Frequently Asked Questions

Having fun and creating memories that last a lifetime! For the spring season, we have an “Opening Day Ceremonies,” usually the first or second Saturday in March to “launch” the season! We do a parade of teams, team pictures, skills competitions, music, bounce houses,  and much more! 

See below for some of the most common questions.

Typically, spring season registration opens the first week of December, and closes towards the end of January. The spring season typically runs from early February to mid/late May. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates and notifications about registration.

 Typically, fall season registration opens and closes during the month of August. The season is shorter than spring, and usually runs from September to early November. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook for updates and notifications about  registration. 

In the spring, we follow the traditional Little League playbook: conducting tryouts for the Minors and Majors Divisions, concluding the regular season with an exciting divisional tournament. The playoffs concluding the regular spring season for the Majors and AAA Minors divisions play based on a double elimination tournament bracket. Games are determined by the seeding based on the season. AA teams play a single elimination tournament bracket, "seeding" is determined by random draw.

Towards the end of the spring season our All Star teams are formed through SWLL coaches' nominations for a face-off against local leagues. The standout 12's All Star team even gets a shot at reaching Williamsport for the prestigious Little League World Series!

As for the fall season, it's tailored to amp up player and coach development. It's a shorter run, with player placements based on their chosen divisions. Starting in Fall 2023, SWLL will introduce a wide range of offerings, including Tball, Farm Team, AA, Minors, and Majors for baseball, along with Minors and Majors for softball.

Please visit the link on the website to view our boundary lines. You can also use Little League website to enter your address and identify the league in you which you align. 

The little league website has a great age calculator tool. For convenience, we have included a link below. Your players baseball “Little League Age” determination is the actual age of the child on August 31st, 2021. For example, if your player turns 11 in the month of June, they will be 11 as of August 31st, 2021 – and will be considered little league age 11 for this upcoming Spring. An additional example, if you child turned 10 in October of 2020, they would be considered little league age 10 for this upcoming Spring, as that would be their age on August 31st. For softball, a players little league age is the actual age of the player on January 1st of the current year. 
Little League Age Calculator website - https://www.littleleague.org/play-little-league/determine-league-age/ 

Currently Sidewinder Little League offers Minors and Majors Softball only. As registration numbers increase additional divisions will be added.

Softball is currently interleague, and played with other local leagues. 

Most games are held at Paloma Park or Rio Vista; however, because we are lucky enough to have different divisions, we do still plan to use Sunset Park and potentially other available local fields. Practices are held at various fields including Paloma Park, Sunset Park, Rio Vista Park, as well as various north Peoria school campus fields. 

Typically, each baseball division will play 2 games per week. Under normal scheduling, Minors, AAA Minors and AA divisions play all games during weeknights (5:30 and 7:30 start times), Farm Divisions play one game on a weeknight (usually 5:30), and a game on Saturday each week (8:30am or 10:30am start times), TBall plays 1 game per week on Saturdays (8:30am or 10:30am start times).

-While we look at options for Softball, we will update as we determine a plan for games this upcoming Spring. This last fall, each softball team played one game per week, on Saturday’s. 

We rely on volunteer coaches to create the best experience possible for the players and parents. We are always looking for parents that are interested in coaching. We have tools to help you build practice plans and provide you with equipment for the season. We would love to you hear from you. Please reach out to our Chief Player Agent (contact info on the website under “Board of Directors”) 

If you sign your player up for the Minors (ages 8-11) or Majors (ages 10-12) division, they must attend tryouts. After tryouts, the managers conduct a draft and select players for their teams from the eligible player lists typically within one week. The AA and Farm divisions do not hold tryouts. 

The only tryouts each season are held prior to the spring season. Any player that wants to be eligible for the All-Star 12u, 11u, or 10u teams MUST attend tryous prior to the spring season.

Please visit the Parent FAQ for Blue Sombrero/Sports Connect. It is a great resource as you navigate the website and can answer many questions you might have! 

Verify that you have the Players registered under your account and that the birthday is correct.  Please verify on the Little League age finder for the correct division, if that division is not available, please contact Help@sidewinderlittleleague.com

Yes. We will open Softball registration for this Spring with all other registration. Depending on the number of registered Players we may be combining with other leagues in the area for game schedules, and possibly roster buildout.

All ages are welcome to join Little League. There are no requirements of previous experience at any level. Divisions are age specific and we are required to follow the guidelines of Little League International.

