Our Seasons

Spring

Registration for Spring opens on December 1st.

Our Divisions

Rookie/Tee-Ball

Often, a family’s first introduction to Little League® is in the Tee Ball program. Tee Ball is the entry level division for boys and girls, ages 4 & 5. The experience is grounded in fun, fitness, and fundamentals while also being a key to growing a child’s love for the game. This division will focus on teaching the very basic fundamentals of baseball, such as proper swing mechanics and proper throwing technique using only the safest and most appropriate equipment for this age group. The teams will meet once per week on Sunday afternoons and the sessions will be split into part practice and part game. This will be a non-competitive atmosphere with the focus on teaching and having fun for both players and coaches. There will be no game standings and there will be no playoffs. WHLL makes special provisions in the Rookie Division for buddy requests and so that your child has the chance to play with other classmates from his/her elementary school.

Cost for 2024 was $100.

Instructional/Coach-Pitch

This division is for boys and girls, ages 6 & 7. All players will be encouraged to swing the bat with a coach pitching the ball. This division will continue to teach the fundamentals of the game while learning more of the "rules of the game" in an effort to become more well-rounded and "smart" players. Teams will meet twice per week with a weekday or Saturday practice and games scheduled for Sundays. Before games start, there will be two practices per week. There will be no regular season standings and no playoffs for this division. NOTE: As of 2010 rule updates, there will be no batting tees allowed during Instructional games. WHLL makes special provisions in the Instructional Division for buddy requests and so that your child has the chance to play with other classmates from his/her elementary school. There are no coach requests.

Cost for 2024 was $125.

Minor League

This division is for boys and girls, ages 8, 9 and 10. It is designed to teach the finer skills of the game of baseball and to further develop individual skills including pitching, catching and the outfield. This is a player-pitch league. The focus will shift to more real game situations in this division in preparation for the jump to AAA. The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 42 feet. Teams may meet up to three times per week with weekday and Saturday practices. Once the season begins, there will be games every Sunday and mid-way through the season, games will be played on weeknights as well. Saturday practices will continue until the end of the season. There is a playoff tournament for all teams at the end of the regular season.

Cost for 2024 was $150.

AAA League

This division is for boys and girls, ages 9*, 10 and 11. It is designed to teach more advanced skills as a final step in preparation for movement up into the Major League Division. Skills developed here will be beyond those found in Minors. The focus will shift to more advanced and competitive game situations in this division with advanced concentration on specialty positions like pitching and catching. The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet. Teams will meet up to three times per week with weekday and Saturday practices. Once the season begins, there will be games every Sunday and mid-way through the season, games will be played on weeknights as well. Saturday practices will continue until the end of the season. There is a playoff tournament for all teams at the end of the regular season.

Cost for 2024 was $150.

Major League

This division is for boys and girls, ages 10*, 11 and 12 and is our most competitive division. There will be regular season standings and a playoff tournament at the end of the season. The focus will be to continue to develop individual skills and teach the more complex aspects of the game in a more competitive atmosphere. The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet. Teams will meet up to three times per week with practices being scheduled for a weeknight and on Saturdays. Once the season starts there will be games every Sunday and on weeknights throughout the season. Saturday practices will continue until the end of the season.

Cost for 2024 was $150.

Summer

West Hartford Little League (WHLL) offers several options to those players interested in continuing play into the summer season in a competitive environment. The league fields teams for both Little League District play and travel baseball. For the 10U through 12U
teams, we hold tryouts during the Spring season. Rosters are selected and announced in late May.

Our summer teams participate in both a regular-season summer league / district play and local tournaments including the Lindquist Tournament (operated by Farmington Youth Baseball) and the Nutmeg State Games (run by the town of New Britain).

Registration typically opens in May. Costs for 2024 ranged from $150 to $300, depending on team & level of play.

Summer Baseball Participation

Eligibility: ONLY players who participated in the Spring season are eligible for summer baseball. For those players who have other activities ongoing that limit their participation for their spring season team (e.g. other sports leagues or activities outside of WHLL), that player must participate in at least 60% of their team’s games during the Spring season to be eligible for summer participation.

Selection process & team formation: Selection to 12U and 11U District All-Star teams is based on a tryout and coach voting. Selection to 10U All-Star and Travel teams is based on a tryout and input from coaches from both Majors and AAA.  We typically do not hold a tryout for 8U travel and try to find a spot for all interested players, depending on the number of registrants.

Playing time: Our league prides itself on our Fair Ball philosophy, including equal playing time, during the spring and fall seasons.  The rules for District (all-star) baseball are very different.  When teams are competing in District play, playing time is typically NOT equally distributed.  For our District teams, if and when they are eliminated from either the District or State tournament, they will likely continue their season playing in friendly games against other local towns or in other tournaments.  When this occurs, the playing time typically becomes more balanced for all of the players.  Our travel teams typically balance the playing time more equitably throughout the summer season as the playing rules are different for travel baseball.

For additional information on summer baseball, please email  [email protected].

Fall

West Hartford Little League offers three age divisions for our Fall season: 8U, 10U and 12U.

8U: The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 42 feet.

10U and 12U: The diamond used is a 60-foot diamond and the pitching distance is 46 feet.

We are members of the Greater Hartford Fall Baseball League and play several surrounding towns in Hartford County. Games are held on Saturday and Sundays starting in early September and run through mid-October. A randomly seeded playoff follows for each division.

Practices begin in mid-August and there is typically one practice per week. The 12U division may hold an additional practice and/or batting cage session during the week.

Registration typically opens in July. Cost for 2024 was $175.

Winter