the field during each half-inning.  Players share equal playing time and will sit out innings, but no player shall sit out two consecutive innings. Catchers are positioned behind home plate and catch “live” pitches. Game scores are not kept.
• Teams will typically have 1 practice and 1-2 games each week. The season, which begins in late April and ends in late June, includes approximately 12 games.