-Farm Division (1st level of Coach Pitch):  Ages 5-8; 1 season of T-Ball recommended or 1 season of Coach Pitch.

-AA Division (1st level of Kid Pitch):  Ages 7-9 (and 10-year-olds not drafted into Minors); At least 1 season of Coach Pitch recommended 2 is preferred. 10-year-olds must attend try outs, and if not drafted in Minors will be placed on a AA team.

-Minor Division (2nd level of Kid Pitch):  Ages 8-10 (and 11-year-olds that don’t get drafted into majors); 1 season of Kid Pitch recommended. 10-year-olds must try out, and if not drafted in Minors will be placed on a AA team.  11-year-olds not drafted in Majors will be placed on a Minor team.

-Major Division (3rd level of Kid Pitch):  Ages 9-12; at least 1 season of Kid Pitch recommended. 9 and 10-year-olds not drafted in Majors will be eligible to be drafted in Minors, and if not drafted in Minors will be placed on an AA Team.  11-year-olds not drafted in Majors will be placed on a Minor team.  All 12-year-olds will be placed on a Major team.

-Junior Division: Ages 13-14 (15-16 eligible; however are not eligible to pitch)

-Senior Division: Ages 13-16 

The league is chartered through Little League International, and the local league operations are managed by a group of volunteer Board of Directors. We choose to serve our community and volunteer our time to pull together all aspects of the seasons and league operations. We are parents, coaches, and general members of the community. Please remember that we are all volunteers, and we do our best to ensure a wonderful experience for your “Little Leaguer.” 

To see more Board of Directors details CLICK HERE.

All-Stars is an additional season that follows the spring season every year. All players that attended spring tryouts, and played a minimum of 60% of the regular season are eligible to register for All-Stars. Teams are formed by coaches nominations of registered players. The All-Star season requires a high level of commitment and missing games or practices is discouraged.

There are currently 4 divisions of All-Stars:

10u- The age for this division cannot exceed little league age of 10 years old. The 10u team will compete in a division 2 tournament and the winners of each division will move on to the State championship tournament. This is generally in the month of July.

11u-The age for this division cannot exceed little league age of 11 years old. The 11u team will compete in a division 2 tournament and the winners of each division will move on to the State championship tournament. This is generally in the month of July.

12u- The age for this division cannot exceed little league age of 12 years old. The 12u team will compete in a division 2 tournament and the winners of each division will move on to the State championship tournament, generally in July. The winner of the state championship will move onto the Western Regionals, held in San Bernadino, CA. The winner of the Western Regionals will advance to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA in August.

TOPS- This is a Division 2 only tournament, and is not sanctioned by Little League International. Players on the TOPS team are of little league age 8-10. Players for this division are not required to have attended tryouts. TOPS tournaments generally start about a week or two after the end of the regular season playoffs. This tournament is generally over by June 10.

Pending registration numbers there may or may not be a Juniors All-Star team.

Little League International requires a number of different documents be provided to the league to prove age and league boundary residency. These are required of all players. Typically, this will include; copy of driver’s license, copy of utility bill, copy of mortgage/rent statement. We require a copy of birth certificate for proof of age, and all parents must complete a medical release form and code of conduct form. 

The Medical Release form must be uploaded to the site during registration as well as a physical copy must be provided to the coach prior to the 1st game of each season.

To see all the accepted and required forms of documents CLICK HERE

The league has many costs for running successful seasons; field fees, uniforms, umpire fees, equipment (baseballs, catchers gear, bases, pitching mounds, etc.) which are all included as part of registration fees. Please note that all Coach and Board positions are 100% volunteer, and none of the registration fees go to paying any of these personnel. 

All players and coaches receive a jersey and hat. 

Parents are responsible for securing belts, pants and socks. Coaches decide the color combo based on the team colors. For example, the Orioles may have orange belts, white pants, and orange socks to go with the orange jersey and hat.  

During the Spring Season, team rosters for both Baseball and Softball Minors and Majors baseball are formed through a tryout and draft process, which means friend or coach requests cannot be accommodated. However, for T-Ball, Farm, and AA baseball divisions, the league will make every effort to honor such requests. As for the Fall Season, friend and coach requests can be utilized for all divisions. 

Yes! To keep registration costs at the level we hope to during the spring, the league does do fundraising to offset some operations costs and also reinvest in equipment, etc. – back into the league. All players participate in fundraising efforts 

If you have a local business or a fundraising opportunity for the league please email fundraiser@sidewinderlittleleague.com as a registered 501c3 all donations are tax deductible.