KAU Softball is open to residents or students in both the Unionville-Chadds Ford and Kennett Consolidated School Districts. Players who attend private schools but reside in these two districts are eligible.

KAU offers Softball programs on a 60-foot base path field. The program is open to players (typically girls) ages 6 through 18. Player age is as of December 31st, 2011.

All Divisions are essentially Travel Teams in that there is little to no inter-KAU play. All teams play similar teams from around District 28, which is comprised primarily of Southern Chester County. Typically half of the games are Home and half are Away. Travel time for Away games is around 30 minutes, with the maximum being about one hour. The only exception is at the Senior/Big League level, as KAU teams travel to Delaware or Maryland to play games with the best tri-state Little League teams.

Practices start in mid-March with the Regular Season running from April 1 to around mid June. Regular season win/loss records are not kept.

2012 Divisions

Rookie Division (6 Innings)
Open to players ages 6-8. This is where it all starts. Typical team size is 13 to 16 players. Normally, KAU fields two teams. Typically, the emphasis is on more practices than games as teaching fundamentals is the main priority. This translates to about 10 games per Regular Season with one game on a weekend, with practices on the off weekend day and one weekday evening.
Coaches help out as pitchers so as to move the game along.

Minors Division( 6 Innings)
Open to players ages 9-10. Players are starting to get into real Softball, but the Minors still is mostly a Division to build fundamentals. Typical team size is 13 to 16 players. Normally, KAU fields three teams. Typically there are about an equal number of practices and games. Some games are during the week. This translates to about 14 games per Regular Season. When a pitcher throws four balls to a batter, then the coach finishes pitching to the batter as getting on base by way of a walk is discouraged because there is no fielding opportunity. This is the age group where pitchers and catchers begin to emerge. KAU Managers normally enter their Minor team into a modified Single Elimination District Tournament referred to as June Madness. Seeding is random. Madness runs from Memorial Day to the crowning of a Champion by June 14.

Majors Division (6 Innings)
Open to players ages 11-12. This is the Division in which the players start to devote themselves to the goal of playing high-quality Softball. Typical team size is 13 to 16 players. Normally, KAU fields three teams. Typically there are about an equal number of practices and games. Some games are during the week. This translates to about 16 games per Regular Season. Games are played “By the Book” so to speak, with walks, steals, dropped third strike, etc. This is the age group where players are settling into learning two or three positions. KAU Managers normally enter their Major team into a modified Single Elimination District Tournament referred to as June Madness. Seeding is random. Madness runs from Memorial Day to the Championship by June 14.

Junior Division (7 Innings)
Open to players ages 12-14. This is essentially Middle School -level Softball. Typical team size is 14 to 18 players. Normally, KAU fields only one team. Typically there are more games than practices. Some games are during the week. This translates to about 18 games per Regular Season. This is the age group where players are beginning to specialize in a handful of positions. There is no Regular Season tournament. June is a time, after school ball has ended, to play as many games as possible—including double-headers— throughout the
tri-state area.

Senior/Big League Division (7 Innings)
Open to players ages 13-18. This is essentially Varsity High School-level Softball. Typical team size is 16 to 19 players. Normally, KAU fields one team. Good pitching rules this level. Typically there are more games than practices. The schedule is built around high school schedules so as to avoid conflicts. This translates to about 20 games per Regular Season. High School Varsity players enjoy this level as they normally play positions other than their Varsity position. There is no Regular Season tournament. June is a time, after school ball has ended, to play as much softball as possible—including
double-headers—against other District 28 teams and the best squads from neighboring states.

Regular Season Team Rostering Principles and Procedures

The KAU Softball Division conducts player evaluations in February for the Rookie/Minor/Major Divisions. The ratings from those evaluations determine the player pool from which to form teams. Players are placed on a team based on a collaboration between the managers and the evaluators. Generally, players are placed on teams based on ratings and specific pitcher and catcher skills to ensure each team has a balanced roster.
Selection of Regular Season Managers:
Anyone interested in managing or coaching during the 2012 Regular Season
should indicate as such when registering their player. They should also directly contact the Softball Division Vice President no later than February 28th. Appointments will be made based on need per Division, tenure, skill and experience in past coaching.

Game locations

All games are played throughout District 28. Games can be any day of the week, and if at a field with lights, can start at 6:00 or 8:30 PM. Double-headers are allowed, and are more predominant at the Sr./Big League Divisions.

Umpiring

Rookies and Minors use parents. Major/Jr./Sr./Big League use paid umpires.

All-Star Teams and Tournaments
There are post-season All-Star tournaments as follows. One team from KAU will participate in each tournament, subject to player/coach interest. Note that International Tournaments are Little League International-based tournaments that lead up to a World Series similar to that held in Williamsport, PA, at the 60-foot baseball level. The levels of play include District, Sectional, State, Regional, National, and International, with the winner of each level advancing.
• 9-10 Tournament - open to the appointed team of 9-10 year olds. This is a double elimination tournament played among other leagues in PA District 28. Winners at this level may advance to the Section 7 and PA State Tournaments.
• 10-11 Tournament - open to the appointed team of 10-11 year olds. This is a double elimination tournament played among other leagues in PA District 28. Winners at this level may advance to the Section 7 and PA State Tournaments.
• 11-12 LL International Tournament - open to the appointed team of 11-12 year olds.
• Jr. 12-14 International Tournament - open to the appointed team of 12-14 year olds.
• Sr. 13-16 International Tournament - open to the appointed team of 13-16 year olds.
• Big League International Tournament - This is a District-based team selected based on try-out performance by 16- through 18-year-old players who participated in Sr./Big League play through the regular season in any league in PA District 28.
Players are selected to an All-Star team based on regular season performance and to insure an adequate number of pitchers and catchers. The number of players per team is determined by the appointed manager, with a minimum of 11 and a maximum of 15.

Contact
Bruce Doherty,VP Softball,
brucedoherty19@comcast.net
610-368-7001