10U to 12U Summer Baseball
At the the 10U through 12U ages, Needham will field one A-team and multiple B-teams at each age group. Unlike prior years where the Summer A and Williamsport teams were distinct teams, going forward the Summer A teams and Williamsport team will be the same team.
Prior to 2024, NB&S had registration numbers requiring two Williamsport teams at each age level. In 2024, NB&S’s registration numbers decreased to the point where NB&S – like every other District 11 town – is not required to have two teams. As a result, NB&S will no longer field two Williamsport teams. Instead, going forward, NB&S will select a single Williamsport team at 10U, 11U, and 12U levels, which team also will constitute the Summer A Team. That Summer A / Williamsport team will play together all summer in the Williamsport tournament, a summer league and/or other summer tournaments(e.g., the Sandwich Summer Blast).
Players who are not selected for the Summer A or who don't wish to be considered will be placed on the Summer B team. The Summer B teams will play in the Suburban Youth Baseball League. These teams may also play in a weekend tournament at the discretion of the team's coaches. While Summer B teams are competitive and require a level of commitment, players are expected to miss time for vacations and/or camps. Rosters will be sized accordingly.
See Below for information on the Williamsport/Summer A team selection process and player expectations.
Williamsport Team / Summer A Team Selection Process for 11U and 12U
Not everyone makes the Williamsport team. NB&S has a multi-tiered process for Williamsport Tournament team selection, which is descried below.
Step 1 - Registration: Players will register online for Summer baseball with a checkbox on the registration page that will indicate if a player wants to be considered for Williamsport. That registration will end on a mid-Spring date set by the Registrar / Summer Director. That date will be published to all NB&S registrants at the beginning of the registration process.
Step 2 - Round 1 Voting: One week after Summer / WP registration closes, Round 1 Voting will take place. During Round 1 Voting, each Majors team’s manager will email the WP Committee a slate of nine registered players that the manager believes should be on the Summer A / WP team for each age group (11s and 12s). Each Majors team’s manager gets one slate of nine 12s and one slate of nine 11s. The WP Committee will review those slates, and any player appearing on every manager’s slate (i.e., every unanimous selection) will automatically be placed on the Summer A / WP team. Any player receiving a single vote in Round 1 Voting will be put into the pool of eligible players for Round 2 Voting.
Step 3 – Round 2 Voting: One week after Round 1 Voting, Round 2 Voting will take place at the Williamsport Player Selection Meeting. At this meeting, following an open discussion of each player in the eligible Round 2 player pool, each Majors Manager will submit a slate of nine players from the eligible pool. This eligible pool will not include (i) the unanimously-selected players, or (ii) any player who registered but did not receive at least one vote during Round 1 Voting. The top vote getters from Round 2 Voting will be placed on the Summer A / WP team – up to a total of nine players when accounting for the unanimous selections.
- As an example, if 2 players are unanimously selected for the Summer A / WP Team based on Round 1 Voting, the top 7 vote-getters from Round 2 Voting will be placed on the Summer A / WP team to obtain a total of nine
- If there are ties, additional rounds of voting will take place on the players who are tied. (1 vote per Majors team.) For example, if Player A and Player B tie for votes for the ninth spot after Round 2 Voting, all Majors managers will do another round of voting between just Player A and Player B.)
Step 4 – Manager Selection by Williamsport Committee: Following the selection of the first nine players through Round 1 and Round 2 Voting, the Williamsport Committee will meet and select the Summer A / WP Manager from the list of managers who registered to be considered.
Step 5 – Williamsport Manager’s 3-5 Player Selection: The selected Manager will then select 3-5 players of their choosing to fill out the remaining 3-5 roster spots. Williamsport team rosters must include a minimum of 12 players and a maximum of 14 players. The final number will be up to the Summer A / Williamsport Manager. The Manager also will select two assistant managers.
- The Summer A / WP Manager may select an 11U player if the manager so chooses. That 11U player will be removed from the 11U team and will be replaced by another eligible 11U
Step 6 - Announcement of the Williamsport / Summer A Teams and Start Dates: Once the selections are complete for all three teams (10s, 11s, 12s), the rosters will be sent to NB&S’s President. Once the rosters go to the NB&S President, the players selected for the Williamsport / Summer A team will be notified of their selection by email. Immediately after that, all players who registered for Williamsport / Summer A, but who were not selected, will receive an email informing them that the Williamsport / Summer A team has been selected and thanking them for their interest. These players will be placed on one of the Summer B teams. After those announcements are made, the WP Committee will inform the Williamsport / Summer A managers of the earliest date on which they can conduct a practice. No practices will be permitted before that communication.
10 U Williamsport/Summer A Team Selection
An evaluation will be held following the conclusion of Summer registration. Using data from this evaluation as well as Spring coach and prior tryout evaluations, the Williamsport committee and Summer Baseball Selection Committee will select the first nine players on the team. Following the selection of these players, the process is the same as the 11U and 12U teams.
Team Managers
Coaches who coach a spring NB&S baseball team and who are interested in coaching a Williamsport team must also register. Per Little League rules, all coaches are required to take the Little League Diamond Leader Training Program. Coaches must complete the training to be considered as a manager or coach of a Williamsport team.
Training can be found here: https://www.littleleague.org/diamondleader/
Please notify the Williamsport Director (Patrick Callahan) upon completion of the training.
Expectations of Players Selected to Summer A/Williamsport Teams
Players who are selected for a Williamsport team each year are expected to commit to the team, which means participating in all practices, games and other team activities for the duration of a team’s progression throughout the tournament. In other words, if a player is scheduled to go to overnight camp or on vacation, and therefor will be away from June 1-late July, that player would not be eligible for selection.
In addition, players will be expected to be available for the following tournaments:
10A
Sandwich Summer Blast July 10-13
11A
Father's Day Tournament TBD June 12-15
Sandwich Summer Blast July 17-20
Tournament TBD July 25-27 or July 31-August 2
12A
Father's Day Tournament TBD June 12-15
Sandwich Summer Blast July 24-27
NOTE: There will be an additional charge for 10A, 11A and 12A to cover costs of tournaments.
