FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Registration
Q. My player has no experience playing baseball. Is having experience a requirement?
A. No, every season we have several kids in all leagues (Rookie, Minor, and Major) that have never played baseball before. What we do after tryouts is form teams with players of all skill levels, including players with no experience. That way each team is as balanced as we can make them.
Q. Is there a softball league?
A. No, Santa Clarita Youth Baseball offers baseball 101 (tee-ball) and combined baseball for both boys and girls.
Q. What is included in the registration fee?
A. The registration fee includes a team hat, shirt, belt, and socks, in addition to the practices and games. Uniform sizing tends to run small, so you might want to consider ordering a size up. Please note that umpire fees are not included in your registration amount. Umpire fees are payable prior to the start of each game.
Q. What equipment does my player need to play baseball?
A. Players will need their own baseball pants, athletic cup, cleats, helmet, glove, and USA bat. A USSSA bat or metal cleats is not permitted.
Q. Do you offer a scholarship to waive tuition fees?
A. We do have limited funds available to pay for tuition due to financial hardship. Please email us at info@santaclaritayouthbaseball.com for more information.
Q. Can my player be on the same team as his/her friend?
- During the player draft, we will try to accommodate, however it is not guaranteed. In the “comments” section during registration, indicate the first and last name of the friend you’d like your child to play with.
Q. Can my player be on the same team with his/her brother or sister?
- This will depend on the ages of the siblings. Each division is based on an age range (e.g., Minor league ages 8-9). If both players are in the same range, during the player draft, we will do our best to accommodate. In the “comments” section during registration, indicate the first and last name of the brother/sister.
Q. Can my player request a certain coach?
- Due to draft rules, we are unable to manually place players on teams. The drafting process enables teams to be balanced by skill level. Manually adding players based on coach preference can cause an unfair advantage by stacking the team with skilled players.
Q. Can my player be on the same team as last season?
- Due to draft rules, we are unable to manually place players on teams. The drafting process enables teams to be balanced by skill level. Manually adding players to a specified team can cause an unfair advantage by stacking the team with skilled players.
Q. What is the registration refund policy?
- Refunds are accepted prior to the player draft minus the credit card/ATM processing fee that our bank charges for all transactions. After the player draft, there are no refunds. Once teams are created, we purchase the included hat, belt, shirt, and socks for each player therefore we have committed funds for your player to play baseball.
Q. Is there an opening day ceremony?
- Yes, SCYB offers an opening day ceremony for the spring season only. Opening day will involve free donuts, coffee/water, raffle prizes (requires purchase of tickets), music, face painting, balloon animals, the national anthem, teams walking the bases and more.
Q. Can I register my player after registration has officially closed?
- Your player will be added to the waitlist, however there are no guarantees that a spot will open up. During the waitlist period, no registration fees will be collected. If a spot does open up, you will be contacted by a board member. If you choose to accept the spot, you will be invoiced to pay the registration fee. Late registration will be accommodated on a first come, first serve basis and will be based on availability of the respective division(s).
Q. Can my child play baseball “up” or play “down” in a different division?
- We do not allow children to play outside of their age group, unless the coach or board member believes it’s a safety issue.
Q. I have a question that's not listed within the FAQ page. What can I do to get my question answered?
A. Please email your question to info@santaclaritayouthbaseball.com for more information.
Q. What is the cutoff birthdate for a player to play in each division?
A.
Tryouts
Q. What can my player expect during tryouts?
- Tryouts will be held to determine which team your player will play on. Tryouts are conducted to balance out the teams by skill level. All players who register will get on a team. Tryouts will be at Castaic Sports Complex on January 11th. Rookies and Majors: 9 a.m - 11 a.m. / Minors: 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Tee-ball is excluded from tryouts.). There are no makeup tryout dates. For tryouts, players should wear baseball pants or athletic sweats and wear non metal cleats. Any jersey or t-shirt is acceptable. Players need to bring a USA bat (Not USSSA bat), catching glove, helmet, and a water bottle. Wearing an athletic cup for groin protection is also recommended.
Q. What if my player cannot attend tryouts?
- All players who register will get on a team even if the player cannot attend tryouts. In order to address team skill level inequities, players who do not attend tryouts will not be a part of the draft. The Board of Directors will place players that do not attend tryouts on teams. This change in process will create more balanced teams and a more enjoyable experience for players.
Q. After tryouts, when will the coach contact me?
- The player draft will occur within 2 days of tryouts. Once teams are formed, your coach will communicate with you on the practice and game schedule for the season. Please allow a few days for the coach communication to occur. Please download the SportsEngine app on your smart phone or computer as this might be the approach your coach will use to communicate with you and the team.
Q. Does SCYB use an app to communicate with the coach?
- Yes, please download the SportsEngine app on your smart phone or computer.
Practices
Q. What is the practice schedule?
- Practice frequency will depend on the division and will occur in the evening during the week. All practices will be held at Castaic Sports Complex. Higher divisions such as Minors and Majors will practice generally twice a week, however this is ultimately up to the coach. For tee-ball, practices and games are combined on the same day, which is Monday nights from 5:00pm to 6:30pm. Your coach will communicate with you on the practice schedule for the season.
Q. Is attending practice mandatory?
- Yes, practices will help your player develop the skills needed to play baseball. Not attending practices will cause a disadvantage to the player and team.
Q. What if my player is not available to practice on certain nights of the week?
- During registration, indicate which nights your player is not available to practice in the “comments” section, and we will try to accommodate, however it is not guaranteed.
Games
Q. When are the games?
- All games are on Saturdays and begin between 9am and 3pm. Each game time will likely not be the same as the previous game time. Please note there could be a minimal number of weeknight games due to unanticipated weather delays and holidays.
Q. What is the game schedule for the season?
- After the draft is complete and teams are formed, your coach will communicate you with regarding the game schedule for the season.
Q. Does SCYB provide trophies?
- Yes, trophies are given out to the champions and 2nd place teams. Trophies are only provided to the players. Please note that trophies are only offered during the spring season, except for tee-ball. All tee-ball players will receive a trophy for both the spring and fall season.
Q. Is the Rookie division coach pitch or machine pitch?
- The Rookie division is machine pitch. We use the Louisville Slugger pitching machine that is manually loaded by the coach and operates via a spring.
Q. When will the canceling of a game due to rain be declared?
- Rainouts won't be declared until 2 hours before the start of the first game, which would be 7:00AM.
Q. Is there any difference between the Fall season and the Spring season?
- Yes, the focus is more on skill development compared to the spring season, however games in the fall are still competitive. There are no playoffs or championship games in the fall season and no trophies are awarded, except for tee-ball (baseball 101).
Volunteering
Q. I want to volunteer as a manager or coach – how do I sign up?
A. Please register as a coach or manager on the website (link is on the home page). Once the personal background check requirement is complete, one of our Board Members will contact you.
Q. How do I get my volunteer fee back?
- The $50 fee paid when registering will be refunded if a parent/guardian volunteers during the season. Only one day of volunteering is required. If interested in signing up to help out, please email us at info@santaclaritayouthbaseball.com. We have a few board vacancies and would love to recruit family-centered, motivated people who love baseball and helping kids. We hope you consider joining our team - you'd be volunteering your time for a great cause!
Q. I volunteered during the season. How do I obtain the $50 volunteer refund?
- After the season is over, we will need to verify your volunteering duty with the coach of the team. If the volunteering duty was approved by the coach, we will refund you the $50 volunteer fee back to your credit/ATM card. Please note that we only refund the volunteer fee that was collected at the time of registration.