(7 or 8 years old by April 30th)

Minimum skill development in the Pinto League:

• Able to play catch with a hard baseball and catch the ball with a mitt
• Able to throw with a relatively normal (but still developing) throwing motion
• Able to properly hold and swing a bat at an overhand pitch

NUMBER OF PLAYERS: The Spring division will typically consist of 12-14 teams of 11-12 players each depending on registration numbers.

FORMAT: Pinto is the 8 and under format played under the PONY system. PTBA uses the coach-pitch model. The focus of Pinto is to expose players to the basic skill sets of baseball, teach them how to be part of a competitive team, how to handle success and failure, to display good sportsmanship, to make new friends, and most importantly to have fun!

COMPETITION: Pinto baseball is a clear step up in competitiveness from what most players will have experienced. There are wins and losses, Tournament and All-Star teams are selected, and there are playoffs at the end of the season. Please see the Pinto Rules document for a complete understanding of the game format.

PRACTICE: Practice's begin in early April (weather permitting). There are scheduled practices each week plus additional weekend practices early in the season. Players are strongly encouraged to attend all practices and games to aid in their skill development, but we understand that other sports are going on at the same time, so attendance is NOT mandatory.

GAMES: there is a 10-12 game regular season followed by a single elimination playoff.

• Weeknight games typically start by 6:00pm and last no more than 2 hours. Weekend games are played on Saturdays.
• Teams generally play 2-3 games per week through the season.
• The season concludes with a Playoff beginning the first week of June. Play should conclude by school summer dismissal. Pinto All Star team play starts the last weekend of June and concludes the last weekend of July (dependent on tournament calendar).

FAMILY COMMITMENT: Parents of players will be asked to contribute to the operation of their team by the Team Manager. This includes: helping at practice & games (if eligible), scorekeeping, field preparation, concession stand operation and cleanup.

TOURNAMENT & ALL STAR SELECTIONS:

• ALL STAR / TOURNAMENT TEAMS - Typically two (2) 8 year old teams and one (1) 7 year old team will be selected by the Managers in late May to represent PTBA in 8U and 7U tournaments.
• More detailed Information on Tournament team selections will be provided as the season approaches.

The Goal of Pinto is to develop the baseball understanding and skills necessary to play Mustang baseball.

 Brian Copeland, Pinto At Large