PONY Divisions – Age Cut-Off Revision

In an effort preserve existing team integrity during this transitional year from grade-based divisions to PONY League age-based divisions, the SFYBL board has decided to alter the age cut-off date to December 31 (from April 20) for this season only.

The age cut-off dates for in-season play are now:

Mustang: May 1, 2001 – December 31, 2003
Bronco: May 1, 1999 – December 31, 2001
Pony: May 1, 1997 – December 31, 1999

Again, these dates are for this transitional year season only. Summer tournament teams and the 2013 season on will use April 30 as the age cut-off date.

Individual Registration Begins Today

Individual registration to SF Rec & Park begins online today at 10:00 AM.

Individual registration is for players who do not have team. You register your child online through SF Rec & Park, and they will assign your child to a SF Rec & Park rec center-based team.

Online individual registration is at:

http://www.sfreconline.org

Team registrations begin tomorrow (Sat., Jan. 28) and are done at in-person registration sessions.

PONY divisions – Age Clarification

[revised 2012.01.29]
As previously mentioned, the SFYBL PONY divisions (for ages 9-14) are not grade-based…they are entirely age-based.
The age cut-off date is December 31

Mustang division: those born between January 1, 2001 – December 31, 2003
Bronco division: those born between January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2001
Pony division: those born between January 1, 1997 – December 31, 1999

Some 3rd graders will fit within the eligible age-range for the Mustang division. Those players have the option of playing either on a 3rd grade division coach-pitch team or a PONY Mustang division kid-pitch team (not both).

Additionally, for the first time in a long time we will allow high school freshman to play in our PONY division as long as: 1) they are not on a high school frosh/soph, JV, or varsity baseball for a CIF high school team, and 2) they turned 14 years old after April 30, 1997.

Lastly, PONY League rules give us the flexibility to permit players to “play up” one division. As previously mentioned this is not an automatic entitlement to teams. Any coach who wishes to have player eligible for one division lower play up a division higher (e.g. a 9-10 year old Mustang eligible player competing in the Bronco division [11-12 year olds]) must have approval from the SFYBL board before doing so. We want to be sure that any kids who play up are doing so because they have sufficient baseball development and skills to do so and not because it is logistically convenient or for social promotion reasons.

Team Registration – online roster entry

We are now using an online entry system for all Team Registration player submissions. This system is for coaches doing team registration only. It is not for coaches of SF Rec & Park-registered teams and it is not for players or non-coaching parents of any SFYBL team.

We are mandating the use of this system for team registrations. If you are a coach of a non-Rec & Park team, you can start entering your players now…even though we are still four days away from the first registration session.

You will still need to bring a hard-copy SFYBL 2012 Roster and signed/completed 2012 SFYBL Waivers (both of which are in the Forms section of this site) for each player on your roster to one of our registration sessions…but you will need to enter your players online as part of the registration process. You will be able to add players to your roster through April 14.

Please send an email to teamregistration@sfybl.com for information on accessing our online player entry system. In the email, please identify: your name; your team’s name, and your team’s SFYBL division.

Coaching Multiple Teams

All SFYBL teams must have at least two fingerprinted (through SF Rec & Park) coaches on their roster. If you are coaching two teams, it is OK for the same two coaches to be coaching both teams.

If you are coaching more than two teams, each team must have at least one coach not coaching another team. We are doing this to help prevent forfeits. In the past, we have had situations where one or two coaches are coaching anywhere from 3-10 teams.

There is no way one or two coaches can avoiding game conflicts when coaching so many teams. We had a number of forfeits last season as a result of this practice. It’s not fair to the players and parents of both teams as well as the opposing team’s coaches.

Again, if you are coaching more than two teams, each team must have at least one coach not coaching another team. Teams not having unique coaches will not be assigned a practice field or scheduled for any games until they correct the issue.

Team Registration Guide Step-By-Step

* Download as PDF *

SFYBL Team Registration Step by Step for K-3 divisions
1 – Organize Your Roster – determine what players and coaches are going to be on the team

2 – Collect Waivers – all players must fill out a waiver form – available in our Forms section

3 – Fill out the Roster form – available in our Forms section

4 – Bring Completed Roster, Waivers, and Registration fees to one of the Registration Sessions on 1/28, 1/31 or 2/2, where you will receive a priority code for practice field requests. Fingerprinting for “NEW” coaches will be done by appointment only, call Marianne Kjobmand at 415-831-6327 to make an appointment. First 2 coaches per team are free, $20 fee for each additional coach.

5 – Log on to SF Rec and Park site (www.sfrecpark.org) with your priority code and request top 5 practice fields and times (more direction regarding sfreconline.com specifics will be given out at the Registration Sessions)

6 – Determine the jersey size for each player on your team and what # they want on the back. Jerseys are also available in adult sizes for coaches and parents for $35 (includes an SFYBL hat)

7 – Fill out the Jersey Order Form – available in our Forms section

8 – Bring Completed Order Form to one of the Uniform Order Collection Sessions on 2/7 or 2/9, where you will pick out a uniform color for your team. Color selection will be on a first come, first served basis. There is no guarantee of same color as last year.

