Junior Competition

Aussie T-Ball

AussieT-Ball is nationally recognised by the Australian Baseball Federation and affiliated State Associations, the Australian Sports Commission and Major League Baseball as baseball’s junior entry point program to introduce children to the game of baseball.
Aussie T-Ball is a modified version of baseball for children. The game is a six a side, bat and ball game that is all about being active and having FUN.

Game Sense

There is strong evidence that the best way for children (and in many cases, adults) to learn skills is intrinsically; that is, without being aware that they/we are learning anything. It seems that skills we develop in this way are more permanent, more accurate, and less likely to break down under pressure.

There is very good evidence that children learn best by doing rather than listening to someone telling them how to do things. The skill of coaching, particularly with young children, lies in presenting activities which will enable them to learn while having a good time. If you can do that, you can help the kids to develop a positive attitude to activity, to baseball, to you, to each other and towards themselves.

The game sense activities that are part of the school and club Aussie T-Ball program are good examples of this philosophy in action. The game sense activities are recommended activities by the Australian Baseball Federation and the Australian Sports Commission. These activities will help kids get a sense of the cooperation and of competition that are essential elements of team games. In short, they will help them develop Game Sense.

Aussie T-Ball Philosophy

Competitive games are fun, but winning on the scoreboard is not the main objective. Promote good sportsmanship, stay enthusiastic and reward effort rather than success. There should be no negative comments about or to umpires, coaches and fellow team members.

In all teams there will be varying levels of ability but, at this level, it is unacceptable to continually play the better players in key positions. It is essential that all recieve equal opportunity and are encouraged to participate fully in all aspects of the game.
To ensure that all players get equal time in each position, players rotate their fielding positions every inning. In batting, the lead off hitter in one inning becomes the last hitter in the next inning. In this way, every player gets the chance to lead off an inning and field in every position.

Aussie T-Ball can help kids to develop a positive attitude to physical activity, to baseball, to each other and toward themselves.
For more information please contact Shane on 0414 874 999 or registrar@thornleighbaseball.com.au
Aussie T-Ball rules can be found here.

Pre-Live Ball

This covers the age groups Under Seven through Under 10 with the exception of Under 10A.
Players in this group either play Teeball (Under 7 & 8) or Machine Ball (Under 9 & 10). Machine Ball means the ball is pitched by a machine. In RHBL that machine is, more often than not, the Zooka; an automatic pitching machine that can can deliver the balls “in the batting zone” at a set Safe speed.

Live Ball

This covers the age groups Under Eleven through Under 19 with the inclusion of Under 10A.
No more batting tees or pitching machines; the ball is thrown by the pitcher.