*Spring Baseball & Softball Intramurals Opening Weekend - March 31st-April 2nd, 2023*
A child's path through our program begins as early as 3 years old with the Mini Hawks program. When in Kindergarten, children enter Little League proper and continue on in Little League through age 12 (as determined by Little League International). Children are then offered the chance to continue to play in town with their friends on Senior level teams. All Little League programs are open to children who reside within our Little League boundary which coincides with the Plainview-Old Bethpage school district. Children residing out of the school district but attending a school within the district are also permitted to participate.
In addition, we are proud to offer a Challenger division for children aged 5+ who have special needs. The Challenger division plays in the spring and fall. The Challenger division is open to all children with special needs regardless of residency.
The following is a list of our Spring divisions by gender:
Children entering Kindergarten Fall 2024: Mini Hawks (Co-ed)
Blast Ball, the introductory program of Plainview Little League, was developed as a fun way to teach all five fundamentals of baseball, hitting, throwing, catching, fielding and running. Simplicity and continuous action is what makes BlastBall so much fun. There are no complex rules, no umpire is required, and you don't even need to have a baseball glove. Click here for our Blastball rules. The Mini Hawks sessions will be 1 hour on Sundays at 1:30pm.
Children entering Kindergarten Fall 2023: Lil Hawks (Co-ed)
This is a co-ed program designed to introduce boys and girls to the basics of baseball/softball. The Lil Hawks sessions will be 1 hour on Sundays at 1:30pm.
Boys - Baseball
Baseball is played on weeknights and on Saturdays. Weeknight games/practices generally begin at 6pm, but may begin earlier at the start of the season when the sun sets earlier. Games played under the lights will begin later.
Kindergarten: Boys T-ball
When the children reach Kindergarten, the boys and girls separate. The focus of the t-ball division is on teaching the fundamentals of the game. Although there are 'games' no score is ever kept.
1st Grade: Boys Clinic
In 1st grade, the boys proceed to a division in which we continue to stress the fundamentals while introducing coach pitch. Batting tees are used at the beginning of the season and then the boys transition to coach pitch in the middle of the season.
2nd Grade: Boys Rookies
In 2nd grade, the boys begin the season using pitching machines and end by taking the mound to pitch. Umpires are used when player pitching begins. At that point, scores are kept but there are no standings or playoffs.
3rd Grade: Single A
Single A is the first of the competitive baseball divisions. At this point, scores and standings are kept and there is a season-ending playoff to crown a champion.
4th Grade: Double AA
in Double AA, the pitching mound is at the standard Little League distance of 46'. The games are highly competitive and the level of play increases dramatically.
5th Grade: Triple AAA
Triple AAA baseball is standard Little League baseball with few modifications.
6th/7th Grade: Boys Majors
Majors Baseball is standard Little League baseball
Girls - Softball
Girls Clinic Division will only consist of teams from Plainview, while the older Divisions will have games against neighboring town teams. The Girls Rookies Division may play against teams from Syosset while the Girls Minors and Majors Divisions includes teams from Plainview, Bethpage, Syosset, Island Trees, Plainedge and Farmingdale. Games will be played in Plainview as well as the other participating towns.
Softball is played on weeknights and predominantly Sunday afternoons (12pm or later for all divisions). Saturday games are also scheduled for those in the Minors and Majors Divisions. There are occasional Saturday night softball games on lighted fields. Weeknight games/practices generally begin at 6pm, but may begin earlier at the start of the season when the sun sets earlier.
Kindergarten/1st Grade: Girls Clinic
After Lil Hawks, the Kindergarten girls combine with the 1st grade girls. The focus of the Girls Clinic division is on teaching the fundamentals of softball. The coaches pitch to the girls with the option of using batting tees.
2nd Grade/3rd Grade - Girls Rookies
In the Rookies division, the girls use a pitching machine. Because of the difficulty in mastering the windmill delivery, the girls are not ready to pitch in games at this age. Umpires are present at the games and scores are kept, but there are no standings.
4th Grade/5th Grade - Girls Minors
At this point, the girls begin to pitch. Rules become a bit more relaxed and more in line with competitive softball. Score and standings are kept. Playoffs occur and a champion is crowned.
6th Grade/7th Grade - Girls Majors
The Majors division is highly competitive with many girls able to pitch with control and speed. Standard Little League rules are used with few modifications. The division is open to all 6th and 7th graders regardless of birthdate. Scores and standings are kept. Playoffs occur and a champion is crowned.
8th Grade/9th Grade - Girls Seniors
The Seniors division is a competitive league made up of teams along the 135 corridor. Standard Little League rules are used with few modifications. The division is open to all 8th thru 12th graders regardless of birth date. Scores and standings are kept. Playoffs occur and a champion is crowned.
Note: Forming softball divisions by combining girls in different grades is consistent for all town softball programs throughout Long Island and the US. This is not unique to our league.