9 – Determine what equipment your team already has and what equipment you still need. If necessary, take up a collection among team parents and split the costs across the team.
• T-Ball teams will need a tee, a couple of bats, a set of bases, 4 batting helmets, and catcher’s gear (catcher is a position in T-ball – this player receives the ball from the infield after the play ends). Each player should have a glove. The league will supply each team with 1 dozen baseballs. You’ll also need some sort of equipment bag to transport the equipment.
• 1st – 3rd Grade teams will need a few bats, a set of bases, four batting helmets, and catcher’s gear. Each player should have a glove. The league will supply each team with 1 dozen baseballs. You’ll also need some sort of equipment bag to transport the equipment.

10 – Wait for communication from SFYBL regarding a date, time and location to come and pickup your team’s uniforms.

SFYBL Team Registration Step by Step for PONY divisions
1 – Organize Your Roster – determine what players and coaches are going to be on the team

2 – Collect Waivers – all players must fill out a waiver form – available in our Forms section

3 – Fill out the Roster form – available in our Forms section

4 – Bring Completed Roster, Waivers, and Registration fees to one of the Registration Sessions on 1/28, 1/31 or 2/2, where you will receive a priority code for practice field requests. Fingerprinting for “NEW” coaches will take place at the registration sessions. First 2 coaches are free, $20 fee per coach after that.

5 – Log on to SF Rec and Park site (www.sfrecpark.org) with your priority code and request top 5 practice fields and times (more direction regarding sfreconline.com specifics will be given out at the Registration Sessions)

6 – If your team needs Uniforms, you can order them at a cost of $35 per player. Jerseys are also available for coaches and parents at the same price (includes an SFYBL hat)

7 – Determine the jersey size for each player on your team and what # they want on the back.

8 – Fill out the Jersey Order Form – available in our Forms section

9 – Bring Completed Order Form to one of the Uniform Order Collection Sessions on 2/7 or 2/9, where you will pick out a uniform color for your team. Color selection will be on a first come, first served basis. There is no guarantee of same color as last year.

10 – Each player will be responsible for purchasing a pair of pants. Any color is acceptable as long as all players on that team have the same color.

11 – Determine what equipment your team already has and what equipment you still need. If necessary, take up a collection among team parents and split the costs across the team.
•Teams will need a couple of bats, a set of bases, 4 batting helmets, and catcher’s gear. Each player should have a glove and a protective cup. The league will supply each team with 1 dozen baseballs. You’ll also need some sort of equipment bag to transport the equipment.

12 – Wait for communication from SFYBL regarding a date, time and location to come and pickup your team’s uniforms.

Individual Registration Opens January 27, 10:00 AM

Individual player registration will open January 27 at 10:00 AM. Individual player registration is for players who do not have a team and is done directly through SF Rec & Parks online system (sfreconline.org).

Team registration for existing or newly formed teams will be done at any of our three team registration dates/times. See previous posts on the topic for details. (you can click the word “Registration” in the tag cloud at the bottom right of the home page to see all posts relevant to registration.

Coach Fingerprinting

If you are a returning coach and you were fingerprinted last year through SF Rec and Park, you do NOT need to be fingerprinted again this year. However, you DO need to fill out the “Volunteer Application” form (also in the Forms section) that basically confirms your “volunteer coach” status with SF Rec and Park.

To all of this year’s NEW coaches: you will need to get fingerprinted through SF Rec and Park before the first practice. Please call Marianne Kjobmand at 415-831-6327 to make an appointment. The first 2 coaches for a team are free and then Rec and Park is charging $20/coach after that. Call now and get it done early. The later you wait, the less likely you’ll have it done in time for the first practice. All adults on the field with kids have to be cleared by live scan fingerprinting per SF Rec and Park rules.

Final Coaches Meeting – Tonight

Tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 17) is the second and final coaches meeting.

The coaches meetings are for coaches/prospective coaches only (not for players or non-coaching parents). At the meeting you will receive info on such things as team registration, league structure, game/practice scheduling, etc. Coach attendance is not mandatory but is highly recommended.

There will be two separate meetings tonight: the first will be from 5-7 PM for K-3 coaches only; the second will be from 7-9 PM for PONY divisions coaches only. The meetings will be at the SF County Fair Building auditorium on the south edge of Golden Gate Park (just north of Lincoln Way/9th Ave.).

2012 Team Registration Begins Jan. 28

Team registration for the 2012 SYBL season begins on January 28, 2012.

There are two registration paths: a) registering as a team at one of the SFYBL team registration sessions (Jan. 28, Jan 31, and Feb. 2; or b) as an individual through SF Rec & park’s online registration system (sfreconline.com).

If you already have (or will have by one of the team registration dates) a coach and a group of 11+ kids all within the parameters of a specific grade-based division (e.g. K, 1, 2, 3) or an age-based PONY division (e.g. Mustang [9-10], Bronco [11-12], or Pony [13-14]) you should register as a team at a team registration session. Team registration is done by a coach or adult representing the team only.

If you are an individual player without a team we recommend you register online directly through SF Rec & Park. Individual players also have the option of requesting an open spot on an existing team needing players. We will do our best to place you, but there are no guarantees that we will be able to do so. Registering through SF Rec & Park ensures you will get a team if you are individual player without a team.

The fee for team registration is $60 per player for T-Ball through 3rd grade divisions and $450 per team for PONY divisions.