Rookie Ball has been played at Kalamunda for the last three seasons and has been a great success.
Rookie Ball, also known as Coach Pitch or Minor Little League, is the next step up from Teeball. At Kalmunda Rangers our 10 & Unders and 12 & Under divisions play Teeball from October up until the Christmas break. After Christmas, and until the end of the Season, they will participate in Rookie Ball. Recent changes to the Little League competition by Baseball WA has allowed the introduction of an inter-club Rookie Ball competition for 9 and 10 year olds.
What is Rookie Ball
In Rookie Ball, the Team Coach (or nominated Parent) tosses up to four pitches to the batter. If the batter is unable to hit any of the four pitches, the batter has the option of having a Batting Tee placed on Home Plate and finishes his turn at bat by hitting off the Tee.
A player cannot strike out whilst the Coach is pitching, however if a Tee is placed for the batter to hit off, the normal rules of Teeball apply.
Rookie Ball introduces the players to the more formal positions of Baseball and Softball, for example the Catcher is ’suited up’. 
As you can see, the Catcher wears a Mask, Chest Plate, Leg Gaurds and uses a Catchers Mitt.
For defensive reasons a player is positioned next to the pitching Coach and will continue to play the position of Pitcher as in Teeball. The Coach is not permitted to field the ball. The game is extended to 1½ hours to allow Catchers more time to ’suit up’, and give the players more time to hit a ’live’ ball.
Rookie Ball is a great introduction for players to learn more about Catching and to improve and build their skills in hitting a moving ball. It also takes the sometimes competitive edge off Teeball which can begin to appear in the older age groups.
Standard Teeball Rules have been modified slightly to allow for the moving ball. Rookie Ball Rules adopted by Kalamunda Rangers can be found at this link.
Rookie Ball Commitments
As in all sports, there is a commitment required by both players and Parents. Players will be required to attend training session one afternoon through the week which will be for approximately 1 - 1½ hours. The game itself will last an hour on a Saturday morning and are all played at Maida Vale Reserve. Parent help is required at both training and the games so that the teams can run efficiently. Typically one Parent will be the Coach, another will be the Team Manager and other Parents will help with Scoring, Umpiring and Base Coaching. In addition to helping out in your child’s team, throughout the Season your child’s team will also be required to fill one Diamond Marking roster, and one Canteen roater to help the Club out and to keep the fees as low as possible.
End of Season
At Kalmunda Rangers, all children who play are awarded a participation trophy at the end of the Season. ’Premiership Ladders’ as such are not kept at Kalamunda Rangers, instead, at the end of the Season we award ’Endeavour Awards’ to one team in each age division. Team Coaches will place their votes for the Teams they enjoyed playing against the most and who fostered the four F’s of Teeball: Fun, Fair Play, Fundamental Skils and Family Involvement.
For further information on Teeball, please complete the ’Contact Us’ page, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.